Abstract:BackgroundTeaching the steps of evidence-based medicine (EBM) to undergraduate as well as postgraduate health care professionals is crucial for implementation of effective, beneficial health care practices and abandonment of ineffective, harmful ones. Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa, offers a 12-week, completely online module on EBM within the Family Medicine division, to medical specialists in their first year of training. The aim of this study was to formatively evaluate this module; asses… Show more
“…Recent years have seen a surge in the number of online courses offered to healthcare professionals. Courses being offered online come with the advantage of offering clinicians more flexibility in reaching their continued professional development goals and have been reported as successfully leading to improvements in both knowledge and skill (Bello et al, 2005;Hopper & Johns, 2007;Hugenholtz et al, 2008;Rohwer et al, 2013). This paper details the expectations, concerns, and experience of 19 students enrolled on an online postgraduate certificate in Clinical Exercise.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…What is perhaps most interesting about the student expectations was that students expressed an expectation that the knowledge gained would lead to an improvement in their prescription skills. It has been shown that fully online courses imparting knowledge can lead to an improvement in clinician skills (Bello et al, 2005;Edrich et al, 2016;Rohwer et al, 2013).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Many, but not all, courses involving the acquisition of skills have taken a blended learning approach, combining both traditional and e-learning methodologies in order to optimise face-toface time to impart skills. While the literature would suggest that blended learning is effective at undergraduate level, students at postgraduate level can be successful at enhancing both their knowledge and practical skills through online learning alone (Rohwer et al, 2013). Few studies have examined the efficacy of teaching clinical skills through e-learning alone.…”
The use of online learning in postgraduate teaching has increased dramatically in recent years. Health-care professionals can benefit from the flexibility afforded by online learning to fulfil their continuing professional development goals. Understanding student expectations, concerns, and experiences of such courses is crucial for the development and successful facilitation of this education modality. The aim of this paper was to examine student perspectives of an online postgraduate certificate in clinical exercise prescription. A set of recommendations based on these findings was also created which may serve to inform those involved in online education.Students expressed their expectations and concerns about taking the course before it began, and completed surveys on their experience after module completion. A multi-method approach using both qualitative content analysis and quantitative survey analysis was used to analyze student responses on the online modules in the virtual learning environment.Students (n = 19) had a combination of academic, personal, and clinical expectations entering the course. Concerns entering the course included ability to reach academic standards set by the course due to personal circumstances or lack of academic ability; the ability to manage time and workload; and the online nature of the course. Students felt supported throughout the course, although some had difficulties keeping up with the workload or managing their time. Results of this study can be used to inform the structure and coordination of online modules, in particular in the postgraduate healthcare setting.
“…Recent years have seen a surge in the number of online courses offered to healthcare professionals. Courses being offered online come with the advantage of offering clinicians more flexibility in reaching their continued professional development goals and have been reported as successfully leading to improvements in both knowledge and skill (Bello et al, 2005;Hopper & Johns, 2007;Hugenholtz et al, 2008;Rohwer et al, 2013). This paper details the expectations, concerns, and experience of 19 students enrolled on an online postgraduate certificate in Clinical Exercise.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…What is perhaps most interesting about the student expectations was that students expressed an expectation that the knowledge gained would lead to an improvement in their prescription skills. It has been shown that fully online courses imparting knowledge can lead to an improvement in clinician skills (Bello et al, 2005;Edrich et al, 2016;Rohwer et al, 2013).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Many, but not all, courses involving the acquisition of skills have taken a blended learning approach, combining both traditional and e-learning methodologies in order to optimise face-toface time to impart skills. While the literature would suggest that blended learning is effective at undergraduate level, students at postgraduate level can be successful at enhancing both their knowledge and practical skills through online learning alone (Rohwer et al, 2013). Few studies have examined the efficacy of teaching clinical skills through e-learning alone.…”
The use of online learning in postgraduate teaching has increased dramatically in recent years. Health-care professionals can benefit from the flexibility afforded by online learning to fulfil their continuing professional development goals. Understanding student expectations, concerns, and experiences of such courses is crucial for the development and successful facilitation of this education modality. The aim of this paper was to examine student perspectives of an online postgraduate certificate in clinical exercise prescription. A set of recommendations based on these findings was also created which may serve to inform those involved in online education.Students expressed their expectations and concerns about taking the course before it began, and completed surveys on their experience after module completion. A multi-method approach using both qualitative content analysis and quantitative survey analysis was used to analyze student responses on the online modules in the virtual learning environment.Students (n = 19) had a combination of academic, personal, and clinical expectations entering the course. Concerns entering the course included ability to reach academic standards set by the course due to personal circumstances or lack of academic ability; the ability to manage time and workload; and the online nature of the course. Students felt supported throughout the course, although some had difficulties keeping up with the workload or managing their time. Results of this study can be used to inform the structure and coordination of online modules, in particular in the postgraduate healthcare setting.
“…The five key competencies mirror the five steps of EBHC, namely i) formulating an answerable question based on clinical uncertainty; ii) finding the best available evidence to answer this question; iii) critically appraising and interpreting the evidence; iv) applying the results in the clinical setting; and v) evaluating the performance [3]. We discussed these proposed competencies with other faculty members and external experts before finalising them (Figure 1) [7]. Figure 1
Undergraduate enabling and key EBHC competencies.…”
BackgroundThis paper describes the process, our experience and the lessons learnt in doing document reviews of health science curricula. Since we could not find relevant literature to guide us on how to approach these reviews, we feel that sharing our experience would benefit researchers embarking on similar projects.MethodsWe followed a rigorous, transparent, pre-specified approach that included the preparation of a protocol, a pre-piloted data extraction form and coding schedule. Data were extracted, analysed and synthesised. Quality checks were included at all stages of the process.ResultsThe main lessons we learnt related to time and project management, continuous quality assurance, selecting the software that meets the needs of the project, involving experts as needed and disseminating the findings to relevant stakeholders.ConclusionA complete curriculum evaluation comprises, apart from a document review, interviews with students and lecturers to assess the learnt and taught curricula respectively. Rigorous methods must be used to ensure an objective assessment.
“…There has also been improved access to evidence through the HINARI initiative [24], and free one-click access to the Cochrane Library for people in many African countries. Furthermore, postgraduate and continuing professional development courses in EBHC are increasing whether measured in the number of programmes or the number of enrollees [25,26]. In 2012, the signing of the Kigali declaration on EBHC [27] by representatives from academe, hospitals, NGOs and research institutions from nine African countries, forming part of the Collaboration for Evidence based Health in Africa, signalled a key milestone in the recognition of EBHC and the momentum for moving towards the implementation of evidence based practices (Box).…”
Africa has high disease burden and health system challenges but is making progress in recognizing, accepting, and adopting evidence-based health care (EBHC). In this article, we reflect on the developments of the past 2 decades and consider further steps that will help with the translation of reliable research results into the decision making process. There has been a rapid growth in various initiatives to promote EBHC in the African region. These include the conduct and reporting of primary and secondary research, research capacity development and supportive initiatives, access to information, and work with decision makers in getting research into clinical guidelines and health policies. Much, however, still needs to be done to improve the impact on health in the region. A multipronged approach consisting of regionally relevant well-conducted research addressing priority health problems, increased uptake of research in health care policy and practice, dedicated capacity development initiatives to support the conduct as well as use of research, facilitated by wider collaboration, and equitable partnerships will be important. Working together in mutually supporting partnerships is key to advancing both evidence-informed health care practices and better health.
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