Abstract:

Occupational Medicine was taught in two Spanish different University Medical Schools (Faculties of Medicine at Zaragoza and Albacete) by means of blended learning that included innovative teaching techniques. To assess students’ satisfaction with teaching a 9-item questionnaire was drawn up and validated in terms of reliability and exploratory factor analysis. This questionnaire was administered to medical students (n>300) from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zaragoza during the academic years: 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 as well as to University of Castilla La Mancha medical students during the academic year 2017-2018 (n>100). Possible changes in students´ attitude to Occupational Medicine were determined by the use of another questionnaire administered to medical students at both universities before and after their training. A significant improvement in students’ attitude towards Occupational Medicine was proven after studying the subject, the difference being more significant among University of Zaragoza students (p<0.001) than among UCLM students (p<0.005). Although local differences may have some influence on the experiences and outcomes of the two Universities studied, we can certainly conclude that the use of innovative tools in the teaching of Occupational Medicine (OM) to medical students has got positive results. Furthermore, it was found that OM teaching using innovative tools contributes to a positive change in the attitude of future doctors to this medical speciality.

Keywords:

Occupational Medicine, Training in Occupational Health, Teaching Methods, Attitude Changes, Blended Learning.