Use of Simulated Electronic Mail (E-mail) to Assess Medical Student Knowledge, Professionalism, and Communication Skills

Christner, Jennifer; Stansfield, R. Brent; Schiller, Jocelyn; Madenci, Arin L.; Keefer, Patricia; Pituch, Ken

doi:10.1097/acm.0b013e3181ed45f8

Cited by 16 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This response rate is within the typical range for similar surveys of medical students [20–22]. The number of surveys analyzed is also well within the acceptable range for a qualitative study.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 71%

Perceived Barriers and Facilitators for an Academic Career in Geriatrics: Medical Students’ Perspectives

et al. 2014

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Objective There is a growing concern about a shortage of physician scientists. This problem is particularly severe in certain subspecialties such as geriatrics in general and geriatric psychiatry in particular. This study sought to obtain medical students’ perspectives on barriers and facilitators toward pursuing a career in academics and/or in geriatric psychiatry or medicine. Methods The study surveyed 27 first-year medical students from six US medical schools, who had demonstrated a clear interest in academic geriatrics by completing a mentored summer research training program in geriatric medicine or geriatric psychiatry, funded by the National Institute on Aging. The survey included open-ended and close-ended questions about likely career choice and factors affecting it. Results Sixty percent of students reported they were likely to pursue an academic career, 44% a career in geriatric psychiatry or medicine, and only 36% a career in academic geriatrics. The most frequently perceived barriers were a lack of knowledge about academic careers and lack of exposure to geriatrics, financial concerns due to loan debts and low compensation, and negative impressions of research and of working with older adults. Facilitators included positive experiences with or positive impressions of research and research mentors and of older adults, and the growing demand for geriatric care. Conclusions Attracting capable and motivated medical students to academic careers in fields such as geriatric psychiatry or medicine should be a priority in seeking to expand the numbers of physician scientists and to add to the healthcare workforce in underserved subspecialty areas. Necessary approaches should include opportunities to work in academic settings, availability of sustained and dedicated mentorship, early, consistent, and positive exposure to older adults, and financial incentives.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 71%

Perceived Barriers and Facilitators for an Academic Career in Geriatrics: Medical Students’ Perspectives

et al. 2014

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“…Emails have become commonplace in doctors’ routine work, including communicating with their patients, obtaining consultations from other specialists, and collaborating with other researchers on scholarly projects [ 1 ]. Similarly, emails are commonly used in medical education as the usual method of communication between faculty members and students and sometimes they are even developed as a teaching tool to cultivate communication skills or professionalism [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Etiquette for medical students’ email communication with faculty members: a single-institution study

et al. 2016

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BackgroundEmail is widely used as a means of communication between faculty members and students in medical education because of its practical and educational advantages. However, because of the distinctive nature of medical education, students’ inappropriate email etiquette may adversely affect their learning as well as faculty members’ perception of them. Little data on medical students’ competency in professional email writing is available; therefore, this study explored the strengths and weaknesses of medical students’ email etiquette and factors that contribute to professional email writing.MethodsA total of 210 emails from four faculty members at Seoul National University College of Medicine were collected. An evaluation criteria and a scoring rubric were developed based on the various email-writing guidelines. The rubric comprised 10 items, including nine items for evaluation related to the email components and one item for the assessment of global impression of politeness. Three evaluators independently assessed all emails according to the criteria.ResultsStudents were identified as being 61.0 % male and 52.8 % were in the undergraduate-entry program. The sum of each component score was 62.21 out of 100 and the mean value for global impression was 2.6 out of 4. The results demonstrated that students’ email etiquettes remained low-to-mediocre for most criteria, except for readability and honorifics. Three criteria, salutation (r=0.668), closing (r=0.653), and sign-off (r=0.646), showed a strong positive correlation with the global impression of politeness. Whether a student entered a graduate-entry program or an undergraduate-entry program significantly contributed to professional email writing after other variables were controlled.ConclusionsAlthough students in the graduate-entry program demonstrated a relatively superior level of email etiquette, the majority of medical students did not write emails professionally. Educating all medical students in email etiquette may well contribute to the improvement of student–faculty relationships as well as their email writing.

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“…For this study, clear guidance was provided for students on ‘netiquette’ to ensure communication was clear and effective. The “tone” of an e‐mail (or discussion post) can be misinterpreted (Christner et al,2010) and may prove to be disastrous when communicating to colleagues or patients. Effective use of such media is very important (Dy et al,2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of electronic media to develop transferable skills in science students studying anatomy

Choudhury¹,

Gouldsborough²

2012

Anatomical Sciences Ed

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Transferable skills such as team working, communication, information gathering, critical thinking, and peer assessment are essential for graduates seeking employment in the competitive jobs market. Use of online discussion boards have grown to allow students to communicate with each other at a time and location of their choosing. This study aimed to develop transferable skills using specially developed online components supported by discussion boards and chat rooms. Students enrolled in the Human Anatomy and Histology module at the University of Manchester were put into groups of six or seven students (26 groups in total). Two e-learning components were constructed to develop transferable skills. Each group had a discussion board and chat room available to assist communication in completion of the components. Peer marking was also done on this media. Data collected showed the discussion boards were heavily utilized (average number of posts per group was 48). Eighty-three percent of students found the discussion boards useful to complete the tasks. Students felt their team building and critical analysis skills had improved. Peer assessment was well received by students. Using online discussion boards proved an excellent way to develop transferable skills in a large group of science students.

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Use of Simulated Electronic Mail (E-mail) to Assess Medical Student Knowledge, Professionalism, and Communication Skills

Abstract: Communicating effectively with patients via e-mail is not intuitive but can be taught. It is feasible to introduce responses to a simulated e-mail case in a clinical clerkship as an assessment tool.

Cited by 16 publications

References 13 publications

Perceived Barriers and Facilitators for an Academic Career in Geriatrics: Medical Students’ Perspectives

Perceived Barriers and Facilitators for an Academic Career in Geriatrics: Medical Students’ Perspectives

Etiquette for medical students’ email communication with faculty members: a single-institution study

The use of electronic media to develop transferable skills in science students studying anatomy

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