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Biomedical subjects

W Woloschuk

Publications and source records attributed to W Woloschuk.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

The influence of objectives, learning experiences and examination blueprint on medical students' examination preparation.

BACKGROUND: The influence of intended and informal curricula on examination preparation has not been extensively studied. This study aims to firstly describe how students utilized components of intended and informal curricula to guide examination preparation, and secondly to study the relationship between examination preparation and performance. METHODS: Students received a pre-examination questionnaire to identify components from the intended curriculum (objectives and examination blueprint), and informal curriculum (content emphasised during lectures and small groups), used during examination preparation. Multiple logistic regression was used to study the relationship between these variables and student performance (above versus at or below average). RESULTS: Eighty-one students participated. There was no difference in the proportions using the examination blueprint, content emphasised during lectures, and content emphasised during small groups (87-93%) but fewer students used objectives (35%, p < 0.001). Objectives use was associated with reduced odds of above average examination performance (adjusted odds ratio 0.27 [0.07, 0.97], p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: When preparing for the renal course examination, students were influenced at least as much by the informal as the intended curriculum. Of the two intended curriculum components, the examination blueprint appeared to be more widely used than the course objectives. This decreased use of objectives on examination preparation did not appear to have a detrimental effect on student performance.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Use of scheme-based problem solving: an evaluation of the implementation and utilization of schemes in a clinical presentation curriculum.

CONTEXT: The University of Calgary has implemented a new curriculum which is organized according to 120 ways in which patients may present to a physician. Students are taught scheme-based problem solving rather than the more typical hypothetico-deductive or search and scan approach to problem resolution. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to determine the extent to which faculty and students were implementing and utilizing scheme-based problem solving. METHOD: All classes taught within the new clinical presentation curriculum were surveyed at the year end. Participants included four classes of first-year students and three classes of second-year students. Using a 5-point scale, students responded to survey items regarding scheme implementation and utilization. RESULTS: Data were analysed using MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance) and revealed significant differences among classes in both first- and second-year students. Increments in scheme implementation and utilization by instructors and students were observed, although instructors' utilization of schemes lagged behind that of students. A levelling effect to the benefits of schemes for problem solving was also evident. First-year students reported schemes to be very useful for learning and organizing new information. CONCLUSION: Although it has taken time to implement curriculum change, the student response to schemes has been favourable. Faculty development and further generation of pictorial/spatial representations for all schemes, to ensure that all clinical presentations provide pathways that students can use for both learning and problem solving are recommended. Whether students who utilize schemes are more successful problem solvers is not yet known but will be the subject of study as soon as scheme delivery is predominant.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Helping students learn to think like experts when solving clinical problems.

Analysis of problem-solving strategies reveals that although there is no universal, generic problem-solving process, there is a clinical reasoning process that is specific and highly tailored to the complexity of each clinical problem. Research reveals that successful problem solvers must possess comprehensive knowledge, but that the way they organize and understand their knowledge is even more critical. Moreover, using "schemes" for both learning and problem solving provides the advantage of combining the creation of a knowledge structure and a search-and-retrieval strategy into a single operation. (A "scheme" in this context is a mental categorization of knowledge that includes a particular organized way of understanding and responding to a complex situation.) The implication for medical education is that a comprehensive knowledge domain must be appropriately organized for knowledge mastery, which in turn is essential for clinical problem solving. Problem-solving strategies must be specific for each problem and not based on the assumption of a universal generic process. Consequently, a new taxonomy of medical problems is recommended, along with an altered problem-based learning (PBL) format. The "hypothetico-deductive" strategy traditionally used in PBL should be replaced by scheme-driven search strategies so that students develop a more organized and logical approach to problem solving.

Clinical Competence↗