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Promoting Clinical Reasoning with a Clinical Integrative Puzzle – The Experience of the University of Melbourne
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ESVP, ECVP and NSVP Proceedings 2015
PROMOTING CLINICAL REASONING WITH A CLINICAL INTEGRATIVE PUZZLE e THE EXPERIENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE N. Courtman, C. Beck and E. Boller Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia Introduction: The development of clinical reasoning skills requires students to restructure their knowledge from an organ systems approach to the clinically-orientated approach required of practising veterinarians. To aid veterinary students in this transition from preclinical to clinical thinking, the University of Melbourne (UOM) implemented a new teaching and learning activity for the third year DVM students in 2014 called the Clinical Integrative Puzzle (CIP). Aim: To assess levels of student and instructor engagement and satisfaction with the CIP. Materials and Methods: Students worked in small peer groups using their own computer/tablet devices to access the CIP materials stored on the UOM Learning Management System. Each group was provided with a CIP grid with the signalment, history and physical examinations of up to six cases. The students then matched the results of diagnostic testing, images, diagnoses and therapeutic plans to develop an illness script for each case. The students were then surveyed anonymously. Results: Most students agreed or strongly agreed that they felt that they were carrying out ‘real’ clinical reasoning skills, and that the puzzle was challenging, engaging and collaborative. Future plans are to compare student performance in the CIP against performance on examinations and against assessment of clinical reasoning skills in the fourth year. This may allow for identification of students who may be at-risk for poor performance in clinical reasoning in the final year of the course. Conclusions: The introduction of the CIP to the UOM has been very successful with high levels of student engagement and very positive student feedback.
J. Comp. Path. 2016, Vol. 154, 58e123
STUDIES ON ALTERNATIVE IL-1b TRANSCRIPT EXPRESSION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUCOCYTES IN CHRONIC HEART FAILURE IN DOGS M. Zacharski *, A. Or1owska *, L. Kiczak *, P. Kuropka y, A. Pawlak * and U. Paslawskaz *Department of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, yDepartment of Animal Physiology and Biostructure and zDepartment of Internal and Parasitic Diseases with Clinic for Horses, Dogs, and Cats, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland Introduction: The IL-1b gene can be alternatively spliced with an intron 4 retention, giving IL-1b splice variant 1 (IL-1bsv1). This transcript was significantly upregulated in failing myocardium from dogs with chronic degenerative valvular disease (CDVD). The present study was designed to investigate the expression of IL-1bsv1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy dogs and dogs with CDVD and its influence on pro-inflammatory responsiveness. Additionally IL-1bsv1 was analyzed in canine leukaemia Materials and Methods: PBMCs were isolated from the blood of healthy dogs (n 5 5) and dogs with CDVD (n 5 7). PBMCs were incubated for 6 h in medium with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Expression of IL-1b and its transcript, IL-1bsv1 was investigated by RT-PCR. Using an antibody directed against an epitope originating from a retained intron, western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis was conducted. Additionally expression of IL1bsv1 in canine leukaemia was investigated. Results: The IL-1bsv1 expression level correlated with the reactivity of PBMCs to LPS stimulation. IL-1b transcript level was increased in PBMCs from dogs with CDVD with a low level of IL-1bsv1, but PBMCs from control dogs with high expression of IL-1bsv1 did not show any change in IL-1b transcript level after pro-inflammatory stimulation. Western blot analysis revealed that IL-1bsv1 is translated in PBMCs. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that IL1bsv1 is present in the lymphocyte population. Additionally, IL1bsv1 was found in the cytoplasm of leukaemia cells. Conclusions: The presence of IL-1bsv1 in PBMCs and leukaemia cells and its ability to decrease the pro-inflammatory response on LPS stimulation suggests that it can play an immunomodulatory role.
ESVP, ECVP and NSVP Proceedings 2015
PROMOTING CLINICAL REASONING WITH A CLINICAL INTEGRATIVE PUZZLE e THE EXPERIENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE N. Courtman, C. Beck and E. Boller Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia Introduction: The development of clinical reasoning skills requires students to restructure their knowledge from an organ systems approach to the clinically-orientated approach required of practising veterinarians. To aid veterinary students in this transition from preclinical to clinical thinking, the University of Melbourne (UOM) implemented a new teaching and learning activity for the third year DVM students in 2014 called the Clinical Integrative Puzzle (CIP). Aim: To assess levels of student and instructor engagement and satisfaction with the CIP. Materials and Methods: Students worked in small peer groups using their own computer/tablet devices to access the CIP materials stored on the UOM Learning Management System. Each group was provided with a CIP grid with the signalment, history and physical examinations of up to six cases. The students then matched the results of diagnostic testing, images, diagnoses and therapeutic plans to develop an illness script for each case. The students were then surveyed anonymously. Results: Most students agreed or strongly agreed that they felt that they were carrying out ‘real’ clinical reasoning skills, and that the puzzle was challenging, engaging and collaborative. Future plans are to compare student performance in the CIP against performance on examinations and against assessment of clinical reasoning skills in the fourth year. This may allow for identification of students who may be at-risk for poor performance in clinical reasoning in the final year of the course. Conclusions: The introduction of the CIP to the UOM has been very successful with high levels of student engagement and very positive student feedback.
J. Comp. Path. 2016, Vol. 154, 58e123
STUDIES ON ALTERNATIVE IL-1b TRANSCRIPT EXPRESSION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LEUCOCYTES IN CHRONIC HEART FAILURE IN DOGS M. Zacharski *, A. Or1owska *, L. Kiczak *, P. Kuropka y, A. Pawlak * and U. Paslawskaz *Department of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, yDepartment of Animal Physiology and Biostructure and zDepartment of Internal and Parasitic Diseases with Clinic for Horses, Dogs, and Cats, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland Introduction: The IL-1b gene can be alternatively spliced with an intron 4 retention, giving IL-1b splice variant 1 (IL-1bsv1). This transcript was significantly upregulated in failing myocardium from dogs with chronic degenerative valvular disease (CDVD). The present study was designed to investigate the expression of IL-1bsv1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy dogs and dogs with CDVD and its influence on pro-inflammatory responsiveness. Additionally IL-1bsv1 was analyzed in canine leukaemia Materials and Methods: PBMCs were isolated from the blood of healthy dogs (n 5 5) and dogs with CDVD (n 5 7). PBMCs were incubated for 6 h in medium with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Expression of IL-1b and its transcript, IL-1bsv1 was investigated by RT-PCR. Using an antibody directed against an epitope originating from a retained intron, western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis was conducted. Additionally expression of IL1bsv1 in canine leukaemia was investigated. Results: The IL-1bsv1 expression level correlated with the reactivity of PBMCs to LPS stimulation. IL-1b transcript level was increased in PBMCs from dogs with CDVD with a low level of IL-1bsv1, but PBMCs from control dogs with high expression of IL-1bsv1 did not show any change in IL-1b transcript level after pro-inflammatory stimulation. Western blot analysis revealed that IL-1bsv1 is translated in PBMCs. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that IL1bsv1 is present in the lymphocyte population. Additionally, IL1bsv1 was found in the cytoplasm of leukaemia cells. Conclusions: The presence of IL-1bsv1 in PBMCs and leukaemia cells and its ability to decrease the pro-inflammatory response on LPS stimulation suggests that it can play an immunomodulatory role.