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Background: Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), developed a sexual health course to be integrated throughout the revised medical curriculum.Aim: To use the Sexual Health Education for Professionals Scale (SHEPS) to gather baseline and future follow-up data to inform curriculum development and evaluation.Setting: The first-year medical students (N = 289) of the FMHS SU.Methods: The SHEPS was answered before the start of the sexual health course. The knowledge, communication and attitude sections were answered with a Likert-type scale. Students had to describe their perceived confidence in their knowledge and communication skills to care for patients within specific sexuality-related clinical scenarios. The attitude section measured the students’ level of agreement or disagreement on sexuality-related opinion statements.Results: The response rate was 97%. Most students were female, and 55% of the class were first taught about sexuality in the age group 13–18 years. The students had more confidence in their communication skills than knowledge before any tertiary training. The attitude section revealed a binomial distribution, ranging from acceptance to a more restrictive attitude towards sexual behaviour.Conclusion: It is the first time the SHEPS has been used in a South African context. The results provide novel information about the range of perceived sexual health knowledge, skills and attitudes of first-year medical students before they start tertiary training.Contribution: Findings from this study will guide content development and evaluation of the sexual health course at the institution where the study was conducted, as well as allow for culture sensitive education.

BACKGROUND: Community-based primary health care (PHC) forms the foundation of healthcare in South Africa. Medical programmes need to equip future health practitioners to face the challenges of the rising burden of chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL) in different communities. Community-based education (CBE) contributes to developing knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the challenges experienced in the PHC context AIM: To explore medical students' perceptions of the current CDL curriculum and related programmes during CBE rotations SETTING: The study was conducted among fourth- and fifth-year medical students at the University of the Free State, South Africa METHODS: Focus group discussions were conducted and data were analysed thematically RESULTS: Themes included perceptions of the CDL curriculum, relevance thereof for the PHC setting and barriers and challenges to implementing PHC programmes. This study identified foundational CDL content that needs to be incorporated or revisited at strategic points. Participants identified the need to contextualise educational programmes and focus on affordable, culturally acceptable and holistic healthcare prevention strategies. Barriers and challenges included high patient load, resource constraints, the lack of continuous care and focus on communicable diseases. Community-based education rotations were described as meaningful opportunities to develop professional attributes, competencies and skills CONCLUSION: This study identified foundational concepts to consider at key points throughout the curriculum. Incorporating creative and reflective learning activities in CDL modules can prepare students for the realities of PHC settings CONTRIBUTION: This study provides insight into medical students' perceptions of the CDL curriculum and informs future curriculum content for CDL modules

Introduction The association between periodontitis and certain systemic diseases is well established; however, there is a distinct lack of research available on its awareness among medical students in the United Kingdom. Aims To determine the awareness of fourth-year undergraduate medical students concerning periodontitis including its risk factors, relationship with systemic health and students' attitudes towards oral diseases and further education. Methods We delivered an online survey via a weekly email news bulletin to 299 fourth-year medical students and received 101 completed responses. Results Medical students were largely aware of the most common features of periodontitis and recognised that systemic diseases may affect the periodontium. There was less awareness of the associations between certain systemic diseases and periodontitis and there appeared to be confusion with tooth decay. Perceived knowledge was generally reported to be poor and most students believed that further teaching would improve their medical practice. Conclusions Increased teaching on periodontitis within the medical curriculum would benefit students. This may be achieved using an integrated teaching approach. Future doctors should graduate with an adequate education on the interdisciplinary links and should be capable of signposting or referring patients early to the appropriate services where indicated to improve patient care.

OBJECTIVES The prevalence of peer-assisted learning (PAL) featuring alongside the core medical curriculum is increasing; however, the evidence base for PAL's efficacy on academic performance is limited. This systematic review of randomised studies of PAL in medical school sets out to assess the impact of PAL on academic outcomes in medical school and evaluate whether PAL confers a benefit in specific educational contexts. METHODS A literature search was conducted across MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Web of Science and Education Research Complete. Titles and abstracts were screened, and records were selected following strict eligibility criteria. Following full-text assessment for eligibility, two reviewers independently extracted data from the final selection of records and a meta-analysis was performed. Studies were classified using a modified version of Kirkpatrick's levels of learning. Student test scores were standardised by calculating the standardised mean difference (SMD). RESULTS Twenty-seven randomised controlled trials were eligible for inclusion, and twenty-one provided sufficient and complete data to enable meta-analysis. There was a significant improvement in the academic performance of medical students who received PAL compared with those in the control group (SMD = 0.52 [95% confidence interval 0.18-0.85]; p = .003). The impact of PAL was greater amongst clinical medical students (SMD = 0.63; p = .02) than preclinical medical students (SMD = 0.39; p = .08) and when used for teaching practical skills (SMD = 0.69; p = .001) compared with theory (SMD = -0.11; p = .21). Students taught by PAL also achieved better results in assessments conducted more than four weeks after course completion (SMD = 1.20; p = .04). [Correction added on 8 November 2020 after first publication. The data values in the Results section have been corrected in this version.] CONCLUSIONS: Medical students experiencing PAL benefit in terms of academic performance, relative to those not receiving PAL. PAL is of greatest value in the clinical stages of training and for practical skills. The long-term outcomes of PAL remain a priority for future research.

Pharmacokinetics is the branch of pharmacology that describes how the body processes drugs. As most physicians will prescribe drugs during their career, knowledge of pharmacokinetics is indispensable for medical students. Students, however, experience pharmacokinetics as difficult, probably due to its abstract and mathematical nature. In many medical curricula, pharmacokinetic topics are taught and examined as a part of integrated medical courses. As pharmacokinetics is a relatively small subject, unit examinations contain only few questions on the topic. The combination of a difficult subject and a few questions has raised concerns that students could perform poorly in pharmacokinetics and still pass the examinations and, hence, end up with insufficient knowledge of pharmacokinetics. In this study, we investigate this issue by contrasting students’ performance on pharmacokinetics questions with their performance on the rest of the examinations (all non-pharmacokinetics questions lumped together). The results expressed as pass-fail scores showed that students failed more often on the pharmacokinetics part of the test than on the other questions, in two consecutive academic years. Despite the suboptimal knowledge in pharmacokinetics, students can still acquire their bachelor’s degree. These results show that poor knowledge in pharmacokinetics could be a side effect of curricular integration. Attention should therefore be paid to provide insight into one’s own performance in individual disciplines. This would avoid knowledge deficiency and incompetence in the future.

