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Authors are the souls of any journal, and deserve much respect. To publish a journal manuscripts are needed from authors. Authors have a great responsibility for producing facts of their work in terms of number and results truthfully and an individual honesty is expected from authors in this regards. Both ways its true "No authors-No manuscripts-No journals" and "No journals–No manuscripts–No authors". Reviewing a manuscript is also a very responsible and important task of any peer-reviewed journal and to be taken seriously. It needs knowledge on the subject, sincerity, honesty and determination. Although the process of reviewing a manuscript is a time consuming task butit is expected to give one's best remarks within the time frame of the journal.
Salient features of the JCDR: It is a biomedical, multidisciplinary (including all medical and dental specialities), e-journal, with wide scope and extensive author support. At the same time, a free text of manuscript is available in HTML and PDF format. There is fast growing authorship and readership with JCDR as this can be judged by the number of articles published in it i e; in Feb 2007 of its first issue, it contained 5 articles only, and now in its recent volume published in April 2011, it contained 67 manuscripts. This e-journal is fulfilling the commitments and objectives sincerely, (as stated by Editor-in-chief in his preface to first edition) i e; to encourage physicians through the internet, especially from the developing countries who witness a spectrum of disease and acquire a wealth of knowledge to publish their experiences to benefit the medical community in patients care. I also feel that many of us have work of substance, newer ideas, adequate clinical materials but poor in medical writing and hesitation to submit the work and need help. JCDR provides authors help in this regards.
Timely publication of journal: Publication of manuscripts and bringing out the issue in time is one of the positive aspects of JCDR and is possible with strong support team in terms of peer reviewers, proof reading, language check, computer operators, etc. This is one of the great reasons for authors to submit their work with JCDR. Another best part of JCDR is "Online first Publications" facilities available for the authors. This facility not only provides the prompt publications of the manuscripts but at the same time also early availability of the manuscripts for the readers.
Indexation and online availability: Indexation transforms the journal in some sense from its local ownership to the worldwide professional community and to the public.JCDR is indexed with Embase & EMbiology, Google Scholar, Index Copernicus, Chemical Abstracts Service, Journal seek Database, Indian Science Abstracts, to name few of them. Manuscriptspublished in JCDR are available on major search engines ie; google, yahoo, msn.
In the era of fast growing newer technologies, and in computer and internet friendly environment the manuscripts preparation, submission, review, revision, etc and all can be done and checked with a click from all corer of the world, at any time. Of course there is always a scope for improvement in every field and none is perfect. To progress, one needs to identify the areas of one's weakness and to strengthen them.
It is well said that "happy beginning is half done" and it fits perfectly with JCDR. It has grown considerably and I feel it has already grown up from its infancy to adolescence, achieving the status of standard online e-journal form Indian continent since its inception in Feb 2007. This had been made possible due to the efforts and the hard work put in it. The way the JCDR is improving with every new volume, with good quality original manuscripts, makes it a quality journal for readers. I must thank and congratulate Dr Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief JCDR and his team for their sincere efforts, dedication, and determination for making JCDR a fast growing journal.
Every one of us: authors, reviewers, editors, and publisher are responsible for enhancing the stature of the journal. I wish for a great success for JCDR."
Thanking you
With sincere regards
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey, M.S., M. Ch., FAIS
Associate Professor,
Department of Paediatric Surgery, Gandhi Medical College & Associated
Kamla Nehru & Hamidia Hospitals Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462 001 (India)
E-mail: drrajendrak1@rediffmail.com
On May 11,2011
Dr. Shankar P.R.
"On looking back through my Gmail archives after being requested by the journal to write a short editorial about my experiences of publishing with the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), I came across an e-mail from Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor, in March 2007, which introduced the new electronic journal. The main features of the journal which were outlined in the e-mail were extensive author support, cash rewards, the peer review process, and other salient features of the journal.
Over a span of over four years, we (I and my colleagues) have published around 25 articles in the journal. In this editorial, I plan to briefly discuss my experiences of publishing with JCDR and the strengths of the journal and to finally address the areas for improvement.
