Effectiveness of a supervisor training on quality of feedback to internal medicine residents: a controlled longitudinal multicentre study.

Objectives: High-quality feedback on different dimensions of competence is important for resident learning. Supervisors may need additional training and information to fulfil this demanding task. This study aimed to evaluate whether a short and simple training improves the quality of feedback residents receive from their clinical supervisors in daily practice.

How students and specialists appreciate the mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX) in Indonesian clerkships.

Background: Cultural differences might challenge the acceptance of the implementation of assessment formats that are developed in other countries. Acceptance of assessment formats is essential for its effectiveness; therefore, we explored the views of students and specialists on the practicality and impact on learning of these formats. This study was conducted to explore Indonesian students' and specialists' appreciation of the implementation of the Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) in Indonesian clerkships.

Do different curriculum aligned selection procedures admit students with different personality profiles to medical school?

Background: Medical schools aim to contribute to a pool of doctors who are ready for a future practice that will be ever-changing requiring collaboration skills and lifelong learning. They adapt their curricula and selection procedures to fulfil this responsibility. This study aims to determine whether two different selection procedures in one medical school, both matching the key characteristics of the subsequent curricula (one traditional, knowledge-based, and one recently designed for self directed learning and focusing on practice), select students with different personality traits as a side-effect.

Selection as a learning experience: an exploratory study.

Introduction: Research on selection for medical school does not explore selection as a learning experience, despite growing attention for the learning effects of assessment in general. Insight in the learning effects allows us to take advantage of selection as an inclusive part of medical students' learning process to become competent professionals. The aims of this study at Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands, were 1) to determine whether students have learning experiences in the selection process, and, if so, what experiences; and 2) to understand what students need in order to utilize the learning effects of the selection process at the start of the formal curriculum.

Clinical workplace learning: perceived learning value of individual and group feedback in a collectivistic culture.

Background: Feedback is essential for workplace learning. Most papers in this field concern individual feedback. In collectivistic cultures, however, group feedback is common educational practice.

Comparison of formula and number-right scoring in undergraduate medical training: a Rasch model analysis.

Background: Progress testing is an assessment tool used to periodically assess all students at the end-of-curriculum level. Because students cannot know everything, it is important that they recognize their lack of knowledge. For that reason, the formula-scoring method has usually been used.

Students' approaches to medical school choice: relationship with students' characteristics and motivation.

Objectives: The aim was to examine main reasons for students' medical school choice and their relationship with students' characteristics and motivation during the students' medical study.

Methods: In this multisite cross-sectional study, all Year-1 and Year-4 students who had participated in a selection procedure in one of the three Dutch medical schools included in the study were invited to complete an online survey comprising personal data, their main reason for medical school choice and standard, validated questionnaires to measure their strength of motivation (Strength of Motivation for Medical School-Revised) and autonomous and controlled type of motivation (Academic Self-regulation Questionnaire). Four hundred seventy-eight students participated.

The effects of a non-cognitive versus cognitive admission procedure within cohorts in one medical school.

In medical school selection, non-cognitive performance in particular correlates with performance in clinical practice. It is arguable, therefore, that selection should focus on non-cognitive aspects despite the predictive value of prior cognitive performance for early medical school performance. The aim of this study at Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands, is to determine the effects of admitting students through an autonomous non-cognitive procedure on early medical school performance.

Physician job satisfaction related to actual and preferred job size.

Background: Job satisfaction is essential for physicians' well-being and patient care. The work ethic of long days and hard work that has been advocated for decades is acknowledged as a threat for physicians' job satisfaction, well-being, and patient safety. Our aim was to determine the actual and preferred job size of physicians and to investigate how these and the differences between them influence physicians' job satisfaction.

The Four-Tier Continuum of Academic and Behavioral Support (4T-CABS) Model: An Integrated Model for Medical Student Success.

Not all students cope successfully with the demands of medical school, and students' struggles may result in study delay or dropout. To prevent these outcomes, medical schools need to identify students who are experiencing academic difficul ties and provide them with timely interventions through access to support programs. Although the importance of early identification and intervention is well recognized, less is known about successful strategies for identifying and supporting struggling students.

Influence of feedback characteristics on perceived learning value of feedback in clerkships: does culture matter?

Background: Various feedback characteristics have been suggested to positively influence student learning. It is not clear how these feedback characteristics contribute to students' perceived learning value of feedback in cultures classified low on the cultural dimension of individualism and high on power distance. This study was conducted to validate the influence of five feedback characteristics on students' perceived learning value of feedback in an Indonesian clerkship context.