Background: Learner-centred methods for teaching knowledge in the undergraduate medical curriculum utilizing an integrated approach include active learning approaches such as Problem-oriented learning and self-directed learning are two types of education. Aim and objectives: The study aimed to see if self-directed learning and a problem-solving approach to physiology may benefit first-year medical students. Material and methods: 250 students enrolled in Phase I MBBS for two physiology modules: CVS and RS, were involved in this cross-sectional study. Group A (n=125) received self-directed learning sessions for similar topics, whereas Group B (n=125) received problem-oriented learning sessions. An objective evaluation of all subjects covered was done after each SDL and POL session, and the results were analyzed using an unpaired t-test. Results: Cardiovascular physiology self-directed learning sessions, 25.6 % (32/125) of students received maximum scores (group A), whereas 21.6 % (27/125) received moderate grades. 31.2 % (39/125) of problem-oriented sessions received maximum points, whereas 47.2 % (59/125) of pulmonary system module (group A) sig. SDL sessions received intermediate points. The p values (n=0.008) (n=0.009) for both modules indicated a significant difference between 32.8 % (41/125) of those who earned maximum scores and 48 % (60/125) of those who received intermediate grades. With p values of 0.0192, 0.0190, and 0.01179, respectively, pupils achieving 80–89 %, and 70–79 % in both SDL and PBL, had significant variations in their total scores in their internal evaluation when SDL and POL were compared to their overall scores. Conclusion: Self-directed learning sessions are less successful than problem-oriented learning sessions at communicating concepts. It takes time to raise learner’s awareness and prepare them for active; Techniques for learning that are centered.

Introduction: Disease outbreaks (DO) result in unprecedented changes to the healthcare industry with far-reaching implications for medical education. The need to adapt to the fluidity during DO requires the delivery of the clinical medical curriculum to be flexible and effective. There is a lack of well-established guidelines on how medical education should be delivered during DO. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of teleconferencing-based platforms (TBP) as a teaching modality to overcome the challenges of clinical year medical education amidst a global pandemic and possibility of its use when there are no disease outbreaks (NDO). Methods: A cross-sectional survey amongst 144 undergraduate clinical year students from a medical school in Singapore was conducted from May to June 2020, to explore their perspectives on TBP compared to physical venue-based platforms (PVBP). The survey consisted 5-point Likert scale and open-ended questions. Statistical and thematic analyses were performed. Results: TBP provides greater convenience in travelling, note-taking and ability to overcome administrative challenges. Students strongly recommended its use in DO and NDO. However, students faced increased distractibility, decreased engagement and ease of raising questions, with a lower efficacy in content delivery. The above is dependent on the type of lessons delivered - clinical skills-based or didactic sessions. Conclusion: TBP is a promising teaching modality for DO with promising possibility of extending its use to NDO. We propose a tri-faceted approach to target improvement in content delivery on TBP, mainly with measures to target propensity for decreased engagement and increased distractibility and to address the technology-related concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Asia Pacific Scholar is the property of Centre for Medical Education (CenMed) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

motional intelligence (EI) is the mixture of intellect and emotions. A highly emotional intelligent person showcases the ability to control, understand and being in other’s shoes during the time of difficulties. The EI concept is extremely relevant in health care settings. The concept takes in the art of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. These concepts in one way or the other help in rearing, mentoring, and reaching the heights of professionalism among medical students. The health care workers particularly doctors needed to be emotionally intelligent and should have maximum of it for effective outcomes and patient satisfaction. The current situation mandates the medical curriculum to have more of emotionally intelligent medical professionals than those with high intelligence quotient. The recent rise of dispute in health care field may be due to the reduction in emotional intelligence which triggers unhealthy recognition of emotions towards patients and bystanders. The need for the current digital and restricted mindset generation is to impart more of values and thus control and regulate one’s own emotions. The study showcases various components, effects, and importance of emotional intelligence and also reviews few studies done on the topic with a special note on its importance in the current situation of Covid pandemic.

Objectives Whole-slide imaging and virtual microscopy (VM) have revolutionised teaching, diagnosis and research in histopathology. This study aimed to establish the feasibility of achieving early integration of clinical reasoning with undergraduate pathology teaching on a VM platform and to determine its student-centricity through student feedback. Methods This study was conducted at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, between August and December 2017. A total of 38 VM-centred clinical cases were introduced to 49 students in an integrated undergraduate medical curriculum. The cases were aligned to curricular objectives, reinforced the pathologic basis of disease with critical thinking and were delivered across 15 interactive small-group sessions. A simulated cross-disciplinary integration and judicious choice of pertinent diagnostic investigations were linked to principles of management. Feedback was obtained through a mixed-methods approach. Results User-friendliness, gradual learning curve of VM and annotation-capacity were scored as 4-5 (on a Likert scale of 1-5) by 91.84%, 87.76% and 83.67% of the participants, respectively. Most students agreed that the content matched the stage of learning (81.63%), theme of the week (91.84%) and development of a strong clinical foundation (77.55%). Integration (85.71%) and clinico-pathological correlation (83.67%) were the strengths of this educational effort. High student attendance (~100%) and improved assessment scores on critical thinking (80%) were observed. Software lacunae included frequent logouts and lack of note-taking tools. Easy access was a significant student-centric advantage. Conclusion A VM-centred approach with a clinico-pathological correlation has been successfully introduced to inculcate integrated learning. Using the pathologic basis of disease as a fulcrum and critical reasoning as an anchor, a digitally-enabled generation of medical students have embraced this educational tool for tutor-guided, student-centred learning.

Background: Assessment in medical education is necessary to determine the students’ competency as well as other attributes. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the methods of assessment at the end of rotational posting examination and final professional examination at the end of the course, preferred by the undergraduate clinical medical students. Methods: This study was conducted on 89 medical students belonging to 4th and 5th year of the Faculty of Medicine, National Defense University of Malaysia (NDUM).Results: In this study 46 students were males (51.7%) and 43 (48.3%) females; the mean age was 23.5 years. Among the multiple-choice questions (MCQ), a combination that contained multiple true-false and single best answer, was preferred by 55.1% of the students. Among the essay type of written assessments “problem management patient (PMP)” questions were preferred most (46.1%) followed by modified essay questions (MEQ), short essay questions (SEQ), and key feature questions (KFQ). Among the assessments by long case, conventional long case, which had been practiced during the course, was preferred by 67.4% of the students at the end of the medical program rather than the modified or observed long case examinations. While assessment by short case, running commentary on what was being examined, was preferred by 47.2% of students, followed by no commentary (38.2%) and not sure by the rest. 56.2% of students would prefer procedure OSCEs on mannequins and the rest won’t. Picture quizzes were highly preferred (89.9%).Conclusion: At the end of the medical program the clinical medical students prefer those methods which have already been practiced by them during the academic course. For the best achievement, every tool of assessments used in the medical curriculum should be made clear to the students and the students should practice those before they proceed for final evaluation.