My experiences of publishing with JCDR: Overall, my experiences of publishing withJCDR have been positive. The best point about the journal is that it responds to queries from the author. This may seem to be simple and not too much to ask for, but unfortunately, many journals in the subcontinent and from many developing countries do not respond or they respond with a long delay to the queries from the authors 1. The reasons could be many, including lack of optimal secretarial and other support. Another problem with many journals is the slowness of the review process. Editorial processing and peer review can take anywhere between a year to two years with some journals. Also, some journals do not keep the contributors informed about the progress of the review process. Due to the long review process, the articles can lose their relevance and topicality. A major benefit with JCDR is the timeliness and promptness of its response. In Dr Jain's e-mail which was sent to me in 2007, before the introduction of the Pre-publishing system, he had stated that he had received my submission and that he would get back to me within seven days and he did!
Most of the manuscripts are published within 3 to 4 months of their submission if they are found to be suitable after the review process. JCDR is published bimonthly and the accepted articles were usually published in the next issue. Recently, due to the increased volume of the submissions, the review process has become slower and it ?? Section can take from 4 to 6 months for the articles to be reviewed. The journal has an extensive author support system and it has recently introduced a paid expedited review process. The journal also mentions the average time for processing the manuscript under different submission systems - regular submission and expedited review.
Strengths of the journal: The journal has an online first facility in which the accepted manuscripts may be published on the website before being included in a regular issue of the journal. This cuts down the time between their acceptance and the publication. The journal is indexed in many databases, though not in PubMed. The editorial board should now take steps to index the journal in PubMed. The journal has a system of notifying readers through e-mail when a new issue is released. Also, the articles are available in both the HTML and the PDF formats. I especially like the new and colorful page format of the journal. Also, the access statistics of the articles are available. The prepublication and the manuscript tracking system are also helpful for the authors.
Areas for improvement: In certain cases, I felt that the peer review process of the manuscripts was not up to international standards and that it should be strengthened. Also, the number of manuscripts in an issue is high and it may be difficult for readers to go through all of them. The journal can consider tightening of the peer review process and increasing the quality standards for the acceptance of the manuscripts. I faced occasional problems with the online manuscript submission (Pre-publishing) system, which have to be addressed.
Overall, the publishing process with JCDR has been smooth, quick and relatively hassle free and I can recommend other authors to consider the journal as an outlet for their work."
Dr. P. Ravi Shankar
KIST Medical College, P.O. Box 14142, Kathmandu, Nepal.
E-mail: ravi.dr.shankar@gmail.com
On April 2011 Anuradha
Dear team JCDR, I would like to thank you for the very professional and polite service provided by everyone at JCDR. While i have been in the field of writing and editing for sometime, this has been my first attempt in publishing a scientific paper.Thank you for hand-holding me through the process.
Dr. Anuradha
E-mail: anuradha2nittur@gmail.com
On Jan 2020
Original article / research
Full Version
WhatsApp Mobile Application as a Learning Tool for Teaching Dermatology to Undergraduates
Correspondence Address :
Dr. Anuradha Bhatia,
House No.-468 Sector 32 A, Chandigarh, Chandigarh, India.
E-mail: anu2705@gmail.com
Introduction: The mobile app WhatsApp is gaining popularity in Medical Education informally over the last few years because of its easy availability, instant access and ease in transferring high quality medical images. Dermatology being a highly visual subject, WhatsApp can be used as a learning tool in addition to didactic lectures.
Aim: To assess the perception of undergraduate students and faculty about e-learning using WhatsApp in Dermatology.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in August 2020 among second year undergraduate students. Two modules based on Case Based Learning (CBL) were made and posted on a dedicated WhatsApp group (including students and dermatology faculty). Students were asked to send responses to questions on the group. Students and faculty were also asked to fill a pre-structured, prevalidated feedback questionnaire to assess their perception regarding the use of WhatsApp as a learning tool. Descriptive analysis was used. Open ended questions were analyzed by thematic qualitative analysis and expressed as percentages.
Results: Total 80 students participated in the study, 50 students who filled the feedback questionnaire, 30 were females, mean age of the study group was 20.25 years. Twenty seven students (54%) were of the opinion that WhatsApp was a good motivator for Self Directed Learning (SDL) while 20 (40%) of them remained neutral. Twenty nine (58%) students wanted WhatsApp as an online teaching method to be part of teaching in Dermatology. Thirty students (60%) felt WhatsApp was a flexible learning tool in terms of time and place. Among total four faculty, 3 (75%) agreed that WhatsApp was a good learning tool, increased teacher-student interaction and was a good motivator to self-directed learning.
