Knowledge, perception and usage of E-learning among medical undergraduates in Andhra Pradesh, India

Electronic gadgets help to get study material outside classroom and it is used for self-directed learning which helps user to overcome limitations of Conventional teaching methods. Medical education is constantly growing and evolving with rapid speed. So, it is necessary to keep the upcoming medical graduates and established medical practitioners updated in this competitive world. For this, E-learning is the important tool in the medical field. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the medical college of Andhra Pradesh. Total 285 medical students were included in this study and data is obtained from semi structured self-administrative questionnaire. Among 285 students 99.6% students had smartphone and 89.5% were aware of E-learning. Most of the students 96.1% were Conversant with use of internet and 75.4% participants were aware of academic websites. Majority of students 73% agreed that E-learning helps in writing exams and 87.4% students recommended provision of free internet by institute for e-learning. All students were aware about e-learning and using it in the medical field. So, it is necessary to provide essential facility at institutional level for e-learning.

The Prevalence of Nomophobia and Its Impact on Academic Performance of Medical Undergraduates at the College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah City, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Nomophobia, or no mobile phone phobia, is a term used to describe psychological conditions when people fear being without a mobile phone.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to measure the prevalence of nomophobia, its associated factors, and its impact on the academic performance of medical undergraduates at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Makkah City, Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study included a simple random sample of 595 medical undergraduates. The study administered the Nomophobia Questionnaire, which had been validated in previous articles, using an interview-based model. The collected data were reviewed and entered into the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26 (Released 2019; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York) for analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 595 medical students were included in this study. Most of them (99%, n = 589) had different degrees of nomophobia, while only a small percentage (1%, n = 6) did not exhibit it. The younger medical students (18-19 years old) showed significantly higher percentages of moderate to severe nomophobia in comparison to older students (P = 0.028), while there was no significant relationship between nomophobia and academic performance, despite the fact that 128 (77.1%) of students with severe nomophobia had grade point averages (GPAs) of 3.5-4.0, compared to 244 (69.1%) of students with moderate nomophobia (P = 0.150).

CONCLUSIONS

This study concludes that the prevalence rate of nomophobia is generally high among medical undergraduates at UQU in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia. This disorder was detected more among younger medical undergraduates, with no significant effects on their academic performance. It is mandatory to conduct more studies with larger sample sizes of different university students (medical and non-medical) to identify factors that lead to the development of nomophobia. Qualitative research among groups of university students will add more deep information about this disorder. Health education programs should be designed and targeted at university students, focusing on the harmful health effects of excessive use of mobile phones and measures to prevent this disorder.

Assessing the knowledge of medical undergraduates on oral anticoagulation therapy

Objective

Oral anticoagulant drugs, such as warfarin, are widely used for preventing and treating vascular and thromboembolic disease in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation, venous thrombosis, and coronary heart disease. As oral anticoagulant therapy has such a narrow therapeutic range, complications in administering these drugs can prove to have a detrimental effect on patients such as life-threatening bleeding might occur. It is therefore necessary to have an adequate knowledge about its actions and its interactions with other dietary factors or any other medication involved. This study was therefore formulated in order to evaluate the knowledge as well as to impart proper awareness to the medical undergraduate students about oral anticoagulation therapy such as to prevent any untoward situation that may arise from the process.

Methods

A cross-sectional descriptive study was used to assess the knowledge on oral anticoagulant therapy among the medical undergraduates of a tertiary care hospital. A pre-validated structured questionnaire consisting of 28 questions was adopted, and a separate questionnaire was used for each student. Timing of answering the questionnaire was set at 30 minutes. Scores were evaluated such as a correct answer was given a score of one and wrong answer awarded as zero. Adequate knowledge sore was set above 70% and inadequate knowledge at less than 40%.

Results

The response rate was found out to be 67.33% with gender distribution observed to be 71% females and 29% males. From the answers evaluated, overall average score of 67.3 ± 15.9 was obtained indicating that most of the respondents have adequate knowledge about the different mechanism, drug-drug interactions, drug-food interactions, and side effects of anticoagulant therapy, and 100% of the students are well aware about the complications and procedures involved to dissipate information about warfarin therapy.

