Gut Tutorials

Gut Tutorials

About Gut Tutorials

Gut Tutorials are an interactive educational resource aimed at senior specialist trainees and trained gastroenterologists. They are commissioned by the Education Editor, Alastair Forbes.

For further information please read our Introduction to Gut Tutorials [PDF]

Submission guidelines

Format
Gut tutorials should be submitted as Word documents with no formatting. Written as a continuous document with a new page denoted by [page 1] [page 2] etc.

View an example submission

Figures
Figures must be numbered, with a figure list provided. They should be submitted separately from the Word document, with the figure location clearly marked in the text with figure number and legend in full, for example: Figure 1: Trans-abdominal ultrasound scan showing a longitudinal view of the terminal ileum.

Tables
Tables must be included in the document. Any references in the table must be included in the main reference list.

References
One numbered reference list, ordered by their appearance in the tutorial. Do not renumber references on each page. Format references in the Vancouver style:

Otto CM. Why is aortic sclerosis associated with adverse clinical outcomes?
J Am Coll Cardiol 2004;43:176–7.

Front Page

Title
Short description of the tutorial
Target audience
Author details: Name, status and main affiliation with up to 2 sentences of biographical information for each author.

Learning outcomes
3-5 points stating the objectives of the tutorial; what should be expected, after completion. For example:

Immediate management plans for the condition once diagnosed.
More subtle aspects of initial and short term management.

Why this module was written
Short paragraph that addresses the clinical problem and its importance (or frequent mismanagement) without revealing any of the main points to follow.

Tutorial Main content
Written following the structure, outlined below, see Tutorial Content and Structure

Peer review statement and identity
Gut Tutorials are peer reviewed. Authors are encouraged to suggest appropriate reviewers on submission.

Copyright Issues
Written permission must be obtained for the use of any copyrighted material prior to submission.

Patient confidentiality
Use of material in which patients are recognisable should be strenuously avoided. Every effort should be made to obtain permission for use of any patient-related material.

Supplementary Material
Extra resources can be attached to the case (e.g. PowerPoint, Excel etc.). Video and audio files are not currently supported but will be in future (29/11/05).

Tutorial Content and Structure

Structure of the tutorial
The tutorial follows a general structure. The main sections are:

Overview
Introduction
Course Breakdown
Pre-test (same as final questions, not scored)
Case history*
Individual questions* (not scored)
Learning point*
Conclusion
References
Resources and further reading (optional)
Final Questions (scored with a 70% pass mark)

* The case history, individual question and learning point sections are repeated for a number of cycles. With each cycle, more of the case history is revealed. Based on the information known at each stage, the user answers individual questions on the condition and patient management. You may have more than one learning point.

To see how this works in practice view the Tutorial Flow Chart.

Overview
Information page detailing: title, date, short description, published date, target audience, authors, author biographies, resource provider.

Introduction
Introduction to the case detailing: learning outcomes, about the authors, 'why we wrote this module'. This section will appear in the print version of Gut.

Course Breakdown
Simple breakdown, specifying the expected time taken to complete the tutorial. For example: The module should take approximately one hour to complete. It consists of:

An initial test (the "pre-test") to assess your current understanding of the 'Topic'.
The case presentation, learning points and individual questions, where the user will be asked to make decisions about how to manage the patient at each stage.
Final questions (the "post-test") which aim to determine what you have learnt from the module.

Pre-test
The pre-test assesses the users' current knowledge of the topic. The pre-test is the same set of 5-10 final questions, it is not scored. We suggest that the pre-test/final questions are composed once the module has been fully written. See [question format] for specific instructions.

Case history
The complete case history of the patient detailing the clinical information. This is broken into parts separated by individuals questions and learning points, as necessary.

Individual questions
The individual questions lead the user through the case. These should be BMQs 'best of many questions' i.e. MCQs with only one right answer. A question may lead to a learning point, or be directly followed by more case history then another question etc. Explanation of both correct and incorrect answers should be provided, to be made available to the user after answering the question. Answers are not scored and do not contribute to the final CPD assessment.

Learning points
Learning points are the review article component of the tutorial distributed throughout the case, numbered sequentially. They can appear anywhere in the text.

Final questions
The post-test determines what the user has learnt from the module. The final questions are the same set of 5-10 questions as the pre-test, scored with a 70% pass mark. We suggest that the pre-test/final questions are composed once the module has been fully written.

Question format
The tests should incorporate BMQs 'best of many questions' i.e. MCQs with only one right answer. Authors should limit use of tricky answers and void highly specific numeric and multiple negative statement answers. Grouped answers are allowed, for example:

Which of the following are true?

A
B
C
A and C
A, B and C

References
Full Reference list (Vancouver style).