Research output per year
Research output per year
Abstract
Background/Context
Have you ever taken a wrong turn, requested imaging of the wrong side or operated on the wrong side? Maybe you know of someone who has. In our personal and professional lives left-right (LR) decisions are made daily but to varying degrees of success.1 In healthcare LR errors can have disastrous consequences and one underlying factor in LR errors is human error.2 Can anything be done to improve an individual’s LR discrimination ability?
Precision Teaching (PT) is a teaching method developed by the discipline of Applied Behaviour Analysis that is used successfully in education and for special needs children.3 PT using flashcards, termed ‘Say All Fast, Minute Each Day, Shuffled’ (SAFMEDS), aims to improve fluency (accuracy and speed) of a skill.3
Methodology
The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of SAFMEDS on individuals’ LR discrimination ability. This will involve implementing LR flashcards as the intervention.
Fourth year medical students will be invited to participate, aiming to recruit 50 participants for the control and intervention groups. The control group’s baseline LR discrimination ability will be quantified using the ‘Bergen Left Right Discrimination Test’ (BLRDT), a LR psychometric test. The intervention group’s LR discrimination ability will be quantified using the BLRDT. They will use SAFMEDS with LR flashcards for 5 days. The BLRDT will be repeated after 5 days of intervention.
Participants in the intervention arm will be invited to participate in a focus group with the aim to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences using LR flashcards.
Results/Outcome/Conclusion
Data collection started in September 2017 and is ongoing. 39 participants entered the intervention group with 11 participating in 2 focus groups. Three further recruitments are planned in October/November. Data analysis will be conducted using a between-groups Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and thematically using the ‘template analysis’ approach.
Have you ever taken a wrong turn, requested imaging of the wrong side or operated on the wrong side? Maybe you know of someone who has. In our personal and professional lives left-right (LR) decisions are made daily but to varying degrees of success.1 In healthcare LR errors can have disastrous consequences and one underlying factor in LR errors is human error.2 Can anything be done to improve an individual’s LR discrimination ability?
Precision Teaching (PT) is a teaching method developed by the discipline of Applied Behaviour Analysis that is used successfully in education and for special needs children.3 PT using flashcards, termed ‘Say All Fast, Minute Each Day, Shuffled’ (SAFMEDS), aims to improve fluency (accuracy and speed) of a skill.3
Methodology
The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of SAFMEDS on individuals’ LR discrimination ability. This will involve implementing LR flashcards as the intervention.
Fourth year medical students will be invited to participate, aiming to recruit 50 participants for the control and intervention groups. The control group’s baseline LR discrimination ability will be quantified using the ‘Bergen Left Right Discrimination Test’ (BLRDT), a LR psychometric test. The intervention group’s LR discrimination ability will be quantified using the BLRDT. They will use SAFMEDS with LR flashcards for 5 days. The BLRDT will be repeated after 5 days of intervention.
Participants in the intervention arm will be invited to participate in a focus group with the aim to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences using LR flashcards.
Results/Outcome/Conclusion
Data collection started in September 2017 and is ongoing. 39 participants entered the intervention group with 11 participating in 2 focus groups. Three further recruitments are planned in October/November. Data analysis will be conducted using a between-groups Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and thematically using the ‘template analysis’ approach.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 20 Oct 2017 |
| Event | Northern Ireland Simulation and Human Factors Network: “Theory into Practice: Using simulation and human factors training to improve patient safety” - Riddel Hall, Belfast, United Kingdom Duration: 20 Oct 2017 → 20 Oct 2017 |
Conference
| Conference | Northern Ireland Simulation and Human Factors Network |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Belfast |
| Period | 20/10/2017 → 20/10/2017 |
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Centre for Behaviour Analysis
Dillenburger, K. (Performer), 2017Research output: Non-textual form › Software
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