Participation and selection effects of a voluntary selection process.

Many different medical school selection processes are used worldwide. In this paper, we examine the effect of (1) participation, and (2) selection in a voluntary selection process on study performance. We included data from two cohorts of medical students admitted to Erasmus MC, Rotterdam and VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands and compared them to previously published data from Groningen medical school, The Netherlands.

Impact of vocational interests, previous academic experience, gender and age on Situational Judgement Test performance.

Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) are increasingly implemented in medical school admissions. In this paper, we investigate the effects of vocational interests, previous academic experience, gender and age on SJT performance. The SJT was part of the selection process for the Bachelor's degree programme in Medicine at University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

A multi-site study on medical school selection, performance, motivation and engagement.

Medical schools seek ways to improve their admissions strategies, since the available methods prove to be suboptimal for selecting the best and most motivated students. In this multi-site cross-sectional questionnaire study, we examined the value of (different) selection procedures compared to a weighted lottery procedure, which includes direct admission based on top pre-university grade point averages (≥8 out of 10; top-pu-GPA). We also considered whether students had participated in selection, prior to being admitted through weighted lottery.

Supervisor leadership in relation to resident job satisfaction.

Background: Research from outside the medical field shows that leadership behaviours influence job satisfaction. Whether the same is true for the medical training setting needs to be explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of residents' overall appreciation of their supervisor's leadership and observation of specific supervisor leadership behaviours on job satisfaction.

The effect of curriculum sample selection for medical school.

In the Netherlands, students are admitted to medical school through (1) selection, (2) direct access by high pre-university Grade Point Average (pu-GPA), (3) lottery after being rejected in the selection procedure, or (4) lottery. At Radboud University Medical Center, 2010 was the first year we selected applicants. We designed a procedure based on tasks mimicking the reality of early medical school.

How Different Medical School Selection Processes Call upon Different Personality Characteristics.

Background: Research indicates that certain personality traits relate to performance in the medical profession. Yet, personality testing during selection seems ineffective. In this study, we examine the extent to which different medical school selection processes call upon desirable personality characteristics in applicants.

Weak self-directed learning skills hamper performance in cumulative assessment.

Background: Self-regulated learning is an important determinant of academic performance. Previous research has shown that cumulative assessment encourages students to work harder and improve their results. However, not all students seem to respond as intended.

Leadership in the clinical workplace: what residents report to observe and supervisors report to display: an exploratory questionnaire study.

Background: Within the current health care system, leadership is considered important for physicians. leadership is mostly self-taught, through observing and practicing. Does the practice environment offer residents enough opportunities to observe the supervisor leadership behaviours they have to learn? In the current study we investigate which leadership behaviours residents observe throughout their training, which behaviours supervisors report to display and whether residents and supervisors have a need for more formal training.

How educational innovations and attention to competencies in postgraduate medical education relate to preparedness for practice: the key role of the learning environment.

Introduction: Many training programmes in postgraduate medical education (PGME) have introduced competency frameworks, but the effects of this change on preparedness for practice are unknown. Therefore, we explored how elements of competency-based programmes in PGME (educational innovations, attention to competencies and learning environment) were related to perceived preparedness for practice among new consultants.

Methods: A questionnaire was distributed among 330 new consultants.

A feedback system in residency to evaluate CanMEDS roles and provide high-quality feedback: Exploring its application.

Introduction: Residents benefit from regular, high quality feedback on all CanMEDS roles during their training. However, feedback mostly concerns Medical Expert, leaving the other roles behind. A feedback system was developed to guide supervisors in providing feedback on CanMEDS roles.

Predicting performance: relative importance of students' background and past performance.

Context: Despite evidence for the predictive value of both pre-admission characteristics and past performance at medical school, their relative contribution to predicting medical school performance has not been thoroughly investigated.

Objectives: This study was designed to determine the relative importance of pre-admission characteristics and past performance in medical school in predicting student performance in pre-clinical and clinical training.

Methods: This longitudinal prospective study followed six cohorts of students admitted to a Dutch, 6-year, undergraduate medical course during 2002-2007 (n = 2357).

Cumulative versus end-of-course assessment: effects on self-study time and test performance.

Context: Students tend to postpone preparation for a test until the test is imminent, which raises various risks associated with 'cramming' behaviours, including that for suboptimal learning. Cumulative assessment utilises spaced testing to stimulate students to study more frequently and to prevent procrastination. This randomised controlled study investigated how cumulative assessment affects time spent on self-study and test performance compared with end-of-course assessment.