The development of a community-based medical education program in Korea

Experiences and perspectives on patient-centered education of medical students in Korea

PURPOSE

This study analyzed the current status of and correlations between Korean medical students' experiences and perspectives surrounding patient-centered medical education (PCME).

METHODS

A structured PCME questionnaire composed of three categories, understanding patients within social and cultural contexts, understanding patients' individual health contexts through communication, and placement of patients at the center of medical education, was used. The students were stratified into pre-medical (Pre-med), medical (Med), and policlinic (PK) groups because of curriculum differences by grade. The χ2 test was applied to analyze the association between students' experiences with and perspectives on PCME. A Cramer's V of 0.200 was considered a large effect size for any association between experiences with and perspectives on PCME.

RESULTS

Among the respondents, 50.6% answered that they did not know about patient-centered medicine before the survey. With increasing school years went up from Pre-med to PK, fewer students agreed that PCME should be added to pre-clinical medicine curricula (p<0.001), that patients should be in the center throughout medical education (p=0.011), and that patients' personal histories, values, and objectives are important PCME (p=0.001). Students who said they learned PCME for each category were more likely to consider PCME important (Cramer's V was 0.219 and 0.271 for "with," and "for the patients" respectively, p<0.001 for "about/with/for the patients"). Students in all groups chose clinical practice as the best method for PCME (p=0.021). Med group chose the lectures as the most effective tool to learn about the importance of communication (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Students who experienced PCME were likely to perceive PCME as important and it showed that experiences of PCME had positive effects on PCME perceptions. Despite students' preferences for clinical practice as the best method for PCME, PK reported that they did not learn PCME, and regarded PCME as less important compared to students at earlier stages of their medical education. Therefore, more intensive and holistic PCME curricula rather than only clinical practice exposure may be necessary.

Perception of Faculty toward Challenges in Teaching and the Role of Medical Education Workshops in Addressing Them: A Mixed-Methods Study

Background  A medical teacher has a very complex job profile, wherein they are expected to train a cohort of newly joined medical aspirants to competent health care professionals. The current study was conducted to identify the challenges faced by the faculty members in medical teaching and to assess the perception of teachers on the role of medical education workshops in addressing these challenges.

Methods  It was a Mixed Methods study conducted over a period of 9 months from January to September 2021 in a tertiary teaching medical college and hospital of Chengalpet District of Tamil Nadu amongst the faculty members of the teaching medical college and hospital. In the first phase, universal sampling method was employed, wherein all faculty members were asked to fill the online semi-structured questionnaire. In the second phase, purposive sampling was employed, wherein all teachers who have a minimum teaching experience of 3 years and have attended any medical education workshop were included and interviewed using a focus group discussion guide. The quantitative date was analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the qualitative data was analyzed using manual content analysis.

Results  In the quantitative phase, 149 faculty members filled the online questionnaire, of which majority were females (52.3%) and were from the clinical departments (63.1%). The manual thematic content analysis of the FGD resulted in the identification of two themes (challenges and utility of workshops). The challenges theme consisted of three categories of Faculty, Students, and Administration, while Utility of workshops theme included two categories of refinement of skills, and suggestions for future

Conclusion  In conclusion, lack of teamwork in the department, multiple responsibilities assigned to a single person, and shortage of clinical material during COVID-19 were identified as the main challenges in teaching–learning. The medical education workshops play a significant role in improving the knowledge of various domains of teaching and assessment, introduction of innovations, and ensure better performance of the faculty members.

Gender and age group modified association of dental health indicators with total occlusal force among Korean elders

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the distribution of objective total occlusal force (TOF) and its association with dental health indicators: dental status, number of natural teeth (NT), natural and rehabilitated teeth, natural posterior teeth (NT-Post), and natural and rehabilitated posterior teeth among Korean elders after controlling for various confounders encompassing socio-demographic factors, behavioral factors and health/oral health factors.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study recruited 551 elders from the Sungbook-Gu health education cohort. TOF was measured using Prescale II as an outcome variable. Dental health indicators assessed by dentists were the main explanatory variables. Analysis of covariance and multivariable linear regression models were applied to evaluate the adjusted association of dental health indicators with TOF. Gender and age group stratified analyses were also applied.

RESULT

TOF was higher in dentate elders than denture wearers in males and younger elders. The adjusted mean of TOF and standard error was 464.24 ± 17.15 N for dentate elders, 297.15 ± 28.85 N for partial denture wearers, 280.42 ± 47.71 N for complete denture wearers. Among all dental health indicators, NT-Post showed the highest association with TOF (partial r = 0.330, p < 0.001, R² = 0.15), followed by NT (partial r = 0.329, p < 0.001, R² = 0.16). Older elders highlighted the association of NT (partial r = 0.37, p < 0.001, R² = 0.18). Males decreased the association of NT (partial r = 0.30, p < 0.001, R² = 0.20) and NT-Post (partial r = 0.29, p < 0.001, R² = 0.20).

CONCLUSION

TOF was significantly associated with dental health indicators, and its association was modified by sex and age group.