Active methods in electricity and magnetism courses: Influence of degree, academic level and gender on student performance

The performance of first-year students in electromagnetism (E&M) courses of different engineering degrees at a Spanish public university was measured using the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA), a standard research-based instrument to assess students' understanding after attending introductory courses in electricity and magnetism. In all cases, Flipped classroom (FC) built on information and communications technology was used. The objective of this paper is to analyse if the gain in the BEMA pre and post-test results is influenced by several factors such as the degree, the students' academic grade, and gender. Moreover, as some studies have shown that the students' retention of the concepts was significantly stronger in active learning than in traditional approaches, a third BEMA test was performed by the students to analyse the long-term retention gain dependence on the same factors. Students from different engineering degree programs were asked to complete two BEMA tests during the course and a third one after a few months. ANOVA tests were used to analyse the existence of significant differences in gain between student degree programs, student academic level and student gender. Results have shown no differences in the BEMA performance by degree program, but significant differences were found by academic level and gender. Retention did not depend on the degree course but on the academic level. Mean gain value by academic level, and gender was obtained and concluded that the best students presented the best gain results and that gain depends on the students' gender: males outperformed females in the BEMA tests, although there were no significant differences in the course grades. It is thus necessary to understand these differences and to implement measures in daily teaching work to improve women's performance.

In the eye of the beholder - how course delivery affects anatomy education

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major shifts in students' learning strategies as well as teaching environments that profoundly affected the delivery of anatomy courses in medical schools. The Department of Anatomy at the University of Zagreb School of Medicine had a unique experience where the anatomy course in 2019/2020 was first taught in-person before transferring to an online course delivery, while the inverse happened in 2020/2021. The core curriculum, course material and examination criteria were the same in both academic years. The aim of the study was to determine whether course delivery affected students' perceptions of the course and whether it impacted students' engagement and success.

METHODS

The students' perceptions of the course were assessed via an anonymous course survey (student evaluation of teaching, SET). The questions in the SET assessed the usefulness of teaching modalities rather than students' satisfaction. Most questions were in the form of statements to which students responded with their level of agreement on a five-point Likert scale. Differences between responses in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test. Effect size was estimated using Cliff's delta and association between responses was assessed using Spearman's r coefficient.

RESULTS

Students' perceptions were significantly affected by changes in course delivery. Students' success and engagement were higher in 2019/2020 when in-person teaching preceded online teaching. Furthermore, students' views on course organization and the usefulness of continuous assessment were more positive in 2019/2020. Finally, students' perceptions of the usefulness of online materials and activities were more positive in 2019/2020. All comparisons between the two academic years were statistically significant (P ≤ 0.0001 for all comparisons, Mann-Whitney test).

CONCLUSIONS

Students' perceptions of the anatomy course were dependent on the teaching environment they were exposed to at the beginning of the course. A transfer from in-person to online course delivery was more successful than vice-versa. This has important implications for structuring hybrid courses in medical education in the future.

Virtual clinical pharmacy training in the era of COVID-19: A report on undergraduate students' perceptions and academic performance

INTRODUCTION

The study objective was to explore the impact of the complete virtual transition of in-hospital clinical training on students' academic performance and to assess students' perceptions of the overall experience.

METHODS

In-hospital clinical training was delivered via distance learning using daily synchronous videoconferences for two successive weeks to 350 final-year pharmacy students. The Virtual Faculty of Pharmacy Cairo University (VFOPCU) platform allowed trainees to virtually browse patient files interactively with their clinical instructors to simulate a typical rounding experience. Academic performance was evaluated through identical 20-question tests before and after training. Perceptions were assessed through an online survey.

RESULTS

Response rates were 79% pretest and 64% posttest. The median score was significantly higher after receiving the virtual training (7/20 [6-9] out of 20 pretest vs. 18/20 [11-20] posttest, P < .001]. Training evaluations revealed high levels of satisfaction (average rating > 3.5/5). Around 27% of respondents were completely satisfied with the overall experience, providing no suggestions for improvement. However, inappropriate timing of the training (27.4%) and describing training as being condensed and tiring (16.2%) were the main disadvantages reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementing a distance learning method with the aid of the VFOPCU platform to deliver clinical experiences instead of physical presence in hospitals appeared to be feasible and helpful during the COVID-19 crisis. Consideration of student suggestions and better utilization of available resources will open the door for new and better ideas to deliver clinical skills virtually even after resolution of the pandemic.

