Browsing by Author "Meyer, Kim"
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Item An Analysis of Student Satisfaction with Active Learning Techniques in an Online Graduate Anatomy Course: Consideration of Demographics and Previous Course Enrollment(2023) Bradley, Libby; Meyer, Kim; Robertson, Taylor; Kerr, Marcel; Maddux, Scott D.; Heck, Amber; Reeves, Rustin; Handler, EmmaPurpose: Online learning has become an essential part of mainstream higher education, allowing greater access for students. With the increase in online course enrollment, specifically that of anatomy, understanding online teaching best practices is critical. Active learning has previously shown many benefits in face-to-face anatomy courses, including increases in student satisfaction. Currently, no research has measured the satisfaction of several active learning techniques implemented in an asynchronous, online graduate anatomy course. Methods: This study compared the student satisfaction achieved by four active learning techniques with consideration of demographics and previous course enrollment. Survey questions consisted of multiple-choice and Likert-style that asked students to indicate their level of satisfaction with the active learning techniques. One hundred seventy (170) students completed the online anatomy course and surveys. Results: Students were more satisfied with question constructing and jigsaw than with concept mapping and team-learning module. Additionally, historically excluded student groups (underrepresented racial minorities) were more satisfied with active learning than White students. Age, gender, previous anatomy experience and/or online course experience did not influence the satisfaction of the active learning techniques. However, students with higher GPAs and those who had no graduate degree were more satisfied with the active learning techniques than students who had lower GPAs and those with a graduate degree. Conclusion: These findings provide evidence that students enrolled in an online graduate anatomy course were satisfied with the active learning techniques, dependent on the specific technique, demographics, and previous course enrollment. Results provide anatomy educators with a better understanding of which techniques work best in an online anatomy course. Currently, there is a lack of research comparing active learning techniques in an online learning environment. These findings provide online anatomy educators with evidence that active learning techniques improve satisfaction, with consideration of student demographics and previous course enrollment.Item Does Sleep Improve Mental Health in Elderly Women?(2016-03-23) Thomas, Kathryn; Wright, Joshua; Meyer, Kim; Hartos, Jessica; Redd, LaurenIntroduction: Sleep and mental health complaints are prevalent in the elderly. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between sleep and mental health in representative samples of elderly women. Methods: This cross sectional analysis used 2013 BRFSS data. Females age 65 and older from California, Pennsylvania and Florida were used since these states had high percentages of elderly populations. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between sleep and mental health. Results: Most of the participants reported they had 30 days of good mental health in the past month (73-76%), and the majority slept less than an average of 8 hours per night (55-57%). After controlling for psychosocial and demographic factors, mental health was significantly related to sleep in California and Florida, and significantly related to multiple chronic health problems in all three states. Conclusions: Overall, sleep and chronic health problems were related to mental health in representative samples of elderly females. Even though this study did not determine the direction of influence, it is recommended that clinicians know about and educate their elderly female patients on the relations among sleep, chronic health problems, and mental health.Item Does Weight Relate to Mental Health Status in Females Ages 35-54?(2016-03-23) Hartos, Jessica; Bowden, Britney; Cherry, Merritt; Florez, Joshua; Ford, Angela; Meyer, KimPurpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between mental health and weight status for women during the transitional years from young adulthood to middle age. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis used data from the 2013 BRFSS for women ages 35-45 from the states of Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and West Virginia. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine whether weight status was related to mental health after controlling for psychosocial and demographic variables. Results: Participants reported relatively high numbers of days of good mental health in the past 30 days and relatively moderate levels of BMI. Mental health was not significantly related to weight status after controlling for psychosocial and demographic variables; however mental health was inversely related to the number of chronic health problems and positively related to working for wages and higher incomes. Conclusions: Mental health and weight status were not significantly related after controlling for demographic and psychosocial variables in the target population. These results imply weight status may not be as important as other factors for women 35-45 and, thus, healthcare providers should not disregard weight, but place more emphasis on treating comorbidities with mental health.Item Implications of Interactive Online Medical Education for TCOM Musculoskeletal Education(2023) Crowther, Jacqueline; Frangenberg, Alexander; Nesterenko, Alissa; Maharjan, Laura; Meyer, Kim; Webb, BrianPurpose: In the modern medical curriculum, students are required to learn increasing amounts of information, and the ability to adapt and expand the threshold of fundamental concepts is becoming increasingly important. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the medical education system to adapt to a new challenge - delivering a comprehensive medical education to students remotely without compromising the quality of education. As a result, online interactive learning modules were introduced into the second exam portion of the TCOM Musculoskeletal Systems 2 (MSS2) course. This study aims to retrospectively review the effects of this online, interactive, module-based format. Methods: A retrospective review was performed to compare student performance before and after the implementation of these pandemic related changes. De-identified student data (n=685) from the 2019 pre-pandemic cohort and the 2020 and 2021 post-pandemic cohorts were utilized for the study. The dataset included student cumulative medical school GPA prior to the beginning of the course, class quartile rank, MSS2 exam scores and final course grades. Standard post-course surveys were utilized for the qualitative portion of the analysis, and an additional course satisfaction survey administered via google polls was added for the purpose of collecting anonymous student feedback and suggestions for improvement. Quantitative analysis was conducted on parametric and non-parametric variables. For parametric variables, the independent sample T-test was utilized to assess significant differences in a number of different variables, including both broad and specific statistical questions regarding