Mind the gap: Teachers’ conceptions of student-staff partnership and its potential to enhance educational quality

Abstract

Introduction: Student-staff partnerships as a concept to improve medical education have received a growing amount of attention. Such partnerships are collaborations in which students and teachers seek to improve education by each adding their unique contribution to decision-making and implementation processes. Although previous research has demonstrated that students are favourable to this concept, teachers remain hesitant. The present study investigated teachers’ conceptions of student-staff partnerships and of the prerequisites that are necessary to render such partnerships successful and enhance educational quality.

Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 course coordinators who lead course design teams and also teach in 4 bachelor health programmes, using Bovill and Bulley’s levels of student participation as sensitising concepts during data analysis.

Results: The results pointed to three different conceptions of student-staff partnerships existing among teachers: Teachers teach and students study; teachers teach and value students’ feedback; and teachers and students co-create. The prerequisites for effective co-creation teachers identified were: Teachers must be open to involve students and create dialogues; students must be motivated and have good communication skills; the organisation must be supportive; and teachers should have the final say.

Conclusion: We conclude that teachers’ conceptions are consistent with Bovill and Bulley’s levels of student participation. Under certain conditions, teachers are willing to co-create and reach the highest levels of student participation.     

Instrument-based Tests for Measuring Anterior Chamber Cells in Uveitis: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

Purpose

New instrument-based techniques for anterior chamber (AC) cell counting can offer automation and objectivity above clinician assessment. This review aims to identify such instruments and its correlation with clinician estimates.     

Fifty shades of graft: How to improve the efficacy of faecal microbiota transplantation for decolonization of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Background

Spontaneous decolonization of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) takes time: approximately 25% after 30 days for carbapenem-producing Enterobacteriaceae or extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been proposed as a new strategy to promote decolonization in order to reduce the risk of superinfection due to these ARB. This paper discusses the literature on the use of FMT for this indication, and the improvement levers available to promote its efficacy.

Prolonged mechanical ventilation after cardiac surgery: substudy of the Transfusion Requirements in Cardiac Surgery III trial

Purpose

Prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV) is a major complication following cardiac surgery. We conducted a secondary analysis of the Transfusion Requirements in Cardiac Surgery (TRICTS) III trial to describe MV duration, identify factors associated with prolonged MV, and examine associations of prolonged MV with mortality and complications.

Methods

Four thousand, eight hundred and nine participants undergoing cardiac surgery at 71 hospitals worldwide were included. Prolonged MV was defined based on the Society of Thoracic Surgeons definition as MV lasting 24 hr or longer. Adjusted associations of patient and surgical factors with prolonged MV were examined using multivariable logistic regression. Associations of prolonged MV with complications were assessed using odds ratios, and adjusted associations between prolonged MV and mortality were evaluated using multinomial regression. Associations of shorter durations of MV with survival and complications were explored.

Results

Prolonged MV occurred in 15% (725/4,809) of participants. Prolonged MV was associated with surgical factors indicative of complexity, such as previous cardiac surgery, cardiopulmonary bypass duration, and separation attempts; and patient factors such as critical preoperative state, left ventricular impairment, renal failure, and pulmonary hypertension. Prolonged MV was associated with perioperative but not long-term complications. After risk adjustment, prolonged MV was associated with perioperative mortality; its association with long-term mortality among survivors was weaker. Shorter durations of MV were not associated with increased risk of mortality or complications.

Conclusion

In this substudy of the TRICS III trial, prolonged MV was common after cardiac surgery and was associated with patient and surgical risk factors. Although prolonged MV showed strong associations with perioperative complications and mortality, it was not associated with long-term complications and had weaker association with long-term mortality among survivors.

Study registration

www.ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02042898); registered 23 January 2014. This is a substudy of the Transfusion Requirements in Cardiac Surgery (TRICS) III trial.

     

Emotional detachment,gait ataxia,and cerebellar dysconnectivity associated with compound heterozygous mutations in the SPG7 gene

ABSTRACT

We report a patient with autism-like deficits in emotional connectedness, executive dysfunction, and ataxia beginning at age 39. He had compound heterozygous variants in SPG7 (A510V and 1552+1 G>T substitutions), mutation of which is classically associated with spastic paraparesis. Diffusion MRI demonstrated abnormalities in the cerebellar outflow tracts. Transcranial magnetic stimulation showed a prolonged cortical silent period representing exaggerated cortical inhibition, as previously described with pure cerebellar degeneration. The acquired cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome in association with specific anatomic and neurophysiological abnormalities in the cerebellum expand the spectrum of SPG7-related neurodegeneration and support a role for cerebellar output in socio-emotional behavior.     

Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131

Abstract

Thematic analysis is a widely used, yet often misunderstood, method of qualitative data analysis. It is a useful and accessible tool for qualitative researchers, but confusion regarding the method’s philosophical underpinnings and imprecision in how it has been described have complicated its use and acceptance among researchers. In this Guide, we outline what thematic analysis is, positioning it in relation to other methods of qualitative analysis, and describe when it is appropriate to use the method under a variety of epistemological frameworks. We also provide a detailed definition of a theme, as this term is often misapplied. Next, we describe the most commonly used six-step framework for conducting thematic analysis, illustrating each step using examples from our own research. Finally, we discuss advantages and disadvantages of this method and alert researchers to pitfalls to avoid when using thematic analysis. We aim to highlight thematic analysis as a powerful and flexible method of qualitative analysis and to empower researchers at all levels of experience to conduct thematic analysis in rigorous and thoughtful way.     

Comparison of Patch Materials for Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction

Graphical abstract summarizing the overall results of our study comparing reintervention for a main or central branch pulmonary artery reconstruction site and various patch materials. Autologous pericardium was associate with the lowest reintervention and was free. Multivariable analysis demonstrated lack of superiority of homograft branch patch, which clearly has a much higher cost.

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