Department of Curriculum Studies

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Browsing Department of Curriculum Studies by browse.metadata.advisor "Archer, Elize"

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    Evaluating an isiXhosa clinical communication course at a health sciences faculty
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Du Plessis, Madelé; Fourie-Malherbe, Magda; Archer, Elize; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT : For healthcare professionals the ability to communicate in the language of their patients is of prime importance. When language barriers between the healthcare professional and the patient occur, effective communication cannot take place, and, in turn, high quality care cannot be delivered. Many medical schools implement language programmes to equip students with the required language skills. However, these language programmes often tend to focus on language use in general situations, rather than focusing on clinical communication. Furthermore, these programmes do not necessarily comply with the requirements of the communicator competency of the CanMEDS framework. There is thus a need to evaluate the effectiveness of such language programmes. The aim of this study was to determine whether the isiXhosa clinical communication course implemented at Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is enabling students to communicate in the language of their patients. In addition, the research aimed to determine whether the communication course effectively contributes to the development of the communicator competency of the CanMEDS framework. Data was gathered by means of individual interviews, questionnaires, observations, as well as document analysis. Two distinct populations were sampled, namely students and lecturers involved in the isiXhosa clinical communication course. The students included Occupational Therapy (third year) students, Human Nutrition (third year) students, and Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy (fourth year) students. The findings indicate that the course material provided to students is not fully aligned with the requirements of the communicator competency. Therefore, students only have limited knowledge and vocabulary in isiXhosa. However, even though students have not acquired sufficient isiXhosa vocabulary and knowledge needed to communicate in a clinical context, they are still able to apply what they have learnt, enabling them to establish a positive relationship with patients.
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    Experiences of feedback on medical students’ clinical skills performance in a clinical skills centre
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03) Van der Merwe, Charmaine; Bitzer, Eli; Archer, Elize; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Curriculum Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Feedback is critical to learning, especially learning of clinical skills, even in simulation. Students are often not satisfied with the feedback they receive on their learning, while lecturers generally report they do provide feedback to students. This imbalance between feedback received and feedback provided may be evident at this Clinical Skills Centre (CSC), where medical students from Stellenbosch University learn clinical skills in the safety of a simulation area. The aim of this study was therefore to determine how fourth-year medical students experience the feedback they receive and how lecturers experience the feedback they provide about the learning of clinical skills in the CSC. As the researcher, I was specifically interested in this study to help guide my own practice as a lecturer in this CSC. This study followed an interpretative approach and used non-numerical data to understand the feedback experiences of the students and their lecturers. A case study design was used which involved the fourth-year medical students and the lecturers involved in learning sessions at the CSC of Stellenbosch University as a particular setting for learning and teaching. The student group, as well as the lecturers were purposefully selected for the case because of their specific experiences in the learning and teaching of clinical skills in the CSC. Non-numerical data were generated through three methods, namely the observation of ten learning sessions, individual interviews with four lecturers and five focus group interviews with 35 fourth-year medical students. From the data analysis it became apparent that medical students generally associate feedback with the information they receive after summative assessments and do not experience guidance during learning sessions in the CSC as feedback. The findings further indicated that students possibly do not receive sufficient feedback in terms of the traditional notion of feedback. This is mainly because of limited follow-up opportunities whereby a change in students’ behaviour can be evaluated and information can be provided on multiple observations of students’ performance of clinical skills. There is however evidence that opportunities may be enhanced in the learning of clinical skills, especially in a CSC where an alternative self-regulated feedback model can be incorporated.