Marantz Paul R, Burton William, Steiner-Grossman Penny
Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
Acad Med. 2003 Apr;78(4):365-71. doi: 10.1097/00001888-200304000-00008.
Medical students must learn the principles of epidemiology and biostatistics to critically evaluate the medical literature. However, this subject has traditionally been difficult to teach. In 1997 at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the required first-year course in epidemiology and biostatistics was revised to use the case-discussion teaching method. In preparation for the course, experienced faculty participated in an intensive, two-day training workshop. The course, taught to 163 first-year medical students, was structured in two parts: (1) three lectures complemented by a detailed syllabus, followed by a multiple-choice midterm exam; and (2) six case-discussion seminars, followed by a short answer/essay final exam. There were seven case-discussion groups with 23-24 students each. The program was evaluated using subjective faculty feedback, examination scores, and student evaluation questionnaires. Faculty noted excellent student preparation and participation. Multiple-choice exam scores were comparable to those from earlier years, and a short answer/essay exam demonstrated good student mastery of the required material. Student evaluation was overwhelmingly positive, and significantly improved from prior years of the course. Positive student evaluations of the course using this teaching method continued over the next four years; National Board of Medical Examiners examination scores indicated success in mastery of the material; and student assessment of the course improved on the AAMC Graduation Questionnaire. This favorable experience suggests that case-discussion teaching can be employed successfully in teaching principles of epidemiology and biostatistics to medical students.
医学生必须学习流行病学和生物统计学原理，以便批判性地评估医学文献。然而，这门学科传统上一直很难教授。1997年，阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦医学院将一年级必修的流行病学和生物统计学课程修订为采用案例讨论教学法。在课程准备阶段，经验丰富的教员参加了为期两天的强化培训工作坊。该课程面向163名一年级医学生授课，分为两个部分：（1）三场配有详细教学大纲的讲座，之后是一场多项选择题期中考试；（2）六场案例讨论研讨会，之后是一场简答题/论述题期末考试。共有七个案例讨论小组，每组有23 - 24名学生。该项目通过教员的主观反馈、考试成绩和学生评估问卷进行评估。教员们指出学生的准备情况和参与度都非常出色。多项选择题考试成绩与前几年相当，简答题/论述题考试表明学生对所需材料掌握得很好。学生评估绝大多数是积极的，且比该课程前几年有显著提高。在接下来的四年里，学生对采用这种教学方法的课程评价持续积极；美国国家医学考试委员会的考试成绩表明学生在掌握材料方面取得了成功；学生在医学院校协会毕业问卷上对该课程的评价也有所提高。这种良好的经验表明，案例讨论教学法可以成功地用于向医学生教授流行病学和生物统计学原理。
