Why should I prepare? A mixed method study exploring the motives of medical undergraduate students to prepare for clinical skills training sessions.

Background: Although preparation for educational activities is considered beneficial for student learning, many students do not perform preparatory assignments. This phenomenon has received little attention in the literature although it might provide medical educators with the opportunity to enhance student learning. Therefore, we explored why students prepare or not prepare.

[Meningeal irritation].

Diagnosing meningitis requires the information from both history-taking and physical examination in its entirety. In adults with a history that makes meningitis a possibility, specific tests used to diagnose meningeal irritation, such as for Kernig or Brudzinski signs or nuchal rigidity, probably do not affect the reliability of the diagnosis. In small children and the elderly, Kernig and Brudzinski signs are also probably of little or no diagnostic value.

Student views on the effective teaching of physical examination skills: a qualitative study.

Objectives: The lack of published studies into effective skills teaching in clinical skills centres inspired this study of student views of the teaching behaviours of skills teachers.

Methods: We organised focus group discussions with students from Years 1-3 of a 6-year undergraduate medical curriculum. A total of 30 randomly selected students, divided into three groups, took part in two sessions.

Students' opinions about the effects of preclinical patient contacts on their learning.

Several reasons have been given why students should have contacts with real patients early in the undergraduate medical curriculum, i.e., in the preclinical phase.

The effects of deliberate practice in undergraduate medical education.

Introduction: Ericsson and colleagues introduced the term 'deliberate practice' to describe training activities that are especially designed to maximise improvement. They stressed that how much one practises is as important as how one practises. Essential aspects of deliberate practice are the presence of well defined tasks, informative feedback, repetition, self-reflection, motivation and endurance.