University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Adv Physiol Educ. 2010 Jun;34(2):75-85. doi: 10.1152/advan.00105.2009.
Second-year medical students at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine (Durban, South Africa) were given a brief to prepare oral presentations on topics related to disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and endocrine system in the form of "patient-doctor" role play and to submit written documents about their topics. This initiative was introduced to assist medical students in their application and understanding of physiology to clinical situations. The aims of the student presentations were to improve the understanding of the physiological basis of diseases; promote independent research, active, and group-based learning; encourage social interactions; and develop presentation and peer review skills. Students rose to the challenge, producing a variety of presentations reflecting a wealth of creativity, humour, sensitivity to local cultural issues, and analytic thinking skills. The quality of the supporting posters and computer-generated slides was outstanding. Numerous "fun" prizes for specific individual and group performances were given based on peer and staff evaluations. This exercise ran over a 5-yr period before the introduction of a problem-based learning medical curriculum. Student feedback obtained over these years is reported here. Students were asked to complete semistructured questionnaires, which elicited feedback on various aspects of the learning exercise, including whether it should be continued and how it could be improved upon, especially if they were in groups that did not function well. The feedback obtained revealed that most students perceived the presentations to be fun, informative, creative/innovative, and, most importantly, beneficial to their learning. The majority of students felt that this exercise improved their understanding of pathophysiology, taught them to research independently, and encouraged better class interactions and group learning. The inclusion of such initiatives is beneficial not only to students' understanding and their experience in studying physiology but also for the development of skills useful in their future careers.
南非德班纳尔逊·曼德拉医学院的二年级医学生接到任务，以“医患角色扮演”的形式准备有关胃肠道和内分泌系统紊乱主题的口头报告，并提交有关其主题的书面文件。这一举措旨在帮助医学生将生理学知识应用于临床情况。学生报告的目的是提高对疾病生理基础的理解；促进独立研究、积极主动和基于小组的学习；鼓励社交互动；并发展演讲和同行评审技能。学生们迎接了挑战，制作了各种反映出丰富创造力、幽默、对当地文化问题的敏感性以及分析思维能力的报告。支持海报和计算机生成幻灯片的质量非常出色。根据同行和教职员工的评估，为特定的个人和团体表现颁发了许多“有趣”的奖项。在引入基于问题的学习医学课程之前，这项练习进行了 5 年。本文报告了这些年来获得的学生反馈。学生被要求完成半结构化问卷，以了解他们对学习活动各个方面的反馈，包括他们是否应该继续进行以及如何改进，特别是如果他们所在的小组表现不佳。获得的反馈表明，大多数学生认为报告有趣、信息丰富、有创意/创新性，最重要的是，对他们的学习有益。大多数学生认为这种练习提高了他们对病理生理学的理解，教会他们独立研究，并鼓励更好的课堂互动和小组学习。此类举措的纳入不仅对学生理解和学习生理学的经验有益，而且对发展他们未来职业生涯中有用的技能也有益。
