Basic Science Alive

Linking science knowledge to clinical practice

Abstract

This paper describes an e-learning package, Basic Science Alive (BSA) that aims to facilitate undergraduate medical students’ integration of basic science to clinical scenarios. The educational emphasis is on students constructing their own links between theory and practice and the process of peer review. There are three main components of the package: the writing of a short structured essay (presentation) demonstrating the linkage of basic science to a specific clinical scenario; the opportunity to review and comment on colleagues’ presentations; and the value of receiving feedback through multiple choice questions (MCQs) and peer comments. This paper specifically focuses on the peer review element, including the perceived learning of the reviewee through receiving the comments, and the learning of the reviewer through interaction with the presentation and formulating feedback to the reviewer.