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It is essential for modern medical students to continuously enhance their clinical thinking abilities. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the combined World Café discussion and case-based learning (CBL) approach within the clinical thinking training course. The clinical thinking training course incorporated the combined World Café discussion and CBL approach. The assessment of the accuracy and rationality of clinical symptoms, medical examination, pathological processes, diagnostic results, diagnostic basis, and drug use was conducted through case-related queries. Feedback from students and instructors regarding the teaching content, teaching process, and teaching effect was gathered through questionnaires. The findings indicate that the students achieved high marks in all assessed areas, including clinical symptoms, medical examination, pathological processes, diagnostic results, diagnostic basis, and drug use. The feedback from students and instructors on the teaching content, teaching process, and teaching effect was positive. Medical educators can use our findings to implement the combined World Café discussion and CBL mode to enhance student engagement.

The arrival of the metaverse, as a new generation of information technology, will bring great changes to people's production, life, and learning. The educational metaverse is regarded as a new form of educational development, which will bring a transformative impact on educational teaching activities. In this context, this study has developed a general architecture of educational metaverse system, which includes the physical layer, software layer, data layer, and application layer, based on the technical, theoretical, and architectural support and its digital ecology of educational metaverse system construction. The study has tried to construct a physiology virtual experimental teaching system and taken the rabbit's exercise of respiration regulation experiment as an example to start the research on the educational metaverse in physiology experimental teaching. Participants of the study were 120 students from the 2019 clinical medicine class at School A. By analyzing the learning outcome of students in the virtual experiment course of the educational metaverse, it is concluded that educational metaverse can promote both teaching and learning in the process of experimental teaching; this research has explored the path for the new form of Internet education, which is of great significance for promoting the efficient construction of new education infrastructure and the innovative development of education modernization.

Purpose: China recently proposed a series of important policies intended to reform and improve the quality of medical education on the national level. This paper presents the findings of a national survey of China's medical schools conducted to review the development of undergraduate medical education over a five-year period (2013-2018). Design/Approach/Methods: The National Center for Health Professions Education Development implemented the China Medical Education College Survey. Approximately 64% of the targeted medical schools participated in the survey, constituting a representative sample of higher education institutions offering educational programs in clinical medicine in China. Findings: Following new policy orientations, medical schools showed positive developments in terms of the types of medical education programs offered, teaching and assessment methods, medical education resources, participation in accreditation, and quality of incoming students. However, the survey also revealed several worrying trends, including the coexistence of various types of education programs, significant regional differences in educational resources, dominance of traditional teaching and assessment methods, inconsistencies in quality, and an increase in graduates seeking employment in professions outside healthcare. Originality/Value: Findings of the first national survey of China's medical schools show that there is still a long way to go to ensure high quality and efficient medical education on a national level.

Purpose: This study compares doctor staffing level and the scale of medical education in China with those of other countries and proposes policy recommendations for future adjustments to the scale of China's medical education. Design/Approach/Methods: This study employs a literature review and descriptive analysis. Findings: China had 1.98 medical doctors per 1,000 people in 2018, ranking 85th out of the 193 member-states of the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2017, China had 1.99 practicing doctors per 1,000 people, only ranking above Turkey (1.88) in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. China had only 10.28 medical graduates per 100,000 people--placing in the bottom third of OECD countries. China's provision of 1.4 medical schools per 10 million people was also significantly lower than the global average (3.9). However, the average number of students enrolled in medical schools (509) in China was significantly higher than the global average (160). Originality/Value: Although the scale of admission in undergraduate medical education must be expanded in China, this needs to be achieved while controlling the average number of medical students per school and reducing enrollment in low-quality medical schools. Furthermore, it is necessary to establish new medical schools while improving the operating level of existing ones.

Published studies on SPOC provided inconsistent findings regarding its effectiveness. Adopting a meta-analysis method, this study combined the results of 32 experimental and quasi-experimental studies published in the past 8 years in China for analyzing the overall effect size of SPOC for improving student learning in vocational schools. Data analysis confirmed that SPOC has a moderate positive effect, with a combined effect size of 0.592 (P<0.05). Further analysis revealed three significant factors that moderate the effect of SPOC, including discipline area, group size, and knowledge type. SPOC has a larger effect size for disciplines of engineering technology and medical education than of natural science, and humanities and social science. Integrating SPOC for a small to medium-sized group with no more than 50 students brings about significant improvement in learning outcomes. Compared to declarative knowledge, SPOC is effective for developing procedural knowledge. The findings support the adoption of SPOC in vocational education. To amplify its impacts, multiple factors need to be carefully considered in the design and implementation.

Educational hub refers to centres of excellence in higher education and research whose aims are to provide high-quality education for both national and international students to enhance the competitiveness of the country. These educational hubs provide an opportunity for knowledge exchanges and innovation in local regions through education and training. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid shifts were made towards online learning in education around the world. Although the lockdown is over, remote learning will likely play an increasingly prominent role in education. The adoption of scaled remote learning during the pandemic provided evidence of the importance of online learning. They offer an insight into global society, helping prepare students for an increasingly interconnected world by facilitating links between different regions. Educational hubs can be tied to distance learning and are successful in attracting international students when offering a combination of distance learning methods and innovative programs. This paper examines the phenomenon of educational hubs in higher education for international education through online learning with digital technology. New opportunities for online and distance learning within the definition of educational hubs are analyzed, and three online and blended learning models that reflect the development of educational hubs based on COVID-19 conditions of education are offered. In addition, the successful cases and experiences of distance learning hubs in China and Iran in recent years are described.

This study aims to investigate the impact of integrating Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Organ System-Based Curriculum (OSBC) on medical students' academic achievement and career maturity within the context of medical education. An experimental design was employed, involving students from a medical school in China. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control group with a traditional curriculum or an experimental group receiving an integrated PBL and OSBC curriculum focused on cardiovascular system diseases. The intervention spanned four weeks. The results indicate that the experimental group demonstrated significantly higher academic achievement immediately after the intervention compared to the control group. This improvement persisted in a follow-up test conducted one month later. Career maturity also improved in the experimental group, albeit with a less sustained effect. The study underscores the potential of integrated teaching strategies in medical education for enhancing critical thinking and practical skills. However, long-term improvements in career maturity may necessitate further refinement of teaching methods. These findings contribute to the ongoing discourse on effective medical education strategies and emphasize the importance of a comprehensive approach to prepare students for academic excellence and clinical competence. Future research with larger sample sizes and consideration of additional influencing factors is recommended to gain deeper insights into the dynamics of medical education.

Since pre-internship medical students appeared inefficient in acquiring fundamental knowledge in large classes, a hybrid instructional method of problem-and-lecture-based learning (PLBL) was designed to leverage the complementary strengths of PBL in reasoning under minimal guidance and LBL in immediate knowledge retention. We improved PBL (IPBL) in its instructional process and grading in a way that's feasible in large classes, divided in IPBL almost 50 students into 7-10 squads as a figure simulating student counts in classic PBL class to strive for each squad member to achieve the same level of knowledge, and applied IPBL to about half of the instructional contents while LBL to another half for their complementary strengths. In this case, PLBL led to more number of test questions correctly answered by all students in a class, more students in higher test score buckets, and higher student perception scores on the methodology. PLBL facilitates fundamental knowledge acquisition in large classes within 50 students prior to medical internships.

This study investigates the prevailing challenges in teaching English for Medical Purposes (EMP) within Chinese higher education institutions in Guangdong Province, intending to propose strategies for improving the quality and efficacy of EMP instruction. Based on comprehensive responses from EMP instructors and students, three primary issues emerged: a dearth of specialized teaching resources, insufficient medical knowledge among instructors, and limited professional development opportunities. In response to these challenges, the study suggests three core strategies: creating a specialized curriculum, implementing extensive instructor training, and establishing professional learning communities. The proposed specialized curriculum is a coordinated effort between medical professionals and English instructors, integrating timely, authentic, and professional medical content. The instructor training aims to enhance teachers' medical knowledge and familiarity with the linguistic characteristics of medical English. Finally, establishing learning communities encourages reflective teaching and continual professional growth. The study underscores the importance of these targeted strategies in augmenting the quality of EMP instruction in higher education. Nonetheless, it is crucial to continually refine these recommendations in line with the evolving needs of the medical profession and advancements in language instruction.

The role of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in developing vocabulary knowledge has been investigated extensively in the field of English for Academic Purposes with positive outcomes. However, its implications for medical education, and specifically foreign languages for medical purposes, have not received much attention. This study fills the gap by investigating a cohort (n = 22) of Indian medical students' descriptions and explanations of their preferred vocabulary learning strategies at a medical university in South China, with specific reference to their engagement with CALL technologies. The results indicate that CALL technologies are reported to support "cognitive" and "metacognitive" learning activities but not vocabulary learning in terms of "compensation" and "affective" aspects. CALL technologies are also reported to be used significantly more often to learn "meaning," rather than "form" and use of medical vocabulary knowledge. CALL technologies can facilitate the development of more "receptive" instead of the "productive" vocabulary knowledge. This study yields pedagogical implications for using CALL applications to develop foreign language medical students' vocabulary learning strategies in the social, affective and compensational dimensions.

The past few decades have seen a boom in English-medium instruction (EMI) in Chinese universities. Despite growing research interest in EMI policy and practices in China, little is known about how students' motivation to study in the EMI programs is influenced by EMI policy and its implementation at the meso and micro levels. This study addresses this gap by examining an EMI program at a Chinese medical college. Through a survey of 118 students and interviews with 10 students and 6 teachers, we investigated students' EMI learning motivation, how and why it changed over time, and different stakeholders' perceptions of the EMI implementation. The questionnaire and interview data were triangulated with textual analysis results of institutional EMI policy documents. It was found that students' motivation generally declined over the course of EMI study and was often influenced by implementation factors such as pedagogical practices, assessment-related policies, and incentive strategies. Interactions and contradictions between the EMI policy goals, EMI implementation at different levels and students' motivation change were also analyzed through the Activity Theory lens to shed light on how higher education institutions could better sustain students' EMI motivation and enhance the quality of EMI programs.

