A teacher’s perspective about what makes an effective medical teacher is changing. Medical
teachers are not data-banks of facts and experience, imparting knowledge passively. It was
decided to see what our faculty (Malaysian and non-Malaysian) thought were attributes of an
effective medical teacher.
Methodology:
This was a cross-sectional study in a private medical school in Malaysia. We obtained Ethics’
Committee approval. The estimated sample size was 73. Faculty willing to participate after
verbal informed consent were included. Thirty attributes were rated on a 5-point Likert scale.
Attributes were grouped into four categories: “teaching-related”, “personal traits” “interaction
with students”, and “teacher as a doctor”.
Results:
One hundred and four faculty completed the questionnaire (63.5% male, 36.5% female, 20.2%
preclinical, 25% surgical, 25% medical, 10.6% public health-family medicine and 19.2% general
studies lecturers).
Top ranking attributes selected from the percentage of faculty who rated each strongly were
“enabled to understand basic principles and enthusiastic” (77.9%), “made subject meaningful to
practice”, and “encouraged students to participate” (76%), “ethical” (73.1%), “presented
logically” (69.2%), “motivated students” (68.3%), “spoke loudly and clearly” (67.3%),
“passionate” (65.4%), “showed concern for students” (64.4%), “no bias” (63.5%), “punctual”
and “gave feedback”(61.5%).
Overall ranking for grouped attributes in descending order was “personal traits”, “teachingrelated”,
“interaction with students” and “teacher as a doctor”.
Conclusions and take home message:
Teachers in this study, did not rank knowledge among the top 10 attributes overall. Awareness of
perspectives of teachers will help administrators to organize appropriate staff development
activities.
Helicobacter pylori has been established as the pathogen responsible for various upper gastrointestinal conditions ranging from peptic ulcer disease to malignancies such as gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. In this study the prevalence of this organism among patients undergoing oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy as outpatients was investigated utilizing the rapid urease test of endoscopic gastric biopsies. Out of 278 respondents, we discovered that the prevalence was 40.3% with a slight female preponderance. Ethnic differences were also noted with a much higher (>40%) percentage of Indians and Chinese testing positive for the organism compared with the Malays (23.8%). A larger proportion of the respondents who had the organism were found to have positive OGDS findings compared with those who did not have the organism.
Concept: Undergraduate medical students can be taught entirely through distance learning.
Background: Undergraduate medical education (UGME) is currently available predominantly to
an elite minority of students with resources. There are probably many students who might have
become excellent doctors, if only they had had an opportunity to undertake a flexible and less
expensive course.
Proposal: In UGME, there is a tendency to underestimate the capabilities of medical students
and overemphasize the importance of teachers. Educators of late consider medical students as
adult learners capable of managing their learning needs; teachers are facilitators guiding them in
the right direction. If there is one branch of study eminently suited to distance learning, it is
probably UGME. The teaching program should be planned meticulously and executed with care.
With the support of available resources in information technology, it is time to consider UGME
through distance learning.
Why: A course in distance learning will be inexpensive. It will foster lifelong learning because
self-directed learning was started in the beginning. A large number of students will benefit; they
will hopefully serve their communities better than doctors from mainstream medical schools.
Discussion: Harden’s CRISIS criteria for CME, suit the planning of this course. The advantages
and disadvantages, educational strategies for teaching-learning and assessment, selection of
students and faculty, mentoring and feedback for this course will be discussed.
Conclusion: With meticulous planning, IT support and help from medical schools of
international standing, distance learning in UGME is an inexpensive, feasible option benefiting a
large number of students.
The non-structural protein 1 (NS1) of the dengue viral genome has been found useful for diagnosis of acute dengue infections, being detected from one day and up to 18 days post onset of symptoms (1). Rapid Dengue NS1 antigen test was made available in commercial test kits for private clinics in Perak in 2014. This study aimed to determine the use usefulness of dengue NS1 test kits in suspected dengue cases in a general practice clinic in Perak and the period in which positive test results were obtained after the onset of symptoms. Clinic records of all suspected dengue cases seen in the ten months from October 2014 to July 2015 were traced. Patients’ demographic characteristics, presenting symptoms and the use of One Step Dengue NS1 Antigen test (Avo Diagnostics) were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Seventy one suspected dengue fever cases were seen in the study period, the highest number in July 2015 (25%). Majority were Chinese (80%), female (63%), and aged 40 years and above (51%). Most patients presented with fever (99%), body-ache (51%), gastrointestinal symptoms (51%) and headache (44%). Dengue NS1 antigen test was done in 94% of the suspected cases with 61% testing positive. The majority of the cases presenting one day to five days after onset of symptoms tested positive i.e. 59% (1 day), 90% (2 days), 54% (3-4 days) and 89% (5 days). Using dengue NS1 antigen test, positive results can be obtained as early as one day after the onset of symptoms. This test is a useful tool to aid primary care physicians detect dengue fever early.