Faculty Publications (HBMCDM)

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Browsing Faculty Publications (HBMCDM) by Subject "Academic Performance"

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    Investigating the Relationship Between Resilience, Stress-Coping Strategies, and Learning Approaches to Predict Academic Performance in Undergraduate Medical Students: Protocol for a Proof-of-Concept Study
    (2019) Alsheikh-Ali, Alawi; Akhras, Aya; Hassan Khamis, Amar; ; Davis, David A
    Background: The evolution of an undergraduate medical student into an adept physician is perpetual, demanding, and stressful. Several studies have indicated medical students have a higher predominance of mental health problems than other student groups of the same age, where medical education acts as a stressor and may lead to unfavorable consequences such as depression, burnout, somatic complaints, decrease in empathy, dismal thoughts about quitting medical school, self harm and suicidal ideation, and poor academic performance. It is imperative to determine the association between important psychoeducational variables and academic performance in the context of medical education to comprehend the response to academic stress. Objective: The aim of this proof-of-concept study is to determine the relationship between resilience, learning approaches, and stress-coping strategies and how they can collectively predict achievement in undergraduate medical students. The following research questions will be addressed: What is the correlation between the psychoeducational variables resilience, learning approaches, and stress-coping strategies? Can academic performance of undergraduate medical students be predicted through the construction of linear relationships between defined variables employing the principles of empirical modeling? Methods: Study population will consist of 234 students registered for the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences distributed over 4 cohorts. Newly registered MBBS students will be excluded from the study. Various psychoeducational variables will be assessed using prevalidated questionnaires. For learning approaches assessment, the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students questionnaire will be employed. Resilience and stress-coping strategies will be evaluated using the Wagnild-Young resilience scale and a coping strategies scale derived from Holahan and Moos’s Coping Strategies Scale, respectively. Independent variables (resilience, stress-coping strategies, and learning approaches) will be calculated. Scores will be tested for normality by using the Shapiro-Wilk test. An interitem correlational matrix of the dependent and independent variables to test pairwise correlation will be formed using Pearson bivariate correlation coefficients. Regression models will be used to answer our questions with type II analyses of variance in tests involving multiple predictors. Regression analyses will be checked for homogeneity of variance (Levine test) and normality of residuals and multicollinearity (variance inflation factor). Statistical significance will be set at 5% (alpha=.05). Effect sizes will be estimated with 95% CIs. Results: Psychoeducational instruments in the form of validated questionnaire have been identified in relation to the objectives. These questionnaires have been formatted for integration into Google forms such that they can be electronically distributed to the consenting participants. We submitted the proposal to MBRU institutional review board (IRB) for which exemption has been awarded (application ID: MBRU-IRB-2019-013). There is no funding in place for this study and no anticipated start date. Total duration of the proposed research is 12 months.
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    Selected Skill Sets as Building Blocks for High School-to-Medical School Bridge: Longitudinal Study Among Undergraduate Medical Students
    (2023) Alsuwaidi, Laila; Otaki, Farah; Hassan Khamis, Amar; AlGurg, Reem; Lakhtakia, Ritu
    Background: The high school–to–medical school education transition is a significant milestone in the students’ academic journey, which is characterized by multiple stressors. Although this crucial transition has been repetitively explored, the concept of proactively intervening to support this transition is still novel. Objective: In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a web-based multidimensional resilience building intervention in developing selected soft skills that are believed to drive the learner’s success in any learning setting. The association between the students' academic performance over time and their proficiency in selected modules addressing skill sets, including Time Management, Memory and Study, Listening and Taking Notes, and College Transition, was also assessed to test the impact of the intervention on the students’ learning. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted on 1 cohort of students of a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery program (MBBS). The medical students were offered a learning intervention around 4 skill sets during the first year of the 6-year program. Quantitative analyses were conducted using deidentified data, relating to the students' proficiency in the 4 skill sets and to the students’ academic performance: grade point average (GPA). Descriptive analyses constituted computing an overall score of skill sets’ proficiency (of all 4 selected skill sets). The mean and SD (and percentage of the mean) were also calculated for each skill set component, independently, and for the overall score of skill sets’ proficiency. Bivariate Pearson correlations were used to assess the extent to which the academic performance of the students can be explained by the corresponding students’ level of proficiency in each skill set component and by all 4 sets together. Results: Out of the 63 admitted students, 28 participated in the offered intervention. The means and SDs of the annual GPA of the students for years 1 and 2 (GPA range 1-4) were 2.83 (SD 0.74) and 2.83 (SD 0.99), respectively. The mean and SD of the cumulative GPA toward the end of year 2 was 2.92 (SD 0.70). Correlation analysis showed that the overall score of skill sets proficiency was significantly associated with the annual GPA of year 1 (r=0.44; P=.02) but was not associated with their annual GPA of year 2. The cumulative GPA (toward the end of year 2) appeared to be significantly associated with the overall score (r=0.438; P=.02). Conclusions: Developing purposefully selected skill sets among medical students holds the potential of facilitating the high school–to–medical school education transition and is likely to improve their academic performance. As the medical student progresses, the acquired skills need to be continuously reinforced and effectively built upon.