Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1984. / Parallel title in Chinese.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1984. / Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Erlangen-Nürnberg. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-206).

Thesis--Erlangen-Nürnberg. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-206).

Thesis--Erlangen-Nuernberg. / Cover title. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 443-444).

Thesis--Erlangen-Nuernberg. / Cover title. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 443-444).

Gap years have grown in popularity among many students attempting to go to medical school in recent years. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), more than half of matriculated students now have taken time off between their undergraduate studies and medical school. While many claim benefits to taking gap years, research on the impacts of these experiences on medical students is largely nonexistent. This study aims to qualitatively analyze the gap year phenomena and its impacts on medical students through semi-structured interviews conducted at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. Through these interviews, the researchers collected in-depth responses that were thematically analyzed through a qualitative research methodology. Emergent themes (adaptability, professional identity formation, resilience, refocusing of goals, "real world" experience, reinforcement of motivation) were found which offer insight into the reasons and motivations for electing gap years, and how medical students view the impact of their gap year experiences.

Mentoring for medical students has been shown to be beneficial for mentees and mentors, aiding in career development, improved academics, and personal benefits like reducing burnout. The provision of mentoring is also an accreditation standard for all allopathic medical schools in the United States. This study examined a mentoring program in one urban medical school during the 2019-2020 academic year. The purpose of this study was to determine participant perceptions of their mentoring experiences and alignment with the qualities of the career and academic advising and mentoring standards identified by the literature, looking specifically at programmatic structure, oversight, integration into the medical education curriculum, guided matching process and training (Tan, Teo, Pei, Sng, Yap, Toh, & Krishna, 2018). Utilizing a 26-item questionnaire sent to 1,097 students and 39 faculty mentors, perceptions of the mentoring experience were measured. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test to compare means between groups. With a response rate of 27.73%, data indicated participants found the closest alignment to the construct of training within this institution. Findings indicated no statistically significant differences in means between students and alumni. Between mentors and students, mentors were found to have a statistically significant higher mean in programmatic structure and training constructs. For mentors and alumni, mentors were found to have a statistically significant higher mean in the area of training. Mentoring programs need to be aligned with mentoring standards that promote the most effective mentor-mentee relationship. However, with an emergence of a new generation of medical students with more distinct needs, future research is necessary to determine characteristics of successful mentors and determining how to assign students to mentors for effective mentoring. Identifying disconnects between a mentor program and mentoring best practices could assist in improving mentoring outcomes and satisfaction.

In lieu of real patients, healthcare educators frequently use simulated patients. Simulated patients can be realized in physical form, such as mannequins and trained human actors, or virtual form, such as via computer graphics presented on two-dimensional screens or head-mounted displays. Each of these alone has its strengths and weaknesses. I introduce a new class of physical-virtual patient (PVP) simulators that combine strengths of both forms by combining the flexibility and richness of virtual patients with tangible characteristics of a human-shaped physical form that can also exhibit a range of multi-sensory cues, including visual cues (e.g., capillary refill and facial expressions), auditory cues (e.g., verbal responses and heart sounds), and tactile cues (e.g., localized temperature and pulse). This novel combination of integrated capabilities can improve patient simulation outcomes. In my Ph.D. work I focus on three primary areas of related research. First, I describe the realization of the technology for PVPs and results from two user-studies to evaluate the importance of dynamic visuals and human-shaped physical form in terms of perception, behavior, cognition, emotions, and learning. Second, I present a general method to numerically evaluate the compatibility of any simulator-scenario pair in terms of importance and fidelity of cues. This method has the potential to make logistical, economic, and educational impacts on the choices of utilizing existing simulators. Finally, I describe a method for increasing human perception of simulated humans by exposing participants to the simulated human taking part in a short, engaging conversation prior to the simulation.