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A priority in medical education is to teach physiology as a foundation for undergraduates. Medical educators have looked into various content delivery methods to ensure that they can teach their students in a way that is chronological, logical, strategic, and cohesive. The emphasis on systems-based didactic lectures replaced the development of critical thinking abilities as time changed. However, physiology is a subject for medical students to comprehend, integrate, and apply in clinical sciences. Students generally struggle to understand fundamental physiological concepts in the context of disease processes and may need assistance from physiologists. Thus, experts in medical education are examining methods for achieving efficient vertical and horizontal integration in how they teach physiology.

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Effective Methods to Teach Physiology

The medical curriculum needs to be regularly assessed and continue to develop as a living document and introduce new teaching and learning strategies. For the instruction of physiology, a variety of teaching and learning techniques are employed, including interactive lectures (IL), structured interactive sessions (SIS), case-based lectures (CBL), and problem-based learning (PBL) methods. To achieve the objective of real student learning, it is crucial for physiology faculty to become knowledgeable about the discipline,
various teaching and learning strategies, and how effective those methods are. Teachers are better able to maintain student interest and motivation in the classroom when lectures are organized properly. Nevertheless, as an effective teaching and learning technique, case-based instruction and discussion surpass interactive lectures in terms of the student learning experience. This supports the assertion that students feel motivated and empowered when they are enabled to actively engage in self-directed learning exercises.

Group Tutorials:

Small Group Tutorials skillfully advance the conversation on prior subject knowledge with expanded interpretations of concepts and supplemental information from lectures or textbooks. Researchers have shown that increasing individual attention helps ensure that all students participate equally, which boosts motivation and performance. The students’ engaged participation and interaction promote an increase in
the knowledge exchange between teachers and students.

Case-Based Learning (CBL):

A popular teaching and learning strategy is case-based learning (CBL). In case-based discussions, the goal is to comprehend the theoretical aspects of basic sciences and relate those facts to physiological processes and clinical signs and symptoms. The students’ abilities to solve complex problems are improved and developed using this approach. A deeper comprehension of physiological and pathological aspects is relevant to understanding disease processes. The emphasis here is on integrating the pathological processes and building on physiological comprehension.

Regular laboratory visits:

Students are encouraged to conduct experiments or measure physiological responses in themselves in the laboratory, which has been given a key role in physiology education, according to teachers. Since motivation is a crucial factor in academic learning and achievement, we must be concerned with questions that look at how students get started doing laboratory work and why they stick with it.
The Lab Motivation Scale is used to gauge students’ levels of enthusiasm, engagement, and comprehension confidence. Self-efficacy is a term used to describe goal-directed motivation that is supported by outcome expectations regarding the expected outcomes. From a motivational standpoint, outcome expectations are crucial because students consider the possible results of different actions and behave in ways they think will help them achieve the outcomes they value.

Effective methods work to better teach physiology

The use of interactive educational strategies improved medical students’ learning abilities and helped them better understand the subject. Students who understood difficult concepts for a better understanding of physiology could apply them to other subjects by using their critical thinking abilities and the power of group discussion. When it comes to orientation with clinical cases, the value of case-based learning cannot be understated; however, students want to see lectures improved to make them more interactive.

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HAMZA ATHAR is a third-year MBBS( bachelor of medicine, bachelor of surgery) student at QUAID-E-AZAM medical college, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

REFERENCES:
Dohn, N. B., Fago, A., Overgaard, J., Madsen, P. T., & Malte, H. (2016, July 21). Students’ motivation toward laboratory work in physiology teaching. Advances in Physiology Education. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://journals.physiology.org/doi/epdf/10.1152/advan.00029.2016

Rehan R, Ahmed K, Khan H, Rehman R. A way forward for teaching and learning of Physiology: Students’ perception of the effectiveness of teaching methodologies. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. 2016 Nov-Dec;32(6):1468-1473. DOI: 10.12669/pjms.326.10120. PMID: 28083047; PMCID: PMC5216303.

Thammasitboon S, Brand PLP. The physiology of learning: strategies clinical teachers can adopt to facilitate learning. Eur J Pediatr. 2022 Feb;181(2):429-433. doi: 10.1007/s00431-021-04054-7. Epub 2021 Mar 29. PMID: 33782760; PMCID: PMC8821380.

Thammasitboon, S., & Brand, P. (2022). The physiology of learning: strategies clinical teachers can adopt to facilitate learning. European journal of pediatrics, 181(2), 429–433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-021-04054-7

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