Conclusions

Adequate exposure of students to clinical cases will further help them to focus on the importance of anticoagulation and strengthening their knowledge regarding anticoagulant drug therapy. This will influence the process of physician-patient communication for improving anticoagulation outcome.

A cross-sectional study of opinion about mental illness among undergraduate medical students with and without exposure to the psychiatry clinical rotation/postings during their undergraduate training

Background

A positive attitude toward mental illness is a prerequisite for the provision of holistic care. Thus, a study was undertaken to know the opinion about mental illness among medical students with and without exposure to the psychiatry clinical rotation/postings during their undergraduate training.

Materials and Methods

This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted at Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Karnataka. The sample comprised medical undergraduate students with and without exposure to psychiatry clinical postings, respectively. Self-administered socio-demographic and opinion about mental illness (OMI) questionnaires were used to collect the data.

Result

Medical undergraduates from 1st and 2nd years who were unexposed to psychiatry and students from 3rd and 4th years who had exposure to psychiatry constituted about 52.17% (n = 252) and 47.83% (n = 231) of the overall sample size. A positive opinion toward mental illness was seen across various subsections of OMI questionnaire, especially in students who had attended psychiatry clinical posting.

Conclusion

Opinions can change based on one's experiences. A positive opinion toward mental illness was seen across medical undergraduate students who had completed psychiatry clinical postings in our study. The study provides valuable insights across various domains or areas wherein a teacher can focus and adjust the teaching methodologies accordingly. In the long run, it might have a positive influence on medical students to understand mental disorders, diagnose them, and manage patients with mental illness.

Factor structure of the Jefferson Scale for Empathy among medical undergraduates from South India

Background

Empathy is a multidimensional construct and is considered an essential attribute among healthcare professionals. The Jefferson Scale for Empathy (JSE) is a commonly used tool to measure physician empathy and has been used in medical students as well; however, the psychometric properties have not been well studied in India. We aimed to study the factor structure of JSE among medical undergraduates.

Methods

This was a secondary analysis of baseline data obtained from the Stigma, Empathy and Attitude module study among medical undergraduates (N = 157). The scores obtained on the 20-item JSE Medical Student Version were subjected to principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Eigenvalues greater than unity, scree plot, and Horn's parallel analysis were used for identifying the factors. Items with loading more than 0.4 were included based on Steven's recommendation.

Results

The sample was adequate for factor analysis (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure 0.832). Five factors were extracted using principal component analysis, which explained 60% of the variance. The first three appeared as stable factors, and the last two factors had two items each. The first factor was the strongest (explained 18.8% of variance) with loadings from nine items. The second factor (explained 15.6% of variance) had loadings from six items, and two of the items showed correlation with the first factor.

Conclusions

JSE has a multidimensional structure with five factors in our sample of medical undergraduates.

Motivation, self-efficacy, perception, curiosity, and barriers toward medical research among undergraduates in China

Medical research is important to scientific progress and medical education. Institutions worldwide have sought to increase student involvement in research such as clinician-scientists training programs, while little is known about how medical undergraduates perceive research. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China, with first-fourth year undergraduates. An online, anonymous, and self-rating 5-point Likert questionnaire was conducted to investigate medical undergraduates' demographic characteristics and assess motivation, self-efficacy, perception, curiosity, and barriers regarding medical research. Content validity was checked with experts and face validity was checked for clarity and understanding of the questionnaire. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questions ranged from 0.813 to 0.879. A total of 3273 medical undergraduates were surveyed, and 86.62% (2835) participants (male 962, female 1873) were identified as effective. Males scored higher than females on self-efficacy (p < 0.001), perception (p = 0.017), and curiosity (p < 0.001), and lower on barriers (p < 0.001). The second year students are at the peak of their perception (p = 0.006) and lowest barrier scores (p = 0.003). Students with scientific research experience scored higher in motivation (p = 0.002), self-efficacy (p < 0.001), perception (p < 0.001), and curiosity (p < 0.001). Lack of proper mentoring opportunity (86.2%) and knowledge (84.5%) were the main barriers in conducting research. Even though they have a positive perspective, only a few undergraduates enrolled in research. Medical universities should encourage faculties to supervise and guide undergraduates' projects, and provide feasible solutions for students to learn scientific knowledge and skills. It is vital to build a research-oriented environment and academic atmosphere.

PROBLEMATIC USE OF SMARTPHONE AND NOMOPHOBIA AMONG MEDICAL AND NURSING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF A TERTIARY CARE REFERRAL HOSPITAL IN INDIA AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH QUALITY OF LIFE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

BACKGROUND

Overuse of smartphone amongst today's young generation has assumed an epidemic proportion. Assessment of severity of Nomophobia and Smartphone use related problems is important as it can help to ascertain the current adverse consequences of Smartphone problematic use. The study aims to assess the association between smartphone dependence, nomophobia and quality of life in undergraduate medical and nursing students in a tertiary care referral hospital cum medical institution in India.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 437 medical and nursing undergraduate students, which involved assessing their dependence for smartphone and nomophobia using the Test for Mobile Phone dependence (TMD) questionnaire brief version and Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) respectively.

RESULTS

The average hours spent on smartphone per day for the study population was 3.2 hours. Smartphone dependence was found in 12% of study participants. Nearly 50% in each batch had moderate degree of nomophobia and around 13-15% had severe nomophobia. Both smartphone dependence and nomophobia were significantly associated with each other and had significant associations with poorer quality of life in the medical and nursing students. Preclinical medical students scored higher in all the domains of Smartphone dependence and nomophobia questionnaire and were associated with poor quality of life compared to other batches.

CONCLUSION

Excessive smartphone use is associated with poorer quality of life in medical and nursing students. More studies in future are required that will involve various age groups and other educational streams which willadd up to the existing knowledge on technology addiction.

The mediating role of general academic emotions in burnout and procrastination among Chinese medical undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Background

Academic procrastination has become more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic due to teaching/learning changes. This phenomenon induces academic burnout, which is already serious among medical students. However, the academic emotion, which is the factor most vulnerable to changes in the academic environment, is still unknown. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the mediating role of general academic emotions in procrastination and burnout among Chinese medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This cross-sectional study enrolled 995 medical students from China Medical University. We applied the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS), the Aitken Procrastination Inventory (API) and the General Academic Emotion Questionnaire for College Students (GAEQ) to evaluate the variables of interest. We examined the mediation effects of GAEs by hierarchical linear regression analysis.

Results

Correlation analyses showed a significant positive correlation between procrastination and burnout. Procrastination and burnout positively and negatively correlated with negative academic emotions, respectively. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that procrastination had positive associations with negative academic emotions, while it had negative associations with positive academic emotions. The contributions (as mediators) of GAEs to burnout and procrastination were 21.16% (NAEs), 29.75% (PAEs), 54.25% (NDEs) and 23.69% (PDEs).

Conclusions

The results indicate that academic emotions had mediating effects on procrastination and burnout. Medical students' worries about the uncertainty of the learning environment may have exacerbated academic burnout. Targeted improvements in the teaching environment to communicate encouragement and reduce anxiety and helplessness among medical undergraduates for implementing medical education while preventing and controlling the infection.

Promotion of knowledge, attitude, and practice among medical undergraduates regarding infection control measures during COVID-19 pandemic

Background

Medical students are exposed to many serious healthcare-associated infections throughout their learning and training time particularly during a pandemic like COVID-19. Therefore, promotion of their knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding infection control measures is a mandatory action.

Objective

This study was executed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical undergraduates toward infection control measures before and after the implementation of practical infection control training for them.

Methods

A quasi-experimental prospective study was conducted on a simple random sample of medical undergraduates at Al-Qunfudah College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, KSA. A total of 177 medical undergraduates were recruited for this study and completed a predesigned survey on their knowledge regarding infection control measures. Moreover, their practice of infection control measures was evaluated through a checklist before and 6 months after receiving practical infection control training during their academic year 2020-2021.