The Indian medical education system which is believed to be one of the largest in the world consists of 479 medical colleges which produces 60,845 doctors per year. Student’s evaluation of any teaching curriculum is a firmly recommended part of the teaching-learning process and is aimed at achieving the desired objectives of producing competent doctors. This cross-sectional study was conducted using a pre-designed questionnaire on 100 medical students studying at undergraduate level in NEIGRIHMS. Primary objective: To study the views of the students regarding the existing medical curriculum. Secondary objective: Whether the present mode of teaching covers all the aspects of teaching or not. Our study found that 74% of third-year and 74% of final year MBBS students were satisfied with the current MBBS curriculum. Significant number of students also felt that ward rounds should commence from first year MBBS with students interested to participate in other activities during the MBBS curriculum. These inputs can be considered for making amendments in the MBBS curriculum to create a student-centric environment.

Background: Herbal medicine is becoming increasingly popular among the general population. Before consulting a medical practitioner, patients already try home remedies. Therefore, it becomes more pertinent that the medical students as future doctors, must possess some knowledge of the herbal medicine. In Saudi Arabia, no study has yet evaluated this aspect in medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed with 240 medical students at a Health Sciences University. The survey questionnaire was validated, and descriptive/inferential statistics analyses were conducted by SPSS. Results: Data showed 50/240 students (20.8 %) used herbal medicines and majority 36 (72%) used it without consultation with doctors. Moreover, male understanding of the sources of herbal medicine was less compared to females' (p < 0.05). In terms of attitude, majority agreed with the benefits of herbal medicines in the maintenance and promotion of health (123, 51.3%) and to treat illness (127, 52.9%). However, medical students did not want to use herbal medicines (122, 50.8%) or recommend it to their families (161, 67.1%). A significant number of the respondents (160, 66.7%) opined that the herbal medicines could be taken with conventional or allopathic medications. Male students were significantly more inclined towards use of herbal medicine than their female counterparts (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Medical students were found to be unaware of some important aspects regarding herbal medicines, like use of herbs with drugs without consultation. Inclusion of proper courses on alternative medicine in medical curriculum can fill this gap and clarify the misconceptions among medical students.

Objectives Mindfulness is now widely used therapeutically in health settings, but for a range of reasons, it is not commonly integrated into the education of health professionals. This article aims to share practical insights and lessons learned from teaching mindfulness as core curriculum to the whole cohorts of medical students at Monash University. Methods This reflective article will provide a personal perspective drawing on many years’ experience since the early 1990s of integrating mindfulness into the core medical curriculum including outlining the mindfulness-based lifestyle program delivered to the medical students. This will provide a backdrop to sharing important lessons relating to preparation, integration, delivery and review of mindfulness curriculum. A range of practical issues will be explored including making the case for it to faculty, finding the right language, giving it a context and rationale, using the most conducive teaching style, having the right tutors, carefully dealing with resistance, finding appropriate methods of assessment and the importance of review. Results Evaluations and feedback on the program over a number of years have shown a high level of acceptance and utilisation of mindfulness-based skills by students. Since its inception, mindfulness training has now become integral in the training of many other health professional students at Monash. Conclusions If done effectively, mindfulness can be successfully introduced and integrated into core curriculum of medical and allied health students using it as a meta-skill to support the development of student wellbeing a range of important clinical competencies.

The chair of chymiatria created at the University of Marburg was among the earliest academic initiatives aiming to integrate chymistry into the medical curriculum. If its practical applications in pharmacy and its relationship with patronage have been examined by historians, the theoretical part of the chymiatria programme still remains to be explored. In the form of student disputations and dissertations held or presided over by Heinrich Petraeus, a professor of medicine at Marburg and Johannes Hartmann’s son-in-law, “chymiatric” essays expounded various medical issues. Centred on pathology, therapy, and physiology, these theoretical explanations proposed a “hermetic–dogmatic” interpretation merging the views of Paracelsus and Galen. This article examines these disputations and their stance concerning the living body, sickness, and treatment, and how they shaped the status of chymistry as an art and a science on the verge of institutionalisation., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Background: Pathology is a key subject at the pre-clinical stage of medical training. Objectives: To determine the perception of second-year MBBS (preclinical) students regarding Pathology as a subject and the effectiveness of various teaching, learning and assessment methods. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 145 randomly selected, second-year MBBS students, appearing for their Phase II final university exams. A predesigned questionnaire with questions about students’ perception of pathology was administered to the students. The questionnaire also assessed the various teaching-learning methods currently used by the faculty. The students were also requested to make suggestions regarding the modifications needed in the teaching methods. Results: A total of 145 out of 150 regular-batch students participated in the study. One hundred (68.9%) regarded pathology as an interesting subject; 131 (90.3%) felt pathology acts as a bridge between paraclinical and clinical branches while 107 (73.8%) found blackboard teaching more effective. Conclusion: The study revealed that the preclinical medical students showed a favourable predisposition towards pathology as a subject while highlighting areas that need to be addressed for more effective teaching and improved learning towards producing better medical professionals.

Introduction: There is a growing recognition of the impact of work on health both positive and negative. It is important that all health care professionals are equipped to understand the effects of work and worklessness on health and help patients remain in work or manage a healthy return to work where appropriate. Despite explicit reference to health and work in the General Medical Council’s Outcomes for Graduates, currently, there is not a theme that is integrated across the undergraduate medical curricula. Aim: This study evaluates medical tutors’ and undergraduates’ perspectives of a selection of health and work topics in a teaching pilot to consider the suitability and appropriateness for delivery, integration into the curriculum, tailoring of the resources, and appropriateness and expected attainment of learning objectives. Methods: Qualitative, semi structured interviews and focus groups were carried out with five medical tutors and 36 undergraduates. Interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Results: The medical tutors and undergraduates identified suitability of appropriate subject specialties and years of teaching, whether learning objectives were important and if these had been achieved, and recommendations for future delivery. Discussion: Medical tutors were committed to delivering the health and work topics with the flexibility of tailoring the resources to existing subject specialties and with respect to the year of study. Learning objectives were perceived appropriate by tutors, despite ambivalence about their importance from some undergraduates. The resources were identified as having relevance to public health undergraduate teaching and teaching during general practice placements.

