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Richard Kasuya

Publications and source records attributed to Richard Kasuya.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Implementing an online curriculum management database in a problem-based learning curriculum.

Managing a medical school curriculum is a difficult challenge. The body of knowledge is large, diverse, and changing. Continuous oversight is required to ensure the proper balance of learning opportunities, to eliminate redundancies, and to fill in gaps. Within the context of the integrated problem-based learning curriculum at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), the authors describe a 2003 transition from a paper-based method of curriculum tracking to an online international database. The tool chosen, the Curriculum Management and Information Tool (CurrMIT), allows for myriad ways of entering data and structuring the curriculum, but presents unique challenges as well. The authors describe how this new tool was implemented at JABSOM, which included initial data entry by course directors, who provided close scrutiny of course content and took the opportunity to more closely align course objectives with course content. A keyword meta-data strategy was adopted to tag each curriculum element. Despite some difficulties, the resulting ease and accuracy of report generation has produced significant benefit to course directors and to the curriculum oversight committee, and has allowed even further improvement in the educational process. This strategy has been successfully adopted and adapted by other institutions.

Adult↗

Using standardized patients to assess the geriatrics medicine skills of medical students, internal medicine residents, and geriatrics medicine fellows.

PURPOSE: Medical schools and residency programs are placing additional emphasis on including clinical geriatrics competencies within their curricula. An eight-station, Geriatric Medicine Standardized Patient Examination (GSPX) was studied as a method to assess bedside geriatrics clinical skills over the continuum of medical education from medical school through residency and fellowship training. METHOD: The GSPX was administered to 39 medical students, 49 internal medicine residents, and 11 geriatrics medicine fellows in 2001-02. Reliability of standardized patient (SP) checklists and rating scales used to assess examinees' performance was measured by Cronbach's alpha. Validity was measured by surveying the examinees' assessment of fairness, individual case length, difficulty, and believability, and by faculty standard setting for each level of trainee. RESULTS: Reliability was high (alpha =.89). All levels of examinees found the SPs to be believable, station lengths to be adequate, and rated the GSPX as a fair assessment. Students rated the cases as more difficult. Previous experience with similar real patients increased significantly with level of training (Pearson's r =.48, p <.0001). Faculty set passing scores that increased from students to residents to fellows. However, GSPX scores decreased with level of training (r = -.25, p =.01). CONCLUSION: The GSPX is a reliable measure of geriatrics medicine skills with adequate face validity for examinees at all levels. However, GSPX scores did not increase with level of training, suggesting that a single form of the examination cannot be used across the continuum of training. Potential modifications to the GSPX that might provide more discrimination between levels of training are currently being explored.

Clinical Competence↗

Implementation and evaluation of a training program to improve resident teaching skills.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to develop, implement, and evaluate a program designed to improve residents' teaching skills. STUDY DESIGN: A training program to improve the teaching skills of obstetrics and gynecology residents was developed and implemented. All residents completed a survey of their teaching skills, participated in the program, and then completed a follow-up survey. The surveys were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Medical students also completed surveys about participating residents' teaching skills either before or after the intervention. RESULTS: The training program was well received by the residents. Resident self-rating scores significantly improved (P<.05) in a number of areas, such as ability to teach physical examination skills, and explaining topics in a clear and concise manner. Interestingly, student ratings of resident teaching skills did not improve. CONCLUSION: Although the training program improved resident self-ratings of teaching skills, this was not reflected in student ratings of resident teaching skills. Possible explanations for this difference will be explored.

Education↗

Acute myocardial infarction and Friedreich's ataxia.

While cardiac disease is noted in 90% of patients with Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA), the finding of coronary artery disease is unusual. To the best of our knowledge only two cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been reported in patients with FRDA. Large vessel CAD has not been reported previously in patients with FRDA. We report a young patient with AMI and obstruction of large epicardial arteries.

Acute Disease↗