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Theme: 5II Online learning 2
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Abstract Title Logo
UQU experience in E-Surgery for medical students
Authors: Jamal Hamdi Institutions: Umm AlQura University
Makkah
Saudi Arabia
Background

Umm AlQura University in Makkah, Saudi Arabia provide a medical course, which runs over 6 years period. General Surgery is provided in the 4th and 6th (final) years. The medical course until now is subject-based traditional course. Surgery 3 is the General Surgery course for the final year medical students. The course was given since the beginning of the medical College in the face-to-face format in College and teaching hospitals. The course contain student’s based seminars and clinical bedside teachings. In the academic year 2013 / 2014 We introduced E-learning in Surgery 3 for the first time. E-learning has different meanings to different people. Some may consider the uploading of the PowerPoint presentations or the recorded videos of lectures as E-learning. We provided a full comprehensive E-course which ran in parallel with the face to face learning in a form of blended learning. Surgery 3 course ran over 6 weeks period and was given separately to male and female students. Desire to Learn(D2L) learning system is used as a learning management system(LMS) for delivery of the course.

Summary of Work

Two courses were given to 360 students using E-learning. The learning is divided into 8 modules. Each module cover one major theme in general surgery. The module is divided into : outline, lectures, discussion forum and quizzes.  .E-Surgery 3 reflects the course curriculum. One module is given every week, and on 2 weeks 2 modules are given. The module is opened to the students on its specified week and kept open until the end of the final exam. The outline contains the general as well as the specific objectives of the module as well as the main points to be learned and students’ activities to achieve that learning. The lecture section contains PowerPoint presentation by our staff as well as presentations and video lectures from open sources. Each module contains General discussion forum for the whole class which contains multiple clinical scenarios. Students are encouraged to present their own views and criticize others’ in a scientific way. A tutor is allocated to supervise each module. Each module has a Quiz section. At every attempt, 30 questions are selected randomly from a question bank of 200 to 250 questions for every module. The student is allowed 10 attempts and the highest mark is taken as his grade.

General knowledge module is provided at the beginning of the course. This contains the main goals, objectives, and structure of the course. It has a section on Skills that encompass communication, clinical, physical examination and data interpretation skills. Videos are selected from open sources to teach these skills.

Group discussion forum was created to reflect each hospital group. This forum allows the hospital group to upload written, oral or video presentations of clinical cases and comments can be added from the hospital tutor and members of the group. Group members can upload real clinical scenarios to allow free discussion and critical analysis.

The system has its own E-mail facility that allows private exchange of mails between the students and the staff. It also allows comments and warnings to be sent privately to a student or group of students.

The system allows the division of  the class into small groups and to take the attendance of the class or the groups online.

Students or tutors can provide feedback at each step. These are send to the supervisor.

Online Surveys were done at the end of the course and before the exam to assess course and staff.

Our E-learning system is accessible using smartphones with Android or iOS systems. It is easily accessible from the main university web page. This allows wide accessibility.

Summary of Results

Students gave positive response to E-learning but it was new experience to them, as they have never done E-course before. This limited their interaction with the course and consequently their benefit. They wanted early introduction of E-learning in the medical course. Students considered 6 weeks as too short for Surgery3 course. This is out of my control, but I may make the E-Surgery3 course available to them a long time before the face-to-face course, or even during the summer holiday preceding the academic year. Our teaching staff had no experience in E-learning, and were not willing to participate. Incentives and training courses as well as leadership support are essential for success in E-learning.

Conclusion

E-Surgery 3 is the first course to be introduced in E-learning in Umm AlQura University. It is the first clinical course with full comprehensive E-learning in the Arab World and Middle East. In addition, I found that it is one of the very few comprehensive E-Surgery courses for undergraduate medical students in the world. E-learning should be introduced from the first year in the medical course. 

Take-home Messages

E-learning is a powerful tool to augment learning in undergraduate Surgery courses, and can be better than face to face teaching in some aspects. It saves money and staff time if used properly in blended teaching, and allows medical schools to increase their intake of medical students.

Acknowledgement

The Dean and the staff of the E-learning Deanship for their commitment and hard work to support the production of E-Surgery3 course. The Dean of the Medical College, the Chairman of Surgery and the surgical staff for their work to deliver the course. 

References

1.Greenhalgh T: Computer assisted learning in undergraduat medical education. BMJ 2001, 322:40-45.

2.  Lieberman G, Abramson R, Volkan K, McArdle PJ: Tutor versus computer: a prospective comparison of interactive  tutorial and computer assisted instruction in radiology education. Acad Radiol 2002, 9:40-49.

3. Zakaria N, Jamal A, Bisht S, Koppel C:Embedding a Learning Management System Into an Undergraduate Medical Informatics Course in Saudi Arabia: Lessons Learned. Med 2.0 2013;2(2):e13

      URL: http://www.medicine20.com/2013/2/e13/

4.David Gerard Healy, Fergal J Fleming, David Gilhooley et al: Electronic learning can facilitate student performance in undergraduate surgical education: a prospective observational study . BMC Medical Education 2005, 5:23.

      URL: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/5/23

5.Mark Corrigan, Michelle Reardon, Connor Shields, and Henry Redmond: “SURGENT”—Student e-Learning for Reality: The Application of Interactive Visual Images to Problem-Based Learning in Undergraduate Surgery. Journal of Surgical Education 2008;  65( 2) :120-125.

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Background
Summary of Work
Summary of Results
Conclusion
Take-home Messages
Acknowledgement
References
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