MEDIC ST 3104A - Research and Clinical Reasoning Part 1

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2017

Through a program of case-based tutorials lectures and assignments, students will further develop their knowledge and understanding of the principles of the research, evidence-based practice and clinical reasoning that underpin the practice of medicine.

Open All

Course Details

Course Code	MEDIC ST 3104A
Course	Research and Clinical Reasoning Part 1
Coordinating Unit	Medical Studies
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Contact	Up to 4 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	N
Prerequisites	Year 2 MBBS Exam
Restrictions	Available to MBBS students only
Assessment	Details provided at the start of the year

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Matthew Worthley

Course Coordinator

Professor Matt Worthley
Interventional Cardiologist
Royal Adelaide Hospital

matthew.worthley@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Lectures for theis course are delivered as part of the integrated Year 3 MBBS Program.

Students will need to work in small groups outside the scheduled program to meet the course requirements.

Course Learning Outcomes

To understand the role of research to inform excellence in clinical practice
Learn the principles, practices and processes of scientific enquiry
Plan a small research project involving experimental design or qualitative reserach methodologies where relevant.
Assess the strengths and weknesses of a published paper, and its relevance to clinical pratice or medical science.
Learn how to keep up-to-date with research.
Carry out independent learning and work effectively

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	2,3,4
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	3,6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1,5
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	3,4
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

There are no required resources for this course.

Recommended Resources

Research Design Resources

Bordage, G & Dawson, B 2003, “Experimental study design and grant writing in eight steps and 28 questions’, Medical Education, vol. 37, p. 376-385.

Grimes DA & Schulz KF, 2002, “An overview of clinical research: the lay of the land.” The Lancet, vol.359, issue 9300, p. 8.

Hansen, E 2006, Successful qualitative health research: a practical introduction, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest.

Moher, D, Schulz, KF, Altman, DG 2001, ‘The CONSORT statement: revised recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel group randomised trials. BMC Medical Research Methodology, vol. 1, p. 2

Riegelman, RK 2000, Studying a study and testing a test, 4th edn. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia PA.

Rossenfeldt, FL, Dowling, JT, Pepe, S & Fulleton, M 2000, ‘How to write a paper for publication’, Heart Lung and Circulation, vol. 9, p. 82-87.

Critical Appraisal resources

Introductory paper: “How to critically appraise an article” by Young and Solomon
http://www.nature.com/nrgastro/journal/v6/n2/pdf/ncpgasthep1331.pdf

Site with checklist style worksheets for the critical appraisal of different types of research http://www.casp-uk.net/find-appraise-act/appraising-the-evidence/

Elwood, M 2000, Critical appraisal of epidemiological studies and clinical trials, OUP, Oxford, New York.

Greenhalgh, T 2010, How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine. Wiley BlackwellPublishing, Oxford.

Research Ethics

Emanuel, EJ, Wendler, D & Grady C 2000, ‘What makes clinical research ethical?’, Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 283, p. 2701-2711.

Overview: www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-ethics

Ethical issues checklist for human research:
https://webdev.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/human/guidelines/levels/HREC_Ethics_Checklist.doc

Ethical requirements in animal, genetic and human research: www.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/

Indigenous health: www.nhmrc.gov.au/your-health/indigenous-health

Regulations on the procurement and use of human tissue/ cadavers:
www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/Transplantation%20and%20Anatomy%20Act%201983.aspx

Informed consent, use of case notes, de-identification, confidentiality and privacy:
www.privacy.gov.au/publications/e26.pdf

Examples of Research Ethics approval committees and their requirements:

www.adelaide.edu.au/ethics/human/guidelines/index.html

www.rah.sa.gov.au/rec/

www.tqeh.sa.gov.au/public/content/default.asp?xcid=158

Group Work and Peer Assessment

Group Work: http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/24-groupwork.xml

Peer Assessment: http://sydney.edu.au/business/learning/students/study_research_writing/groupwork/finishing_well/self_peer_assessment

Statistics Resources

Bland, M 2000, An introduction to medical statistics, 3rd edn, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Campbell, MJ & Machin, D 2000, Medical statistics: a commonsense approach, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Dawson-Saunders, B & Trapp, RG 1994, Basic and clinical biostatistics, Appleton & Lange, Norwalk.

Gore, SM & Altman, DG 1991, Statistics in practice, British Medical Association, London.

Petrie, A & Sabin, C 2009, Medical statistics at a glance, 3rd edn, Wiley-Blackwell, New Jersey.

Referencing Style

The University of Adelaide’s Harvard Referencing Style: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/referencing_guides/

Endnote guide

The University of Adelaide library’s guide to Endnote:
http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/mbbs

How to export from PubMed into Endnote, especially see section on how to convert to full Journal titles
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/guide/med/end.html

Online Learning

There are a range of online resources available in the recommended resources.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

There are two main components of this course: The Research Proposal and the Critical Appraisal. Both activities have a strong focus on working collaboratively in teams. Each component is supported by a series of lectures.

Research Proposal
Students work in small groups under the supervision of a Academic staff member or Clinical titleholder to produce a research proposal. Students will form there own Research Proposal Groups (comprsing 4 students) and approach potential supervisors to coordinate their project.

Critical Appraisal
Students work in pairs to critically appraise a published research paper with respect to its rationale, methodology, interpretation of results, conclusions and contribution to medical knowledge or clinical practice

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

Provided students work systematically through the two activities within their groups, the workload for this course is manageable.

Learning Activities Summary

The primary mode is small group learning for the development of the Research Proposal and the Critical appraisal. Students will need to demonstrate the ability to self direct their learning with support, and time manage their projects.

Further details will be provide in the Course Handbook.

Specific Course Requirements

The course requires students to participate in small groups for both the research proposal and critical appraisal task. These tasks cannot be completed individually.

Small Group Discovery Experience

Working in a small group with a supervisor on the Research Proposal meets the requirements of a small Group Discovery Experience
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary

Research Proposal

Each group has the following to complete each semester:

Semester 1
Formative assignment
Peer Assessment of individual contribution to group work (formative)
Group work Log ( summative)

Semester 2 (all summative)
Final Research Proposal
Peer Assessment of individual contribution to group work
Semester Group Work Log

Critical appraisal
Summative assessment is based the 10 minute group presentation on the selected paper.

Assessment Related Requirements

A marking grid will be privided to all students which indicates how their final overall band will be determined.

The final individual band is based on their final proposal band, groupwork ( satisfactory, borderline, unsatisfactory) and Supervision Attendance (group Work Logs)

Students attendance and contribution is an important element of the assessment.

Details of the assessment grids are provided within the course.

Assessment Detail

Complete assessment requirements for the MBBS Program and this Course are set out in the year level assessment documents distributed at the start of each year.

Submission

Details of the submission requirements will be provided in the Course. Students may be required to submit the work through Turnitin.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

NOG (No Grade Associated)

Grade Description

CN Continuing

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Students will be provided with formative feedback on progress at the end of semester 1.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Students should familarise themselves with the University Policy on Additional Assessment/Replacement Assessment.
Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

The MBBS Program has a regular program of evaluation. In addition, student representatives are appointed to MBBS committees and are encouraged to report on issues of importance to students.
Student Support
Students may access the University Health Practice, 61+ 08 83135050 http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/health/
The MBBS Program website has details on Student well-being resources which can be accessed.
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Please read the MBBS Program Code of Conduct
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

NOG (No Grade Associated)
Grade	Description
CN	Continuing

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator