1. An audit on the awareness of learning styles among medical students, trainee doctors and general surgeons in a teaching hospital
RD Shearer, M Twoon, EO Aly
Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery & Training Unit - Aberdeen Royal Infirmary – Aberdeen - Scotland
 Introduction
 Results
Following the learning styles inventory, the converger learning style was found to be the most predominant (Fig 4)
Fig 4: Learning styles post Kolb’s Inventory
65% of responders failed to correctly identify their learning style
80% of those pursuing, or wishing to pursue, a career in surgery were found to have the converger learning style
71% of people felt that knowing their learning style was useful. Reasons for this included:
They felt it would help them learn more effectively
Be more time efficient
Allow them to maximise learning opportunities
Determining strengths and weaknesses and how to improve
Ability to adapt according to situation.
The remaining 29% of responders who felt knowing was not useful did so as they thought this would not change the way they learn in the future
Doctors spend a large proportion of their career learning
The introduction of revalidation means life-long learning is more important than ever
As individuals we need to be aware of how we learn in order to maximise our learning experiences
Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory is a tool used to assess a person’s learning style and has been shown to be applicable to medical practitioners
A total of 34 questionnaires were completed
The majority of questionnaires were completed by medical students (73.5%) followed by foundation doctors (11.8%), CT1/2 (5.9%), ST3+/SpR (2.9%) and consultants (5.9%)
Most people intended to follow a career in surgery (Fig 1)
Fig 1: Current or intended career path of responders
The majority of responders had received teaching in learning styles (Fig 2)
Fig 2: Frequency of responders who had received teaching in learning styles
Those that had received teaching on learning styles did so at medical school, with one trainee receiving this teaching during specialty training
Based on reading the statements of learning styles most responders felt they were either a converger or diverger (Fig 3)
Fig 3: Learning styles pre Kolb’s Inventory 5
 Aim 9 20
To assess awareness of learning styles amongst medical students, trainee doctors and general surgeons
Determine their learning style and ascertain whether this corresponds to what they believe their learning style to be .
 Methods
A questionnaire was given to the medical students, trainee doctors and general surgeons on a general surgical ward at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
The questionnaire included:
Demographic data on grade and intended career path
Whether the person had received teaching on learning styles and where this occurred
From a description of Kolb’s four learning styles (Converger, Diverger, Accommodator, Assimilator) the person was asked to identify what they felt their learning style to be
Through a brief Kolb’s learning styles inventory, the actual learning style was identified
The person’s opinion as to the relevance of knowing their learning style was sought
 Conclusion
Life-long learning is essential for all doctors
Although many doctors have received teaching on learning styles, self-awareness of their own learning style was varied
Teaching on learning styles takes place at medical school but it may be that this is forgotten by doctors
All the surgeons in this study were found to be convergers and this could have implications for designing surgical training programmes in the future
Further training in learning styles could be incorporated into surgical training
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