Background Despite explicit policies and reporting mechanisms in academia designed to prevent harassment and ensure respectful environments, sexual harassment persists. We report on a national survey of Canadian medical students' experiences of sexual harassment perpetrated by faculty, patients and peers, their responses to harassment, and their suggestions for improving the learning environment. Methods With ethics approval from all 17 Canadian universities with medical schools, an invitation to participate in an anonymous, electronic survey was included in three Canadian Federation of Medical Students' newsletters (2016). Narrative information about sexual harassment during medical training, perpetrators, ways of coping, sources of support, formal and informal reporting/discussion, and suggestions for change was sought. Three authors then conducted a qualitative analysis and identified emergent themes. Findings When asked to estimate the number of occurrences of SH experienced during medical school, 188 students reported 807 incidents perpetrated by peers, patients, and, to a lesser extent, faculty. Perpetrators were almost always men and 98% of victims were women. What emerged was a picture of social, educational, and individual conditions under which sexual harassment becomes normalised by faculty, peers and victims. Students often tried to ignore harassment despite finding it confusing, upsetting, and embarrassing. They offered strategies for schools to raise awareness, support students, and prevent or mitigate harms going forward. Interpretation Sexual harassment is a part of the Canadian medical education environment where most who reported harassment are subject to the dual vulnerabilities of being learners and women. Although survey respondents recognised the systemic nature of the problem, as individuals they often described shame and self-blame when victimised, came up with solutions that implied they were the problem, and often reported thinking silence was less risky than confrontation or official reporting. Many participants believed in the transformative power of education – of themselves and faculty – as a means of improving the medical environment whilst we await social change.
Exploring the perceived environment where students are educated, as well as where they practice, is particularly important for educators and practitioners working in situations of interprofessional rural and remote health. In this study, we explored the perceptions of undergraduate medical students regarding interprofessionalism across their four-year undergraduate program which focuses on rural health. A thematic content analysis of the text-data was conducted on a convenience sample of 47 student responses to essay questions across four cohorts of a four-year undergraduate medical program. The medical program has an explicit social accountability mandate for responsiveness to the needs of a rural population and thus students have multiple opportunities to experience interprofessional education and collaboration in rural contexts. Participants reported (a) blurring and flexibility of roles in a primarily positive manner, (b) participating in unstructured interprofessional learning and collaboration, (c) experiencing the importance of social connections to interprofessional collaboration and learning, and (d) realisations that interprofessional collaboration is a means of overcoming barriers in rural areas. We discuss our findings using the socio-material perspective of complexity theory. These findings may be used to inform undergraduate programs in re-defining, re-creating, developing, and fostering interprofessional learning opportunities for medical students in rural communities as well as to support clinical faculty through ongoing professional development.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons have specific healthcare needs, and experience unique barriers in accessing health services. Research has suggested that medical practitioners are inadequately prepared to address the needs of the LGBT population. While some strategies for training such practitioners within medical schools have been proposed, few have been evaluated, and the best approach to training physicians in LGBTfocused care has yet to be determined. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of the LGBT-focused curriculum currently delivered at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, specifically in terms of its perceived contribution to students' understanding of LGBT health issues. Results showed that the curriculum introduced at NOSM was effective in increasing knowledge medical students had on LGBT health issues regardless of their preexisting level of awareness of LGBT health issues. Further, the study found that the level of experience and expertise of the facilitator helping deliver the curriculum was key in achieving this educational goal. We also evaluated three assessment modalities (Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), and Clinical Decision-Making Cases (CDM)) for validity and reliability in testing the course objectives. Results indicate that outcomes can be reliably assessed by these three types of assessments.
ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a 1-day evidence-based medicine (EBM) workshop on physician attitudes and behaviours around teaching and practicing EBM.DesignA mixed methods study using a before/after cohort.SettingA medical school delivering continuing professional development to 1250 clinical faculty over a large geographic area in Canada.Participants105 physician clinical faculty members.InterventionA 1-day workshop presented at 11 different sites over an 18-month period focusing on EBM skills for teaching and clinical practice.Outcome measures(1) A quantitative survey administered immediately before and after the workshop, and 3–6 months later, to assess the hypothesis that comfort with teaching and practising EBM can be improved.(2) A qualitative survey of the expectations for, and impact of the workshop on, participant behaviours and attitudes using a combination of pre, post and 3 to 6-month follow-up questionnaires, and telephone interviews completed 10–14 months after the workshop.ResultsPhysician comfort with their EBM clinical skills improved on average by 0.93 points on a 5-point Likert scale, and comfort with EBM teaching skills by 0.97 points (p values 0.001). Most of this improvement was sustained 3–6 months later. Three to fourteen months after the workshop, half of responding participants reported that they were using the Population Intervention Comparator Outcome (PICO) methodology of question framing for teaching, clinical practice or both.ConclusionsComfort in teaching and practicing EBM can be improved by a 1-day workshop, with most of this improvement sustained 3–6 months later. PICO question framing can be learnt at a 1-day workshop, and is associated with a self-reported change in clinical and teaching practice 3–14 months later. This represents both level 2 (attitudes) and level 3 (behaviours) change using the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation.
\ follow-up study was performed in a group of 77 children who were considered to be "neurological high risk" patients during their neonatal period. \ control group of 24 children was equally studied. Development was evaluated in both groups using the R. Griffith's "Mental Development Test", the results being expressed in 4 developmental levels: normal, mild, moderate and profound retardation. Development was found to be normal in 20183.3^) and mildly retarded in 4116.7^ I of children in the control group. In the high risk group there were 55 normal children I71.4T). 10 were mildly retarded i\'i r i). 9 cases 111.7^) has moderate, and 3 l3.9 r r) had profound developmental retardation. Results in the study group did not differ significantly from those in the control group. Developmental levels in children whose birth weight was under 1 501 gr) 56 cases), with low birth weight for their gestational age (23 children!, or who had neonatal hypoglycemia (22 cases) were not significantly different from the control group. However development was found to be normal in 89.7^ of children whose families had a high or intermediate socioeconomic level and only in 52.6*~f of those from lower socioeconomic level. The difference between these two subgroups was significant.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.