Active Learning in Psychiatry Education: Current Practices and Future Perspectives

Using Modern Learning Method to Teach Pharmacy Students Psychopharmacotherapy

Background

Applying modern educational methods for digital native students seems necessary. Active learning strategies promote students' skills and knowledge. This study was conducted to design and evaluate active learning methods by teaching psychopharmacotherapy to pharmacy students.

Methods

This was a quasi-experimental study with three randomized study groups (control, game, and multimedia), using a pre-and post-test design, conducted on 155 students of 5-year pharmacy in 2022 at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Overall, 18 clinical cases were designed for the basic structure of interventions. After teaching psychopharmacotherapy contents through lecturing, the pre-test was held. The next steps were playing the educational game, studying the multimedia case-based learning files, and then completing questionnaires, respectively. Then, a post-test was held.

Results

65.33% of participants were female and 34.66% were male. The pre-test and post-test scores comparison showed no difference in control group (P=0.409). However, in the serious game and multimedia groups, the average score of pre-test and post-test had a statistically significant difference (P<0.001, P=0.002 respectively), this difference was higher in the serious game group. Questionnaire evaluation showed substantial differences between game and multimedia groups.

Conclusion

The educational interventions were able to improve student's knowledge and skills so they can better help patients and promote public health. In the sections of Confidence, Social Interactions, Fun, Focused attention, Learnability, Relevance, and Perceived Learning, the serious game far outweighed the multimedia case-based learning.

"It kinda helped us to be there": students' perspectives on the use of virtual patient software in psychiatry posting

BACKGROUND

At the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Malaysia, a virtual patient software program, DxR Clinician, was utilised for the teaching of neurocognitive disorder topics during the psychiatry posting of undergraduate medical students in a modified team-based learning (TBL) module. This study aimed to explore medical students' learning experiences with virtual patient.

METHODS

Ten students who previously underwent the learning module were recruited through purposive sampling. The inclusion criteria were: (a) Fourth-year medical students; and (b) Completed psychiatry posting with the new module. Students who dropped out or were unable to participate in data collection were excluded. Two online focus group discussions (FGDs) with five participants each were conducted by an independent facilitator, guided by a questioning route. The data were transcribed verbatim and coded using the thematic analysis approach to identify themes.

RESULTS

Three main themes of their learning experience were identified: (1) fulfilment of the desired pedagogy (2), realism of the clinical case, and (3) ease of use related to technical settings. The pedagogy theme was further divided into the following subthemes: level of entry for students, flexibility of presentation of content, provision of learning guidance, collaboration with peers, provision of feedback, and assessment of performance. The realism theme had two subthemes: how much the virtual patient experience mimicked an actual patient and how much the case scenario reflected real conditions in the Malaysian context. The technical setting theme entailed two subthemes: access to the software and appearance of the user interface. The study findings are considered in the light of learning formats, pedagogical and learning theories, and technological frameworks.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings shed light on both positive and negative aspects of using virtual patients for medical students' psychiatry posting, which opens room for further improvement of their usage in undergraduate psychiatry education.

World Psychiatric Association-Asian Journal of Psychiatry Commission on Psychiatric Education in the 21st century

Psychiatric practice faces many challenges in the first quarter of 21st century. Society has transformed, as have training requirements and patient expectations, underlining an urgent need to look at educational programmes. Meanwhile, awareness has grown around psychiatric disorders and there are evolving workforce trends, with more women going to medical school and specialising in psychiatry. Trainee psychiatrists carry different expectations for work-life balance and are increasingly becoming conscious of their own mental health. A tendency to see health as a commodity and the litigious nature of society has elicited additional pressures for healthcare professionals. Cartesian mind-body dualism has created further complexity and this can often be frustrating for patients and care-partners alike. In many cultures across Asia and beyond, patients can present with physical symptoms to express underlying psychological distress with increasing physical investigations. Simultaneously, in various countries, a shift from asylums to community-based interventions and then home treatments have changed psychiatric care in remarkable ways. These changes have added to pressures faced by mental healthcare professionals. However, trainees and other mental healthcare professionals continue to receive similar training as they did a generation ago. The tensions and differences in ideology/orientation between different branches of psychiatry have made responses to patient needs challenging. Recognising that it is difficult to predict the future, this World Psychiatric Association-Asian Journal of Psychiatry Commission makes recommendations that could help institutions and individuals enhance psychiatric education. This Commission draws from existing resources and recent developments to propose a training framework for future psychiatrists.

Asynchronous Technologies in Mental Health Care and Education

Purpose of review

Patients, providers, and trainees should understand the current types of asynchronous technologies that can be used to enhance the delivery and accessibility of mental health care. Asynchronous telepsychiatry (ATP) removes the need for real time communication between the clinician and patient, which improves efficiency and enables quality specialty care. ATP can be applied as distinct consultative and supervisory models in clinician-to-clinician, clinician-to-patient, and patient-to-mobile health settings.

