Enhancement of anatomical learning and developing clinical competence of first‐year medical and allied health profession students

Hands‐on educational experiences can stimulate student interest, increase knowledge retention, and enhance development of clinical skills. The Lachman test, used to assess the integrity of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), is commonly performed by health care professionals and is relatively easy to teach to first‐year health profession students. This study integrated teaching the Lachman test into a first‐year anatomy laboratory and examined if students receiving the training would be more confident, competent, and if the training would enhance anatomical learning. First‐year medical, physician assistant and physical therapy students were randomly assigned into either the intervention (Group A) or control group (Group B). Both groups received the course lecture on knee anatomy and training on how to perform the Lachman test during a surface anatomy class. Group A received an additional 15 minutes hands‐on training for the Lachman test utilizing a lightly embalmed cadaver as a simulated patient. One week later, both groups performed the Lachman test on a lightly embalmed cadaver and later completed a post‐test and survey. Students with hands‐on training performed significantly better than students with lecture‐only training in completing the checklist, a post‐test, and correctly diagnosing an ACL tear. Students in Group A also reported being more confident after hands‐on training compared to students receiving lecture‐only training. Both groups reported that incorporating clinical skill activities facilitated learning and created excitement for learning. Hands‐on training using lightly embalmed cadavers as patient simulators increased confidence and competence in performing the Lachman test and aided in learning anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 7: 181–190. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Impact Factor: Early Career Research & Digital Scholarship

It is becoming increasingly vital to publish and share research as well as get citations for the purpose of researcher visibility. The publishing options available for research distribution seem endless. It really is an academic jungle out there! This article reviews why early career researchers and graduate scholars should consider their research impact in the digital age.     

The development of a system for the collection and use of scientific and technological results

The main aspects related to the development of a system for the aggregation and use of scientific results (hereinafter, the System) are discussed. A unified comprehensive approach to the development of the System and the qualitative improvement of the information about the performance of the Russian research sector provided to the target audience is being suggested for use by academic institutions, government regulators, and the business community. The improvement is meant to be achieved through the development of technology that provides access to the relevant electronic resources. The presented conclusions lay the basis for a range of research and development works in the field related to the collection of scientific results.     

Academic social bookmarking: An empirical analysis of Connotea users

Three groups of social bookmarking users, namely experienced users, users with moderate level of experience, and novice users, were investigated, in terms of their reported tagging behaviors, perceived usefulness of social bookmarking in information discovery and management, and perceived usefulness of the bookmarking features provided. Based on the empirical analysis of the Connotea users, who are primarily in academia, the study shows that experienced academic users generally prefer to use social bookmarking while moderately experienced and novice users still prefer to use the traditional bookmarking methods, such as creating and using bookmarks on a dedicated computer. Experienced academic users were also found to create more tags per bookmark comparing to the other two groups. Most novice academic users, however, only created one tag per bookmark, which just met Connotea's minimum requirement. Surprisingly different from the collaborative design nature of the social bookmarking systems, the study finds that our participants, particularly experienced academic users, prefer to create and use their own bookmarks rather than sharing bookmarks created by others. In fact, experienced users have significantly higher frequency (once every two weeks) of creating bookmarks than the other two groups (once a month or less). In addition, website design features and functions, such as automatic collection of bibliographic information, are regarded by all participants as helpful for information discovery. The in-depth examination and discussion of the opinions of Connotea users may be useful for further improvement of the design features and usage applications, particularly for academic social bookmarking websites. The results may also have potential implications to the future development of social bookmarking services in general.     

The Library as Publisher

This article describes a half-day preconference that focused on the library as publisher. It examined how the movement from print to online publication has impacted the roles of libraries and their ability to take on new roles as publishers. The session explored the benefits of libraries becoming publishers, and discussed Open Access, what it is and is not and its importance to libraries and scholarly communication. A detailed case study of the publishing operations of the University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh was presented as an example of a successful library publishing program. The session provided an opportunity for participants to discover ways that libraries can be involved in publishing.     

An Experimental Test of Medical Disclosure and Consent Documentation: Assessing Patient Comprehension,Self-Efficacy,and Uncertainty

Effectively conveying risks and hazards in medical disclosure and informed consent documentation is a crucial type of communication. However, existing protocols typically do not meet the needs of patients or practitioners. In the present study, we advance a reconceptualization of obtaining written informed consent by analyzing it as a process of uncertainty management rather than a matter of document readability and recall. Results of this randomized trial indicated that patients who reviewed a simplified consent document reported greater comprehension of medico-legal terminology and lower uncertainty about the document, although they did not evince greater self-efficacy. Health literacy was a significant moderator of the relationship between consent form version and comprehension.     

Effects of manipulating relative and absolute motion information during observational learning of an aiming task.

In the visual perception perspective of observational learning, the manipulation of relative and absolute motion information in visual demonstrations optimally directs learners' search towards appropriate task solutions. We assessed the effect of emphasizing transformational information and removal of structural information using point-light kinematic displays in approximating the model's relative motion patterns. Participants viewed computer-simulated point-light demonstrations or normal video demonstrations before and intermittently throughout 100 acquisition trials with knowledge of results on an underarm modified-dart aiming task. On the next day, all participants performed 20 retention trials without demonstrations. The kinematics of spatial and temporal coordination and control variables were examined relative to the model's action, as well as performance scores. The results indicated that approximation of the model's spatial and temporal coordination and control patterns was achieved after observation of either type of demonstrations. No differences were found in movement outcomes. In a second experiment, the effects of manipulating absolute motion information by slow-motion demonstrations were examined relative to real-time demonstrations. Real-time demonstrations led to a closer approximation to the model's spatial and temporal coordination patterns and better outcome scores, contradicting predictions that slow-motion displays convey intact relative motion information. We speculate that the effect of visual demonstration speed on action perception and reproduction is a function of task constraints--that is, novelty or familiarity of relative motion of demonstrated activities.