Introduction Tuberculosis is a principal mortality causes in world, and vaccination with BCG is a key for your prevention. Objective To evaluate the effect of studies plan from Medicine Bachelor's Degree of Universidad Guadalajara LAMAR about the knowledge about immunization against tuberculosis. Material and methods Quasi-experimental study type pre-experimental of comparison with a static group. Emplacement: Vallarta's Campus. Temporality: January-May 2018. Universe: 267 students. Sample: Non-randomized, n = 230 students, 94 from 1st semester (G1, intervention moment “A”), 106 from 4th semester (G2, intervention moment “B”) and 30 from 7th semester (G3, intervention moment “C”) from Medicine Bachelor's Degree, more 37 students from 1st semester from Bachelor's Degree not related with health sciences (G0, control). Sampling: Propositive. Selection criteria: Any age and gender and answer the instrument. Variables: Age, gender and knowledge about management of immunization against tuberculosis. Instrument: Written test collegiate. Analysis: Comparison by mean of statistics non-parametric (p = 0,05). Results Levels “high” and “very high” of knowledges: G0 0%, G1 0%, G2 32% and G3 37% (?2, p Conclusion The studies plan showed develops high knowledges about management of immunization against tuberculosis. There is a significant gap in this knowledge that does not vary substantially in advanced semesters.

Given barriers of patient-centred care (PCC) among physicians and trainees, this study assessed how medical schools addressed PCC in curriculum.The authors used content analysis to describe PCC in publicly-available curriculum documents of Canadian medical schools guided by McCormack's PCC Framework, and reported results using summary statistics and text examples.The authors retrieved 1459 documents from 16 medical schools (median 49.5, range 16-301). Few mentioned PCC (301, 21.2%), and even fewer thoroughly or accurately described PCC. Significantly more clerkship versus pre-clerkship (24.0% vs 12.6%,Overall, few documents mentioned or described PCC or related concepts. This varied by school, and was more frequent in clerkship and elective courses, suggesting that student exposure may be brief and variable. Thus, it remains unclear if medical students are fully exposed to what PCC means and how to implement it. Future research is needed to confirm if PCC content in medical curriculum is lacking.

Background and Objective: Several studies have shown that medical students experience high levels of stress during their undergraduate course, due to the medical curriculum. Due to COVID shut down, now students are away from regular college routine, but are they still stressed? This study was conducted to better understand student’s experiences of stress, for instance, what causes students stress and what students do to manage their feelings of stress. Materials and Methods: First year medical students from various medical colleges in Karnataka were selected for the study. Questionnaire related to symptoms of stress and coping methods, Grading the reason of stress and needed guidance were included. Questions were circulated online. 115 responses were recorded and analyzed. Results: This study showed in the past three months during the shutdown, 63 percent of students were feeling low, 60 percent students said they are feeling anxious. 60 percent felt irritable. 30-50 percent students are completely stressed of missing on regular classes, practical and clinical exposure, uncertainty of exams and uncertain future. More than 5 percent students are sorting medical help for the same. More than 90 percent of students who are stressed are trying many relaxation methods. None of the students have opted for any college faculty or councilors for help during this crisis. Discussion and Conclusion: More than 50 percent medical students are stressed and are having symptoms None of them have opted for guidance or counselling from the colleges. From this study, I conclude that all colleges must provide college councilors or staff to help students deal with their stress during such crisis. On a regular basis, student must be made aware of counsellors or mentors in college or attached hospital, whom they can consult when needed. Keywords: Stress, Questionnaire, Councilors.

Neurophobia is a term used to describe the fear of any topic related to neurology due to failure to integrate basic science knowledge to clinical situation. It has been found that majority of first liner medical staff felt less confident in dealing with patients with neurological illness. This is rather alarming since as the improvement of medical facilities in the recent decade, the age span of the population increases hence, so does their related neurological diseases. Probing into this phobia among the medical professionals has led to one common problem-their undergraduate experience. It has documented that high percentage of disinterest to neurological subject due to its teaching methods and the complexity of the topics. The aim of the study was to discuss on various teaching strategies to overcome this phobia. It has been found that vertical and horizontal integration has been beneficial in augmenting students understanding and retention of knowledge. Thus, it has been implemented and suggested as the suitable curriculum format in medical undergraduate programme. Apart from that, in coherence of IR 4.0 era, there are many innovative teaching techniques that have been studied over the years to facilitate teaching and promote students’ motivation towards neurological topics. However, some traditional sessions such as dissections classes still are very much relevant in pre-clinical teaching sessions. Neurophobia has been an “epidemic disease” for decades. The role of tailoring teaching methods to meet with the current students’ need has shown promising result to tackle this issue.

Threshold concepts are those ideas that learners often find difficult, but must understand in order to master a discipline. Nearly all research into threshold concepts has been from the perspective of teachers. We argue that the students’ perspectives can also be helpful. In this commentary, we explore this issue and inform the debate by drawing on insights from a pilot study in which medical students articulated their own views on what constituted threshold concepts from recent learning experiences in physiology. Combining insights, from teachers and students, into candidate threshold concepts could be used to improve the medical curriculum.

Resumo Está cada vez mais evidente que a reflexão sobre ciências humanas e deontologia é necessária para a formação mais abrangente do estudante de medicina, visando preparar não apenas profissionais tecnicamente capacitados, mas também humanizados. Diante disso, e a fim de seguir as diretrizes curriculares nacionais atuais, as Faculdades Integradas do Norte de Minas instituíram módulo no sexto período de medicina chamado “Humanidades, Bioética e Antropologia Médica”. Objetivando avaliar a percepção de alunos sobre o ensino de ética nessa instituição, esta pesquisa aplicou questionário a estudantes do sétimo ao décimo períodos do curso de medicina. O instrumento contava com perguntas sobre a estruturação do módulo e o ensino de ética. Os resultados evidenciaram a proposta inovadora do módulo e a importância da ética médica na grade curricular no sentido de contribuir para a formação de médicos mais humanos.

