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In the valley of the blind, the USMLE is king
(Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education)
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 25, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Carroll, R. G. Tags: EDITORIALS Source Type: research

Fools gold and chasing unicorns: USMLE Step 1 has no clothes!
(Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education)
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 25, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Lujan, H. L., DiCarlo, S. E. Tags: EDITORIALS Source Type: research

The Fictional Animal Project: a Tool for Helping Students Integrate Body Systems
(Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education)
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 4, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Blatch, S. A., Cliff, W., Beason-Abmayr, B., Halpin, P. A. Tags: ILLUMINATIONS Source Type: research

The critical role of logarithmic transformation in Nernstian equilibrium potential calculations
The membrane potential, arising from uneven distribution of ions across cell membranes containing selectively permeable ion channels, is of fundamental importance to cell signaling. The necessity of maintaining the membrane potential may be appreciated by expressing Ohm’s law as current = voltage/resistance and recognizing that no current flows when voltage = 0, i.e., transmembrane voltage gradients, created by uneven transmembrane ion concentrations, are an absolute requirement for the generation of currents that precipitate the action and synaptic potentials that consume >80% of the brain’s energy budget a...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 4, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Sawyer, J. E. R., Hennebry, J. E., Revill, A., Brown, A. M. Tags: ILLUMINATIONS Source Type: research

Effect of an educational game on university students learning about action potentials
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational game that is used for teaching the mechanisms of the action potentials in cell membranes. The game was composed of pieces representing the intracellular and extracellular environments, ions, ion channels, and the Na+-K+-ATPase pump. During the game activity, the students arranged the pieces to demonstrate how the ions move through the membrane in a resting state and during an action potential, linking the ion movement with a graph of the action potential. To test the effect of the game activity on student understanding, first-year dental students were given...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 4, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Luchi, K. C. G., Montrezor, L. H., Marcondes, F. K. Tags: HOW WE TEACH Source Type: research

Drawing on student knowledge of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology
This study used student-generated drawings to explore student knowledge in a HA&P course. The drawing tasks in this study focused on chemical synapses between neurons, an abstract concept in HA&P. Using two preinstruction drawing tasks, students were asked to depict synaptic transmission and summation. In response to the first drawing task, 20% of students (n = 352) created accurate representations of neuron anatomy. The remaining students created drawings suggesting an inaccurate or incomplete understanding of synaptic transmission. Of the 208 inaccurate student-generated drawings, 21% depicted the neurons as touc...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 4, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Slominski, T. N., Momsen, J. L., Montplaisir, L. M. Tags: HOW WE TEACH Source Type: research

Designing blended learning interventions for the 21st century student
The learning requirements of diverse groups of students in higher education challenge educators to design learning interventions that meet the need of 21st century students. A model was developed to assist lecturers, especially those that are new to the profession, to use a blended approach to design meaningful learning interventions for physiology. The aim of the model is to encourage methodical development of learning interventions, while the purpose is to provide conceptual and communication tools that can be used to develop appropriate operational learning interventions. A whole brain approach that encourages challengi...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 4, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Eagleton, S. Tags: HOW WE TEACH Source Type: research

Redesigning a course to help students achieve higher-order cognitive thinking skills: from goals and mechanics to student outcomes
Here we describe a 4-yr course reform and its outcomes. The upper-division neurophysiology course gradually transformed from a traditional lecture in 2004 to a more student-centered course in 2008, through the addition of evidence-based active learning practices, such as deliberate problem-solving practice on homework and peer learning structures, both inside and outside of class. Due to the incremental nature of the reforms and absence of pre-reform learning assessments, we needed a way to retrospectively assess the effectiveness of our efforts. To do this, we first looked at performance on 12 conserved exam questions. St...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 4, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Casagrand, J., Semsar, K. Tags: HOW WE TEACH Source Type: research

