CLUEDUP at the MEFANET 2021 Conference

The traditional 1.5-day format of the event created space for two intensive workshops, one invited plenary lecture, two sections with short presentations and a guided tour of the posters. The professional program was complemented by the autumn meeting of the MEFANET Coordination Board and a thorough tour of the Simulation Center of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University. It was this part of the program, which was undertaken by the head of the Institute of Simulation Medicine Petr Štourač and the director of the Simulation Center Jan Dvořáček, that attracted many people interested in simulation medicine from many workplaces in the Czech Republic and Slovakia among almost 80 conference participants. Both moderators of the excursion not only demonstrated the well-thought-out division of the center with its technological conveniences, but also pointed out the rich content content reflected in the experience gained from the annual operation, during which an unprecedented volume of teaching was realized.

Simulation medicine also intertwined with both workshops. In the first of them, prepared by Daniel Schwarz and Tamara Skříšovská from the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, the simulations took the form of virtual patients used in collaborative learning using Team-Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning. Part of this workshop was also mapping the needs of lecturers in collaborative teaching methods in connection with the European project CLUEDUP. CLUEDUP is an international project that aims to enrich pedagogical approaches and improve participants’ skills in online learning, especially clinical decision making, critical thinking and team communication. The results of the mapping showed educators’ interest in the topic of involving escape games (Escape Rooms) in teaching and stirred up a discussion about the possible challenges and benefits that the involvement of this teaching modality can bring.

The second workshop was prepared jointly by teams from the 1st Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague led by Martin Vejražka and from the Medical Faculty of Masaryk University led by Martin Komenda. The participants of this workshop gained a lot of useful information about good practice in verifying students’ knowledge and skills. They could also try out the role of an evaluator in a practical demonstration of one OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) first aid exam station.

The final word is a thank you to all active and passive participants of the 14th year of this traditional conference. Other thanks go to the management of the Medical Faculty of Masaryk University for their long-term support of this event.