The medical field is facing a physician-scientist shortage, threatening future medical research and development. Medical institutions can contribute to developing physician-scientists by stimulating students' involvement in research. In this study, a medical undergraduate teaching module to develop research skills and encourage interest in research was held in Chongqing, China. Undergraduate medical students at Chongqing Medical University completed research skills training. Before and after the training, an online, anonymous, self-reported questionnaire was administered. The self-reported questionnaire investigated students' demographic characteristics, students' perception of attitudes toward conducting research, research skills (e.g., identifying and utilizing information, critical appraisal of literature, paper writing, and understanding of research), and feedback on scientific research training. The module was implemented with 25 students from July 2019 to October 2019, and 96.0% (N = 24) of participants responded to the questionnaire both prior to and after the training. In the evaluation of research skills, results showed that use of appropriate tools for research (Z = -3.340, p < 0.01), students' ability to undertake a focused literature search (Z = -3.40, p < 0.01), identifying and utilizing information (Z = -3.34, p < 0.01), and paper-writing skills (Z = -3.49, p < 0.01) were significantly improved after the undergraduates participated in the scientific research training. A qualitative analysis of the feedback showed that students found that the training helped to enhance their knowledge, improve their study scores, and motivate them to conduct research in the future. Early scientific research ability training strengthened the research skills of medical undergraduates and motivated them to pursue research.

This study examined the mediating effects of cognitive empathy and affective empathy in the relationship between dispositional awe and prosocial behaviour in medical students, and whether perceived stress moderated this association. A total of 631 medical students from two medical tertiary institutions in Liaoning Province, China, participated in this survey. The findings revealed that (1) dispositional awe was positively associated with prosocial behaviour; (2) the positive association between dispositional awe and prosocial behaviour was partially mediated by cognitive empathy and affective empathy; (3) perceived stress significantly attenuated the association between dispositional awe and cognitive empathy, and the association between cognitive empathy and prosocial behaviour. The findings yield practical implications for the improvement strategies of prosocial behaviour among medical students and provide suggestions for future educational interventions.

Guided by argumentation schema theory, we conducted five psychological studies in the United States and China on arguments about vaccination. Study 1 replicated research about arguments on several topics, finding that agreement judgments are weighted toward claims, whereas quality judgments are weighted toward reasons. However, consistent with recent research, when this paradigm was extended to arguments about vaccination (Study 2), claims received more weight than reasons in judgments about agreement and quality. Studies 3 and 4 were conducted in the United States and China on how people process counterarguments against anti-vaccination assertions. Rebuttals did not influence agreement but played a role in argument quality judgments. Both political position (in the United States) and medical education (in China) predicted differences in argument evaluation. Bad reasons lowered agreement (Study 5), especially among participants studying health care. Political polarization apparently heightens the impact of claim side in the argumentation schema, likely to the detriment of public discourse.

This study aimed to develop a model illustrating how teacher leadership contributes to student learning in higher education settings in the Eastern world. Specifically, the current study examined the relationship between teacher leadership style, classroom climate, student self-efficacy, and academic motivation. Four hundred and forty-six randomly selected undergraduate students from four medical universities in China participated in this study. PLS-SEM analyses revealed that teacher leadership style had a significant and positive effect on academic motivation. Findings also showed that classroom climate and student self-efficacy significantly mediated the association between teacher leadership style and academic motivation. Apart from contributing to the theoretical understanding of how teacher leadership impacts student learning, this research provides insightful references for medical teachers, policymakers, and stakeholders.

COVID-19 struck the world suddenly and unexpectedly. Since traditional education requires face-to-face communication, to avoid further spreading of the virus a majority part of that education has moved online. Our study attempts to compare the differences between online medical education with a unique course design and traditional face-to-face education. We conducted a retrospective analysis of a total of 4,098 medical students between 2019 and 2020, including two groups of students who received online education and classroom education for the same subjects, respectively. Freshmen enrolled in September 2018 received traditional classroom physiology and pharmacology education in the spring semester of 2019. Because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, freshmen who were enrolled in September 2019 received online physiology and pharmacology education in the spring semester of 2020. The final marks of the two groups of students were recorded and compared. Data on students participating in online discussions, learning, homework, and watching instructional videos were also recorded. There was no significant difference in the final academic performance between the two groups [average mark: 55.93 (online education) vs. 56.27 (classroom education), P = 0.488]. Further analysis showed that student participation rates in online discussions, online learning, and online viewing of instructional videos were closely correlated with final grades in online courses (P < 0.01). In conclusion, our results suggest that the pedagogical effects of online education during COVID-19 were promising, and we provide a well-designed medical online course to inspire further improvements in online education.

A physiology laboratory course plays an important role in improving the scientific abilities of medical students. This study involved a teaching reform based on problem-based self-designed experiments in a physiology laboratory course. The study subjects were divided into two groups, i.e., students enrolled in 2019 were assigned to the traditional course control group (n = 146) and students enrolled in 2021 were assigned to the improved course test group (n = 128). Students in the test group were required to conduct self-designed experiments based on the questions for each experimental theme, in addition to completing the specified experimental items. At the end of the course, the differences in academic achievements between the two groups were compared. The results showed that compared to the control group, the students in the test group spent less time finishing the specified experimental items (P < 0.05). More students in the test group obtained good results in the operation assessment for the specified experiments (P < 0.05), and a significant increase in the number of winners in discipline-wise competitions, participants in scientific research projects, and academic publications was observed in the test group. Most of the students in the test group agreed that the self-designed experiment promoted their scientific thinking, helped them better understand theoretical knowledge, and improved their hands-on operation and team cooperation abilities. Our research showed that our teaching reform promoted students' self-directed learning and problem-solving abilities, stimulated their enthusiasm for scientific research, and was conducive to the cultivation of innovative medical talents.

