Medical Teachers Appraisal. New challenge for European Family Medicine Teachers

A professional appraisal can be defined as the process whereby an appraiser examines and evaluates an appraisee’s work by comparing it with pre-set standards [1]. This process is generally designed to encourage the professional to reflect on his or her work and to provide evidence that the required standards are being achieved

Method for Teaching Life-Saving Combat First-Aid Skills With live–actor Patients Using a Wearable Training Apparatus

ABSTRACT Introduction Training combat personnel in combat first-aid skills has faced many challenges over time, such as the need to combine tactics with medicine and to overcome combat personnel’s lack of medical background knowledge. Therefore, many simulation methods are currently being developed, each of which has its advantages and disadvantages. In this study, a combined simulation method involving live–actor patients using a wearable training apparatus was developed, and the effects of this method were observed. Materials and Methods Focusing on the major causes of preventable deaths among victims killed in action, wearable training apparatuses simulating massive hemorrhage, airway obstruction, and tension pneumothorax were designed and produced. Methods of simulating these three injury types using live–actor patients with these training apparatuses were developed, and medical teachers evaluated the simulation effects. The live–actor patients were incorporated into a tactical scenario to train and test nonmedical and medical students in year 3, respectively. High-fidelity simulator-based training and traditional training without simulation served as the control. A post-training survey using a 7-point Likert scale evaluated the trainees’ feelings toward these training approaches. Results Three types of training apparatuses were developed to simulate three life-threatening injuries, and the simulation effects of the live–actor patients using these apparatuses were highly recognized by medical teachers. Both live–actor patients and high-fidelity simulator-based training improved performance significantly more than traditional training. However, the improvement due to training with live–actor patients was greater than that due to high-fidelity simulator-based training for nonmedical students, whereas there was no difference between these two simulation methods for medical students. A post-training survey revealed that all the trainees were confident in practicing first-aid skills after training, and they all agreed that live–actor patients could combine tactical situations with first aid better than high-fidelity simulators. The nonmedical students strongly agreed that live–actor patients were more helpful in the training of injury evaluation than high-fidelity simulators. Conclusions The method using wearable training apparatus-based live–actor patients was satisfying and effective for teaching life-saving combat first-aid skills, especially for nonmedical students.

Covid-19, an opportunity to compare in-person and online teaching

For years it has been discussed the dichotomy between traditional in-person teaching versus online instruction. The lockdown, consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, gave us an opportunity to gain evidence and compare in-person versus online teaching by the same professor, in the same subject and by the same students which is an interesting scenario because the only variable is the teaching setup. Here, we conducted a survey of students that following a traditional in-person subject were abruptly compelled to continue it online. We summarize the students’ responses when asked to compare both types of teaching with the singularity that the rest of variables were kept constant. Finally, we compared the grades of this “hybrid taught” group of students with the grades from groups of previous years in the same subject, by the same instructor, but totally in-person. We, as medical teachers, were excited about the possibility that the online teaching forced by the Covid-19 pandemic will develop in the system for delivering our lectures in the near future. Even considering that grades were not affected and pros such as comfort and participation, according to our study, students prefer in person education mainly because the direct contact and interaction with peers and teachers.