Current Trends in Removable Partial Prosthodontics Teaching in Undergraduate Dental Colleges of Sindh, Pakistan

Objective: To explore current trends in removable partial prosthodontics teaching in undergraduate dental colleges of Sindh, Pakistan. Study Design: Descriptive Cross-sectional. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of prosthodontics in dental colleges of Sindh in September 2019. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in which a questionnaire was sent by email to head of Prosthodontics department of 16 dental institutes of Sindh, Pakistan. The survey included different questions regarding current trends in removable partial prosthodontics education in undergraduate dental colleges. Results: Out of sixteen questionnaires, fourteen were completely filled and returned. Majority (69.2%) of the institutes teach fabrication of removable partial dentures (RPDs) in third year of dental college. Students of only one dental college fabricate 10-12 RPDs in their clinical rotation. All dental colleges teach acrylic RPD construction in their preclinical years. Faculty in 12 (85.7%) dental colleges always give clinical demonstrations to students before their clinical rotations. Eleven out of the fourteen colleges teach cast partial dentures (CPDs) theoretically, but no CPDs are fabricated by the students during their clinical rotation. About 70% dental schools do not have in-house facility to fabricate cast partial dentures. Conclusion: This study describes current trends of removable prosthodontics teaching in undergraduate colleges of Sindh. A large majority of undergraduate dental students are not fabricating the minimum number of partial dentures as per PMC requirement. Although theoretically cast partial dentures are taught in lectures but students do not construct them in their undergraduate years. Efforts should therefore be made to improve teaching practices and clinical skills of undergraduates, for them to be able to treat partially dentate patients after graduation.

Corrigendum: Do medical students feel career ready after their psychiatry clinical rotation?

No abstract available.

Temporal changes in medical student perceptions of their clinical skills and needs using a repeated self-assessment instrument

Background Medical student needs in clinical skill training may change over time, but data on this topic are limited. This study uses repeated self-assessments on clinical rotations during medical school to evaluate students’ perceptions of their clinical skill growth. Methods A self-assessment rating was completed by students during each clinical rotation as they progressed through their core clinical rotation year. The instrument consisted of questions on 5 clinical skill categories where students rated their performance as “below”, “at” or “above” expected, and open-ended questions on strengths and challenges. We evaluated changes in self-ratings between the first (n=136) and third (n=118) quarters by matched-pair analysis of the shift in responses between time points using a Sign Test. We also identified the main themes from the students’ responses to open-ended questions. Results We found 22.4 % and 13.3 % of students increased their self-assessment ratings on “Oral Presentation Skills” and on “Differential Diagnosis”, respectively. In contrast, perceived ability to communicate with patients saw the largest negative shifts. “Patient Interaction” was the most commonly identified area of strength and “Knowledge and Organization” was most frequently cited as a barrier. Conclusions Students demonstrated a positive shift in perceived competence in some core clinical skills that are not strongly emphasized in the preclinical curriculum, likely reflecting increased exposure over time. However, their perceived competence in communication skills declined. This may reflect initial over-estimation or true decline due to competing needs/interests. These patterns of change can inform the design of longitudinal curricula that anticipate and address students’ needs during clinical rotations, such as placing increased emphasis on presentation skills and differential diagnosis earlier in the curriculum, and adding more emphasis to communication skills in later phases.

Nursing Students’ Challenges and Experiences of Undergoing Clinical Rotation Program during Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contagion which has resulted in millions of casualties worldwide has been bringing pressure and challenges to nursing students undergoing clinical rotation programs. In Indonesia, several schools of nursing have issued policies to keep facilitating clinical rotation education in the hospital. This policy identified several challenges that the students should face. AIM: This study aimed to explore nursing students’ challenges and experiences undergoing clinical rotation programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive approach to content analysis was employed. The study participants were 31 nursing students who undergo clinical rotation. These participants were purposefully chosen to use criteria. Participants’ age ranged from 23 to 25 years and has passed both the intensive care unit and intensive cardiovascular care unit stage. Data were collected through focus group discussion which was carried out 4 times and each FGD lasted for 90–120 min then analyzed using content analysis method that includes five major segments: Introduction, coding, theme creation, thematic classification, and reporting. RESULTS: The themes from the study included negative emotion in the initial stage, positive emotions, a competency that difficult to achieve, and strategies for coping and self-care. CONCLUSION: Constructive emotion coping strategy is believed to assist students in dealing with challenges amid the clinical rotation program. Implementation of clinical rotation learning for nursing students requires preparation from various aspects, such as student readiness, clinical supervisors, and support from academic institutions.

Nursing Students’ Perceptions of Barriers to Standard Hand Hygiene Practice Amidst COVID-19 in the Tamale Teaching Hospital of Ghana: A Study conducted on First Degree Rotation Nurses of University for Development Studies

Background: Hand hygiene is recognized as the leading measure to prevent cross-transmission of COVID-19. The compliance of nurses with handwashing guidelines is vital in preventing COVID-19 disease transmission among patients. Globally, few studies have explored this subject, especially on the nursing students’ perceptions and barriers of standard hand hygiene precautionary measures amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Purpose: The study aimed to assess the perceptions and barriers associated with standard hand hygiene practice during the COVID-19 era among first degree nursing students undertaking their clinical rotation at the Tamale Teaching Hospital of Ghana. This study was conducted in April 2021. Materials and methods: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design with a quantitative approach. The study population consisted of first degree student nurses of the University for Development Studies who were on clinical rotation at the Tamale Teaching Hospital in the Northern Region of Ghana. The exclusion criteria were nursing students from other tertiary institutions who were having their vacation practicum at the hospital. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants from the wards of the hospital. A standard statistical formula was used to arrive at a sample size of 120. Data was collected by using a paper-based self-designed structured questionnaire in English language that has closed- and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics involving frequencies and percentages were used in representing data. By using a chi-square test, a p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant when the association between independent and dependent variables was cross-tabulated. The statistical software that was used for analyzing the data was SPSS version 23. Results: The study had a total of 120 participants with a mean age of 26.48 and a standard deviation of 3.49. On the distribution of perception about hand hygiene, findings indicated that 105 (87.5%) had good perception. Religion and sex respectively were significantly associated with hand hygiene perceptions (χ2= 13.118, p=0.011; χ2=12.49, p=0.014). Conclusion: Though few of the student nurses had a satisfactory perception regarding hand hygiene, it is a cause to worry about since there exist other barriers influencing standard hand hygiene practices at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. Recommendation: There is the need for the quality assurance unit of the hospital to ensure strict compliance to COVID-19 protocols by all categories of health professionals by seeing to it that standard hand hygiene practices are adhered to, irrespective of religious background.