Purpose: The 8-year medical education program (EYMEP) is China's path to training high-level medical talents. In retrospect, this study systematically reviewed the developmental process of China's EYMEP. The status quo and characteristics, and threats and challenges, were analyzed, along with the program's prospects. Design/Approach/Methods: This study analyzed relevant textual materials and policy documents dating back to the time of hosting of China's EYMEP, as well as conducted various specific interviews and field trips. Findings: The exploration of China's high-level medical talent training has been conducted over a century. EYMEP can be divided into five periods: the Only Host Period, the Duplication Pilot Host Period, the Expansion Period, the Joint Exploration Period, and the In-Depth Promotion Period. Currently, there are 14 universities and institutes hosting the EYMEP approved by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. However, they differ greatly in training ideas and goals, enrollment processes, and training phases. China's EYMEP is faced with some external threats and internal challenges. In the future, China's EYMEP should consider five aspects. Originality/Value: In the new era of the reform and development of China's medical education, a systematic review of the development of EYMEP in China is of great significance to the promotion of high-level medical talent training in China. Meanwhile, the exploration course of China's high-level medical talent training represented by the EYMEP may be an enlightenment for other countries, especially developing countries like China, in their training of high-level medical talents.

In 2020, the lockdown of Wuhan due to the outbreak of COVID-19 impacted various aspects of local college students' life and may further negatively affect their psychological state. This study was conducted among 652 Wuhan local college students during the quarantine of this city. We assessed their psychological state using Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale 21 and evaluated their living condition including diet, schedule, recreational activities, social contact, academic life, and attention paid to pandemic news. Results showed that 16.87% of the students reported stress, 28.68% with anxiety, and 35.12% had depression. According to multivariate logistic regression analysis, having a medical background was associated with higher stress levels; students who had an irregular diet and schedule were more likely to develop stress, anxiety, and depression; students with their academic life affected had a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression. By studying local students in the hardest-hit area during the pandemic, our findings can provide references for the improvement of college students' mental health in the long term.

Problem-based learning (PBL), as a student-centred learning method, refers to students actively participating in a group scenario to solve open-end problems. This study aims to compare the students' attitudes on PBL in Zhengzhou University and the University of Bristol. This study adopts qualitative methods. By conducting semi-structured interviews with eight participants, four from Zhengzhou University and the others from the University of Bristol. Overall, the results of the study indicated that students from both two universities are overall satisfied with PBL because of its contribution to deeper understanding of medical knowledge and skill development and they all think that the quality of group discussion and the efficiency of PBL classes need to be improved. In terms of the different views from two universities, when it comes to the biggest benefit of PBL, students from Zhengzhou University are more likely to choose clinical thinking, while students from the University of Bristol are more satisfied with the deep understanding on medical knowledge. Unexpectedly, although Zhengzhou University has implemented PBL for fewer years than the University of Bristol, students are more satisfied with and motivated in PBL classes than those of the University of Bristol.

This qualitative research-in-progress investigates the bilingual ideology and identity of EMI (English-medium-instruction) teachers and students at a Chinese medical university. The study aims to enrich the understanding of bi/multilingualism in the context of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) from domestic stakeholders' perspectives. The researcher conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with Chinese medical content teachers and students throughout an academic term. Supplementary research materials include texts, such as lecturers' PowerPoint slides and institutional documents. The preliminary findings suggest that the teachers and students present diverse ideological stances towards bilingualism and that they perform an ambivalent identity: privileged, yet unable to fulfil the expected bilingual identity by self and others, due to ideological and practical constraints. The discussion and potential implications are given in the summary

For a long time in Mainland China, there exists a need for authentic supplementary materials and an extensive native speaker environment in courses like English as a Foreign Language and English for Specific Purposes. Yet, how to promote learners' creativity in the process of developing medical learning materials practice? This study aims to develop certain medical learning materials as an Enriched Corpus-Based English Supplement. Developing those proper medical learning materials for medical learners can help them to develop relevant strategies of corpus-based learning creatively. It had been conducted from December 2016 to November 2019 with four teachers and 180 third-year medical students at Xinxiang Medical University in the Medical English course. Mixed methods were chosen to observe and investigate the use of ECBES among third-year medical students. Both quantitative and qualitative data in the learning process and the outcome had been collected and analyzed. The practice showed that more than 60% of the learners thought they were language learners; their needs were the starting point of enriching creative supplementary materials. Quantitative data of learners' production after the practice were displayed, which implied that the ECBES practice of four skills was practical and useful. Then it discussed several aspects of qualitative indexes for the learners' creative production, such as their choosing autonomy opportunities, practice opportunities from the learners' views. The findings suggested that certain corpus-based materials could be developed to promote learners' creativity in ESP learning.

