Congresses as Topic ; Curriculum ; trends ; Education, Medical ; standards ; Humans

Education, Medical ; standards ; Educational Measurement ; methods ; Humans ; Taiwan

INTRODUCTIONPlanning a high-stake clinical examination requires the evaluation of several psychometric and logistical variables. The authors conducted generalisability and decision studies to answer the following research questions in the context of the surgical long case: (1) Does the addition of a third examiner have any added benefit, vis-à-vis reliability, to the examination? (2) Is global marking more reliable than an itemised marking template? (3) What would be the impact on reliability if there was a reduction in the number of examinees that each panel of examiners is required to assess?

METHODSA third examiner and global marking were introduced. Separate generalisability and decision studies were carried out for both the two- and three-examiner models as well as for itemised and global scores.

RESULTSThe introduction of a third examiner resulted in a modest gain of reliability by 0.05-0.07. Gain in reliability was higher when each candidate was allowed to undertake a higher number of clinical cases. Both the global and itemised scores provided equivalent reliability (generalisability coefficient 0.74-0.89).

CONCLUSIONOur results showed that only a modest improvement in reliability of the surgical long case is achieved through the introduction of an additional examiner. Although the reliability of global scoring and the itemised marking template was comparable, the latter may provide opportunities for individualised feedback to examinees.

Clinical Competence ; Education, Medical, Undergraduate ; methods ; standards ; Educational Measurement ; methods ; Humans ; Medical History Taking ; methods ; Observation ; Professional-Patient Relations ; Psychometrics ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Schools, Medical ; Singapore

INTRODUCTIONA knowledge-attitude dissociation often exists in geriatrics where knowledge but not attitudes towards elderly patients improve with education. This study aims to determine whether a holistic education programme incorporating multiple educational strategies such as early exposure, ageing simulation and small group teaching results in improving geriatrics knowledge and attitudes among medical students.

MATERIALS AND METHODSWe administered the 18-item University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Geriatric Knowledge Test (GKT) and the Singapore-modified 16-item UCLA Geriatric Attitudes Test (GAT) to 2nd year students of the old curriculum in 2009 (baseline reference cohort, n = 254), and before and after the new module to students of the new curriculum in 2010 (intervention cohort, n = 261), both at the same time of the year.

RESULTSAt baseline, between the baseline reference and intervention cohort, there was no difference in knowledge (UCLA-GKT Score: 31.6 vs 33.5, P = 0.207) but attitudes of the intervention group were worse than the baseline reference group (UCLA-GAT Score: 3.53 vs 3.43, P = 0.003). The new module improved both the geriatric knowledge (UCLA-GKT Score: 34.0 vs 46.0, P <0.001) and attitudes (UCLA-GAT Score: 3.43 vs 3.50, P <0.001) of the intervention cohort.

CONCLUSIONA geriatric education module incorporating sound educational strategies improved both geriatric knowledge and attitudes among medical students.

Curriculum ; Education, Medical, Undergraduate ; Educational Measurement ; Educational Status ; Geriatrics ; education ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Psychometrics ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Statistics as Topic ; Students, Medical

In this paper, we provide guidance to clinicians who care for infants born to mothers with suspected/confirmed COVID-19 during this current pandemic. We reviewed available literature and international guidelines based on the following themes: delivery room management; infection control and prevention strategies; neonatal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 testing; breastfeeding and breastmilk feeding; rooming-in of mother-infant; respiratory support precautions; visiting procedures; de-isolation and discharge of infant; outpatient clinic attendance; transport of infant; and training of healthcare staff. This guidance for clinical care was proposed and contextualised for the local setting via consensus by members of this workgroup and was based on evidence available as of 31 July 2020, and may change as new evidence emerges.
Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Mothers ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; COVID-19 Testing ; Pandemics/prevention & control* ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical/prevention & control* ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/prevention & control*