Conclusion: If used with a well-structured educational research model, WhatsApp becomes a highly effective tool in medical education.
Interactive teaching, Medical students, Online learning tools, Online teaching, Social media
Teaching dermatology to medical students is of paramount importance as medical students will encounter skin diseases either while pursuing MBBS or when they start practicing. In the new curriculum for training of Indian Medical Graduates, a total of 20 hours have been assigned to Dermatology lectures. They have six weeks of clinical posting spread over a period of three years (1).
Dermatological diseases pose a significant burden on patient morbidity and financial health. It is evident from curricula followed in many medical schools that more time is allotted for other clinical specialties, and till date, dermatology has to compete for space in the medical curriculum (2). Authors believe that maximizing the efficiency of time spent teaching dermatology to medical students can result in improvement in patient morbidity and mortality from cutaneous diseases in addition to enhancing the overall education of future Indian medical graduates. Even if adequate hours are incorporated into curriculum for Dermatology, the time and resources are insufficient (3).
The mobile app WhatsApp has gained popularity in medical education informally over the last few years because of its easy availability, instant access and ease in transferring high quality medical images. These attributes can be used to advantage in Dermatology as this is a highly visual subject (4).
WhatsApp has slowly gained entry into the field of dermatology for consultations, especially in remote settings and in areas with scarcity of dermatologists (5). It is a powerful and versatile tool which provides high quality images instantly for reference and also allows doubts regarding the subject to be dealt with instantly (6). It enables storage of these images for self-directed learning and reference at a later date. WhatsApp in Dermatology can be used to reduce the number of didactic lectures for various competencies and to increase active and self-directed learning and knowledge retention. Additionally, it enables the teacher to present color images in a visually dominant field of medicine. It has been used in other fields of medicine as well (7). A review of literature revealed that WhatsApp is also being used in telemedicine, consultations in maxillofacial, plastic, neurosurgery and general surgery, cardiology and telestroke units (8). There is no literature on the evaluation of the effectiveness of WhatsApp in Dermatology teaching for medical students. This study was conducted to assess the perception of undergraduate students and faculty about e-learning using WhatsApp in Dermatology.
In this study it was hypothesised that using WhatsApp as a learning tool will enable the undergraduate medical students to grasp and register visual images of common dermatological conditions and make them confident to diagnose and treat them effectively. It would also motivate the undergraduate students to learn Dermatology through case based discussions and interactivity. Specific objectives were to assess the perception of undergraduate students and faculty about e-learning using WhatsApp in Dermatology.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India in August 2020 for duration of one month. Proper ethical approval for the study from the Institutional Ethics Committee (IECCMCL/117342019) was obtained.
Inclusion criteria: All second year undergraduate students and the entire faculty in the Department of Dermatology were included.
Exclusion criteria: The students who did not give consent for the study and the Dermatology faculty who do not give consent to participate in the study were excluded.
Procedure
Study was conducted on second year undergraduate medical students which included 80 students. The Dermatology faculty was sensitized about this study and two new modules based on Case Based Learning (CBL) were made on two topics. These included high quality images and questions to assess the cognitive domain. These two modules were validated by the experts. After taking written, informed consent for the study from the students and faculty, WhatsApp group was created which included the students and Dermatology faculty. First learning module was then posted on WhatsApp to the batch of 80 students. The clinical case scenario was followed-up by a trigger question/image after two days which pointed to the diagnosis and management of the disease in question. The students were asked to post their responses on WhatsApp number of the principal investigator. The students were encouraged to ask their doubts and queries regarding the topic on WhatsApp. Once a student posted his/her query on the topic it was either addressed via phone or by sharing a resource material. If the responses of the students were not forthcoming, gentle reminders and personal calls were made to send the responses. Once all the students had submitted their responses, the second CBL module was released on WhatsApp and the same procedure was followed. Once the responses with the final diagnosis was received (time limit of two days) for the second teaching module, these students and faculty were asked to fill pre-structured, prevalidated feedback questionnaire to assess their perception regarding use of WhatsApp as a learning tool. The questionnaires were designed by the principal investigator and construct validation was done by experts in the field of Dermatology and Medical Education faculty. It was designed based on the aims and objectives of the study. The five point Likert scale was used for scoring and ranged from strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree [Annexure-1], [Annexure-2].