The biology of regenerative medicine has steadily matured, providing the foundation for randomized clinical trials and translation into validated applications. Today, the growing regenerative armamentarium is poised to impact disease management, yet a gap in training next-generation healthcare providers, equipped to adopt and deliver regenerative options, has been exposed. This special report highlights a multiyear experience in developing and deploying a comprehensive regenerative curriculum for medical trainees. For academicians and institutions invested in establishing a formalized regenerative medicine syllabus, the Regenerative Medicine and Surgery course provides a patient-focused prototype for next-generation learners, offering a dedicated educational experience that encompasses discovery, development and delivery of regenerative solutions. Built with the vision of an evolving regenerative care model, this transdisciplinary endeavor could serve as an adoptable education portal to advance the readiness of the emergent regenerative healthcare workforce globally.

Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic, most educational institutions have opted for online education rather than traditional modes of education to protect their employees and students. Online education has been gaining momentum in almost all countries around the world. This coincides with the recently introduced competency-based medical education in India which has embraced online education. This poses a new challenge for the institutions involved, the instructors or teachers, and the students since they must adapt quickly to the new mode of learning. Online education requires teachers to improve their competency in three major areas; pedagogy, technology, and content knowledge. Some of the challenges include; lack of technological skill, poor time management and lack of infrastructure. As technology rapidly advances, health care education systems must also advance in tandem. To implement the new competency-based system and online education, the institutions and the individuals must realize the importance of online education, identify the barriers and quickly work on solutions for success. Methods This review was conducted based on various research papers on the topic of online medical education, the challenges faced by faculty members, and the opinion of students on this dilemma. Search terms included online medical education, COVID19, competency-based medical education. Conclusion This review identified various challenges posed by online education on the current medical curriculum, faced by both faculty members and students, especially under the light of the Competency-Based Undergraduate Curriculum for Indian Graduates. Different solutions were proposed to overcome these challenges.

Philosophy and ethics in medicine is an interesting and often fascinating topic of enquiry, however uptake amongst medical students is highly variable and it is often regarded as a nonessential component of the medical curriculum. Medical students themselves are often overwhelmed by the demands of medical study, and cite high rates of burnout. This paper describes a novel intervention provided at Western Sydney University as part of the Professional Development curriculum, which provided three broad tutorial interventions in their first clinical year. The tutorials gave an overview regarding philosophy theory, but are specifically designed to encourage resilience amongst students. The tutorials were highly regarded and represent a novel way of engaging young doctors. It is suggested that orienting philosophy teaching towards issues immediately relevant to training doctors can greatly improve student acceptability.

BACKGROUND: Medical Council of India, introduced the Post Graduate (PG) curriculum as ‘Competency Based Medical Education’ (CBME). Feedback from the end users is a vital step in curriculum evaluation. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to develop and validate a Structured Feedback Questionnaire (SFQ) for postgraduates, encompassing all the components of the PG-CBME curriculum. METHODS: SFQ was developed with 23 Likert based questions and four open ended questions. Content validation was done by Lawshe method. After getting institutional ethics clearance and informed consent, SFQ was administered to 121 final year PGs (response rate 100%). We performed Principal component analysis (PCA), Structural equation modeling (SEM), Chi squared test (χ(2)/df); goodness-of-fit index (GFI); adjusted GFI; comparative fit index (CFI) and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). Cronbach's alpha was done for estimating the internal consistency. RESULTS: The validation resulted in a three-factor model comprising of “curriculum” (42.1%), “assessment” (28%), and “support” (18.5%). Chi squared test (χ(2)/df ratio)

BACKGROUND: Enhancing the prescribing competency of medical students will help them evaluate each case based on their knowledge. It will help them prescribe independently and they will also be able to empathize and counsel patients effectively. In view of this, it was planned to implement a module on prescribing competency and assess the same for undergraduate medical students. METHODS: Faculty training to implement the module was conducted by eminent faculty in this area. After a pre-test, a workshop was conducted for students, wherein they were trained on rational prescribing based on WHO guide to good prescribing followed by small group discussions to identify P (personal) drugs for bronchial asthma and later with comorbidities. Students had to write a prescription and practice communicating the same to a standardized patient. The module was evaluated using a check list (from the WHO guide) and compared with a pre-test. A feedback was provided to the students at the end of the assessment. RESULTS: The scores (median and interquartile values) for prescribing significantly improved from 5 (2, 7) to 25 (24, 27), maximum score being 30. The scores for the communication also increased from 17.5 (14, 24.25) to 53 (52, 55), maximum score being 60, in the post-test. The differences were statistically significant p

Curriculum mapping plays an increasing role in the design and implementation of competency-based medical education. We present an exemplary mapping of an institutional undergraduate medical curriculum to a national competency-based outcome framework to compare approaches to mapping procedures in their capacity to depict the relative coverage.The mapping process was performed by a small working group that continuously reconciled its findings. In step 1, we mapped the course objectives of our programme (Charité Berlin, Germany) to the National Competency-Based Catalogue of Learning Outcomes Medicine (NKLM). In step 2, we employed three primarily quantitative approaches (single, multiple, and subordinate match) and one primarily qualitative approach (content comparison) to derive the degree of NKLM coverage.In step 1, we mapped a total of 4400 programme objectives to 2105 NKLM objectives. In step 2, the quantitative approaches provided a general overview of the pattern of coverage, while the qualitative approach required more effort but provided a better representation of the scope and depth of coverage.The mapping approach chosen markedly impacts on the results how of well an institutional curriculum covers a national standard. This study highlights the need for more rigour in the methodology and reporting of curriculum mapping.

During the preclinical period of medical school, the clinical relevance of theoretical knowledge is given little attention. Medical students of the second year were invited to participate in an interdisciplinary congress for robot-assisted and digital surgery. The students had to evaluate the impact of the congress on their learning motivation, decision-making for a career in surgery, and relevance for their educational curriculum. Participation in the congress increased their learning motivation for preclinical subjects, and significantly increased their interest in a surgical career. Most students considered active involvement in medical congresses a valuable supplement to the medical curriculum. Congress participation during the preclinical period was ranked positively by medical students. Greater learning motivation and enthusiasm for the pilot teaching project as well as for surgical disciplines were registered. Thus, early involvement of medical students in scientific congresses should be an integral part of their educational curriculum.In den vorklinischen Semestern des Medizinstudiums wird der klinischen Relevanz oft wenig Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt. Medizinstudierende des zweiten Studienjahres wurden eingeladen, an einem interdisziplinären Kongress für robotergestützte und digitale Chirurgie teilzunehmen. Im Anschluss sollten die Studierenden den Einfluss des Kongresses auf ihre Lernmotivation, die Entscheidungsfindung für eine Karriere in einem chirurgischen Fach und die Relevanz für das Curriculum bewerten. Durch die Kongressteilnahme steigerte sich die Lernmotivation für vorklinische Fächer, und das Interesse an einer chirurgischen Laufbahn nahm erheblich zu. Die meisten Studierenden betrachteten die aktive Teilnahme an medizinischen Kongressen als wertvolle Ergänzung des Lehrplans für das Studium. Die Kongressteilnahme während der Vorklinik wurde sehr positiv bewertet. Es wurde eine größere Lernmotivation für das Medizinstudium sowie eine Begeisterung für das Pilot-Lehrprojekt und für die chirurgischen Disziplinen registriert. Daher sollte die frühzeitige Einbindung der Medizinstudenten in wissenschaftliche Kongresse ein integraler Bestandteil ihres Curriculums werden.