Implications of introducing case based radiological images in anatomy on teaching, learning and assessment of medical students: a mixed-methods study

BACKGROUND

Introducing radiological anatomy in the preclinical curriculum can increase the understanding of Anatomy. Regardless of the integration when teaching anatomy, it is essential to maintain oversight as to what and how much is being taught. In addition, the knowledge requirements for preclinical students should be considered. The purpose of this kind of integration is that the student should be able to apply the knowledge which can help them better understand anatomy and not to make the course more challenging. This study aimed to understand whether adding radiological images would increase the difficulty level of the questions.

METHODS

We introduced radiological images, including X Rays, CT scans and MRIs, when teaching anatomy in the preclinical curriculum. A class of 99 students were tested using A-type MCQs (n = 84). All 84 questions were categorized on whether they were case-based with or without a radiological image. The item analysis of both groups of test questions was then compared based on their difficulty and discrimination index. A qualitative student perception regarding the inclusion of radiological images in anatomy was also measured using a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale.

RESULTS

The results showed that the performance level of the students was similar when comparing the test questions in both groups. The item analysis of the MCQs in the two groups revealed that by integrating radiological images when teaching anatomy, the various parameters in both groups of test questions were in the same range. More than 80% of the students felt that radiological images facilitate the achievement of learning outcomes and help to apply their knowledge in clinical contexts. The study's findings reported that the rate of satisfaction by including radiological images when teaching anatomy is high.

CONCLUSION

Recognition and interpretation of images are essential in an undergraduate medical program. Students found it helpful when radiological images were introduced to them when teaching anatomy. Since the students' performance in summative exams in both groups of questions was in the same range, the findings also point out that adding radiological images when teaching anatomy does not increase the difficulty of the subject.

A virtual versus blended learning approach to higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: The experiences of a sport and exercise science student cohort

During the 2020/21 academic year most UK universities rapidly developed learning material as part of a move to blended learning, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was interspersed with periods of virtual-only delivery, aligning with national lockdowns. The previous literature suggests there are both advantages and disadvantages to virtual-only and blended learning approaches, which may impact on student satisfaction. Student satisfaction scores may be especially insightful in a student cohort enrolled on an applied sport programme, whereby practical seminars and assessments would be severely impacted by social restrictions. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of virtual and blended learning approaches in an undergraduate sport and exercise sciences cohort, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this study aimed to explore whether student perceptions of both learning modes differed between and within-year groups. Students completed an adapted version of the national student survey (NSS), pertaining to periods of virtual learning-only (n = 81) and blended learning (n = 62). When all students were considered, blended learning yielded consistently higher satisfaction scores across all survey sub-sections (teaching on my course, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, learning community and student voice) resulting in a significantly higher overall course satisfaction score (3.93 ± 0.99 vs 3.55 ± 1.11; p = 0.33; ES = 0.36). When comparing Year 1 and Year 2 students, the former had significantly higher (p < 0.005) perception scores for teaching on my course, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources and learning community, but not learning opportunities, student voice or Covid-19-specific, for the virtual learning survey. Additionally, within-year group (Year 2) differences were found in assessment and feedback, academic support and learning community, with higher perception scores reported in the blended learning survey. No significant within-year group differences were observed in Year 1 students. This study provides the first data on student perceptions of a sport and exercise science programme during blended and virtual learning, amidst a global pandemic. The clear preference for blended learning in the current study, suggests sport and exercise science students appreciated the access to face-to-face teaching, despite the social distancing measures in place. Broadly, the findings may assist in governmental and institutional decision making, and in the designing of learning material during periods of social restrictions. These findings may be more beneficial to the design and implementation of face-to-face and/or online components for more applied, science-based courses.

Use of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) to assess intern performance in an advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE) Ambulatory Care rotation

Purpose

Intern assessment during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) are generally based upon each individual preceptor's perceptions without an objective measurement of intern understanding and performance. Therefore, we sought to determine whether a pre- and post-OSCE could be used to confirm that interns achieved the goals and objectives of the Ambulatory Care rotation. The aims of this study were to determine whether a pre-rotation OSCE can help pharmacy interns self-assess their clinical strengths and weaknesses and assess whether their knowledge and skills improved after completing a post-rotation OSCE.