the data. Results: The implementation of the online musculoskeletal modules correlated to a significant difference between the course grades of the 2019 and 2020 cohorts with mean scores of 88.4 and 87.2 respectively (p=.025). A significant improvement was found in the second exam for the 2019 and 2020 cohorts (p=.006), whereas no significant difference was revealed between the first exam grades of the two cohorts (p = 0.49). The data analysis from the two years following the pandemic demonstrated a successful implementation of online modules with the significant improvement of exam grades in the second exam where the modules were incorporated, including in the 2021 cohort. These significant findings indicate a benefit of introducing such modules into the second exam. Post-course surveys revealed that 57% of students want to see interactive modules in future courses, with an additional 28% being neutral. Conclusions: The addition of interactive modules to the MSS2 curriculum was beneficial as students were able perform significantly better on the relevant exam material despite entering the course with significantly lower GPAs. Furthermore, the majority of students responded positively to the possibility of seeing interactive modules used in future courses.Item Incorporating ultrasound imaging in graduate gross anatomy labs improves learning(2023) Robertson, Taylor; Meyer, Kim; Kerr, Marcel; Reeves, Rustin; Handler, EmmaPurpose: Teaching ultrasound imaging is on the rise in both undergraduate and medical anatomy education. Despite the vast literature surrounding these areas, there is little research exploring the use of ultrasound in preparatory graduate programs, which emphasize credential enhancement for professional school applications. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of ultrasound imaging inclusion in a graduate gross anatomy course. Methods:Students in the Master of Medical Sciences program enrolled in the gross anatomy course, a prosection-based cadaver lab that included pinned cadaver stations and an ultrasound station. Using ultrasound, teaching assistants imaged live human volunteers to demonstrate anatomical structures that students previously learned at the cadaver stations. To assess learning, students were given one ultrasound image question on each lab practical exam. Students also completed a pre- and post-course survey regarding perceptions of ultrasound inclusion in the course. Student lab practical scores and final course grades from the 2019 cohort were used as a historical control. Students in the 2022 cohort’s lab practical grades, final course grades, and survey data were used in statistical analysis. Classes disrupted by Covid-19 were excluded (2020 & 2021 cohorts). Results: 205 students from the 2019 cohort and 167 students from the 2022 cohort participated in this study, with 29 students from the 2022 cohort responding to the surveys. Students in the 2022 cohort had significantly higher lab practical scores in practicals 2 (p<.001, d=.361), 3 (p<0.001, d=1.038), 4 (p<.001< d=.487) and 5 (p<.001, d= .412). Survey data revealed that there was a significant increase (p<.001, d=1.203) in learning outcome achievement from pre-survey to post-survey. Students who correctly answered the ultrasound question performed significantly better on practicals 3 (p=.005) and 4 (p=.005) than those who missed the ultrasound question. Conclusion: These findings suggest that ultrasound imaging in a gross cadaver lab is beneficial to masters' students’ learning and understanding of gross anatomy and structural relationships. The utilization of ultrasound during cadaveric anatomy courses improves learning and outcome achievement in these graduate students. This hands-on instructional procedure would likely have the same effect on other cadaveric anatomy courses such as those in health sciences and medical curricula.Item Is Diabetes a Risk Factor for Stroke in Women Ages 45-54?(2017-03-14) Grabow, Ivonne; Faulk, Katelynn; Morgan, William; Meyer, Kim; Hartos, Jessica; Turner, HannahIntroduction: Diabetes has been identified as a risk factor for stroke. However, there is little known about the relationship between stroke and diabetes by gender and specific age groups. The purpose of this study was to assess whether diabetes is a risk factor for stroke in women ages 45-54. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis used 2014 BRFSS data for females ages 45-54 in Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, and West Virginia. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between stroke and diabetes, while controlling for alcohol use, education level, ethnicity/race, exercise, tobacco use, and weight status. Results: Few women ages 45-54 reported ever being diagnosed with stroke (3-6%) or diabetes (10-17%). After controlling for alcohol use, education level, ethnicity/race, exercise, tobacco use, and weight status, diabetes was significantly related to stroke in Kentucky (AOR=2.92, 95% CI=1.40, 6.09) and Maryland (AOR=3.32, 95% CI=1.07, 10.3) but not in Arkansas, South Carolina, and West Virginia. Conclusions: Diabetes was found to be significantly related to stroke in two out of five states. This cross-sectional study does not reflect previous history of stroke and diabetes or their comorbidities. Since this data was from a population-based study, the results may reflect patients in the primary care setting. Therefore, practitioners in primary care can expect to see a very low percentages of stroke and diabetic patients and may consider screening for diabetes or stroke in patients with signs and symptoms of either disease.Item Online learning modules improve musculoskeletal medicine exam scores(2021) Mirochnitchenko, Alissa; Garcia, Laura; Webb, Brian; Meyer, KimPurpose: Effective teaching methods are fundamental in ensuring medical student success. In the spring of 2020, the pandemic forced most medical school courses to go online. As a result, online interactive learning modules were introduced into the second exam portion of the TCOM Musculoskeletal Systems 2 (MSS2) course. This study aims to retrospectively review the effects of this online, interactive, module-based format. Methods: Student demographics, course grades and student course feedback from the MSS2 course in spring of 2019 and 2020 were collected and analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. A quantitative analysis was conducted using SPSS to determine if there was a difference in course outcomes between the 2019 cohort and 2020 cohort. Additionally, a qualitative analysis was conducted to compare student feedback between the cohorts. Results: Although the final grade for the MSS2 course was statistically significantly higher in the 2019 cohort (88.4% vs. 87.2%), the 2020 group achieved a significantly higher average grade for the second exam of the course in which online modules were added (88.1% vs. 86.3%). A significantly smaller proportion of the 2020 cohort scored below 80% on the second exam (11.66% vs. 18.34%). Most comments regarding the modules were positive. Conclusions: The addition of interactive modules to the MSS2 curriculum was beneficial as students were able perform significantly better on the relevant exam material despite entering the course with significantly lower GPAs. Furthermore, student feedback about their learning was positive.