Marlene De Bruin¹
Eleanor Mitchell¹ and Riki Lane¹
1 Monash University 

This doctoral study examines gender-sensitive attitudes and education within an Australian University Health Faculty and explores ways to increase inclusivity and decrease gender biases and discrimination from both the student and educator perspectives. 

Methods
This project had 3 phases. 

The results from the completed studies point to the need for more resources for both educators and students. In both instances, there was a need for more education around gender sensitivity in the medical curriculum. 

Educators raised very similar themes to students with the understanding there is not enough representation of all genders in the curriculum and the resources available to support both students and educators is insufficient. 

References (maximum three) 

1. Verdonk, P., Benschop, Y., De Haes, H. and Lagro-Janssen, T.,. Medical Students’ Gender Awareness. Sex Roles, 2007. 58(3-4), pp.222-234. 

Paul McGurgan¹
1 University of Western Australia, Medical School 

Medical students have been described as being in professionalism's 'no man's land' (1); although university students, they are often trained within the health care environment, with similar professional obligations to qualified doctors (1). There is little information on what factors influence opinions on medical students' professional behaviours. If we do not know the factors influencing professionalism behaviours, it is difficult to remediate. 

Multi-centre, international, prospective, cross-sectional survey (UWA ethics approval). Three cohorts: Australia/NZ based medical students (n= 3171), qualified doctors (n=809) and public (n=503). Comparative and relational analysis. 

Findings: 

• Medical students report encountering a wide range of professionally challenging situations, and have varying opinions on acceptable professional behaviours (1).
 • Although medical students’ opinions on professional behaviours are influenced by their demography, the most significant factor influencing the acceptability towards a behaviour was whether the student reported encountering a similar professional dilemma. Students appear susceptible to normalising counter productive work behaviours, particularly those related to breaches of trust. 

• Students, doctors and the public often differ in their opinions on what determines acceptable professional behaviours- dilemmas related to patient safety appear to show a ‘professional identity effect’; students’ opinions align more with qualified doctors compared to the general public as they progress through the course; conversely for alcohol/substance misuse dilemmas, the students’ opinions suggest generational influences rather than health care cultural norms are the dominant influence (2,3). 

Discussion question(s) for participants:
 • Is Professional identity Formation universally positive? 

• By placing students in toxic work culture environments with poor role models, do we enable healthcare systems to perpetuate poor professional behaviour? 

References (maximum three) 

1. Medical students’ opinions on professional behaviours: The Professionalism of Medical Students’ (PoMS) study. McGurgan, P., Calvert, K. L., Narula, K., Celenza, A., Nathan, E. A. & Jorm, C., 3 Mar 2020, In: Medical Teacher. 42, 3, p. 340-350. 

2. Why Is Patient Safety a Challenge? Insights From the Professionalism Opinions of Medical Students' Research. McGurgan, P. M., Calvert, K. L., Nathan, E. A., Narula, K., Celenza, A. & Jorm, C., Oct 2022, In: Journal of Patient Safety. 18, 7, p. e1124-e1134. 

3. Opinions towards Medical Students’ Self-Care and Substance Use Dilemmas—A Future Concern despite a Positive Generational Effect? McGurgan, P., Calvert, K., Nathan, E., Celenza, A. & Jorm, C., Oct 2022, In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19, 13289. 

Robert Jay^1,2
Rakesh Patel³, Emma Wilson⁴, Jeremy Brown¹ and John Sandars¹
1 Edge Hill University
2 University of Lincoln
3 Queen Mary University London
4 University of Nottingham

Research Questions: 
What is the impact of providing feedback on self-regulated learning when assessing medical students clinical reasoning (CR) using virtual patients (VPs)? Given that decades of research suggests knowledge is critical for CR development (1), what is the added value of evaluating SRL whilst undertaking VPs, and what is the acceptability of doing so? 

Methodology:
This research uses a mixed methods approach. Final-year medical students have been randomised into three groups that undertake 10 VPs under different feedback conditions. Participant performance on VP cases will be compared with performance on a 100-item SBA CR assessment before and after. Concurrent validity of the VPs will also be evaluated using data from performance across usual curriculum assessments. Focus groups will be undertaken to explore students' perceptions of the VPs, and the perceived impact of feedback on future study and assessment preparation. 

Findings so Far:
Pilot studies and usability testing have demonstrated that VPs are acceptable to learners but must have clear alignment with the curriculum and existing assessment methods. CR feedback needs to provide information on the process and outcome, requiring the assessment function of the VP to gather sufficient data across multiple CR components. Quantitative data will be available at the conference, including comparisons with other assessment approaches. 

Questions for Discussion:
What is the role of VPs as an assessment method for CR rather than traditional learning activities? What affordances do clinical decision support tools integrated into VPs give for training in authentic CR? What is the role of artificial intelligence in providing feedback to learners using VPs? Discussion from the session will inform the way in which findings from the research are disseminated and train the trainer intervention designed for faculty seeking to implement VPs as formative and summative activities across curricula. 

References (maximum three) 

1. Norman G. Research in clinical reasoning: past history and current trends. Medical education. 2005;39(4):418-427. 

Rachel Tang¹
Ashley Siau¹, Sarah Richardson¹, Conor Gilligan² and Nimrah Mujahid¹
1 University of Newcastle
2 EACH

During our Health Professional Education (HPE) Pathway in our final year of medical school, we explored the teaching and assessment methods of communications skills in Australia and internationally. We aim to identify features associated with effective communication skills teaching and assessment programs. Previous studies have identified the need for qualitative studies to better understand students’ perspectives on factors for valuable and effective communication skills learning and assessment (1-3). 

The importance of effective communication was emphasised during our medical school experience. Medical schools world-wide aim to provide future health professionals with communication skills needed when entering the workforce. To ensure these skills are adequately attained, appropriate assessment is crucial. Recognising that Australia’s patient populations differ to those internationally, we are interested in observing how communication skills are taught and assessed world-wide, and to identify any distinguishing features of effective programs. The HPE Pathways Program has been significant in allowing us to explore our research question – providing us opportunities to undertake international placements and foundational knowledge and skills in HPE. 

Efforts have been made to study different continents, enabling exploration of differing medical curricula and patient populations across the globe. A convenience sampling of four universities from Germany, Singapore, USA, and Australia was chosen. Each student will attend communication skills tutorials and, where possible, observe assessments at each institution. We will conduct informal interviews with tutors and gather curricula material. Information collected is then compared and analysed, identifying features deemed valuable in teaching and/or assessment. 

We seek participant input regarding their own programs for communication skills teaching and assessment to guide our analysis and take suggestions for methodological approaches to maximise the value of this project. Our discussion focuses on what we have learnt from the medical programs and sharing our perspectives on effective approaches to communication skills teaching and assessment. 

References (maximum three)