Problems presented by medical students seeking support: A possible intervention framework

Hays, Richard; Lawson, Mary; Gray, Carol

doi:10.3109/0142159x.2010.509415

Cited by 33 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…), and health problems (e.g. depression, anxiety, psychological morbidity) could be four broad categories of signs to watch out for (Evans et al 2010;Hayes et al 2011;Tabby et al 2011;Yates 2011;Mørcke et al 2012;Roberts et al 2012;Maher et al 2013). Our anatomy tutors also found problems with participation, poor academic performance and poor social interactions to be signs of struggling (see Table 6).…”

Section: Indicators Of Strugglementioning

confidence: 84%

The validity of student tutors’ judgments in early detection of struggling in medical school. A prospective cohort study

O’Neill

Mørcke

Εika

2016

Adv in Health Sci Educ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Early identification and support of strugglers in medical education is generally recommended in the research literature, though very little evidence of the diagnostic qualities of early teacher judgments in medical education currently exists. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of early diagnosis of struggling in medical school based on informal teacher judgements of in-class behavior. The study design was a prospective cohort study and the outcomes/truth criteria were anatomy failure and medical school drop out. Six weeks into an anatomy course, student tutors attempted to identify medical students, who they reckoned would fail the anatomy course or drop out, based on their everyday experiences with students in a large group educational setting. In addition, they were asked to describe the indicators of struggling they observed. Sixteen student tutors evaluated 429 medical students for signs of struggling. By week six, the student tutors were able to detect approximately 1/4-1/3 of the students who eventually failed or dropped out, and for ¾ of the strugglers they identified, they were correct in their judgments. Informal student tutor's judgements showed incremental validity for both outcomes when controlling for grades obtained in preceeding exams. Lack of participation, lack of commitment, poor academic performance, poor social interactions and general signs of distress were the main indicators of struggling identified. Teachers' informal judgements of in-class behavior may be an untapped source of information in the early identification of struggling medical students with added value above and beyond formal testing.

show abstract

Section: Indicators Of Strugglementioning

confidence: 84%

The validity of student tutors’ judgments in early detection of struggling in medical school. A prospective cohort study

O’Neill

Mørcke

Εika

2016

Adv in Health Sci Educ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, medical education literature from the UK and elsewhere suggests that 'struggling' is not unique to Nottingham [11,13,26,28]. We would suggest that a combination of selected academic and non-academic markers might be suitable for other schools who wish to identify potentially high-risk students, and could be a better predictor than academic criteria alone.…”

Section: Limitations Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a 'toolkit' to identify medical students at risk of failure to thrive on the course: an exploratory retrospective case study

Yates

2011

BMC Med Educ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundAn earlier study at Nottingham suggested that 10-15% of the medical student intake was likely to fail completely or have substantial problems on the course. This is a problem for the students, the Faculty, and society as a whole. If struggling students could be identified early in the course and additional pastoral resources offered, some of this wastage might be avoided. An exploratory case study was conducted to determine whether there were common indicators in the early years, over and above academic failure, that might aid the identification of students potentially at risk.MethodsThe study group was drawn from five successive cohorts. Students who had experienced difficulties were identified in any of four ways: from Minutes of the Academic Progress Committee; by scanning examination lists at key stages (end of the first two years, and finals at the end of the clinical course); from lists of students flagged to the Postgraduate Deanery as in need of extra monitoring or support; and from progress files of those who had left the course prematurely. Relevant data were extracted from each student's course progress file into a customised database.Results1188 students were admitted over the five years. 162 (14%) were identified for the study, 75 of whom had failed to complete the course by October 2010. In the 87 who did graduate, a combination of markers in Years 1 and 2 identified over half of those who would subsequently have the most severe problems throughout the course. This 'toolkit' comprised failure of 3 or more examinations per year, an overall average of <50%, health or social difficulties, failure to complete Hepatitis B vaccination on time, and remarks noted about poor attitude or behaviour.ConclusionsA simple toolkit of academic and non-academic markers could be used routinely to help identify potential strugglers at an early stage, enabling additional support and guidance to be given to these students.

show abstract

“…The observed behaviors triggering an ECN at our institution often reflected a range of underlying problems. For example, ‘a pattern of frequently arriving late’ has included underlying factors as diverse as failure to set a wake-up alarm, sleep disturbance from a newborn child at home, ignorance (or dismissal) of professional norms, declining interest in medicine as a career, depression, burnout, or substance abuse [21,22]. In such cases, the behavior might represent a transient, self-limited, or treatable condition or provide an opportunity to educate the student.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Student response to reports of unprofessional behavior: assessing risk of subsequent professional problems in medical school

Ainsworth

Szauter

2018

Medical Education Online

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: An early concern note (ECN) program is used by some medical schools to identify, counsel, and intervene when students exhibit unprofessional behavior. Student maturity, insight, propensity for reflection, and receptiveness to feedback have been suggested as predictors of future behavior. Objective: We hypothesized that (a) classifying students with a first ECN based on their response to the report would identify students at risk of repeat ECNs better than the action that prompted it and (b) receipt of multiple ECNs would identify students at risk of adverse academic events.Design: For this study, 459 ECNs were classified based on students’ (1) recognition that their behavior was inappropriate and (2) acceptance of responsibility for the behavior. Student academic progress and receipt of subsequent ECNs were tracked.Results: Students who recognized their behavior was inappropriate and accepted responsibility after an initial ECN received subsequent ECNs at lower rates (14–19%) than students who disagreed with the significance of their behavior or were resistant to accepting responsibility (36–59%). Students with limited insight and adaptability appeared to be at highest risk. Seventy-one percent of students with three or more ECNs encountered adverse academic events during enrollment.Conclusion: Student reactions to reports of unprofessional behavior may be useful as a tool to help assess risk of recurrent lapses. Students with diminished capacity to recognize behaviors as unprofessional or accept responsibility for them appear to be at highest risk for additional adverse academic and professionalism events while in medical school.

show abstract

Problems presented by medical students seeking support: A possible intervention framework

Abstract: This classification may assist early intervention into personal problems presented by medical students to student support services.

Cited by 33 publications

References 14 publications

The validity of student tutors’ judgments in early detection of struggling in medical school. A prospective cohort study

The validity of student tutors’ judgments in early detection of struggling in medical school. A prospective cohort study

Development of a 'toolkit' to identify medical students at risk of failure to thrive on the course: an exploratory retrospective case study

Student response to reports of unprofessional behavior: assessing risk of subsequent professional problems in medical school

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About