Internet heuristics in the English language course for junior medical students

Introduction. Teaching of modern Internet heuristics to medical students is presented in fragments or in demand at late stages of training (graduate or postgraduate course of specialization). The aim of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the heuristic method of teaching in the educational work with professional authentic Internet materials in English for undergraduate medical students. Materials and Methods. The present study was conducted in three stages (February – April 2024) and is based on experimental work made in September 2022 – June 2023 [36]. The entrance survey of students to test the null hypothesis (H0) was conducted using the Anketolog Online Survey Platform. To check the impact of factor α, a univariate analysis was performed in MS Excel. The final questionnaire to test the alternative hypothesis (H1) was conducted using the WebAsk Online Survey Service. The data obtained were analyzed using IBM SPSS (version 23.0). The comparative analysis method was used to develop the necessary professional content of the course. The study involved 80 junior medical students (1st and 2nd year) of English language proficiency level from Elementary (A1) to Pre-Intermediate (A2). Results. It was found that school English-language training does not affect the choice and motivation of medical students of the elementary and threshold levels of English proficiency in studying the professional Internet materials (F = 1.27, p>0.05) The distribution of answers regarding the evaluation of the conducted practical work with professional Internet materials is 40% in favor of training in the skills of working with scientific databases of articles on medical topics, 25% – training in the basics of writing professional texts (articles and abstracts) on medical topics, 20% in favor of training in critical thinking skills in working with professional materials, 15% – training in time management when working with information and correlates between all the studied groups. The obtained data served as a basis for the development of thematic sections of the educational discipline “Introduction to Internet information heuristics”. Conclusion. The results of the experimental study and the design for the academic discipline "Introduction to Internet Information heuristics" developed on their basis contribute to ensuring the level training of medical students in terms of developing skills in working with professional materials in English and allows them to master modern heuristic methods of working with information that are in demand in clinical practice.