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Aim: The Ages and Stages Questionnaire‐Talking about Raising Aboriginal Kids (ASQ‐TRAK) culturally adapted developmental screening tool is widely used in Australian Aboriginal communities. However, there has been limited exploration of the tool's acceptability to caregivers. The aim of the study is to determine the acceptability of the ASQ‐TRAK developmental screening tool to caregivers of Aboriginal children in urban, regional and remote South Australia. Methods: Caregivers of Aboriginal children completed a survey regarding acceptability of the ASQ‐TRAK. Convenience samples of caregivers were invited to a telephone interview. Results: Ninety‐two caregivers completed the survey (96% response). Acceptability (92%) and caregiver satisfaction (73%) were high. Families perceived the screen as easy to use and understand, strengths‐based and providing valuable information about their child's development. Conclusions: The ASQ‐TRAK tool was highly acceptable to caregivers in Aboriginal communities in South Australia. The study highlights the importance of culturally safe practice and supports ASQ‐TRAK implementation. Broader use and further evaluation of the ASQ‐TRAK in Aboriginal communities needs consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the relationship between conventional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with parents who use CAM, and to consider factors that may contribute to parent non-disclosure of CAM usage to their doctor. Methods: Thirty-three parents participated in one of seven focus groups. Transcripts were analysed using an iterative process of theme identification and testing against transcript data. Results: The participants believed they should trust their instincts as parents in caring for their child. It was important also to the participants that they understood why their child was ill, and a range of theories of health and illness were discussed. The use of CAM was attractive as it offered more options in health care than just relying on conventional medicine alone. The use of additional therapies was seen as a means to increase the likelihood that something would work. Many of the participants described bad experiences with doctors when they discussed CAM use previously so they had become more circumspect in mentioning it. The participants were most satisfied with medical care for their child when they felt the doctor respected their point of view and listened to them. Conclusions: Doctors caring for children and their families should expect that many parents are using CAM to increase health-care options. Enquires about CAM usage should be made in a non-judgemental and encouraging manner so parents feel comfortable in providing an honest answer. Advice to parents about CAM may need to be backed up with evidence to address differing parent understanding of illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: It is important that medical schools take some account of community expectations for health care when planning curricula. This is particularly important for emerging public health problems such as childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to explore parent attitudes to the role of the doctor in childhood obesity and implications for medical student learning. Methods: The views of eight mothers and one father were explored through interview. Transcripts were analysed using an iterative process of theme identification and testing against transcript data. A range of recruitment strategies were used in an attempt to increase participant numbers. Results: Participants believed doctors should support parent decisions about children's diet and life-style and be prepared to ‘step-in’ with a more active role when, in the parent's view, this was needed. Participants wanted doctors to provide advice on healthy nutrition, be proficient in child physical assessment and be able to communicate sensitively with both children and parents. Conclusion: Although the parents who agreed to be interviewed expressed views demonstrating their commitment to preventing and reducing childhood obesity, many other parents declined the invitation to contribute. It may be that parent concern within the broader community that childhood obesity is a real and significant health risk does not reflect the level of concern of the medical profession. The most likely implications for the teaching of medical students are a need for more comprehensive teaching around healthy diet and activity for all children, improved recognition of overweight and obesity and ongoing communication skills development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Although medical schools are encouraged to increase community involvement in medical student training, little information is available about how best to achieve this. While lay community members are not medical ‘experts’, as recipients of health care services they have vested interests in ensuring optimal health care for themselves and their families. This study explored and compared lay and faculty perceptions around lay participation in medical curriculum development at one medical school. Methods Thirty-two lay volunteers responded to a newspaper advertisement. Seventeen volunteers subsequently participated in 1 of 3 lay focus group discussions. Ten academic staff attended a separate faculty focus group. The 3 lay participants and 1 faculty focus group transcripts were analysed independently and then compared using an iterative process of theme identification and hypothesis testing. Results Contrasting perspectives of lay and faculty participants were evident in all aspects of the focus group discussions. For lay participants, some sharing of curriculum ownership by medical experts with the lay community was regarded as necessary to create environments that legitimised lay status and acknowledged the importance of lay perspectives. Faculty participants presumed ownership of curriculum development, giving rise to a paternalistic approach to controlling resources and an assumed responsibility (as experts) to define the parameters of lay participation. Conclusions The results of this study have highlighted many of the challenges inherent in the process of lay participation in medical curriculum development. A model is proposed to facilitate and promote lay participation in medical curriculum development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Little information is available on the intrarater reliability of parent ratings of medical student interview skills. The aim of this study was to compare maternal ratings of a videotaped medical student interview, with ratings by the same mother of the same interview seen a month later. Method Thirty mothers rated 1 of 2 ‘medical student’ interview videotapes (random allocation). An actor played the role of the student and demonstrated different student skill levels in each interview. Mothers rated the same interview again a month later (mean ± SD 34 ± 13 days). Maternal satisfaction was measured using the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale (MISS, maximum score 203) and the Interpersonal Skills Rating Scale (IPS, maximum score 91) with higher scores indicating higher satisfaction. Results No significant differences in mean maternal ratings were observed following the first and second viewings of each interview. The average percentage difference in first and second viewing scores was MISS 4%, IPS 8% with correlation coefficients MISS 0.96, IPS 0.87 ( P < 0.05). Conclusions The high levels of stability in maternal evaluations of simulated medical student interviews supports the use of maternal evaluations for longitudinal monitoring of medical student performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Assessment of medical student clinical skills is best carried out using multiple assessment methods. A programme was developed to obtain parent evaluations of medical student paediatric interview skills for feedback and to identify students at risk of poor performance in summative assessments. Method A total of 130 parent evaluations were obtained for 67 students (parent participation 72%, student participation 58%). Parents completed a 13-item questionnaire [Interpersonal Skills Rating Scale (IPS) maximum score 91, higher scores = higher student skill level]. Students received their individual parent scores and de-identified class mean scores as feedback, and participants were surveyed regarding the programme. Parent evaluation scores were compared with student performance in formative and summative faculty assessments of clinical interview skills. Results Parents supported the programme and participating students valued parent feedback. Students with a parent score that was less than 1 standard deviation (SD) below the class mean (low IPS score students) obtained lower faculty summative assessment scores than did other students (mean ± SD, 59% ± 5 versus 64% ± 7; P < 0.05). Obtaining 1 low IPS score was associated with a subsequent faculty summative assessment score below the class mean (sensitivity 0.38, specificity 0.88). Parent evaluations combined with faculty formative assessments identified 50% of students who subsequently performed below the class mean in summative assessments. Conclusions Parent evaluations provided useful feedback to students and identified 1 group of students at increased risk of weaker performance in summative assessments. They could be combined with other methods of formative assessment to enhance screening procedures for clinically weak students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical students develop the skills required to interview parents and children through practice and by receiving feedback. Parental perceptions of medical student skills in child health interviews can be used to enhance student learning. To integrate maternal perspectives of medical student interviews into student learning, and to compare student and maternal evaluations of simulated medical student interviews. A sample of 45 medical students viewed 2 standardised videotapes in which a ‘medical student’ interviewed the mother of a sick child. The videotapes demonstrated contrasting levels of ‘student’ clinical competence and patient-centredness. After each interview students were asked to rate their satisfaction and recall of information as if they were the mother in the interview. Student satisfaction was measured using the Interpersonal Skills Rating Scale (IPS). Recall of interview information was assessed by questionnaire, with student answers coded independently before analysis. Following both videotapes, students reviewed transcripts of the interviews and discussed their evaluations. Student responses were compared with maternal satisfaction and recall responses after viewing of the same videotapes. Student IPS ratings were higher following the high clinical competence, high patient-centred interview ( P < 0.0001). Student recall of specific information was greater for some items following the high clinical competence, high patient-centred interview, but was lower for others. Maternal and student satisfaction and recall were similar following the 2 interviews. Students and mothers agreed on the qualities of a successful interview. Experiencing an interview through the ‘eyes’ of a mother provided students with valuable insights regarding interview skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Providing feedback to medical students about their interviewing skills is an important component of teaching programmes. There is very little information about mothers’ views of medical student consultations in paediatrics, and in particular about what mothers consider to be the key elements of a successful consultation. Patient-centred interviewing is a model which emphasizes the active seeking of patient views. In association with appropriate clinical skills, it is reported to promote improved health outcomes. Objectives To examine whether greater medical student clinical competence and more frequent use of patient-centred techniques is associated with higher maternal satisfaction, higher maternal rating of the