ERIC Number: EJ1020963
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Mar
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1043-4046
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Summer Premedical Program for Matriculating Medical Students: A Student-Led Initiative
Awad, Ayman M.; AlAmodi, Abdulhadi A.; Shareef, Mohammad A.; Alsheikh, Ammar J.; Mahmod, Asim I.; Daghistany, Asem O.; Hijazi, Mohammed M.; Abu-Zaid, Ahmed; Alsadoon, Mohamed; Shabllout, Mohamed; Rasool, Abduljabar; Yaqinuddin, Ahmed
Advances in Physiology Education, v38 n1 p56-61 Mar 2014
The freshman academic year is one of the most difficult years that a medical student experiences in his/her academic life at a medical school. Freshmen are frequently faced with several challenges, such as adaptation to a new academic environment and its associated different methods of teaching, learning, skills, and assessment. The aim of this study was to describe a 4-wk innovative summer premedical program developed by senior medical students at the College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, in an attempt to improve/smooth the experience(s) of prospective freshmen. This report describes the objectives/strategies/methodologies used to tackle the top three identified freshman challenges, namely, 1) advancement of the academic/scholastic/educational background, 2) the development of college-required skills to succeed and excel in the freshman year, and 3) adaption to the college environment. At the end of the program, a survey was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the summer premedical program. Seventy-two students attended this program over the past three summers from 2010 to 2012, and twenty-nine students answered the survey with a response rate of 74.1%. Overall, greater than 90% of the survey respondents reported an improvement in their understanding of basic medical science, integration, presentation skills, medical terminology, and junior-senior relationships. Furthermore, the survey highlighted the need for more focus on skills such as time management, participation in large-group discussions, and use of electronic resources, as greater than 50% of respondents reported no improvement in these areas. In conclusion, this is the first report, to our knowledge, that describes a program developed by senior medical students to improve the experience of freshmen.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Medical Education, Premedical Students, Summer Programs, Models, Peer Teaching, Physiology, Science Instruction, Human Body, Skill Development, Time Management, Notetaking, Textbooks, Reading Comprehension, Testing, Stress Variables, Public Speaking, Visual Aids, College Environment, Student Attitudes, Program Effectiveness
American Physiological Society. 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3991. Tel: 301-634-7164; Fax: 301-634-7241; e-mail: webmaster@the-aps.org; Web site: http://advan.physiology.org/
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Journal Articles
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Saudi Arabia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A