Statistical Analysis
The data was entered in Microsoft Excel and analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21.0. Armonk, NY:IBM Corp). Descriptive analysis was used. Open ended questions were analysed by thematic qualitative analysis and expressed as percentages.
Eighty students participated in the study. Of them there were 30 female students. The mean age of the study group was 20.25 years. A WhatsApp group was created and was named ‘Dermatology case study’. The Feedback questionnaire was filled by only 50 students. Of these, 27 (54 %) students were of the opinion that WhatsApp is a good motivator for SDL whereas as 20 (40%) of them remained neutral. Thirty (60%) of the students wanted the faculty to teach other topics in a similar way using WhatsApp. Thirty one (62%) students agreed that WhatsApp is helpful in diagnosing common clinical cases in Dermatology. Twenty nine (58%) students wanted WhatsApp as an online teaching method to be part of teaching in Dermatology. Twenty seven (54%) students agreed that WhatsApp increased peer interaction while 24 (48%) students were of the opinion that the interaction between students and teachers also increases if WhatsApp is used as a teaching tool. Thirty one (62%) students perceived that WhatsApp enhances both online and off line learning. Thirty (60%) students felt that WhatsApp is a flexible learning tool in terms of time and place and 21(42%) opined that WhatsApp as a teaching tool enhances the educational standards of the undergraduate students (Table/Fig 1).
On doing thematic analysis, the most common themes which emerged were that using WhatsApp as a learning tool was enjoyable, fun learning, interactive and motivational. The students suggested more cased based teaching should be using WhatsApp as a teaching tool. The students wanted institutional Wi-Fi connection to avoid network issues. They also requested that other faculty members should also use this learning tool for other topics. Another suggestion was to show more clinical photographs of the same condition to help them diagnose the dermatological condition from different angles.
Four faculty members took part in the study. Of them 3 (75%) agreed that WhatsApp is a good learning tool, increases teacher-student interaction and is a good motivator to do self-directed learning. One (25%) of the faculty wanted to introduce WhatsApp as a teaching module after this study. Half of the faculty perceived that WhatsApp enhances both online and off line learning but all agreed that it’s a flexible tool in terms of time and place for learning (Table/Fig 2). The suggestions from the faculty included the need for further training regarding use of newer teaching learning methods. They agreed that traditional teaching methods can be monotonous at times and WhatsApp can increase interactivity if used judiciously. This study helped them to overcome their hesitancy to use WhatsApp for formal teaching.
The infrastructure and technologic advance in present times has greatly influenced the teaching and learning practice in the field of medical education. Methods of imparting knowledge are also changing constantly (9). WhatsApp, a primarily communication app, has gained popularity in medical education informally over the last few years because of its easy availability, instant access and ability to transfer high quality images easily. It has been used in both undergraduate and postgraduate settings. There is however, little evidence to support this claim (10).
This study was conducted to gain understanding on the perception of the students and faculty about using WhatsApp as an e-learning method. The perception on e-learning using WhatsApp was done using feedback questionnaire forms. In present study 21 (32%) students were of the opinion that WhatsApp as a teaching tool enhances the educational standards of the undergraduate students. This could be because of instant clearing of doubts, increased interchange of information between peers, deeper clarity of the subject due to the facilitator’s moderation of the topic on the WhatsApp group, availability of the resource materials at all times, learning from others and healthy discussions (11).
WhatsApp use is documented in medical literature. Coleman E and O’Connor E, reported that the use of WhatsApp in medicine increases the learner’s knowledge as an outcome (‘Kirkpatrick level 2’) (10). By extending the functionality of WhatsApp to include it as a teaching tool in medical education has brought fruitful results with majority of the students in favour of it (12). In this study 29 (58%) students were in agreement that WhatsApp as an online teaching method should be a part of teaching in Dermatology. The sharing of information using this technology of WhatsApp is instantaneous and convenient to the students thereby increasing the peer interaction (11). By the use of WhatsApp while being part of this study, 27 (54%) students were in agreement to the opinion that it is an effective teaching tool which also increases peer interaction. Many students due to their inherent nature are shy and do not discuss in class during a lecture. In present study, 24 (48%) students felt that the student- teacher interaction increased by implementing WhatsApp for teaching. Similar findings on increase in student-teacher and peer interaction using other non traditional teaching methods have been noted in other studies (7),(13).