medical student’s interpersonal skills, and greater maternal recall of relevant diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Method Two standardized ‘medical student’ videotaped interviews were created based on actual senior medical student consultations. Interview A demonstrated both higher student clinical competence and higher patient-centredness compared with interview B. Both videotaped interviews were viewed and then rated, using a questionnaire, by 11 mothers attending a teaching general practice. Results Significantly higher mean scores, indicating greater maternal satisfaction, were associated with interview A (P < 0·01 for all measures). Accurate recall for diagnosis and management was also significantly greater after interview A (mean diagnosis recall, interview A 35%, interview B 14%, P < 0·01; mean management recall, interview A 95%, interview B 57%, P < 0·01). Conclusions Maternal satisfaction and recall were higher following a more clinically competent and patient-centred medical student interview. Maternal ratings of student interviews could be used as an additional method of assessment as well as providing feedback to medical students on their interview skills development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundInpatient teaching no longer reflects the full spectrum of paediatric practice and community-based programmes with clearly defined aims and evaluation of learning are becoming increasingly important. Competition for community resources poses threats to the delivery of effective community child health learning programmes by individual medical schools. ObjectivesTo develop and evaluate a combined inter-university, child-focused, active learning programme in community child health. MethodsA total of 55 postgraduate-entry medical students from the Flinders University of South Australia and 97 undergraduate-entry University of Adelaide students were placed with 25 community child health agencies and instructed to assess services from a client perspective by tracking one child and family through multiple agency contacts. Following each placement, achievement of specific programme aims was evaluated by students and agency staff using a 7-point Likert scale. ResultsStudents and agency staff indicated substantial achievement of programme aims. Mean agency ratings were significantly higher than student ratings for three aims: students’ experiencing a wider spectrum of health care problems than in teaching hospitals (5·7 ± 1·5 versus 4·9 ± 1·6, P < 0·001); the importance of social and environmental factors (5·9 ± 1·0 versus 5·2 ± 1·4, P < 0·001), and the importance of coordinating care (6·0 ± 1·0 versus 5·2 ± 1·2, P < 0·001). Ratings from undergraduate-entry students differed from those of postgraduate-entry students only with respect to the importance of social and environmental factors (4·8 ± 1·4 versus 5·7 ± 1·1, P < 0·001). ConclusionsThe new collaborative Community Child Health Programme substantially achieved learning aims and demonstrated effective integration of postgraduate- and undergraduate-entry medical students from two universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the processes for identifying and supporting students with poor academic performance. It informs that the faculty of health sciences at the University of Adelaide offers a variety of programmes which includes medicine, dentistry, health sciences and nursing. It states that assessment of student academic progress at different year levels in each of these programs is difficult due to large classes and differing progression requirements.

The article informs that introducing lay participation into activities such as determining medical student learning goals, teaching and assessment methods, or evaluation parameters will represent a major shift in practice for medical schools. Many schools have recently undergone major curriculum revisions and may be slow to embrace further change. In future, the lay community will become increasingly dissatisfied with a lack of participation in the medical curriculum. The ethos of lay participation suggests that medical schools should be accountable to their communities for achieving successful models of lay participation in medical curriculum development.

Background: Medical students develop the skills required to interview parents and children through practice and by receiving feedback. Parental perceptions of medical student skills in child health interviews can be used to enhance student learning., Objectives: To integrate maternal perspectives of medical student interviews into student learning, and to compare student and maternal evaluations of simulated medical student interviews., Methods: A sample of 45 medical students viewed 2 standardised videotapes in which a 'medical student' interviewed the mother of a sick child. The videotapes demonstrated contrasting levels of 'student' clinical competence and patient-centeredness. After each interview students were asked to rate their satisfaction and recall of information as if they were the mother in the interview. Student satisfaction was measured using the Interpersonal Skills Rating Scale (IPS). Recall of interview information was assessed by questionnaire, with student answers coded independently before analysis. Following both videotapes, students reviewed transcripts of the interviews and discussed their evaluations. Student responses were compared with maternal satisfaction and recall responses after viewing of the same videotapes., Results: Student IPS ratings were higher following the high clinical competence, high patient-centred interview (P < 0.0001). Student recall of specific information was greater for some items following the high clinical competence, high patient-centred interview, but was lower for others. Maternal and student satisfaction and recall were similar following the 2 interviews., Conclusion: Students and mothers agreed on the qualities of a successful interview. Experiencing an interview through the 'eyes' of a mother provided students with valuable insights regarding interview skills.