Nursing students’ development of using physical assessment in clinical rotation—a stimulated recall study

Background The overall aim of this study was to explore third-year bachelor nursing students’ stimulated recall reflections on their physical assessment competence development. The choice of learning strategies in nursing education seems to have great impact on nursing students’ use of physical assessment skills while in clinical rotation. There is a need to explore nursing students’ learning processes related to the use of physical assessments. Methods Explorative qualitative design using a triangulation of data collection methods. Nine final-year nursing students’ physical assessment performances during patient encounters were audio-taped and observed. Shortly after, an individual stimulated recall interview based on the audio-recorded patient encounter and observation notes was conducted. A two-fold analysis was conducted: 1) analysis of students’ performed assessments, and 2) a meaning condensation analysis of the stimulated recall interviews. Results 1) Students’ assessments shifted from a checklist approach to a symptom-based approach, and they emphasized conversation as part of their assessments. 2) Through the stimulated recall interviews, students described reasons for using physical assessments in patient encounters, how the learning environment facilitated or hindered their use of physical assessments, and their own learning strategies. Conclusions Findings contribute a novel, in-depth description of what influenced nursing students’ learning processes of using physical assessment during clinical rotation. This study reveals the importance of designing and implementing learning activities in practical and theoretical courses to support and strengthen students’ learning processes. Further, findings suggest that stimulated recall as a reflective practice should be used systematically to enhance clinical reasoning skills and thus provide deep learning. A more targeted course design for physical assessment— building on and emphasizing nursing students’ prior knowledge and competence—may lead to more confident registered nurses and promote patient safety in different health care contexts.

IMPLICATIONS OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE-19 ON CLINICAL CLERKSHIP AND HOSPITAL POSTINGS

The coronavirus pandemic hit the world sweeping through all parts of the world, crumbling economies, and overwhelming health systems. Undergraduate medical education has been totally disrupted and put to a stop. As Nigeria braces to open on medical schools and clinical rotation about to begin, the palpable panic that accompanies patients-students spread of the virus will definitely affect undergraduate medical education in Nigeria. At present, little is known in Nigeria about the long-term effects of Coronavirus disease-19 on clinical clerkship and undergraduate medical education and adaptations to juxtapose future pandemics with medical education. This review accesses risks, plans, and policies in place and how they will affect undergraduate medical education.

Determinants of medical students' empathy during clinical rotation

Medical students in clinical rotation level have been developed comprehension and implementation of empathy, considering that they have already dealt with patients in the first hand, whereas professionalism and ethics are two main competences as a physician. This study aims to discuss and investigates determinants of medical students’ empathy towards their patients during clinical rotation in the hospital. A qualitative study with phenomenology approach using focus group discussion (FGD) was accompanied with an open-ended questionnaire to serve as preliminary data and basis of FGD topic guidelines involved fourth and fifth grade medical students that has to pass one and/or two of these stages out of the 15 stages in clinical rotation. As much 191 students participated of the written questionnaire and 28 students agree upon voluntarily joining the FGD, which is held with a snowball sampling approach and finishes in five batches. The three main determinants are: i) Internal factors: knowledge about the importance of empathy, direct experience, personality, motivation, mood (emotion), and personal experience; ii) Patient’s and patient’s family factors: patient’s attitudes, patient’s family’s attitudes, patient’s socioeconomic status, patient's illness type and severity; and iii) Environment factors: burnout, satisfaction or appreciation in the job, work environment, and role models. Many factors influence medical students in expressing and implementing empathy as they are taught to do to their patients. Medical school as an institution responsible for upholding the professionalism and ethical standard can help to create more suitable environment for the students to ensure maximum learning experience.

Assessment of Physical Therapy Students Performance during Clinical Practice

Aim: To assess the clinical performance of (DPT) students in Lahore by using assessment of physical therapist practice questionnaire (APP). Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional survey was conducted by using simple random sampling technique. Total 91 students of final year DPT among Lahore were selected for this study. 60% of the students from each college were enrolled. The data was collected by using the standardized questionnaire named assessment of physical therapy questionnaire (APP). Whole information was kept confidential. The data was analyzed by SPSS 23. Results: Results showed that global rating score at APP questionnaire was 62.4% (57 out of 91) reflecting overall good performance during the clinical rotation, 18.68% (17 out of 91) students present satisfactory results ranges, 14.29% (13 out of 91) present acceptable performance and 4.40 % ( 4 out of 91) students showed inappreciable performance. There mean age of 91 students were 21.25 with standard deviation 0.9236. The Pearson chi square test p=0.948, p <0.005. It reveals that there is no significant variation between gender and overall performance of students during clinical rotation Conclusion: This study concluded that maximum final year DPT students showed good performance during clinical practice, indicated that curriculum for DPT students is good enough to make student professionally competent. Key words: Clinical practice, APP questionnaire and DPT students