The teaching of Clinical Pharmacology plays a very important role in medical education. In this article, we introduce our exploration and practice in Clinical Pharmacology course in West China Hospital of Sichuan University, which combines Good Clinical Practice with teaching methods such as problem-based learning and case-based learning. Furthermore, we analyze the actual effects in optimizing teaching content, renewing teaching mode, and improving teachers’ teaching ability, etc. We hope this article could provide new ideas for the teaching reform of undergraduate Clinical Pharmacology course.
In West China Medical School of Sichuan University, the practice and exploration of the medical curriculum construction of "inquiry-class" teaching mode has been implemented with the support of the school since the spring semester of 2013. As a result a series of achievements have been made through the recruitment of graduate assistants to participate in auxiliary teaching in the mode of "large class teaching - small group discussion", as well as the reform of assessment methods and implementation of formative evaluation plus building effective assessment and management mechanism for curriculum.
Objective To investigate the current status of higher education of allied health professions (AHPs), professional human resource as well as the career development of allied health professionals, and to provide references for the planning of higher education of AHPs in China. Methods Literature was reviewed in relation to the current status of higher education of AHPs and professional human resource in China. A questionnaire survey was conducted to determine the career development conditions of allied health professionals. Results a) Currently, the higher education of AHPs in China was faced with such problems as a limited scale, a lower structural level, and an absent degree system. b) The number of allied health professionals was small with lower qualifications. Higher-end professionals were in shortage. C) The professionals saw multiples glass ceilings over career orientation, academic advancement, and professional entitlement. Conclusion Efforts should be made to expand the scale of higher education of AHPs, elevate degree structure, and to construct a professional education system with multiple layers and categories. The professional education should be combined with the career development for planning and collaboration to provide assurance for the career development of the professional in China.
诊断学是临床医学的基础和入门，是习得临床执业风格最重要的环节。如何在诊断学学习阶段，夯实学生基本理论和技能，培养其科学缜密的临床思维能力，是各医学院校共同面对的课题和挑战。互动参与式教学摒弃传统单一的被动式、灌输式的教学模式，强调以学生为主体，赋予学生协作性、参与性的教学诉求，加强内在激励，激发其主观能动性和创造力。根据诊断学不同教学模块的课程目标、内容和知识结构，有机地将互动参与式教学法应用于诊断学教学中：问诊-角色扮演，查体-示教与实践学习，症状学-小讲课、小组讨论、床旁实践，临床思维-案例分析，职业素养-小组讨论、角色扮演、床旁实践、辩论演讲等。策略得当地将互动参与式教学的理念、元素、方法应用于诊断学教学中，符合临床医学教学实践性强的特点，遵循个体认知规律，符合外部和内在发展并重的教学效果的深层考量，具备良好的教学容量和一定的普适性，值得在临床医学教学中推广运用。
Objective To explore teaching effects of case-based learning (CBL) in abdominal physical examination in diagnostics. Methods Among 83 undergraduates in grade 2007 and in major of 8-year clinical medicine were randomly divided into two groups. Under the same conditions, 41 in the CBL group were taught with CBL method, while the other 42 in the control group were taught with traditional teaching method. Their scores in standard patient (SP) practice assessment of abdominal physical examination, examination of abnormal abdominal signs, ability to analyze and write medical records, and right answers to abdominal examination in final exam were compared. Meanwhile, questionnaire surveys were distributed to them after class. Results There was no significant difference between the two groups in the scores of SP practice assessment or medical record writing and analyzing, but the CBL group was obviously superior to the control group in the tests of abnormal abdominal signs and the right answers to abdominal examination in final exam (Plt;0.05). The questionnaire surveys revealed that the CBL group obviously scored higher in the following 3 items: increase the learning interest and commitment, strengthen the ability to analyze and solve problems, and improve the ability to combine theory and practice (Plt;0.05). Conclusion CBL method has an obvious advantage to improve the teaching quality in abdominal physical examination in diagnostics.
