Abstract
We report a curricular exercise with two principal goals: (a) training medical students to integrate several key elements derived from basic science content to answer patient’s question and (b) enhancing students’ understanding and retention of scientific content. In this assignment, students are presented with a scenario in which a hypothetical patient asks the question, “Hey, Doc, can I safely eat the genetically modified salmon?” The students are expected to construct a cogent and succinct response, applying principles learned in class to address the question posed by the patient. In order to determine whether completion of the homework assignment enhanced the students’ understanding and retention of scientific content, performance on pre- and post-exercise examinations were compared on (a) “project” questions that tested key concepts reinforced by the assignment and (b) “control” questions that tested concepts covered in class but not explicitly reinforced by the exercise. We found that the degree of difficulty for the control questions increased by about 15% over a period of 1 month while the degree of difficulty for the project questions held steady over the same period. These results suggest that the assignment aided students in internalizing key concepts, transferring them from temporarily memorized knowledge to longer-term ideas that could be applied to new problems.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Drs. Martha Faner, Carol Wilkins, Shawna Nantais, and John Wang for their help in the development of this exercise and Dr. John Wang for his help in grading essays and for critical review of this manuscript. This work has been supported by the Dr. Ruth M. Allen Endowed Fund for Medical Education to the Office of Medical Education Research and Development, College of Human Medicine, and by the Office of Academic Programs in the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.
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The Michigan State University Institutional Review Board on Human Subjects has approved these studies (IRB numbers x13-813e and i044320).
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Jana M. Simmons earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry and a Certificate in College Teaching in 2010 and is now an Assistant Professor in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. Her main focus is effective integration of basic sciences into clinically driven curricula.
Raquel P. Ritchie earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics in 2007 and did post-doctoral research in stem cell biology. She is now an Assistant Professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University. Her main focus is multidisciplinary approaches to medical education.
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Simmons, J.M., Ritchie, R.P. Training Students to Answer Layman’s Questions Also Helps in Retention of Scientific Content. Med.Sci.Educ. 27, 33–39 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0357-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0357-1