Group counseling for medical students with drop-out experiences

Study of anxiety and job burnout, and awareness among young anesthetists during COVID-19 pandemic

To describe the psychological impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on young doctors and their job burnout in the Department of Anesthesiology during the initial days of the pandemic and examine their awareness and familiarity with this pneumonia. We conducted a cross-sectional study in West China Hospital in February 2020. A self-designed questionnaire was sent to all young doctors working in the department of anesthesiology. Impact of Event Scale-Revised and Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey were used to evaluate the psychological impact and degree of job burnout. Another questionnaire was conducted to explore the awareness and familiarity of COVID-19. All participants were divided into five groups according to the time of clinical practice: Postgraduate year (PGY) 0.5 (less than 0.5 year), 0.6-1 (0.6-1 year), 1-2 (1-2 years), 2-3 (2-3 years), 3 (more than 3 years) groups. The results were collected and analyzed subsequently. A total of 188 questionnaires were collected. There were significant differences in distress level between PGY 0.5 and PGY 0.6-1 (17.60 ± 12.53 vs. 12.05 ± 10.65; p = 0.029), and PGY 3 and PGY 0.6-1 (19.92 ± 11.88 vs. 12.05 ± 10.65; p = 0.031). As for job burnout, there were no differences among the five subgroups. Most participants (86.70%) were kept in good working condition, and 25 participants showed a mild level of job burnout. Although all of the respondents had high awareness of the basic elements of COVID-19, they had little knowledge about the details, such as lab tests, release criteria, and recommended therapy, and this result had no significant difference among the five groups. COVID-19 had caused a mild level of distress and work burnout in young anesthetists. Most of the participants were not clear about the diagnostic, release criteria, and therapeutic method, which will become key teaching points in the future.

Effects of Character Strength-Based Intervention vs Group Counseling on Post-Traumatic Growth, Well-Being, and Depression Among University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Guangdong, China: A Non-Inferiority Trial

Purpose

This study assessed the effects of character strengths-based invention (CSI) vs group counseling (GC) on mental health outcomes (ie, post-traumatic growth, well-being, and depression) among university students in Guangdong Province, China.

Materials and Methods

We conducted a randomized non-inferiority trial among 124 undergraduates at a medical university during the COVID-19 pandemic. We randomly allocated students to receive either CSI (n=62) or GC (n=62). A qualified psychologist delivered both activities on campus during two consecutive weekends with a total of 7.5 hours and also gave assignments to students during weekdays. We measured the outcomes at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. We then analyzed data using descriptive statistics and a general linear mixed model.

Results

CSI and GC groups had similar baseline characteristics. Both CSI and GC experienced an increase in post-traumatic growth and well-being. The mean±SD scores for post-traumatic growth were significantly higher in CSI compared to GC groups (87.70±14.22 vs 78.15±20.72, respectively), whereas well-being scores were similar between CSI and GC (82.58±16.57 vs 83.68±15.59, respectively). Neither CSI nor GC experienced a reduction in depression scores.

Conclusion

CSI had non-inferior effects compared to GC with regards to improvement of post-traumatic growth and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, caveats regarding lack of blinding of investigator and limited generalizability should be considered in the interpretation of the study findings.

[Two-and-a-half year follow-up study of strategy factors in successful learning to predict academic achievements in medical education]

PURPOSE

We performed a two-and-a-half year follow-up study of strategy factors in successful learning to predict academic achievements in medical education.

METHODS

Strategy factors in successful learning were identified using a content analysis of open-ended responses from 30 medical students who were ranked in the top 10 of their class. Core words were selected among their responses in each category and the frequency of the words were counted. Then, a factors survey was conducted among year 2 students, before the second semester. Finally, we performed an analysis to assess the association between the factors score and academic achievement for the same students 2.5 years later.

RESULTS

The core words were "planning and execution," "daily reviews" in the study schedule category; "focusing in class" and "taking notes" among class-related category; and "lecture notes," "previous exams or papers," and "textbooks" in the primary self-learning resources category. There were associations between the factors scores for study planning and execution, focusing in class, and taking notes and academic achievement, representing the second year second semester credit score, third year written exam scores and fourth year written and skill exam scores. Study planning was only one independent variable to predict fourth year summative written exam scores.

CONCLUSION

In a two-and-a-half year follow-up study, associations were founded between academic achievement and the factors scores for study planning and execution, focusing in class, and taking notes. Study planning as only one independent variable is useful for predicting fourth year summative written exam score.