As one of the indicators reflecting student well-being in medical education practice, student satisfaction is no doubt an important topic. Instead of exploring student satisfaction from the perspectives of education quality and organizational factors, this study focused on student engagement to explore the impact of it on student satisfaction with medical education in China. Student engagement refers to students' actions, efforts and persistence, indicating both time and energy students invested in educationally purposeful activities, especially academic activities. The data used in this study came from the first national survey of clinical undergraduates--the China Medical Student Survey--in which 10,062 clinical medical undergraduates in 33 medical schools participated. We developed a model of medical student engagement and satisfaction and utilized descriptive statistics, ordered logit regression, and path analysis to describe the relationship between medical student engagement and satisfaction. In this study, student engagement was categorized into behavioral, emotional and cognitive dimensions. The findings showed that medical student satisfaction was relatively low and was significantly affected by student satisfaction, especially the behavioral engagement in clinical rotations and professional identity of emotional engagement. These findings could put a supplementary perspective on improving student satisfaction through student engagement, and offer notable implications for future research and practice.

Teaching biomedical technology is critical for the success of research of both domestic and international postgraduate students (DPSs and IPSs). However, difference in the learning characteristics between the two cohorts as well as appropriate teaching modality remains largely unexplored. In the present work, we studied these issues by recruiting 33 IPSs and 32 DPSs who selected the course of 'Patch-Clamp Technique and Its Application in Life Science Research' at Harbin Medical University in China in 2019. Questionnaires were performed to investigate their learning obstacles and style preferences. Correspondingly, we designed a new teaching modality, i.e. lecture enriched with practicum, research proposal and post-course advice (LEPPA in brief) and tested its effect. This modality was positively evaluated by all the IPSs and 90% of the DPSs. The LEPPA can efficiently resolve the concerns of both IPSs and DPSs while promoting their transition from undergraduates to research students.

Existing literature on international health partnerships is largely normative, with an evaluative interest in their impacts in terms of learning and knowledge transfer. Rarely has research attended to how learning and knowledge transfer transpire in practice. This paper addresses this gap with a case study of a partnership between two hospitals in Canada and China. Conceptually, drawing on Actor Network Theory, it posits learning and knowledge transfer as a process of translation. Empirically, it traces the assembling of the programme, and identifies the pedagogical features at nodes of associations. It reveals that health professionals in both countries have expanded their clinical and medical knowledge and practices, and professional senses and sensitivities, which were subsequently amplified, deferred or diminished within their respective practices. It argues that the capacity of individuals to translate learning into practice is contingent on institutional and cultural differences that constitute the ecology of work for health professionals.

Through co-occurrence analysis of 1139 documents (1964-2018) we identified discussions about the implementation of student teaching evaluation (SET). We found that: (1) Attention to SET originated in the US in the 1970s, spreading to German-speaking countries in the mid-1990s and continuing in China and Latin America in the early 2000s. (2) SET is commonly viewed as a control tool deserving methodological improvement, while bias is debated in the US. We also found local trajectories: (3) Whereas in the US and Latin America SET is primarily seen as a management tool, German-speaking and Chinese authors reflect more on improving teaching. Chinese scholars consider SET a valid instrument for state control associated with artificial intelligence. Also, (4) SET is commonly used in medical education in the US and the German-speaking region and in physical education in China. We conclude that SET is discussed cross-nationally but affected by regional path dependencies.

In recent years, online learning has been widely used than before. However, it depends on student's learning initiative and lacks of teacher-student interaction, which cannot bring desired learning performance. In our physiology teaching practice to "5 + 3" integration medical student, we tried to combine online and classroom learning to form the blended learning. This study assessed the effectiveness of the blended learning on students' learning initiative and performance in the physiology study. It included 180 full-time students from clinical medical specialty across two academic years. These students were divided into the experimental classes receiving blended learning and the control classes receiving traditional learning. We carried out three classroom tests and one questionnaire survey. It found that the students of blended learning who mastered most of the content were as twice as the students of traditional learning. The average accuracy of classroom tests was above 90% from the students of the blended learning, which was higher than the approximate rate of 80% of from the students of the traditional learning. Both the times of preparing lessons and answering questions in class increased in the blended learning practice. In addition, students of blended learning were relatively unaffected by playing with the mobile phones in the class. It found that students acquired more knowledge, performed better in the classroom tests and their learning initiative was excited in the blended learning. This study provides the effect assessment and contributes to improve the teaching effect of the blended learning.

To evaluate the teaching effect of problem-based learning (PBL) combined with lecture-based learning (LBL) compared with that of LBL alone in renal pathology education for trainees receiving standardized training. A total of 65 undergraduate medical students who received standardized training in Xijing Hospital from January 2016 to November 2019 were randomly divided into a PBL+LBL group (33 subjects) and an LBL alone group (32 subjects). The teaching effect was evaluated using the subjects' diagnostic accuracy of renal pathology, knowledge of renal pathology and teaching satisfaction assessment. The diagnostic accuracy of renal pathology, knowledge of renal pathology and teaching satisfaction assessment in PLB+LBL group (81.0%, 79.99 ± 6.65 and 89.4%, respectively) were significantly higher than those in the LBL alone group (58.5%, 62.89 ± 10.31 and 58.9%, respectively). While teaching renal pathology to undergraduate medical students receiving standardized training, the PBL+LBL group benefited from a teaching effect and gave a better teaching satisfaction.

