1Department of Medical Education, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar 2Department of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar 3Department of Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar 4Department of Dentistry, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar 5Department of Anesthesia, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar 6Department of Geriatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qata...

improving and that communication is best learnt through observation in clinical situations. If the role models that medical students and junior doctors are observing are poor communicators how do we expect these learners to improve? I agree that observation and reflection is an important part of the experiential learning process, as is practising skills. But we know that in clinical situation l...

This study evaluates the efficacy of the preclinical communication skills training (CST) programme at the International Medical University in Malaysia. Efficacy indicators include students' (1) perceived competency (2) attitude (3) conceptual knowledge, and (4) performance with regard to patient-centred communication. A longitudinal study with a before-after design tracked a preclinical cohort'...

This article describes the development of four assessment tools designed to evaluate the communication skills training (CST) programme at the International Medical University (IMU). The tools measure pre-clinical students' 1) perceived competency in basic interpersonal skills, 2) attitude towards patient-centred communication, 3) conceptual knowledge on doctor-patient communication, and 4) acce...

The purpose of this study was to analyze the nature of the coordination evolution during the process of learning a gross motor skill. Participants had to learn to oscillate as smoothly as possible on an experimental swing during 10 sessions of 10 trials. Using tools and methods of dynamical systems theory, two qualitatively different coordination modes were observed during learning. The change ...

Medical Education 2011: 45: 217-226 Objectives  The view that training in communication skills produces skilled communication is sometimes criticised by those who argue that communication is individual and intuitive. We therefore examine the validity of the concept of communication as a skill and identify alternative principles to underpin future development of this field. Methods  We criticall...

PROBLEM What were the effects of a communication skills training intervention among a sample of young adolescents and parents who scored in the "extreme" range of the Circumplex Model of Family Systems? METHODS Thirty-seven young adolescents and a parent (intervention group) participated in communication skills training 2 hours/week for 6 weeks. Their responses on measures of satisfaction wit...

The need for curricular reform in K-4 mathematics is clear. Such reform must address both the content and emphasis of the curriculum as well as approaches to instruction. A longstanding preoccupation with computation and other traditional skills has dominated both what mathematics is taught and the way mathematics is taught at this level. As a result, the present K-4 curriculum is narrow in sco...

Novel experience and learning new skills are known as modulators of brain function. Advances in non-invasive brain imaging have provided new insight into structural and functional reorganization associated with skill learning and expertise. Especially, significant imaging evidences come from the domains of sports and music. Data from in vivo imaging studies in sports and music have provided vit...

Anomalous transport of heat and particles is known to be a key issue for fusion devices. In the present paper the anomalous transport of fast ions is investigated. High transit frequencies of the fast ions lead to the assumption that there is only very weak interaction with the low-frequency turbulence. However, our results indicate a significant fast ion particle transport due to the turbulenc...