Methods

Pharmacy interns undergoing APPE Ambulatory Care rotations from September 2018 to March 2020 participated in a pre- and post-rotation OSCE to assess their knowledge of various chronic disease states. Interns completed pre- and post-OSCE surveys to assess their perceptions about their knowledge and the OSCE experience.

Results

Pharmacy intern knowledge about diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and atrial fibrillation significantly improved post-OSCE compared to their pre-OSCE scores (p < 0.001). The mean post-OSCE scores for diabetes (p < 0.001), dyslipidemia (P = 0.046), anticoagulation (P = 0.006), and the overall mean post-OSCE scores (P = 0.005) were significantly higher compared to interns' pre-OSCE scores. Students believed that the post-OSCE significantly highlighted their strengths and weaknesses in skills and knowledge compared to the pre-OSCE (P = 0.008).

Conclusion

Pre- and post-APPE OSCE assessments are important tools that can provide interns and preceptors with objective evaluations of student performance. OSCEs can either be used as an alternative to perception-based assessments or integrated into existing preceptor evaluations. Furthermore, OSCEs can help preceptors identify areas that require more emphasis in their rotations.

'I decided to attend to him because it's my duty': Student Nurses perception and attitude towards care of older adults

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Nurses perception and attitude towards an older patient can positively or negatively influence the quality rendered. As students under training, the views of this population needs to be sought and shaped to improve the quality of care the older patients receive. This is because life expectancy is on the rise. The study aimed to explore students' perception of ageing and their attitude towards care of the older adults.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

An exploratory descriptive design was used. Data form containing the sociodemographic attributes of the students and a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers in line with the literature. The participants interviewed were student nurses who had been in clinical practice for at least one semester. Four focus group discussions (FGD) were held.

RESULTS

Average age of the participants was 22.30 years. An equal number of males and females (15 each) were recruited to have a balance in gender. Students expressed that they saw the older adults as their grandparents so they try to accord them respect and care. However, older adults are perceived not receptive to nurses in training. The students stated that registered nurses neglected the basic care of older adults such as diaper changes, bathing, and feeding, and would rather beckon student nurses to attend to the older adults.

CONCLUSION

Gerontology as a stand-alone course is necessary for early years of training to give an in-depth education to nursing students and instil a positive attitude towards older adult patients.

Using virtual reality for dynamic learning: an extended technology acceptance model

Virtual reality (VR) is being researched and incorporated into curricula and training programs to expand educational opportunities and enhance learning across many fields. Although researchers are exploring the learning affordances associated with VR, research surrounding students' perceptions of the technology, and intentions to use it for training has been neglected. The goal of this research was to determine the factors that influence students' intention to use VR in a dynamic learning environment. An extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was developed that incorporates factors related to education and the use of VR technology in training environments. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) processes were employed. Nine of 14 hypotheses in the original model were supported, and eight of the nine predictor factors of the model were determined to directly or indirectly impact behavioral intention (BI). The original TAM factors had the strongest relationships. Relationships between factors particularly relevant to VR technology and learning were also supported. The results of this study may guide other educators interested in incorporating VR into a dynamic learning environment.

Importance of Anatomy Education on Electrotherapy Lectures in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Curricula: Student Perceptions of a Foundation University

Student opinions are important to improve the physiotherapy and rehabilitation curriculum, and to maintain the quality of education. This study aimed to evaluate the students' perception levels related to anatomy education in terms of electrotherapy lectures. Third and fourth-year physiotherapy students (61 female, 43 male) have voluntarily participated in this study. The data were obtained by a survey, which consists of 29 closed-ended (15 Likert-type questions) questions. The average age was 21.82 ± 1.62 years. The grade point average of the participants, which is based on the 4-point scale, is 2.33 ± 0.44 points. There was no difference between the genders in terms of the grade point averages (p = 0.78). Students stated that the anatomy knowledge of the musculoskeletal system is extremely important in terms of electrotherapy lectures. This is followed by the nervous system and the circulatory system, respectively. They also stated that they need more anatomy knowledge during motor point stimulation applications (50%), and less anatomy knowledge during ultrasound applications (15.38%). In the results of Likert-type survey, first and second highest scores were pertained to "I need anatomy knowledge when inserting electrodes" and "The knowledge which is obtained from anatomy lectures affect to the motor nerve stimulations" (1.42 ± 0.67 and 1.40 ± 0.66, respectively, p < 0.05) and the least score was pertained to "I need to look at my anatomy notes before the electrotherapy exams" (0.41 ± 0.88, p < 0.05). The results from this study help to enhance our conceptual understanding of students' perception levels of anatomy education importance in terms of electrotherapy lectures.

