Experience Sharing: You Can Not Only Grow When Preparing for PBL Competition, But Also Learn from Other Excellent Works.
Dr. Gu Feng, Associate Chief Physician of Orthopedics at Peking University Aerospace Clinical School, joins us as the Silver Award winner in the teacher group of the PBL Challenge to Expand Global Medical Horizons (referred to as “PBL competition”).
This competition encourages educators to utilize Elsevier’s medical education tools, including ClinicalKey Student textbooks, question banks, Osmosis animated medical platform, and Complete Anatomy 3D anatomy software to develop teaching materials.
Dr. Gu Feng’s engagement in the PBL competition spans two consecutive years. In 2021, he served as the guiding teacher, leading student Zhang Li to achieve remarkable success, ranking second in the professional group. In the subsequent year, Dr. Gu Feng participated once again, this time with student Li Yujie. While they did not clinch any awards, Li Yujie acknowledged the invaluable knowledge gained throughout the process. As a seasoned participant in the PBL competition, Dr. Gu Feng shares insights into his utilization of digital tools and his daily teaching experiences.
QYou have participated in two consecutive PBL competitions and achieved excellent results. Has this had any personal impact on your work and life?
A: This is a very meaningful competition. Not only can you continuously learn and grow when preparing for the competition, but you can also see other excellent works and learn a lot from them. Winning awards is helpful for title evaluation, and it also adds points to the annual teaching evaluation to varying degrees. The hospital’s education department and others will also commend and promote it.
QIn orthopedic teaching practice, what aspects of student training do you value more?
A: First of all, it is the cultivation of clinical reasoning ability. The most important thing is to focus on students, encourage them to think actively, and guide them to ask questions as teachers. Often, the causes of diseases are intertwined in the human body, breaking through one by one, and understanding deeply. This is also the process of exercising their clinical thinking ability.
However, in the process of diagnosis and treatment, we need to pay attention to cultivating students’ humanistic spirit, focus on patients, and always consider the patient’s needs. Orthopedics belongs to the surgical department, and the requirements for aseptic surgery are particularly high. It is necessary to emphasize the necessity of sterile operation to reduce the probability of patient infection, which is very important for both students and medical workers.
QHow has the digital medical education tools from Elsevier helped in your teaching?
A: Recently, I am learning myofascial therapy. The clear anatomical images and comprehensive annotations on Complete Anatomy display the myofascial beautifully, which can be applied well in classroom presentations. From my recent studies, I have found that myofascial therapy will receive more and more attention in the future. OSCE clinical skills assessment has been used in China for many years and has been widely recognized.
However, with the change of teaching needs and concepts, its content and form need to gradually evolve. The cultivation of clinical skills requires a certain process. Osmosis has OSCE-related question banks, animated video explanations, and clear images, which can allow students to preview before class and improve classroom efficiency.
If in the future, we can record standardized surgical operation videos in hospitals with experts for new doctors and students to follow, and plan standardized certification processes between hospitals and various schools, it will be more conducive to the homogeneity of learning and operation.
QThe AI era has arrived. What are your expectations for the future development of Elsevier’s digital medical education tools in helping doctors’ training, patient education, and teaching applications?
A: With the development of big data, AI has already diagnosed some difficult diseases and guided treatment, which is the trend of future development. The radiology section of Complete Anatomy already has many images (X-ray, CT, MEI) and functions related to anatomy.
In the future, it is hoped that cooperation with hospitals can be achieved, where doctors or patients only need to upload images to the software, and AI can automatically identify lesions, assist in image diagnosis, and improve diagnosis and treatment efficiency. In terms of teaching, random question-and-answer games can be set up, and cases can be uploaded. The software can automatically set up questions for the game, set the human body as a question-answer game route, and enter different routes for the next level according to different answers from students.
Finally, AI will give an evaluation, allowing students to understand their own weak points of knowledge and recommend which exercises to strengthen. Understanding the mechanism of disease action is also very important for teachers. It is hoped that in the future, Osmosis can automatically deduce the mechanism of disease action after searching for the disease name.
Medical education is a process of lifelong learning and progress. Sometimes when encountering problems, our own experience is limited, and our knowledge is not so broad. However, in teaching, we must let students know the reason and understand deeply. Only when students master the knowledge will it be more profound.
Behind the scenes
QWhy did you choose to become an orthopedic doctor among many departments?
A: I have always enjoyed fixing things since I was a child. Physics knowledge from middle school and university can be applied well to orthopedic work. When looking at the two-dimensional X-ray images of fractures, you have to think about the three-dimensional structure after the fracture, as well as bone growth, fracture reduction, and fixation, all of which are related to biomechanics. During my internship, I saw patients with severe lower limb fractures. After treatment by doctors, the patients could move around quickly and showed satisfied smiles. I think orthopedic doctors are great, so I chose orthopedics as my career direction after graduation.
QHave you encountered any touching or gratifying moments in your teaching career?
A: I really enjoy teaching and growing together with my students. I remember during the epidemic, a sophomore student volunteered to work in the hospital to contribute to the national epidemic prevention efforts. Seeing her busy serving patients in heavy protective clothing, it touched me deeply. I am truly proud of such students who are compassionate and dedicated. Watching my excellent students continuously receive titles such as Excellent Student of Peking University and Beijing Municipality, and being admitted to their desired graduate programs, makes me proud and gratified.
The introduction of Dr. Gu Feng
Dr. Gu Feng, Associate Chief Physician of Orthopedics at Peking University Aerospace Clinical School and Deputy Director of the Department of Surgery. Dr. Feng holds a distinguished teaching position at Peking University and has been recognized with several awards, including the Excellent Case Award and the title of Excellent Teacher at Peking University School of Medicine.
Notably, Dr. Feng was awarded the First Prize in the 14th Young and Middle-aged Teaching Competition at the School. With a rich background in education, Dr. Feng has both hosted and participated in numerous educational teaching projects at Peking University, as well as six additional projects at Peking University School of Medicine.
PBL videos from Dr. Gu’s guided students
