A new model of group learning in a clinic discipline of the Medical course

• Autor(a) principal: Calhaz-Jorge, Carlos
• Data de Publicação: 2010
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34632/cadernosdesaude.2010.2801

In medical education there is a long experience of small group teaching and learning (mainly problem-centred). This methodology requires a considerable number of teachers/tutors and seems more adequate for a coherent introduction of clinical elements during basic sciences learning than in the clinical years. Its use in a pure clinical setting demands specific modifications.In the academic year of 2006-2007 a new model for theoretical-practical sessions in Gynaecology was established for the students of Obstetrics and Gynaecology: discussion of a short clinical case (including a list of possible diagnosis, adequate clinical investigation and treatment proposals) in groups of 8 to 10 students followed by discussion among groups, after which the teacher produced a synthesis of the case. The total number of students involved in this program was divided in three groups throughout the year. A Likert-type questionnaire was used to assess how the students responded to the new methodology and to compare the acceptance with that of the established model used in the theoretical-practical sessions of Obstetrics. The correlation between the results of the written summative evaluation related to the experimental model and the global quantitative assessment of the discipline was also studied. More than 90% of the students rated as either “Very useful” or “Extremely useful” the possibility to study on clinical “real” situations, the final discussion with the teacher and the possibility to check and discuss the results of their group with those of the other groups in the class. A little more than 61% of the students showed preference for the new model. The evaluation of the answers of the three groups showed that the first one had, in general, the worst results. In the whole group of students, a positive significant correlation was found between the results of the specific written evaluation concerning the theoretical-practical sessions in Gynaecology and the overall written assessment of the discipline. Within-group analysis showed that the correlation was statistically significant only in one of the groups. In conclusion, this thesis was based on a pilot study applying an educational model for groups learning in a real situation. The response of the students to the model was very positive but there was not a clear preference for this methodology when compared to the one traditionally used in the discipline. The detailed implications of the results are discussed and some issues of the undergraduate curriculum in Medicine course are approached in a reflexive manner.