Exploration of the changes in the perceptions of medical students about cadaver dissections using metaphors

Objective

This study examines the changes in metaphors used by medical students before and after the dissection of a cadaver. This will help qualitatively understand the meaning of cadaver dissections.

Methods

The metaphorical expressions about the practice of dissection that were used before and after the dissection exercises were collected from 147 Korean medical students. The collected qualitative data were categorised through a repeated comparative analysis.

Results

The results of the analysis identified seven types of metaphors that were used before the dissection practice: ‘rite of passage’, ‘first step’, ‘precious opportunity’, ‘fog’, ‘hell’, ‘thrill’, and ‘double-edged sword’. After the cadaver dissection, nine types of metaphors were used: ‘introspection’, ‘hell’, ‘precious opportunity’, ‘treasure hunt’, ‘turning point’, ‘debt’, ‘mist’, ‘bittersweet candy’, and ‘buzzer beater’. In general, before a cadaver dissection, students recognised the importance of the practice of cadaver dissection as being a ‘gateway’ or a ‘growing pain’. Metaphors such as ‘introspection’ and ‘mirror’ were used with an improved attitude. However, some students continued to use negative metaphors, such as ‘hell’, before and after the cadaver dissection and maintained negative feelings about it.

Conclusions

The results of our study suggest that, for many medical students, cadaver dissection is a crucial stage of self-reflection and for the formation of their identities as doctors. The consideration of students’ perceptions during all cadaver dissections is therefore essential.

The Influence of a Blind Professor in a Bioengineering Course

Although there is increasing literature on blind and visually impaired students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), there is a prevalent gap in the literature regarding STEM educators who are blind or visually impaired. This account aims to partially fill this gap by presenting the methodology and implementation of teaching by Dr. Mona Minkara, a blind bioengineering professor, as well as the tangible outcomes of this approach. We discuss the efforts taken by Dr. Minkara and a team of access assistants to develop accessible methods for teaching a largely visual course, including the use of assistive technologies, such as alternative text, braille, and text-to-speech software. Outside perspectives from teaching assistants, access assistants, and students are also discussed. Student feedback was collected in an end-of-term survey and analyzed to obtain quantitative and qualitative data. Evidenced by student feedback on their experience, we demonstrate that Dr. Minkara's visual impairment altered student perceptions about blindness in education and led to a more interactive and engaging learning environment for her students. This evidence also shows that students were overwhelmingly in support of more blind educators in STEM. We present this account and share our developing toolbox to demonstrate that a career in higher education can (and should) be accessible if given the right modifications. Efforts aimed at broadening the participation of blind and visually impaired individuals in STEM education can continue to alter student perceptions and lead to enhanced learning environments, as well as encourage instructors to increase the accessibility of their own teaching.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43683-021-00052-1.

Assessment of Critical Thinking in a First-Year Dental Curriculum

We studied how students in a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) program perceived the importance of critical thinking and the extent to which critical thinking was perceived to be included in each of 25 courses of the first-year curriculum at The University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston (UTSD). Sixty-nine of the 102 second-year students who were invited participated in an online survey. The survey had three parts, with all statements of each part evaluated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The first two parts assessed the importance of critical thinking in dental education and the criteria by which critical thinking in didactic curriculum can be measured. In the third part of the survey, students evaluated how well each course of the first-year curriculum achieved critical thinking. More than 90% of the respondents strongly agreed/agreed that critical thinking is essential to making clinical decisions. Students strongly agreed/agreed that 19 of 25 of the courses incorporated critical thinking. However, when students were asked to rank the top five of the 25 courses, only two courses (Human Biology, Neuroscience) emerged above all others in their weighted ranks, with another seven courses standing out, leaving 16 courses with low weighted rankings for their inclusion of critical thinking. In summary, students agreed on the importance of critical thinking in dental education, and on the criteria by which the incorporation of critical thinking should be measured in didactic and pre-clinical courses.