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Background: Solid organ donation and transplantation remains grossly underdeveloped in most African countries. The knowledge and attitude of tomorrow’s professionals may be key to the improvement of these services. Methods: A sample of undergraduate medical students from all the medical schools in Kenya offering Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees were surveyed using a self-administered, web-based questionnaire, between July and September 2018. Results: Of the 303 participants, 167 (55.1%) were female. Only 8.9% of the students had read the laws governing transplantation in Kenya. An even lower percentage (3.3%) felt that they had learned enough about solid organ donation and transplantation from their medical curriculum. More than half (53%) of the respondents would subscribe as solid organ donors, which reduced to 47% when it came to consenting to donating their relatives’ organs. Less than half of the students (40%) considered they would be comfortable introducing the topic or confident answering questions (23%) related to organ donation and transplantation. Only 9.9% of the sample had ever spoken to a patient about organ donation. There was no significant association between level of study (preclinical versus clinical) and comfort introducing the topic of organ donation (P = 0.206) or experience talking to a patient about the subject (P = 0.102). Conclusion: Undergraduate medical students have significant knowledge gaps regarding organ donation and transplantation and feel ill-prepared to approach a potential donor or transplant recipient.

Background: Information and promoting awareness of emergency medicine (EM) as a vital and independent branch of medicine has been a core component of the national undergraduate medical curriculum for a number of years. This project aims to assess how successful this integration has been by evaluating clinical-level students on their knowledge, exposure, and overall opinion of the subject. Methods: A survey was conducted by means of a cross-sectional online questionnaire that was made available to clinical year students in all medical colleges in Saudi Arabia. Demographic data, descriptive statistics, and correlation analyses were then carried out to discern if any patterns or commonalities could be found. Result: A total of 356 medical students participated in the study. Regarding EM perception and interest, a significant variance in responses was highlighted between the 4th, 5th, and 6th-year students. Regarding exposure, 68.8% did not have the EM as an independent course module, and 55.1% did not take an elective in EM as an alternative. The overall level of knowledge of EM and its importance was below the desired standards in 62.4% of the participants. Students who undertook some form of further education in EM had on average a 57.7% higher chance to score at or above desired standards on EM. Conclusion: Despite the overall majority of participants demonstrating a less than desirable knowledge on EM, exposure, and correct integration of EM in medical course composition has a notable positive effect on student perceptions and opinion of EM.

Introduction: Survival after sudden cardiac arrest depends upon early intervention, quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and time of defibrillation. So, it is very important that at least the medical personnel know about Basic Life Support (BLS) as they are frequently facing the life threatening situations. Objective: To assess the level of awareness regarding adult basic life support among graduates in a medical college of Kathmandu. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted after ethical approval in Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital from April to September 2018 among 150 medical and dental graduates including interns and dental/medical officers. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to assess their awareness regarding Adult BLS. Data were entered and analysed in Microsoft Excel Sheet. Mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage were calculated. Results: Most of the graduates surveyed (122, 81.3%) had heard about Adult BLS and felt the need to know about it (142, 94.7%). They felt the necessity including BLS training as a part of medical curriculum (144, 96%). Some of them (58, 38.7%) had seen BLS being done. However, very few (2, 1.3%) had actually done BLS on a patient. Some (54, 36%) had attended workshop on BLS. Conclusion: The findings of the study concluded that although most of the medical and dental graduates felt the need, very few had attended workshop for BLS. The BLS training should be included in the medical curriculum so that the graduates would be able to effectively manage the life-threatening emergencies.

Introduction: Leadership skills among medical students, plays an important role in making them competent and bringing success in their clinical practice. Physician’s professional activities require them to be good team leaders. But there is a leadership crisis among medical doctors in India and leadership skills within their curricula. Objectives: To assess the leadership skills among interns and identify possible influencing factors among them. Method: A cross sectional study was conducted among 110 interns in a medical college. Leadership skills were assessed using Modified Leadership Inventory for Medical Education (LIME). Unpaired t test for association of various factors with mean scores of leadership and Karl Pearson’s correlation coefficient for correlation between the scores of subcomponents of leadership skills were used. Results: Among the interns, 77.3% had a chance to be a leader during school/college days but only 20% had undergone leadership training. 87.3% of them had their leadership scores above average, suggesting good leadership skills. Interns who had been a leader in school/college, enrolled in Scouts/ Guides/ NCC and those who underwent leadership training had statistically significant higher mean scores. Majority had positive attitude towards leadership. There was a statistically significant, moderate correlation between the components of leadership skills.Conclusion: Participants had good leadership skills and there was significant association between former leadership experience and current leadership scores. Most of them had positive attitude towards leadership.

Introduction: In contrast to the specific insertion which occurs in research projects developed in scientific initiations in the Medicine Course at the Federal University of Sao Joao Del Rei, the activities which contemplate executing research practices are concentrated in Scientific Research Practice (Pratica de Investigacao Cientifica - PIC), a mandatory course unit in which a group of students must start a research project and complete it by going through all of its construction stages. Objective: To quantify the scientific production generated by the mandatory course unit in Scientific Research Practice in the Medicine Course at a Federal University. Methods: Data collection was carried out through interviews and by analysis of the Lattes curriculum of PIC teachers. Fisher’s Chi-Squared tests were used for statistical analysis between quantitative variables related to the scientific production of the discipline and academic information from the advisors. Results: A total of 30 professors were selected to guide 47 research groups in all, making it possible to identify 19 published articles, 32 presentations at conferences, 09 scientific initiations, 01 awards at congresses, 01 patent and 01 Master’s thesis as scientific production, totaling 63 works. The results showed relevant scientific production of the unit, which was influenced by the academic degree, participation in graduate programs and the exclusive dedication regime of the teacher. Conclusion: The inclusion of mandatory scientific research practice in the medical curriculum during undergraduate studies can be an efficient strategy to generate scientific production for the university.

