iPURSE 2019

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https://ir.lib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/20.500.14444/37

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Browsing iPURSE 2019 by Author "Alahakoon, A. R. T. V."

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    English language proficiency has a significant impact on medical school examination performance
    (University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Seneviratne, H. M. T. W.; Somaratne, K. M. K; Alahakoon, A. R. T. V.; Bandara, G. D. D. J.; Bandara, Y. M. D. M.
    Medical education in Sri Lanka is done exclusively in English Language. An overwhelming majority of students who enter the medical school have had their secondary school education in Sinhala medium, which is their mother tongue. This change of medium of instruction on entry to medical school and the level of English language proficiency of students, achieved during school education might affect the academic performance of medical students. The purpose of this study is to assess how the English language proficiency of students and the medium of instruction in school affect medical school examination performance. The study was conducted from June to July 2018. All students who had completed at least the second year medical examination of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, whose mother tongue is Sinhala were included in the study. Medium of instruction at GCE (O/L), Grades obtained for English language at GCE (O/L) (as an indicator of English language proficiency) and the medical school examination results of second year and fourth year (Grade Point Average values- GPA) were collected. Students' T test was used for statistical analysis and significance was set at p= <0.05. Total of 416 students were included in the study. Eighty eight percent of students had achieved an “A” grade for English language at the GCE (O/L) Examination while 91.8% had done their school education in Sinhala medium. There was a statistically significant difference between mean GPA values for second year exam between students who had achieved A grades for English language in GCE (O/L) and who had not (3.02 vs 2.57 p=0.001). The same was true for fourth year exam results (3.21 vs 2.77 p=0.003). With reference to medium of instructions in school, there was no significant difference in medical college examination results between the Sinhala medium and English medium students (p=0.3). In conclusion, our study shows that the English language proficiency has significant impact on medical school examination results but not the medium of instructions in school.
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    High fidelity simulation to teach therapeutics of anaphylaxis to medical undergraduates
    (University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Seneviratne, T.; Somaratne, K. M. K.; Bandara, G. D. D. J.; Alahakoon, A. R. T. V.; Bandara, Y. M. D. M.
    Therapeutic management of anaphylaxis is an important learning outcome in clinical medicine. Gaining pharmacotherapeutic knowledge in relation to the situation where it will be applied, benefits the speed and quality of recall. High fidelity simulations (HFS) provide safe and controlled real life learning environment in which students can gain hands on experience. Hence, we introduced HFS to teach therapeutics of anaphylaxis. This paper describes the perception of the students and the knowledge gain. A group of final year medical students (n=46) during their professorial paediatric appointment were included in the study. Students who volunteered were included in the study. Scenario of anaphylaxis using HFS was given to groups of 5 to 6 students at a time. Initial briefing was given for 05 minutes and then the simulation conducted for 20 minutes followed by debriefing for 10 minutes. Perception about the simulated session was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire in five-point Likert scale. Acquisition of knowledge was assessed using a pre and post-test. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23. Percentage of the responses in Likert scale for the perception of the simulated session was calculated. The total pre and post- test marks were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Students scored significantly higher marks for the post-assessment of knowledge compared to the pre-assessment p=<0.001. All the students opined that simulation contributed to their understanding of drug therapy in anaphylaxis. 91.3% of students mentioned that the session was appropriate to their knowledge and experience and 89.1 % agreed that the training session resembled a real-life situation. All of them agreed that it encouraged their active participation. 95.6% of the students believed simulated sessions are better than small group discussions and 95.7% mentioned that HFS is an effective tool to teach clinical drug therapy of anaphylaxis. All the students mentioned that it is a valuable use of their time and they want to have further sessions. In conclusion, the use of High-fidelity simulations to teach therapeutics of anaphylaxis is well received by the students.