Material and methods: Module tests (discipline-based assessments) comprising of discipline specific questions are conducted at the end of every term, mimicking the traditional discipline-specific assessment. Questions in the module tests are intended to assess the depth of knowledge of students. Mid semester examinations are conducted at the end of the semester, mimicking the integrated assessment. Integrated questions are intended to test the breadth of knowledge of students.
Results: Lecturers and students felt introduction of module tests, helped them to prepare for topics in a phased manner and better answer questions posed by lecturers during case discussions and clinical presentations. The 'borderline distinction' students felt that studying for module tests provided them with the depth of knowledge essential to answer questions during viva voce.
Discussion: Including both the traditional and integrated methods of assessments would engage students in a learning experience developing their breadth and depth of knowledge. Further prospective research is essential to assess the impact of this assessment strategy.
Methods: This study utilised the Delphi study between April to June 2019. Face-to-face interviews and a literature review were conducted to propose a set of domains and items for the FDP needs of medical teachers. Two rounds of the Delphi technique were incorporated to obtain a consensus for the proposed questionnaire by 10 expert panels from their respective fields. The consensus was pre-defined as a mean score of four or above and with a percent agreement of 75%.
Results: Initially, four domains and 26 items were proposed. Finally, a total of six domains and 38 items were endorsed by the expert panels. The selected domains included six competencies, including teaching, assessment, research, curriculum, publication, and public service. These domains consisted of seven, nine, six, seven, four, and five items, respectively.
Conclusion: This study developed the first preliminary FDPs needs questionnaire specifically designed for medical teachers. It would be an effective instrument to measure the needs of the FDPs in medical education.
DESIGN: The descriptive cross-sectional quantitative design was used.
SETTINGS: Data were collected from Southeast and East Asian Nursing Education and Research Network (SEANERN) affiliated nursing institutions from January 2021 to August 2021.
PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1897 nursing students and 395 faculty members from SEANERN-affiliated nursing institutions in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were recruited for this study.
METHODS: Quantitative surveys were used to explore the satisfaction levels in education modalities, confidence levels, psychosocial well-being, sense of coherence and stress levels of nursing students and faculty members during the COVID-19 pandemic.
RESULTS: Participants were mostly satisfied with the new education modalities, although most students felt that their education was compromised. Both groups showed positive levels of psychosocial well-being, despite scoring low to medium on the sense of coherence scale and experiencing great stress. The participants' sense of coherence was positively correlated with their psychosocial well-being and negatively correlated with stress levels.
CONCLUSIONS: While the COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted the lives of nursing students and faculty members, most of them had a healthy level of psychosocial well-being. Having a strong sense of coherence was associated with better psychosocial health and lower stress levels. As such, it may be helpful to develop interventions aimed at improving the sense of coherence of nursing students and staff to help them manage stressors better.