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Biomedical subjects

S Mennin

Publications and source records attributed to S Mennin.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

University and practice-based physicians' input on the content of a surgical curriculum.

BACKGROUND: The specific knowledge and skills students learn during surgical rotations are reconsidered in light of recent changes in medical school curricula. The purpose of this study was to determine the priorities of a surgical curriculum based on input from three groups; surgical faculty (SF), primary care faculty (PCF), and community-based , practicing primary care physicians (PCP). METHODS: A questionnaire was developed in which SF (n=54), PCF (n=85), and PCP (n=876) were asked to rank the importance of 145 areas of knowledge and 48 areas of clinical skills on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Responses were rank ordered by the mean of importance ratings for each group. Differences among groups were evaluated using ANOVA. RESULTS: Response rates were best for faculty (100%) SF, 88% PCF, 61% PCP). All three groups were best considered general surgery related topics and general skills very important. Primary care physicians and PCF consistently ranked otolaryngology, ophthalmology, and orthopedic topics and skills higher than did SF. Surgery faculty ranked invasive surgical procedures higher than did PCP while PCP ranked orthopedic procedural skills more highly. CONCLUSIONS: There is significant overlap among physicians about what medical students should learn during surgical rotation. Differences between groups centered on surgical subspecialty knowledge and clinical skills. These results provide a broad perspective about required subjects for a core surgical clerkship curriculum, which should include surgical subspecialty training.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1989

The New Mexico experiment: educational innovation and institutional change.

Over the past ten years the University of New Mexico School of Medicine has conducted an educational experiment featuring learner-centered, problem-based, community-oriented learning. The experiment was introduced into an established institution by means of an innovative educational track running parallel to the more conventional curriculum. Students in the innovative track, compared with those in the conventional tract, tended to score lower on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Part I examination (basic sciences) and higher on NBME Part II (clinical sciences), received higher clinical grades on clinical clerkships, and experienced less distress. They were more likely than conventional-track students to retain their initial interest in or switch their preference to careers in family medicine. The parallel-track strategy for introducing curriculum reform succeeded in fostering institutional acceptance of continuing educational innovation. Generic steps in overcoming institutional barriers to change are identified.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1982

Teaching clinical skills to pre-clinical medical students: integration with basic science learning.

Clinical skills are usually learned by pre-clinical students in a manner divorced from their basic science foundations. The value of previously learned basic sciences thus fails to be re-enforced. A clinical skills course was developed for an experimental curriculum of medical students in their first year. It was organized and taught by a team of basic and clinical scientists and emphasized the basic pathophysiological principles underlying clinical skills. Sessions were supported by related basic science audiovisual resources and a series of clinical problems with questions obliging the student to reason through basic-science mechanisms. Over the span of the course, students' interest shifted dramatically from a focus on proficiency in motor skills to an understanding of basic pathophysiological mechanisms underlying observed phenomena. Compared to conventional curriculum students, those in the experimental curriculum failed to show a diminution in perceived value of basic sciences in their future career and, on cumulative, cognitive examinations, scored equally in basic science, but significantly higher in clinical science subjects. A clinical skills course integrating both teachers and concepts from basic, as well as clinical sciences can improve student attitudes toward basic sciences.

Clinical Competence↗