As a fundamental subject of medical education, human anatomy plays a critical role in the development of medical science. However, because of multiple factors including cultural conservativism and limited social understanding, China is facing a particularly severe shortage of bodies donated for anatomy education. Zhengzhou University (ZZU) has continued to uphold whole-body dissection as the preferred method for medical students to learn anatomy. For this study, records of registered individuals (who have signed a body donation agreement) and donors (whose bodies have been received) from 2001 to 2020 were collected and analyzed. The aim of this study was to explore the factors influencing the body donation program (BDP) at ZZU, and then reinforce the social understanding for the BDP. The results showed a significant increase in the numbers of both registered individuals and donors since 2015, which is the year the publicity and commemoration in honor of donors were increased. There were no significant differences between the biological male and female sexes in the registered individuals, but the number of male donors (12.85 ± 10.86, per year) was significantly higher than that of female donors (4.75 ± 4.53, per year). The current donor profile at ZZU is male in his 60/70s, while the profile of registered individuals is male or female in their 60s. Strengthening the publicity and commemoration in honor of donors may contribute to the implementation of BDPs.

With the better understanding of human genome and genetic contributions to human complex diseases, more and more clinical genetic tests have been developed for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human diseases. This has raised new challenges to classroom teaching of medical genetics (MG) in medical education of undergraduates, who are relatively naive about the theory and technology of MG. A clear understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships is critical in MG learning. In the current study, we incorporated a practical approach of classroom MG teaching by using alcohol tolerance, a phenotype that is widely experienced by students and closely related to genetic polymorphism. To verify this teaching approach, which we named as student experience-based teaching (SEBT), undergraduates of two classes were recruited, with one accepting SEBT and the other accepting conventional lecture-based teaching (LBT). Final examination of the MG course indicated that while the two classes showed similar results to multiple-choice questions, the SEBT class showed significantly better performance to short-answer questions about gene polymorphism and phenotype, suggesting that SEBT might improve understanding. Thus, using student experience-based phenotypic instances and explaining the phenotype by practical genetic tests could improve understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships in classroom MG teaching.

The online flipped classroom (OFC) has emerged as a new teaching method in universities worldwide, which combines asynchronous and synchronous online learning. OFC differs from the traditional flipped classroom as it does not involve face-to-face interaction between teachers and students. Instead, the class meeting is conducted online, and it is focused on active and collaborative learning (e.g., discussion rather than lecturing). To evaluate the effectiveness of the Physiology OFC, we compared it with online live teaching (OLT) offered in the same school and semester. We analyzed the exam scores of the Physiology course as well as the scores for other courses offered in the same semester and after the Physiology course. We categorized the top 27% of the exam takers as high-achieving students and the bottom 27% as low-achieving students. Our analysis found no statistically significant difference between OFC and OLT in terms of overall exam scores for all students. However, high-achieving students in OFC scored higher on the total exam score and short answer questions, but the score of case study questions (CSQs) of low-achieving students was lower. Furthermore, students in OFC scored higher in Medical Immunology and courses dominated by logical thinking such as Pharmacology and Diagnostics than students in OLT. In conclusion, our findings suggest that OFC can achieve the same teaching effectiveness as OLT, with a more positive impact on high-achieving students. The positive impact extends beyond the Physiology course to other courses where logical thinking is critical. However, the lower performance of low-achieving students in CSQs highlights the need for further research to determine the reasons for their lower performance and potential strategies to improve their learning outcomes.

Internationalisation of medical education is critical under globalisation. Using micro-data from a medical university, this study launches a longitudinal quantitative study on students' outward mobility to identify the international level of medical education in China. The number of student participation in cross-border programmes is the index to the character of mobility. Descriptive statistics was applied using Microsoft Excel. The results showed a rising tendency of medical students' outward mobility however a low level. Undergraduates were more likely to participate in outward activities than graduate students. They demonstrated greater interest in short-term programmes than long-term course studies and research programmes. Compared with the US and the UK, traditional destinations like Australia and other European countries were not as popular. Developed countries and regions in Asia were emerging destinations, while developing countries were ignored. University played a central role in financing students' outward mobility.

Current research on the medical English curriculum system is in an unsystematic state. According to the modular teaching theory and ESP classification, especially Hutchinson & Waters's (1986) and Jordan's (1997) categories, three modules of medical English curriculum system are put forward for non-English speaking countries to cultivate their international medical students and strengthen their international cooperation. These modules are Medical Humanities English, Medical Occupational English and Medical Academic English. Each of the above modules is independent but related to the others in a sequential relationship. Offering modular medical courses not only provides a language platform for medical students to catch up with the pace of internationalization, but also accelerates the process to study the advanced medical technology through international communications.

