BackgroundThe students’ conceptions of learning in postgraduate health science master studies are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to compare the factors influencing conceptions of learning in health sciences and non-health sciences students enrolled in postgraduate master programs in order to obtain information that may be useful for students and for future postgraduate programs.MethodsA modified version of the Learning Inventory Conception Questionnaire (COLI) was used to compare students’ conception learning factors in 131 students at the beginning of their postgraduate studies in health sciences, experimental sciences, arts and humanities and social sciences.ResultsThe present study demonstrates that a set of factors may influence conception of learning of health sciences postgraduate students, with learning as gaining information, remembering, using, and understanding information, awareness of duty and social commitment being the most relevant. For these students, learning as a personal change, a process not bound by time or place or even as acquisition of professional competences, are less relevant. According to our results, this profile is not affected by gender differences.ConclusionsOur results show that the overall conceptions of learning differ among students of health sciences and non-health sciences (experimental sciences, arts and humanities and social sciences) master postgraduate programs. These finding are potentially useful to foster the learning process of HS students, because if they are metacognitively aware of their own conception or learning, they will be much better equipped to self-regulate their learning behavior in a postgraduate master program in health sciences.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-018-1227-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Advanced therapies are increasingly demanded by patients with the intent of treating some incurable conditions. Because family medicine professionals play an important role as health educators, their residency programs should incorporate new knowledge related to advanced therapies. To successfully implement these programs, how family medicine residents perceive these therapies should be investigated. The main components of perception, i.e. conceptual, procedural and attitudinal, refer to knowledge, skills and feelings, respectively. Methods and findings We designed a specific questionnaire to assess the components of perceptions of advanced therapies in 300 medical residents enrolled in the Spanish National Family Medicine Residency Program. Each component consisted of 4 or 5 topics and each topic contained 6 items. Respondents scored highest in the procedural component (average 4.12±1.00), followed by the attitudinal (3.94±1.07) and conceptual component (3.04±1.43). Differences among the three components were statistically significant (p<0.00017). Family medicine residents perceived that procedures to implement advanced therapies are well established, especially their application. However, they felt their cognitive background was insufficient to respond efficiently to the expectations generated by these new therapeutic tools, especially in the regulatory framework. High awareness of the risks and limitations of these treatments was reflected by residents’ preference for clinically tested therapies. Although they appropriately situated treatment with these therapies within hospital care, they associated the biofabrication of novel products with research centers, although these therapeutic tools can be produced in different facilities. Conclusions These results are potentially useful for designing future training programs and health policies for family medicine residents, and suggest the need to implement specific training programs in advanced therapies at the conceptual, procedural and attitudinal level.

Identificación de las concepciones de aprendizaje en estudiantes de postgrado de ciencias de la salud y ciencias sociales ResumenObjetivo: En el presente trabajo hemos realizado un estudio comparativo entre las concepciones de aprendizaje de alumnos de posgrado que realizan un máster en el área de las ciencias de la salud y un máster en el área de las ciencias sociales, con el objetivo de examinar las concepciones de aprendizaje de ambos grupos. Métodos: Con el objeto de evaluar las concepciones de aprendizaje de los alumnos, se aplica la encuesta COLI (Conceptions of Learning Inventory) modificada "ad hoc" para incorporar las competencias de estudios de posgrado. La muestra consta de un total de 41 estudiantes, 22 pertenecientes a un máster del área de salud y 19 a un máster de ciencias sociales. El estudio de los distintos ítems se lleva a cabo con una escala de Likert de 7 niveles y posteriormente se realiza un análisis estadístico de los datos mediante el método Anova. Resultados: El estudio realizado demuestra la existencia de diferencias significativas en las concepciones de aprendizaje en los alumnos de ambos programas en relación con la obtención de información, el recuerdo, uso y comprensión de la información y la adquisición de competencias. Conclusiones: Estas diferencias deben ser tenidas en cuenta para planificar el desarrollo de este tipo de programas. AbstractObjective: In this study we carried out a comparative study between posgraduate students conducting a master's degree in the area of health sciences and students conducting a master's degree in the area of social sciences, in order to examine the conceptions of learning in both groups. Methods: In order to evaluate the conceptions of learning, the COLI (Conceptions of Learning Inventory) survey modified "ad hoc" to evaluate the component "learning as acquisition of competence" is applied. The sample consists of a total of 41 students, 22 belonging to a master in the health area and 19 to a master of social sciences. The study of the different items is carried out with a Likert scale of 7 levels and then a statistical analysis of the data using ANOVA test was performed. Results: The study shows significant differences in conceptions of learning in students of both programs regarding to the different components: obtaining information, memory, use and understanding of information and the acquisition of competences Conclusions: These differences should be taken into account in planning and implementing such programs.