No abstract

Background As ultrasound has become increasingly prominent in medicine, portable ultrasound is perceived as the visual stethoscope of the twenty-first century. Many studies have shown that exposing preclinical students to ultrasound training can increase their motivation and ultrasound competency. However, few studies have discussed the effect of ultrasound training on anatomy learning. Method The Parallel Ultrasound Hands-on (PUSH) course was designed to investigate whether or not ultrasonography training affects anatomy knowledge acquisition. The PUSH course included anatomical structures located in the chest and abdomen (target anatomy) and was conducted in parallel to the compulsory gross anatomy course. Learners (n = 140) voluntarily participated in this elective course (learners in the course before the midterm examination (Group 1, n = 69), or after the midterm examination (Group 2, n = 71)). Anatomy examination scores (written and laboratory tests) were utilized to compare the effects of the PUSH course. Result Group 1 obtained significantly higher written test scores on the midterm examination (mean difference [MD] = 1.5(7.6%), P = 0.014, Cohen’s d = 0.43). There was no significant difference in the final examination scores between the two groups (Written Test: MD = 0.3(1.6%), P = 0.472). In Laboratory test, both mid-term (MD:0.7(2.8%), P = 0.308) and final examination (MD:0.3(1.5%), P = 0.592) showed no significant difference between two groups. Students provided positive feedback in overall learning self-efficacy after the PUSH course (Mean = 3.68, SD = ±0.56 on a 5-point Likert scale). Learning self-efficacy in the cognitive domain was significantly higher than that in the affective domain (MD = 0.58; P < 0.001) and psychomotor domain (MD = 0.12; P = 0.011). Conclusion The PUSH course featured a hands-on learning design that empowered medical students to improve their anatomy learning.

Background Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the most common sexually transmitted infectious disease and carries a risk of complications. However, the optimal treatment for rectal chlamydial infection remains unclear. Objectives To compare the efficacy of doxycycline and azithromycin for the treatment of rectal chlamydia by undertaking a systematic review and meta-analysis of published data. Methods We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and clinicaltrials.gov databases from inception to 7 July 2021 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies that compared the efficacy of doxycycline and single-dose azithromycin on rectal chlamydia cure rates. Data were synthesized using a random-effects model, and subgroup analysis was conducted. Results All included studies were conducted in developed countries. Two RCTs and nine observational studies, with a total of 2457 patients, were analysed. Doxycycline had a higher microbiological cure rate than azithromycin (risk ratio = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.15–1.28; P &lt; 0.05). Pooled results from two RCTs also revealed a higher microbiological cure rate for doxycycline than azithromycin (risk ratio = 1.27; 95% CI = 1.20–1.35; P &lt; 0.05). The results remained consistent in subgroups of different study designs, countries and sexes. Conclusions On the basis of our findings, we recommend doxycycline rather than azithromycin as a first-line treatment for rectal chlamydia in developed countries. More RCTs from developing countries are warranted.

Background Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become a hot issue and trend in medical education in recent years. Ultrasound is an indispensable skill for clinical physicians. Previous studies have already discussed the importance of and advancements in ultrasound education. However, learning motivations with regard to ultrasound education have seldom been discussed in the literature. For medical students, learning ultrasound could have a strong connection with their future career. ERG theory extended Maslow's hierarchy of needs through the concepts of existence, relatedness, and growth. The theory has been widely used in the workplace to analyze employee job performance but has not been applied in medical education. As mentioned above, we seek to analyze pre-clinical medical students’ learning motivation toward ultrasound education with regard to their future careers by applying ERG theory. Method This mixed method design used questionnaires for data collection. We also produced further qualitative and quantitative results. The research team asked learners neutral and open-ended questions. After data collection, three steps for analysis were followed based on grounded theory. Finally, the results of the thematic coding were used to complete the quantitative analysis. Results Our study involved 140 pre-clinical medical students, and their responses fell into 13 categories. Our test showed that students’ motivations toward ultrasound learning were unbalanced across the three ERG domains (F = 41.257, p < .001). Pairwise comparisons showed that students mentioned existence motivation (MD = 39.3%; p < .001) and growth motivation (MD = 40.7%; p < .001) more than relatedness motivation. However, there was no significant difference between existence motivation and growth motivation (MD = -1.4%; p = .830). Conclusion Based on our survey, first, we found that students placed a high value on existence and growth needs rather than relatedness. In addition, we recommend that ERG theory be applied in medical education motivation analysis.

No abstract