Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Patient Education About Anticoagulant Medication: Is Narrative Evidence Or Statistical Evidence More Effective?, Kathleen Mazor, Joann Baril, Elizabeth Dugan, Frederick Spencer, Pamela Burgwinkle, Jerry Gurwitz

Elizabeth Dugan

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative impact of incorporating narrative evidence, statistical evidence or both into patient education about warfarin, a widely used oral anticoagulant medication.

METHODS: 600 patients receiving anticoagulant therapy were randomly assigned to view one of three versions of a video depicting a physician-patient encounter where anticoagulation treatment was discussed, or usual care (no video). The videos differed in whether the physician used narrative evidence (patient anecdotes), statistical evidence, or both to highlight key information. 317 patients completed both the baseline and post-test questionnaires. Questions assessed knowledge, beliefs and adherence to medication and laboratory monitoring regimens.

RESULTS: All …

The Disavowed Curriculum: Understanding Student's Reasoning In Professionally Challenging Situations, Shiphra Ginsburg, Glenn Regehr, Lorelei Lingard

Lorelei Lingard

CONTEXT: Understanding students' perceptions of and responses to lapses in professionalism is important to shaping students' professional development. OBJECTIVE: Utilize realistic, standardized professional dilemmas to obtain insight into students' reasoning and motivations in "real time." DESIGN: Qualitative study using 5 videotaped scenarios (each depicting a student placed in a situation which requires action in response to a professional dilemma) and individual interviews, in which students were questioned about what they would do next and why. SETTING: University of Toronto. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen fourth-year medical students; participation voluntary and anonymous. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A model to explain students' reasoning in the face …

Basing The Evaluation Of Professionalism On Observable Behaviors: A Cautionary Tale, Shiphra Ginsburg, Glenn Regehr, Lorelei Lingard

Lorelei Lingard

PROBLEM STATEMENT AND BACKGROUND: The evaluation of professionalism often relies on the observation and interpretation of students' behaviors; however, little research is available regarding faculty's interpretations of these behaviors.

METHOD: Interviews were conducted with 30 faculty, who were asked to respond to five videotaped scenarios in which students are placed in professionally challenging situations. Behaviors were catalogued by person and by scenario.

RESULTS: There was little agreement between faculty about what students should and should not do in each scenario. Abstracted principles (e.g., honesty, altruism) were defined and applied inconsistently, both between and within individual faculty. There was no apparent …

'Is That Normal?' Pre-Clerkship Students' Approaches To Professional Dilemmas, Shiphra Ginsburg, Lorelei Lingard

Lorelei Lingard

OBJECTIVES: Context has been recognised as a key variable in studies of medical student professionalism, yet the effect of students' stage of training has not been well explored, despite growing recognition that medical students begin to form their professional ethos from their earliest medical school experiences. The purpose of this study, which builds on previous research involving clinical clerks, was to explore the decision-making processes of pre-clerkship medical students in the face of standardised professional dilemmas.

METHODS: Structured interviews were conducted with 30 pre-clerkship (Years 1 and 2) medical students at one institution. During the interviews, students were asked to …