Evaluation of multiple active learning strategies in a pharmacology course

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The objectives of this study were to implement multiple active learning strategies in pharmacology and evaluate the most effective method to promote understanding.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

A structured, student-centered learning approach was launched. The implemented active learning strategies were Kahoot web-based interactive games, crossword puzzles, an instructional video, a music video, and fill-in-the-blank tables. For three consecutive years, several topics in pharmacology were taught by the same instructor. While traditional teaching was used for the class of 2016, the above-mentioned active learning strategies were utilized for the classes of 2017 and 2018. Student perceptions on traditional teaching vs. active learning and on the different active learning methods were determined by anonymous survey. The effectiveness of active learning on understanding pharmacology concepts was detected by extracting student performance data from ExamSoft item analysis.

FINDINGS

Based on exam performance assessment, students in the classes of 2017 and 2018 performed significantly better when fill-in-the-blank activities and videos were utilized. However, students believed that web-based games helped them better understand concepts. Variables between the classes of 2016, 2017, and 2018 were minimized through comparison of the same lecture topics and having the same instructor write exam questions.

SUMMARY

Although students perceived Kahoot web-based interactive gaming as the most valuable active learning strategy, fill-in-the-blank activities and videos were more effective in understanding the pharmacology concepts as measured by their exam performance.

What Do Students Perceive as Ethical Problems? A Comparative Study of Dutch and Indonesian Medical Students in Clinical Training

Previous studies show that medical students in clinical training face ethical problems that are not often discussed in the literature. In order to make teaching timely and relevant for them, it is important to understand what medical students perceive as ethical problems, as various factors may influence their perception, including cultural differences and working environment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore students’ perceptions of what an ethical problem is, during their clinical training in the hospital, and compare the results from two different countries. We observed a total of eighteen ethics group discussions and interviewed fifteen medical students at two medical schools, in Indonesia and the Netherlands. Data were interpreted and analyzed using content analysis. We found that students in both settings encounter problems which are closer to their daily work and responsibilities as medical students and perceive these problems as ethical problems. Indonesian students perceived substandard care and inequity in healthcare as ethical problems, while Dutch students perceived that cases which are not matters of life and death are less worthy to discuss. Our study suggests that there might be a gap between ethical problems that are discussed in class with teachers, and problems that students actually encounter in practice. Teachers should be aware of the everyday situations in clinical training which may be perceived by students as ethically problematic and should acknowledge and discuss these ethical problems with students as part of the learning processes in ethics education.

The perception of clinical risk among students of different health professions: a multicentre study

BACKGROUND:

the need for health care to be safe is increasingly guiding the development of policies to improve clinical practice and education; risk management and patient safety are essential competencies for health professionals.

OBJECTIVE:

to examine how students working towards different degrees in Italy perceived their competence in clinical risk management and patient safety when learning in the classroom and the clinical setting.

METHODS:

the Italian version of the H-PEPSS questionnaire was given to 154 students; 78 were studying for a nursing degree and 76 were on the cardio-circulatory pathophysiology and cardiovascular perfusion techniques (CPCPT) degree course.

RESULTS:

nearly half of the students (46.10%) did not feel confident about their competence in patient safety and risk management during clinical training.

CONCLUSION:

significant differences in confidence between the two types of students were found in many areas, including in critical aspects of clinical risk management. However, both types of students had similar levels of confidence in some essential areas.

Working in preventive medicine or not? Flawed perceptions decrease chance of retaining students for the profession

BACKGROUND

Recruiting and retaining students in preventive medical (PM) specialties has never been easy; one main challenge is how to select appropriate students with proper motivation. Understanding how students perceive PM practice differently from practicing doctors is necessary to guide students, especially for those for whom PM is only a substitute for medicine as their first study preference, properly during their study and, later, the practice of PM.

METHODS

One thousand three hundred eighty-six PM students in four Vietnamese medical schools and 101 PM doctors filled out a questionnaire about the relevance of 44 characteristics of working in PM. ANOVAs were conducted to define the relationship between students' interest, year of study, willingness to work in PM, and the degree to which students had realistic perceptions of PM practice, compared to doctors' perceptions.

RESULTS

Overall, compared to doctors' perceptions, students overestimated the importance of most of the investigated PM practice's characteristics. Moreover, students' perception related to their preference and willing to pursue a career in PM after graduation. In particular, students for whom PM was their first choice had more realistic perceptions of community practice than those who chose PM as their second choice. And, second-choice students had more realistic perceptions than first-choice students in their final years of study, but expected higher work stress in PM practice. Students who were willing to pursue a career in PM rated the importance of community practice higher than those who were not. We also found that students' perception changed during training as senior students had more realistic perceptions of clinical aspects and working stress than junior students, even though they overemphasized the importance of the community aspects of PM practice.