Smartphones and especially the WhatsApp has become a part of the student’s daily essential commodity. WhatsApp messaging has provided a platform for students to exchange photos, videos, information instantly and conveniently anytime, anywhere (10). WhatsApp messenger is available to all the students, and all times and majority are addicted to this application. It has become a convenient way of acquiring knowledge beyond a traditional classroom setting (7),(12). In this study, 30 (60%) students perceived that WhatsApp is a flexible learning tool in terms of time and place.
During the WhatsApp activity, the students were given CBL modules and they were asked to give differential diagnosis. After 2 days a trigger question was put up on the group, to help the students to reach a final diagnosis and to generate interest in the topic. Various questions were asked to the facilitator related to the study and various emoticons such as clap emoticon, smiley and confused emoticons were also put up by the students to the facilitator. Twenty four (48%) students felt that their interaction with the facilitator had increased. WhatsApp as a good motivator for self-directed learning (SDL) was perceived by 27 (54 %) students to be so. These findings are similar to another study done by Grover S et al., (13). The new CBME curriculum already implemented from 2019, promotes SDL as one of the attributes of an Indian Medical Graduate (IMG) as a lifelong learner. This study provides evidence for the judicious use of WhatsApp in conducting SDL sessions in Dermatology (7).
In this study, students were satisfied with the WhatsApp use in Dermatology teaching with 30 (60%) students wanting the faculty to introduce teaching of others topics in a similar model of teaching. A reason for this observation could be that the students are better able to express themselves in a non supervised, non restricted environment as compared to a much more threatening classroom or lecture setting. Dermatology is a highly visual subject and dependent on clinical images most of the times (14). It is up to us as teachers/facilitators in dermatology and medical education to harness the WhatsApp to our advantage.
In this study majority of the students accepted the use of WhatsApp for learning Dermatology. Thirty (60%) students felt that other topics should also be taught using this learning tool. Medical education learning through WhatsApp is gaining popularity as in the other fields of medicine tool (8). Twenty nine (58%) students expressed desires to include WhatsApp as an online teaching learning method for dermatology. When a teacher/facilitator is available anytime/anywhere on WhatsApp and the students can do the learning not confined to a classroom would be the main reason for this perception (15). Facilitator’s availability and Learning anytime anywhere were top two advantages of learning through WhatsApp. As with the students, 3 (75%) faculty were also in agreement to use WhatsApp as a teaching tool in dermatology. 75% of the faculty was motivated to implement WhatsApp as a teaching tool. The entire faculty was in agreement that WhatsApp is a flexible teaching learning tool in terms of time and space for the undergraduate teaching. These findings echo the perception of students and teachers as studied by Gon S and Rawekar A, where they found WhatsApp to be a convenient tool for teaching learning especially with the constant availability of a facilitator (11). This study had provided evidence to utilize WhatsApp as an e-learning tool in Dermatology. It had also minimised hesitation amongst faculty to use social platforms such as WhatsApp in medical education.
Limitation(s)
One of the most limiting factors was the duration of study. Only two learning modules were created for the purpose of the study and the study was conducted on WhatsApp with a small sample size.
In this study 54 % students were of the opinion that WhatsApp is a good motivator for self directing learning. 75% of faculty agreed that WhatsApp is a good learning tool, increases teacher-student interaction and is a good motivator to do self-directed learning. As a learning tool it enables the undergraduate medical students to grasp and register visual images of common dermatological conditions and make them confident to diagnose and treat them effectively. It also promotes various teaching learning methods like self-directed learning and cased based discussions in Dermatology. It is a useful tool to enhance interactivity among students and faculty. To check for the efficacy of WhatsApp compared to the traditional ways of teaching, more studies involving a larger study population, more time duration and more topics needs to be done.
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2022/55886.16895
Date of Submission: Feb 24, 2022
Date of Peer Review: May 02, 2022
Date of Acceptance: Jun 11, 2022
Date of Publishing: Sep 01, 2022
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was Ethics Committee Approval obtained for this study? Yes
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? Yes
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Mar 21, 2022
• Manual Googling: Jun 09, 2022
• iThenticate Software: Aug 22, 2022 (5%)
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