Objectives: To detect how the positive and negative determinants of current medical education system during undergraduate and post graduate trainings affect the physicians’ empathy. Material and Methods: This is a questionnaire based cross sectional observational study conducted after taking permission from the institutional ethics committee. All the practicing medical professionals belonging to different specialities were included in the study. For each questionnaire item, they were asked to respond either yes / no. Data was interpreted as percentage of acceptance and rejection. Results: 70% physicians believed that present medical education system is helpful in developing empathy still 80% were in favour of conducting classes on empathy during the medical education. 80% agreed to all the positive determinants of development of empathy while 40 % agreed to all the negative determinants of empathy. Conclusion: In present setup though empathy is not included in medical curriculum but the assumed positive determinants of empathy during the under and post graduate training seems to be cultivating empathy in our socio-responsive physicians. Keywords: Empathy, Practicing physicians, Medical education system, Healthcare relationships.

Aim: The undergraduate medical curriculum in India as designed by the medical council of India (MCI) currently does not include E-learning as part of its program. Although, students seem to be quite comfortable with the use of computers and internet, their perception about e-learning per se needs to be addressed. Moreover, before introduction of specific technology opinion of the user must be investigated. Hence, this study was designed with an aim to find out the Indian students perspectives regarding the incorporation of E- learning into the medical curriculum. Materials and Methods: Undergraduate 1 st and 2 nd semester medical student volunteers were recruited for the study from 4 medical colleges from different regions of India after taking informed consent. Responses (based on a Likert scale of 1-5) were collected via a predesigned self-administered questionnaire. Positive attitudinal scores (PAS) were calculated using 7 variables. The results were analysed using SPSS Results: A total of 775 responses were available for analysis. Median PAS was 24 indicating a positive attitude amongst students. 94.27% of students felt that E-learning should be incorporated into the curriculum. The most preferred mode of e-learning was videos (56.9%).With respect to internet usage, the majority of students (65%) opted for a web supplemented programme compared to fully online or web independent programmes. Conclusion: Overall Indian medical undergraduate students seem comfortable with computer use and most students perceive E-learning as a helpful tool in their learning process. Most are willing to have it incorporated into the curriculum; hence we propose that E-learning should be formally introduced into the curriculum as soon as possible. Keywords: E-learning, Undergraduate medical curriculum, Positive attitude

Introduction: Cadaveric dissection has been the integral part of the first year anatomy teaching since long back. With advancing technologies in the medical field, many teaching aids have been provided to replace the dissection. Objective: To investigate and understand the perceptions of undergraduate medical students towards the cadaveric dissection and its psychological and emotional impacts. Material and Methods: Two sets of questionnaires were prepared. These questionnaires were circulated through 283 medical students and their responses were recorded. Observations and Results: It was observed in the study that 97.2% students were of opinion that cadaveric dissection is an integral part of first year anatomy teaching while 91.2% student believed that cadaveric dissection is preferable to other practical anatomy teaching aids. Conclusion: It concludes that cadaveric dissection is an important part of medical curriculum. Cadaveric dissection is also the best method for learning of anatomy. Though prosected specimens, plastic models, plastinated specimens etc. will be helpful in learning of anatomy, cadaveric dissection should be the basic part of anatomy learning. Keywords: Dissection, Cadaver, First year MBBS

Background: The participation of medical students in research generates professional, scientific, and personal benefits for the student. Aim: To evaluate the interest and opportunities for medical students in Chile to participate in scientific research and their perceptions about factors influencing research. Material and Methods: All students attending the 2018 Chilean Congress for Medical Students were invited to answer a 44 questions survey about interest and opportunities to participate in research. Results: The survey was answered by 489 of the 538 students attending the congress. Eighty five percent referred interest in conducting scientific research, but only 47% had the opportunity to actively participate in a research project. The main research area providing opportunities was epidemiology and the main form to access a research project was through direct contact with a medical professor or researcher. Seventy seven percent of respondents had courses of scientific investigation in their medical curriculum and 92% had a scientific society for medical students in their university. Conclusions: Respondents showed a great deal of interest in participating in scientific research. However, there is a gap between this interest and the available opportunities. Medical professors should promote and facilitate the participation of their students in research.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) is one of 10 surgical specialties recognised by the General Medical Council (GMC). The GMC states that newly qualified doctors should be familiar with a wide range of specialties and should refer patients appropriately. However, inadequate awareness of and exposure to OMFS in UK medical schools have been widely reported. Two independent investigators conducted a scoping review of all published articles that have evaluated the preparation of students in OMFS in UK undergraduate medical curricula. Our inclusion criteria were UK studies, articles published since inception, OMFS education, and relevance for undergraduate medical students. Data were extracted in accordance with recommendations by the National Health Service (NHS) Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. These were then analysed by qualitative synthesis. Our initial search yielded a total of 351 articles. Following application of the exclusion criteria according to PRISMA guidelines, 11 articles were included in the final analysis. Four main themes were identified: exposure to OMFS in the medical school curriculum, knowledge of OMFS conditions, knowledge of OMFS career progression, and ability to refer OMFS conditions appropriately. A consistent finding was that most medical students felt that they had insufficient exposure to and awareness of the specialty. All the papers recommended the need for change in the existing undergraduate medical curriculum. This review shows an overwhelming need for further development of OMFS in undergraduate medical curricula in the UK. However, there is insufficient primary research to show how best to achieve this. We propose that future research should focus on improvements in the quality of the current teaching methods and the adoption of new innovations to inspire and educate future doctors.

Franciscus Sylvius, latinized from Franz de le Boe (*15 March 1614 in Hanau; † 14 November 1672 in Leiden), was a Hessian-Dutch physician, anatomist, and natural scientist of Flemish descent. He was an important clinician and iatrochemist, and is considered the founder of scientifically oriented medicine and clinical chemistry. Sylvius introduced the concept of affinity and dealt with digestive processes and body fluids. He was one of the leading exponents of the concept of blood circulation developed by William Harvey. As the person responsible for practical medicine in Leiden, Sylvius established bedside teaching as part of the medical curriculum, and he introduced his students to clinical medicine in an experimental way, both contrary to the rules of the time. He was also interested in pharmacology, herbalism and botany. For heartburn and digestive disorders, Sylvius mixed juniper berries, herbs and alcohol to create a medicine. According to legend, Sylvius marketed this medicine as Genever, for which the name Gin was later adopted in the British Isles, but not only used for medical purposes. Accordingly, the city of birth of Sylvius today calls itself a "birthplace of gin".

