Harassment of newly admitted undergraduates by senior students in a Faculty of Dentistry in Sri Lanka.

Background: Harassment of new students by senior colleagues appears to be widespread in the industrialised countries. Although 'ragging' of new entrants to universities in Sri Lanka gets frequently publicised, its prevalence, severity and the consequences have not been documented.

Aims: This study aims to ascertain the extent of mistreatment of new dental students, the measures they take when harassed and any resulting negative effects.

Frequency and confidence in performing clinical skills among medical interns in Kuwait.

Background: Several investigations suggest inadequate emphasis of basic clinical procedures during internship training. Many trainees had reported lack of competence, while some expressed confidence to manage conditions although not sufficiently experienced.

Aims: This study aimed at ascertaining the perceptions of new medical graduates regarding the performance of core clinical skills during training and confidence of performing them later.

Instructional skills of surgical tutors.

Aim Of Study: This study was aimed at evaluating the pattern of instructional skills of surgical tutors in a university hospital and the effect of feedback on this pattern.

Method: Students who followed three clinical rotations at the Department of Surgery, Mubarak Al-Kabeer Teaching Hospital, Kuwait, responded anonymously to a structured questionnaire on the instructional skills of their tutors immediately after the rotation was completed. The questionnaire included six statements related to teacher-centred instructional skills and six statements related to student-centred instructional skills.

The surgical morbidity and mortality meeting as an educational tool.

Purpose: This study aimed at evaluating the educational value of the morbidity mortality meeting and benefits obtained from it so as to implement changes that can improve it.

Methods: Surgeons (n = 13) at a university hospital responded anonymously to a questionnaire which was structured to monitor the educational activity of the morbidity mortality meeting. They indicated their perceptions on a five-point scale (very poor, poor, fair, good and very good).

Performance of students in the final examination in paediatrics: importance of the "short cases".

Aims: To determine which component of the final examination in paediatrics at Kuwait University best predicted the final outcome.

Methods: The performance of 356 medical students in the short cases, the long case, multiple choice questions (MCQs), and the essay components of the final examination in paediatrics at Kuwait University was correlated with the final grade, and the mean difference between each component and the final score calculated.

Results: The correlation was highest for the short cases, followed by MCQs, the long case, and essays.

An instrument to evaluate clinical instructional skills.

A questionnaire, which consisted of 10 statements dealing with the attributes of effective clinical instruction, was designed for use by medical students. Three groups of trainees who followed consecutive clinical rotations in paediatrics assessed the instructional skills of their tutors using the instrument. Summary reports on students' perceptions were made available to the teachers soon after each rotation.

A reappraisal of the use of multiple choice questions.

The terms Multiple True/False and Best Answer deserve wider applicability than at present when discussing multiple choice questions (MCQs). They describe the truthfulness of the choices and distinguish between the question types. The choice which matches the key in a MCQ is best called the correct answer.

Learning objectives in training residents in general surgery in Kuwait.

An opinion survey of a five-year postgraduate training programme in general surgery was conducted using a questionnaire. The residents who responded indicated that the use of learning objectives needed to be given greater emphasis. They felt that learning objectives should be more clearly defined and be communicated with the learners and the instructors at an early stage in the programme.

Realistic line drawings--a simple technique.

Medical teachers usually do not have ready access to a resource for obtaining good quality illustrations for routine instructional activities and, at times, even for presentation of research findings in publications or at seminars. The inadequacy is especially apparent when human figures or objects need to be shown indicating depth of vision and relative sizes of the parts accurately. Tracings of the relevant features made from photographic prints result in very satisfactory illustrations.