CONCLUSIONS

To increase the number of students actually entering the PM field after graduation, the flawed perceptions of students about the real working environment of PM doctors should be addressed through vocation-oriented activities in the curriculum targeted on groups of students who are most likely to have unrealistic perceptions. Our findings also have implications for other less attractive primary health care specialties that experience problems with recruiting and retaining students.

Assessment of a didactic ambulatory care pharmacy elective on student perceptions and subsequent performance in an ambulatory care advanced pharmacy practice experience

INTRODUCTION

This study assessed student perception in treating chronic disease states before and after taking an ambulatory care didactic elective and the impact on performance within a fourth-year ambulatory care advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE).

METHODS

Assessment of student perceptions was evaluated in students taking the Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 elective offering by completing an 11-item electronic survey prior to the first lecture of the course and after the last lecture of the course. A retrospective assessment of student performance in the APPE compared students that had taken the elective to those that had not over a two-and-one-half year period. Data collected included the students' final APPE experiential and required examination grade.

RESULTS

In all but one survey question, student perceptions significantly improved upon completion of the elective. Student ambulatory care APPE final experiential grades were higher in students who had taken the elective compared to those that had not (90.3% vs. 88.9%, respectively, p = 0.04) as were APPE examination scores (78.0% vs. 74.0%, respectively, p = 0.01).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Student perception in key ambulatory care concepts, disease states, and drug knowledge improved after taking the ambulatory care elective. Student ambulatory care APPE performance was also mildly improved as a result of taking the elective compared to those who did not take the course. This is the first study to evaluate subsequent performance in an APPE as a result of taking an elective ambulatory care course and can serve as a template for other research in elective assessment.

Dental students' perception of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE): The Taibah University experience, Almadinah Almunawwarah, KSA

Objective

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an assessment tool used to objectively evaluate clinical competence in medical schools and, more recently, in the nursing profession as well. However, few studies have been conducted to elicit the views of dental students in KSA regarding the OSCE. The present study was designed to explore, evaluate, and analyse students' perceptions of the OSCE and to explore the strengths and weaknesses of this assessment tool as perceived by dental students.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional analytical observational study using a survey design. It took place in the College of Dentistry, Taibah University, KSA. The study sample consisted of third, fourth, and fifth-year students who took the OSCE assessment during their studies.

Results

Of 138 invited students, 119 responded (response rate of 86.2%). Almost half the students (47.1%) agreed that the OSCE exam was fair, while 19.3% agreed that a broad range of clinical skills were included in the OSCE exam. A low percentage of students believed to a great extent that the scores were standardised; however, the practicality and usefulness of the OSCE was questioned. Students perceived that issues pertaining to personality, ethnicity, and gender would not impact the scores.

Conclusion

The findings of this study indicated that the OSCE is a meaningful and fair assessment tool for clinical skills.

Nursing students' perceptions of teachers' uncivil behaviors: a qualitative research

One of the main issues in nursing education that teachers and students frequently encounter is uncivil behaviors. This type of behavior is destructive for the teaching and learning environment. As teachers play an important role in nursing students' education and are ultimately their role models, the identification of these behaviors in nursing teachers appears to be essential. This study was conducted to determine nursing students' perceptions of their teachers' uncivil behaviors. The present study was conducted using a qualitative approach and content analysis. A total of 13 nursing students were selected through purposive sampling, and deep and semi-structured interviews were conducted with them. Content analysis was performed using an inductive approach. Three main categories were obtained through data analysis; disruptive behaviors affecting communication climate (subthemes: humiliation, the lack of supportiveness, and distrust), disruptive behaviors affecting ethical climate (subthemes: self-centeredness, coercion and aggression, and harassment), and disruptive behaviors affecting learning climate (subthemes: poor teaching skills, poor time management, and indiscipline). Given that human dignity takes precedence over education, any action causing humiliation and embarrassment can have inverse effects on the students and may harm them. These behaviors taint the educational role. Since students select their teachers as their role models, the impact of teachers' uncivil behaviors on students cannot be neglected. Neglecting these behaviors might lead to their persistence in the clinical setting and irreparable damage to patients, who are the ultimate recipients of care.