Reflections on medical student evaluations of a public health clerkship
IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for skilled medical practitioners in public health, and outbreak investigations. The College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) introduced a clerkship in public health constituting theoretical and prac...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1121206/full |
| _version_ | 1811160758753427456 |
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| author | Azhar T. Rahma Balázs Ádám Aminu S. Abdullahi Mohamud Sheek-Hussein Sami Shaban Mouza AlShamsi Salama AlKhori Javaid Nauman Javaid Nauman Michal Grivna |
| author_facet | Azhar T. Rahma Balázs Ádám Aminu S. Abdullahi Mohamud Sheek-Hussein Sami Shaban Mouza AlShamsi Salama AlKhori Javaid Nauman Javaid Nauman Michal Grivna |
| author_sort | Azhar T. Rahma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for skilled medical practitioners in public health, and outbreak investigations. The College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) introduced a clerkship in public health constituting theoretical and practical sessions to 5th year medical students in 2015. The aim of this study is to explore the satisfaction of the students with the public health clerkship which is crucial for the assessment and reformation of the taught curriculum.MethodsA cross-sectional, post-evaluation analysis was conducted from the period 2015–2022. The evaluation questionnaire was conducted via an online university system. The survey contained 5 themes: pre-course instructions, structure of the clerkship, academic staff, activities, and learning outcomes. Ethics approval was secured from the Social-IRB of the UAEU. We used SPSS version 26 to analyze the data using independent t-test and ANOVA.ResultsOne hundred and seventy four students (27.4% response rate) participated in the study. Overall, the students had an average satisfaction score of 2.86 out of 4. The majority of the students reported having a good understanding of public health (93.7%), improving their oral presentation skills (91.2%), and developing new skills (87.2%). Furthermore, more than 9 in 10 students (96.1%) reported that the program expanded their knowledge, skills, and confidence. The mass (90.2%) of students agreed that the clerkship content was covered in sufficient depth, majority of the students agreed that they had received enough information about the clerkship before it started (74.6%), majority of the students agreed that the faculty were interested in their personal development (86.1%) The students who completed the clerkship prior to the COVID-19 pandemic had a statistically significant (P = 0.02) higher average rating (72.8%) than students who completed the clerkship during the pandemic (71.1%).DiscussionMedical students at the UAEU were satisfied with the activities and delivery of the public health clerkship and found it rewarding. Conducting needs assessment and proposal writing provided them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to conduct research in their career. These findings may be useful in helping and support other institutes to plan and develop a clerkship in the public health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T06:02:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e57335125e94145ae3ceb22500ab345 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T06:02:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e57335125e94145ae3ceb22500ab3452023-03-03T06:35:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-03-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.11212061121206Reflections on medical student evaluations of a public health clerkshipAzhar T. Rahma0Balázs Ádám1Aminu S. Abdullahi2Mohamud Sheek-Hussein3Sami Shaban4Mouza AlShamsi5Salama AlKhori6Javaid Nauman7Javaid Nauman8Michal Grivna9Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesInstitute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesInstitute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesInstitute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Medical Education, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Statistics, College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Statistics, College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesInstitute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NorwayInstitute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesIntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for skilled medical practitioners in public health, and outbreak investigations. The College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) introduced a clerkship in public health constituting theoretical and practical sessions to 5th year medical students in 2015. The aim of this study is to explore the satisfaction of the students with the public health clerkship which is crucial for the assessment and reformation of the taught curriculum.MethodsA cross-sectional, post-evaluation analysis was conducted from the period 2015–2022. The evaluation questionnaire was conducted via an online university system. The survey contained 5 themes: pre-course instructions, structure of the clerkship, academic staff, activities, and learning outcomes. Ethics approval was secured from the Social-IRB of the UAEU. We used SPSS version 26 to analyze the data using independent t-test and ANOVA.ResultsOne hundred and seventy four students (27.4% response rate) participated in the study. Overall, the students had an average satisfaction score of 2.86 out of 4. The majority of the students reported having a good understanding of public health (93.7%), improving their oral presentation skills (91.2%), and developing new skills (87.2%). Furthermore, more than 9 in 10 students (96.1%) reported that the program expanded their knowledge, skills, and confidence. The mass (90.2%) of students agreed that the clerkship content was covered in sufficient depth, majority of the students agreed that they had received enough information about the clerkship before it started (74.6%), majority of the students agreed that the faculty were interested in their personal development (86.1%) The students who completed the clerkship prior to the COVID-19 pandemic had a statistically significant (P = 0.02) higher average rating (72.8%) than students who completed the clerkship during the pandemic (71.1%).DiscussionMedical students at the UAEU were satisfied with the activities and delivery of the public health clerkship and found it rewarding. Conducting needs assessment and proposal writing provided them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to conduct research in their career. These findings may be useful in helping and support other institutes to plan and develop a clerkship in the public health.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1121206/fullpublic healthclerkshipreflectionUAEstudent evaluations |
| spellingShingle | Azhar T. Rahma Balázs Ádám Aminu S. Abdullahi Mohamud Sheek-Hussein Sami Shaban Mouza AlShamsi Salama AlKhori Javaid Nauman Javaid Nauman Michal Grivna Reflections on medical student evaluations of a public health clerkship Frontiers in Public Health public health clerkship reflection UAE student evaluations |
| title | Reflections on medical student evaluations of a public health clerkship |
| title_full | Reflections on medical student evaluations of a public health clerkship |
| title_fullStr | Reflections on medical student evaluations of a public health clerkship |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reflections on medical student evaluations of a public health clerkship |
| title_short | Reflections on medical student evaluations of a public health clerkship |
| title_sort | reflections on medical student evaluations of a public health clerkship |
| topic | public health clerkship reflection UAE student evaluations |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1121206/full |
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