In China, despite the rapid increase in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is just burgeoning, leaving a need for comprehensive evidence-based education curricula. This pilot study assessed the acceptability of Simplified Chinese CR education delivered via booklets and videos on WeChat asynchronously and the impact on improving knowledge, risk factors, health behaviors and quality of life. In this pre-post, controlled, observational study, interested PCI patients received the 12-week intervention or usual care and WeChat without education. Participants completed validated surveys, including the Coronary Artery Disease Education--Questionnaire and Self-Management Scale. Acceptability (14 Likert-type items), engagement (minutes per week) and satisfaction were assessed in intervention participants. Ninety-six patients consented to participate (n = 49 intervention), of which 66 (68.8%) completed the follow-up assessments. Twenty-seven (77.1%) retained intervention participants engaged with the materials, rating content as highly acceptable (all means [greater than or equal to]4/5) and satisfactory (2.19 ± 0.48/3); those engaging more with the intervention were significantly more satisfied (P = 0.03). While participants in both groups achieved some improvements, only intervention participants had significant increases in disease-related knowledge, reductions in body mass index and triglycerides, as well as improvements in diet (all P < 0.05). In this first study validating the recently translated CR patient education intervention, acceptability and benefits have been supported.

China's Clinical Medicine Level Test (CMLT) was designed to evaluate the key factors that affect the learning outcome of medical students prior to entering clinical practice. In this study, we systemically analyzed the performance of a cohort of medical students at Jinan University School of Medicine participating in the recent CMLT. The analytical results of the medical students' written and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) scores showed that their academic performance was predominantly associated with students' internship allocations, although other demographic characteristics such as sex, age, geographical origin of students, and grade point average (GPA) might be sporadically related to the students' OSCE performance at different OSCE stations. To explore the inherent reasons behind this, a survey was implemented among the medical students who participated in the examination to further interpret the factors influencing the students' learning outcome. The findings of this questionnaire manifested that intrinsic motivation and identified regulation acted as the major motivational profiles for the medical students from three different internship sites, whereas external regulation emerged as the crucial factor to make the students perform well academically in the CMLT. The result of this study suggested that strengthening the quality control of the clinical learning environment and improving medical administration may still be the most effective approaches to ensure the quality of clinical medical education.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how constant changes in team allocation within a modified flipped team-based learning (FTBL) study can affect student's perception of a course (gathered by an online questionnaire) and academic performance. This teaching strategy is a team-based learning (TBL) approach combined with flipped classroom learning methodology, in which BSc students studying pharmaceutical science/biotechnology courses in a UK satellite campus in China preview online lectures and apply their knowledge in different in-class activities. The students are randomly assigned into teams in each session. The project was run across the full academic year (sixteen sessions). Students' perceptions regarding modified FTBL were statistically analyzed, and their academic performance was compared with previous results obtained by the initial FTBL study. Although students initially showed reluctance to leave their 'comfort zone'--the main limitation of this study--our findings show that learners perceived benefits to the adoption of continued random allocation, which resulted in the removal of limitations from their social clustering and eventual accustomization to this learning approach. Modified FTBL assisted students in enhancing their team-work skills, improving their academic performance, developing their reflective capabilities, improving their rapport building skills, learning and academic performance. Learners also believed that this learning strategy creates critical incidents that can simulate their future work environment, as they might be expected to work in unfamiliar situations. Therefore, the present study indicated strong support for the modified FTBL method, which was seen to work exceptionally well despite some minor problems that students experienced working in a team with different teammates in every session.

The present study evaluated the students' psychological well-being, experiences, performance, and perception of learning regional anatomy remotely. A regional anatomy remote learning curriculum was designed and learning materials were delivered virtually to 120 undergraduate medical students at Jinan University, China. All the students consented and voluntarily participated in this study by completing self-administered online questionnaires including the Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety and Depression Scales at the beginning and end of the learning session. A subset participated in focus group discussions. Most of the students (90.0%) positively evaluated the current distance learning model. More than 80% were satisfied with the content arrangement and coverage. Many students preferred virtual lectures (68.2%) and videos showing dissections (70.6%) during the distance learning sessions. However, writing laboratory reports and case-based learning were the least preferred modes of learning as they were only preferred by 23.2% and 14.1% of the students, respectively. There was no significant lockdown-related anxiety or depression reported by students using depression and anxiety scales as well as feedback from focus group discussions. The surveyed students' confidence scores in distance learning were significantly higher after 5 weeks than at the beginning of the session (3.05 ± 0.83 vs. 3.70 ± 0.71, P < 0.05). Furthermore, the present results showed no significant differences between the current group's academic performance in the unit tests as well as the final overall evaluation for different parts of the course compared to that of the previous year's cohort. The findings above were congruent with focus group discussion data that the use of the online teaching platform for regional anatomy significantly improved the students' confidence in virtual and self-directed learning and did not negatively affect their academic performance.

WeChat is one of the most popular social media mobile apps in China. WeChat was introduced to the course of Introduction to Human Health and Disease, as an instant interactive platform to enhance students' learning. Over a period of two years, a WeChat official account (OA) was set up and 157 push notifications were sent per semester. The push notifications included course notices, pre-class thought questions, after-class study materials, simulation exercises, teacher-student interactions, feedback and questions, and research progress relevant to the course. WeChat OA served as an active-learning teaching tool, accelerated further advancement of instant feedback and improvement in teaching activities, improved student-centered communication, and resulted in a high degree of student satisfaction.