Recent findings

This review is based on research literature and the authors' clinical and medical training, using experiences with asynchronous telepsychiatry from before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our studies demonstrate that ATP provides positive outcomes in the clinician-to-patient model with demonstrated feasibility, outcomes and patient satisfaction. One author's medical education experience in the Philippines during COVID-19 highlights the potential to utilize asynchronous technology in areas with limitations to online learning. We emphasize the need to teach media skills literacy around mental health to students, coaches, therapists, and clinicians when advocating for mental well-being. Several studies have demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating asynchronous e-tools such as self-guided multimedia and artificial intelligence for data collection at the clinician-to-clinician and patient-to-mobile health level. In addition, we offer fresh perspectives on recent trends in asynchronous telehealth in wellness, applying concepts such as "tele-exercise" and "tele-yoga."

Summary

Asynchronous technologies continue to be integrated into mental health care services and research. Future research must ensure that the design and the usability of this technology puts the patient and provider first.

Effective and innovative teaching methods in psychiatry for the medical undergraduates in South India: An exploratory study of teachers' and students' perspectives

Background

Effective teaching methods are important in psychiatry. Previous studies have focused on the assessment of students about the effective teaching methods but not on a self-assessment by teachers.

Aims

Primary objective is to evaluate the teachers' and students' perspectives of effective teaching methods in psychiatry for medical undergraduates. Secondary objectives include assessment of the concordance of each item and exploring innovative teaching methods.

Settings and Design

A cross-sectional study design used in teachers and medical students from St. John's Medical College, Bangalore (India).

Methods and Material

A modified teachers and medical students perspectives of effective psychiatry teaching methods were used.

Statistical Analysis

Differences in continuous variable assessed with independent sample-test and categorical variables with Chi-square test. The Domain scores were divided into tertiles and the highest and lowest tertiles were analyzed.

Results

Both students and teachers had high perspectives on most of the teaching methods. Differences were found in items such as "using multimedia slide effectively," "good sense of humor while teaching," "presentation summarizes the key points," and "presentation links ideas effectively." Role play-based and live/simulated patient-based teachings were reported most frequently by both. Significantly, a higher proportion of the 6th term students and a lesser proportion of teachers were associated with the lowest tertiles for Domain 1, 2, and 3. Significantly, increased number of 8th term students were found in the higher tertiles in Domain 3.

Conclusions

These findings have practical implications in identifying the gaps in effective teaching methods by the teachers. Teachers can improve their teaching methods by upgrading their presentation skills, employing new and innovative teaching skills.

Exploring the identity development of the budding neuroscientist at postgraduate level: a mixed-method study with perspectives from alumni and academics

INTRODUCTION

Neuroscience represents one of the most exciting frontiers in scientific research. However, given the recency of neuroscience as a discipline, its inter- and multi-disciplinary nature, the lack of educational research on brain science training, the absence of a national or global benchmark and the numerous neuroscience subfields, the development of the academic neuroscientist identity across career stages remains obfuscated. Neuroscience is not predominantly taught at the undergraduate level but presents as a postgraduate specialism, accepting graduates from a wide range of primary disciplines.

METHODS

This work represents the first mixed-method study exploring the development of the neuroscientist identity at the postgraduate level at a high-ranking, research-intensive UK University. It combines responses from standardised self-efficacy and professional identity questionnaires and qualitative data from nineteen semi-structured interviews with alumni and academics.

RESULTS

Key findings on influences, identity transitions, curricular skills and sense of belonging have been discussed. The results obtained can be mapped against the theoretical framework proposed by Laudel and Gläser in 2008, although some minor changes to the model have been suggested.

DISCUSSION

Implementing active learning strategies and experiential assessments, designing mentoring opportunities and creating spaces for interaction can favour the transition from students to neuroscientists and contribute to an inclusive and diverse neuroscientific community.

Medical Student Engagement in a Virtual Learning Environment Positively Correlates with Course Performance and Satisfaction in Psychiatry

INTRODUCTION

There has been a move to a "flipped classroom" (FC) in medical education. The FC promotes active learning and utilizes independent preparation prior to in-class sessions. Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of the FC approach in medical education, specifically via virtual learning. The purpose of this study evaluates student and faculty perceptions of the FC approach and relationships between student engagement and performance.

METHOD

The first-year medical student psychiatry curriculum was redesigned with an FC approach and subsequently altered by COVID-19 to a virtual learning environment. A mixed-method approach was used to examine both qualitative assessment and quantitative performance data. Students and facilitators were invited to participate in surveys regarding the curriculum changes. Student performance data was collected via quizzes and examinations. Engagement was evaluated by student participation in National Board of Medical Examiners-style multiple-choice questions delivered via Top Hat®. Correlational analyses were used to evaluate associations between engagement and performance. T-tests were used to compare student satisfaction across 2019 and 2020.

RESULTS

Performance on in-class questions was positively associated with class rank and performance (p < 0.005). More students were either satisfied or strongly satisfied (91.5%) in 2020 compared to 85.7% in 2019 (two-tailed t-test, p = 0.04). Most students (81.3%) preferred in-class questions to lectures. In 2020, 62.6% of student comments were positive regarding the psychiatry curriculum vs 33.3% in 2019. Over 61.5% of facilitators felt positive towards the changes.

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrate a positive relationship between engagement and class performance. Students and facilitators positively perceived the approach, with students preferring in-class questions compared to lectures. Future research should evaluate overall performance on standardized tests, third-year clerkships, and number of students matching into psychiatry.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01287-x.