Monitoring undergraduate student needs and activities at Experimental Biology: APS pilot survey
Life science professional societies play important roles for undergraduates in their fields and increasingly offer membership, fellowships, and awards for undergraduate students. However, the overall impacts of society-student interactions have not been well studied. Here, we sought to develop and test a pilot survey of undergraduate students to determine how they got involved in research and in presenting at the Experimental Biology (EB) meeting, what they gained from the scientific and career development sessions at the meeting, and how the American Physiological Society (APS) can best support and engage undergraduate st...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 4, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Nichols, N. L., Ilatovskaya, D. V., Matyas, M. L. Tags: HOW WE TEACH Source Type: research

The renal and cardiovascular effects of natriuretic peptides
The landmark report by de Bold et al. in 1981 signified the heart as one of the endocrine organs involved in fluid and salt balance (de Bold AJ, Borenstein HB, Veress AT, Sonnenberg H. Life Sci 28: 89–94, 1981). Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) are secreted from cardiomyocytes in response to cardiac stretch as in the case of heart failure, whereas C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is secreted from endothelial and renal cells in response to cytokines and endothelium-dependent agonists, such as acetylcholine. Binding ANP or BNP to natriuretic peptide receptor A induces cyclic guanylyl...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - April 4, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Wong, P. C. Y., Guo, J., Zhang, A. Tags: STAYING CURRENT Source Type: research

Blooms dichotomous key: a new tool for evaluating the cognitive difficulty of assessments
(Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education)
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - February 22, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Semsar, K., Casagrand, J. Tags: ILLUMINATIONS Source Type: research

Classical and novel pharmacological insights offered by the simple chick cardiomyocyte cell culture model: a valuable teaching aid and a primer for "real" research
The chick embryo cardiomyocyte model of cell culture is a staple technique in many physiology and pharmacology laboratories. Despite the relative simplicity, robustness, and reproducibility inherent in this model, it can be used in a variety of ways to yield important new insights that help facilitate student understanding of underlying physiological and pharmacological concepts as well as, more generally, the scientific method. Using this model, this paper will show real data obtained by undergraduate students in the authors’ laboratories. It will first demonstrate classical pharmacological concepts such as full and...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - February 22, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Freestone, N. S., Sam, C. L. S. Tags: HOW WE TEACH Source Type: research

Assessing students ability to critically evaluate evidence in an inquiry-based undergraduate laboratory course
This study developed a model to examine undergraduate science students’ abilities to critically evaluate and use evidence through an analysis of laboratory reports from control and experimental groups in nonresearch-aligned and research-aligned inquiry-based laboratory classes, respectively, and contrasted these with published scientific research articles. The reports analyzed (n = 42) showed that students used evidence in a variety of ways, most often referring to literature indirectly, and least commonly highlighting limitations of literature. There were significant positive correlations between grade awarded and t...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - February 22, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Colthorpe, K., Mehari Abraha, H., Zimbardi, K., Ainscough, L., Spiers, J. G., Chen, H.-J. C., Lavidis, N. A. Tags: HOW WE TEACH Source Type: research

Testing and evaluation: the present and future of the assessment of medical professionals
The aim of this review is to highlight recent and potential future enhancements to the United States Licensing Examination (USMLE) program. The USMLE program is co-owned by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Federation of State Medical Boards. The USMLE includes four examinations: Step 1, Step 2 Clinical Knowledge, Step 2 Clinical Skills, and Step 3; every graduate of Liaison Committee on Medical Education-accredited allopathic medical schools and all international medical graduates must pass this examination series to practice medicine in the United States. From 2006 to 2009, the program underwent an i...
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - February 22, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Haist, S. A., Butler, A. P., Paniagua, M. A. Tags: MINI-REVIEW Source Type: research

Lurk or lead? The benefits of community participation
(Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education)
Source: AJP: Advances in Physiology Education - February 22, 2017 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Matyas, M. L. Tags: MINI-REVIEW Source Type: research