Objective To explore the teaching effects of problem-based learning (PBL) in diagnostic practice teaching. Methods A total of 32 students enrolled into PBL group adopted the PBL teaching method based on certain cases in some sections while the other 210 students into the control group adopted the traditional teaching method. Their scores in the theory, the practice skill examination and the evaluation of the analytical ability of the medical records were compared. A questionnaire survey was measured in PBL group after class. Results There was no significant difference in scores of theory and practice skill examination in the two groups. The questionnaire survey revealed that the PBL method could improve the learning interest, independent study, b communication, analytical skills, and team spirit. However, there were defects in systematization of imparting knowledge. Conclusion The PBL method has an obvious advantage in diagnostic practice teaching.
Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of Rhubarb and adjunvent drugs for chronic renal failure. Methods Electronic database searching including Medline, Cochrane Library and CBM from 1980 to Dec., 2000 was performed. Handsearching was applied to 15 kinds of nephrological and traditional Chinese medicine journals such as Chinese Journal of Nephology. Randomised and quasi-randomised trials concerning Rhubarb treatment for CRF were selected. The selected studies were assessed for their methodological quality and the data were extracted to perform the Meta-analysis. Results Eighteen randomised and quasi-randomised trials including 1 322 patients met the inclusion criteria, but their methodological quality was low. Compared to non-specific treatment, Rhubarb showed significant positive effects on relieving symptoms, lowering serum creatinine, improving HGB and adjusting disturbance of lipid metabolism. The effect of Rhubarb on reducing the number of death [OR 0.15, 95%CI (0.06 to 0.36), P=0.000] and the number of progressing into end-stage renal disease [OR 0.38, 95%CI (0.09 to1.64), P=0.19] was not confirmed because of the small sample size. Conclusions Rhubarb may have the same effect on CRF in the short-term observation. But its long-term effect of delaying the progression of CRF is still unclear. Well designed, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials with long-term follow up and clinical related outcomes are warranted.
In the context of collaboration between healthcare and education systems, in order to promote competency-oriented medical education reform and improve the clinical capabilities of medical students at all levels, it is urgent to enhance the organizational guarantee to establish a stable teaching team in university-affiliated hospitals. As the National Clinical Teaching and Training Demonstration Center, West China School of Medicine / West China Hospital of Sichuan University has taken the lead to explore the building of a full-time teaching team for clinical practice teaching, innovating and implementing the system of “Full-time Practice Teaching Post”. This innovative measure ensures the whole-process management, teaching, and assessment of medical students, strengthens teacher training and top-level design of teaching and research, improves the incentive mechanism for teachers, applies multiple teaching resources and novel teaching methods, and finally improves the quality and culture of clinical practice teaching.
Within the context of the "Healthy China Strategy" and the "Biology-Psychology-Society" medical model, the goals, content and methods of medical education have undergone tremendous changes. To keep up with the pace of development of medical technology and medical concepts, medical education requires major reforms, and medical teaching models requires reconstruction. Based on previous investigations and discussions and considering the West China medical education as an example, this paper summarizes the difficulties that will be faced in the transformation and reform of modern medical education and discusses and analyzes the future direction of medical education reform.
To cultivated competent clinicians with the potential to be future pillars and leaders is the educational objective of an 8-year medical program at the West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University. Problem-based learning (PBL) is more effective than traditional, passive, didactic teaching in training of communication skills, information management and critical thinking and research. These are included in the Global Minimum Essential Requirements in Medical Education (GMER). We introduce our practice of PBL as a separate course for the 8-year medical program, including its design, preparation, implementation and evaluation. We discuss why it is designed as a separate course and implemented in multiple semesters with fewer cases in each semester. The move from giving a fish to people to teaching people how to fish, and from teacher-centered to student-centered teaching is a radical transformation of educational concepts and the traditional teaching-and-learning model. Such a change cannot happen in a single step and we hope that this model PBL course, focusing on training in methods and skills, will facilitate the concept transformation and the involvement of all our teachers and students. This should help our teaching to evolve continuously, develop a system for evaluating PBL and lead to the gradual incorporation of PBL into our discipline-based courses or organ system-based courses.