Over the years we have observed that there is a very low passing rate for the Anatomy and Neuroanatomy courses in our department, and for that reason we decided to implement the use of student-learning resources. The objective of this study was to compare the results of traditional methodology with those obtained with the support of computer-assisted learning (CAL). We performed a retrospective and joint study for Anatomy and Neuroanatomy groups during the period of September 2001 to February 2003, to establish a comparison between traditional learning and traditional learning supported by CAL. In the Anatomy group, students who used the traditional method (n1 = 365) received an average final grade of 58 (SD = 14.94), while the average final grade for students who used the traditional method supported by CAL (n2 = 283) was 68 (SD = 14.56). In the Neuroanatomy group, the students who used the traditional method (n3 = 217) had an average final grade of 61 (SD = 14.51), while the students who used the traditional method supported by CAL (n4 = 134) received an average final grade of 68 (SD = 13.52). A z-test was conducted to determine the difference in averages between the two groups (alpha = 0.05), and the results showed that the averages were significantly different (P <.001). The modified traditional method with CAL support was shown to be the best option in comparison with the traditional method.

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Introducción. La educación médica en México no tiene referentes nacionales de evaluación integral que permitan identificar fortalezas y debilidades educativas.Objetivos. Valorar la factibilidad de colaboración interinstitucional para la evaluación en medicina y analizar integralmente conocimientos, destrezas y actitudes médicas. Sujetos y métodos.Ocho facultades de medicina definieron las competencias necesarias al concluir el año previo al internado. Se aplicó a distancia un examen con 105 reactivos de opción múltiple, además de un examen clínico objetivo estructurado (ECOE) con 18 estaciones. Áreas evaluadas: cirugía, ginecología, medicina interna, medicina comunitaria y pediatría. Universo: estudiantes próximos al inicio del internado. Muestra de acuerdo a la matrícula de cada institución. Los resultados se analizaron en global, área del conocimiento e institución.Resultados. Participaron 199 estudiantes de ocho facultades en las dos evaluaciones, 99 hombres y 100 mujeres, con una edad media de 21 años. El rendimiento global por área fue: cirugía, 60,22 %; ginecología, 61,90%; medicina interna, 57,97%; pediatría, 52,25%, y salud pública, 49,68%. La media total fue del 56.40%. Por institución, la mediana se mantuvo entre 35,91 y 51,06%.Conclusiones. Es factible la participación interinstitucional en evaluaciones integrales de medicina. La plataforma utilizada permitió la aplicación de exámenes a distancia simultáneos. El ECOE es factible y útil para evaluar habilidades y destrezas, y es recomendable que todas las escuelas lo utilicen. Se identifican fortalezas en ginecología y cirugía, así como debilidades en pediatría y, sobre todo, en salud pública y medicina comunitaria, que pueden considerarse referentes útiles para ajustes en los programas educativos. Se requiere incrementar el tamaño de la muestra.Palabras clave. Competencias. ECOE. Educación médica. Medicina.

AIMTo assess if undernutrition during pregnancy induces early structural cardiovascular alterations in the offspring.METHODSRats were fed ad libitum with standard chow throughout gestation (control; C) or restricted to 50% the last 10 days of gestation (restricted; R) and offspring was weighted at birth. In 6‐day old rats, body and heart weights were measured. Hearts were frozen in liquid N2 to quantify collagen content (Sircol Kit) or fixed and paraffine‐embedded to assess collagen distribution (sirius red staining). Carotid arteries were mounted on a pressure myograph to measure geometrical parameters.RESULTSR pups had smaller birth weight (5.25±0.21g; n=24) compared to C (6.44±0.14 g, n=21; p<0.05). This difference was maintained in 6‐day old rats (R=10.6±0.25 g; C=12.23±0.28g, p<0.05) together with heart hypertrophy (R=0.007±0.0002; C=0.006±0.0001 heart weight/body weight; n=10; p<0.05) and increased heart collagen content located in the interstitium. Carotid arteries from R pups showed a significant reduction of internal and external diameters.CONCLUSIONMaternal undernutrition is associated with early cardiovascular remodeling which might predispose to increase blood pressure later in life.