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) is underrepresented in the medical curriculum with 90% of medical students reporting no exposure to the specialty in medical school. This can result in clinicians having problems recognising emergency presentations, and referrals being made inappropriately. OMFS trainees delivered an educational simulation course on common OMFS pathologies to medical students, with theory and hands-on, high-fidelity simulations that covered anatomy, emergency presentations, and the training pathway. Delegates were assessed immediately before, immediately after, and six-weeks after the course. There were significant improvements in knowledge six weeks after the course, with mean scores improving by 23% for knowledge of anatomy (p

Ultrasound imaging modality is a tool used in clinical practice and is being introduced gradually in the undergraduate curriculum of several medical schools worldwide. This study aims to assess medical students' perception regarding the integration of ultrasound training as part of undergraduate education. A questionnaire was given to first-year medical students after a 2-hour-long session, which was developed to introduce them in the fundamental physics theory and function of ultrasound equipment in the clinical practice. Analysis of the results indicated that students acknowledged that ultrasound training would improve their knowledge of internal medicine (P = 0.027) and of different diagnostic modalities (P = 0.019), and enhance their medical decision making (P = 0.0004). Moreover, students found beneficial the ultrasound education regarding correlating clinical knowledge with basic sciences (P = 0.0004). The study pointed out that the majority of first-year students have the opinion that the integration of ultrasound training in the medical program is valuable in medical education and patient care. However, work is needed to determine how to provide an optimal learning environment and to assess the competency of the training sessions.

Migrant and ethnic communities face several challenges within healthcare systems as patients, physicians and medical students. For health inequalities to be addressed, changes need to be made within our healthcare systems, starting from how the medical curriculum is taught to prospective clinicians. In this article, we present twelve ways to challenge the difficulties migrant and ethnic minorities face in healthcare by incorporating patient, physician and medical student factors into the medical school curriculum and healthcare, in a hope to change outcomes for our widely diverse population of patients and colleagues.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need for improving public confidence in vaccines. Academic gaps and redundancies on vaccinations must be identified to revise the medical curriculum for up-to-date training of medical students. This cross-sectional survey assessed the status of vaccine-related teaching in general and specific to COVID-19 in medical schools across Germany. A total of 4313 medical students completed a questionnaire comprising items on national learning goals and perceived needs for teaching on vaccinations. Mixed methods were used to analyse data quantitatively for relative frequencies (%) and correlations between teaching items and semesters (Spearman’s rho), and qualitatively (content analysis). Our findings showed that 38.92% of the students were dissatisfied with teaching on vaccine-preventable diseases, but the perceived satisfaction increased in later semesters (r = 0.46, p < 0.001). Moreover, 75.84% and 68.15% of the students were dissatisfied with teaching related to vaccine scepticism and vaccine-related communication strategies, respectively. Furthermore, 63.79% reported dissatisfaction with teaching on COVID-19 disease and 72.93% with teaching on COVID-19 vaccines. A total of 79.12% stated they educated others on COVID-19 and its vaccines and 75.14% felt responsible to do so. A majority of the medical students were dissatisfied with teaching on dealing with vaccine scepticism, communication strategies and COVID-19 vaccines. We recommend practice-oriented vaccine education, especially for teaching communication skills to medical students.

In this article, we will discuss and analyse the implementation of a Students-as-Partners (SaP) initiative in a formal medical curriculum. Effective student-staff collaboration led to the development of student-centred lessons that were relevant and engaging, while improving student-staff relationships. In addition, student partners developed leadership and management skills, gained knowledge about educational pedagogies, and acquired metacognitive strategies to improve personal learning. Our experience highlights the important role that medical students can play in driving educational innovation and the immense potential for SaP initiatives to benefit students and staff.

Introduction: Considering the new medical curriculum program, we planned a non-Vivo model training program to teach the cutaneous flap's basic concepts. The purpose of this protocol is to create a basic flap training program for junior surgeons.Methods: Seven days before the presential meeting, the didactic material and a questionnaire (pre-test) to measure the theoretical knowledge will be sent to students. At the meeting day, we will discuss the basic concepts of the cutaneous flap (15 minutes). Then the participants will design and explain several cutaneous flaps design in an ethyl-vinyl-acetate foil (30min). After this training, they will go to the wet lab, and they will perform all the cutaneous flap in a porcine belly non-living model (30min). We will assess participant performance by applying a Global rate scale, confidence level scale (Likert scale) in three different periods (pre-test, immediately post-training, and three months after surgical training). We will analyze all data using non-parametric tests to learn about the efficacy of this method.Discussion: This program aims to increase the student's confidence level as this may reflect somehow his future competence. This study aims to present a step-wise learning method to teach the basic concepts of cutaneous flaps; this method will also help with the consolidation of the learning skills.

Objective: Active learning methods are an effective way to improve essential soft skills, such as critical thinking and social skills, and so medical educators frequently implement active learning approaches as a means to improve the soft skills of medical students. This study reports an improvement in the soft skills of medical students after the implementation of an active learning curriculum. Methods: More active learning activities were implemented in 2016 in the 3rd year medical class, involving 330 students. Overall, the number of hours devoted to active learning classes was increased from 340 hours (38.2%) in 2015 to 481 hours (59.98%) in 2016. To evaluate whether this led to any improvements in the soft skills of medical students, students undertaking the 3rd year course in the 2015 and 2016 academic years were asked to complete questionnaires to evaluate themselves (self-evaluation as well as four other students in their same study group (peer-evaluation) at the end of the academic year. The questionnaire responses from the 2015 and the 2016 groups were compared. Results: Most students believed there was no improvement in most of the evaluated soft skills during the year. However, students in the 2016 class showed improvements in eleven outcomes in the peer-evaluation: presentation, information, technology, creativity, communication, leadership, life planning, adaptability, self-sufficiency, courtesy, and punctuality (p < 0.05). The differences were not due to the students’ different background skills as the initial scores of most outcomes were identical between the two student groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Even without a proper design for teaching soft skills, active learning classes in a preclinical year of the medical curriculum may help improve some of the essential soft skills that medical practitioners need and, therefore, should be implemented in the medical curriculum.