In order to cultivate the ability of independent learning and lifelong learning of medical students, improve the ability of students to analyze and solve problems, improve the competence of medical talents and cultivate high-level and innovative talents, we have constructed the blended teaching model of "Clinical Case Investigation--Online Open Course Learning--Classroom PBL Seminar--After-Class Health Education". At the same time, an ability-oriented performance evaluation system improved the teaching quality feedback system has also established. This article introduces the construction and application of the blended teaching model, as well as the problems it faces, provides a theoretical basis for the optimization and improvement of this model. It also provides a model theory and practical basis for creating a blended online and offline "golden course" for the professional courses of medical laboratory technology.

This study aimed to investigate how international students enrolled on medical and surgical bachelor's degree programs (MBBS) in China perceived online medical education course, compared to native Chinese students during the Covid-19 pandemic. The perceptions of 38 MBBS and 31 Chinese sophomores were surveyed using the Chaoxing platform. The international student group's mean satisfaction with online teaching was 2.737 on a 5-point scale, much lower than the Chinese students' mean score of 4.355 (p < 0.05). Similarly, the international students expressed less satisfaction than the Chinese learners with other aspects of the course, including the teacher's level, at 3.964 ± 0.818 versus 4.445 ± 0.548 (p < 0.05); curriculum organization, at 3.651 ± 0.848 versus 4.333 ± 0.568 (p < 0.05); and self-learning level, at 3.634 ± 0.996 versus 3.686 ± 0.949 (p > 0.05), respectively. There were also noteworthy differences between the progress made by the international students in Chinese language learning, which was positively correlated with satisfaction with teaching on the online medical education (p < 0.05). The results suggest that, while online teaching was a necessary response to the COVID-19 pandemic, satisfaction with this mode of education is lower among international students than their Chinese counterparts.

To explore an efficient training program based on an analysis in organizing seven sessions for the National Clinical Skills Competition in China. Each year, 6-12 excellent medical students of our university are selected as an observation team. Comparisons of the teaching characteristics were performed in this study. An optimal curriculum implementation, specific clinical teaching scenarios and evaluation methods were gradually obtained and improved. Teaching effects were satisfactory. Among seven sessions, the eighth session was the best. Curriculum construction and training team building are formed synchronously through this National Clinical Skills Competition. Clinical skills training should be designed and evaluated effectively in order to increase the comprehensive capacities of medical students.

Jinan University in Guangdong province has several years experience of sending medical students abroad for short-term training, based on the schools' agreement with international universities. Currently, we analyze the problems and experience including the medical students' favorite countries, timing, purposes, academic marks, and expenses etc., which came forth from medical students of Jinan University who had participated in the short-term training in the past several years. Our survey suggests that the choices of Chinese medical students about the host universities vary, although the universities in Western countries are still the most popular. The optimal timing the students prefer for short-term training abroad is during vacation especially after grade 2. Broadening the horizons, learning the different knowledge and increasing their academic experience are the major objectives for most exchange students. Furthermore, the survey shows that students hope to improve exchange students' status management and credit acknowledgement system among interschool administrations. This study could supply useful information for the upcoming exchange students for Chinese medical universities/schools and meanwhile, for the host universities receiving Chinese medical students in the world. Hence, both universities and medical students will benefit for more efficiently implementing the exchange programs in the future.

The application-based flipped classroom (APP-FC) is an innovative teaching-learning model that has not been applied and assessed in basic medical curricula teaching in China. The aim of this investigation is to assess students' perceptions to the APP-based flipped classroom (APP-FC) teaching model in an immunology course. The data of this study were collected from second-year medical students (n = 92) at Lanzhou University. One class (n = 50), as a control group, was offered lecture-based learning (LBL), while the other class (n = 42), as the APP-FC group, was given lecture-based instruction and the APP-FC teaching model during September-November 2017. Afterward, the perceptions of students on APP-FC teaching model were evaluated using questionnaires. Students responded that APP-FC improves their motivation (83%) and interest in learning immunology (81%), as well as their self-directed learning skills (81%). Compared to the traditional lecture-based instruction, the APP-FC noticeably improved students' motivation in learning (P = 0.011), self-directed learn skills (P = 0.001), memory abilities (P = 0.009), and problem-solving abilities (P = 0.010). Most medical students' scores (60%) in the final examination were more than 80 points after implementing an APP-FC model as compared to the control group (40%). The majority of students (70%) preferred the APP-FC teaching approach over traditional lecture-based pedagogy. The implementation of the APP-FC teaching model could improve students' learning motivation, self-directed learn skills, and problem-solving abilities, which is a preferable teaching model for medical immunology courses in China.

As China runs towards the forefront of global economic power, people begin to pay growing attention to the quality of life and medical education that play a significant role in sustaining the development by providing healthier labor force. It is evident that in the process of globalization new curricula in line with international standards top Chinese medical education agenda. Efforts have been made to plan the curricula of medical science with international dimensions that train physicians for the health of individuals. This paper analyzes the characteristics of medical curricula developed under new circumstances.