Results

A total of 177 and 176 responses were obtained at the pre-test and post-test, respectively. The mean ages of students who participated in pre-training and post-training assessments were (22.50 ± 1.02 and 22.03 ± 1.34), respectively with female sex predominance (62.1 and 61.9%). Mean knowledge and practice scores among them were enhanced from (7.79 ± 2.10 and 4.56 ± 2.58) at their pre-test to (11.06 ± 1.27 and 15.68 ± 1.90) at post-test (P-value 0.001 and <0.001), respectively. After training, almost all of them recommended infection control training for all medical students due to its great value.

Conclusion

The training course has shown its capability in the promotion of medical undergraduates' knowledge, attitude, and practice toward infection control measures.

Magnitude of Substance Use and Its Associated Factors Among the Medical Students in India and Implications for Medical Education: A Narrative Review

BACKGROUND

Medical students are at an increased risk of developing substance use and related problems (SURP) because of the inherent stress associated with the professional medical course apart from the developmental risk factors. However, this is under-researched. Moreover, a comprehensive review on the prevalence of SURP among the medical undergraduates (UGs) and associated factors is lacking from India. To fill this gap, the current research work is aimed to review the existing literature on the magnitude of the SURP among UGs of India and its determinants.

METHODS

PubMed, Medline, and Google Scholar databases were searched for the original articles studying the prevalence of SURP among medical UGs of India, published from inception till date. Non-original articles, studies on behavioral addictions, and those not directly assessing the prevalence of SURP among the medical UGs were excluded.

RESULTS

A total of 39 studies were found eligible for the review. Alcohol (current use: 3.2%-43.8%), followed by tobacco (3.7%-28.8%) and cannabis (1.6%-15%), were the common substances used by the medical students. Among the females, an increasing trend of substance use, particularly of nonprescription sedatives (even higher than males), alcohol, and smoking, was seen. Family history, peer pressure, transition from school to college life, and progression in the medical course were important associated factors.

CONCLUSION

Sensitizing medical students and college authorities, increasing the duration of training on SURP in medical curricula, and providing psychological support for the students with SURP could address this issue.

An exploratory study on the mode and method of general education and training for general practice undergraduates: a narrative review

Objective

To learn from the experience of foreign general practice education mode, and to exploratory study on the mode and method of general education and training for general practice undergraduates in China.

Background

The rise of general practice medicine addresses the lack of holistic attention to patients in specialist medicine. General practice education is an important means of training general practice skills, but the development of general practice education in China is not yet matured.

Methods

By using the method of comparative education, taking the United States, Australia, France and Britain as examples. This article makes a comparative analyzes the status of general practice education in foreign countries and discusses the development of undergraduate general practice education in China from four perspectives: national policy, teacher resources, curriculum system, and education training modes.

Conclusions

The four countries attach great importance to general practice education, with mature training methods, registered practice and continuing education. It is hoped that this article can establish and improve the policy system for the development of general subject teachers and optimize the inclusive, assessment and evaluation system of general practice teachers. In addition, more attention should be paid to general practice scientific research to create a teaching team with high standards, high quality, and high scientific research literacy and to form standardized scientific teaching methods that promote the development of general medicine education and training through high-quality teaching experiences. In addition, more attention should be paid to general practice scientific research to create a teaching team with high standards, high quality, and high scientific research literacy and to form standardized scientific teaching methods that promote the development of general medicine education and training through high-quality teaching experiences.

Multiple cross-sectional assessments of empathy in medical undergraduate students

INTRODUCTION

Empathy a cognitive phenomenon, with affective and behavioral components; helps improve clinical competence. It varies depending on physicians' gender and specialty. While some western studies reported significant fall in empathy levels when they progressed from non-clinical to clinical training years, Asian studies including Indian had varied results. We hypothesize that empathy will decrease among medical undergraduates over four years while they progress from non- clinical to clinical rotations and that female medical students and those opting for clinical specialties will have higher empathy than male medical students and those opting for non clinical specialty.

METHODOLOGY

This study was carried out in a medical college from the year 2012 to 2015. Each year at the beginning of academic session all students were asked to complete Jefferson's -Scale for Physician's Empathy (JSPE student) student version. Over next three years similar assessments were repeated for all batches. The results were tabulated and analyzed using EpiInfo7 software.

RESULTS

Over four years 481, 416, 412 and 354 medical students in 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th year respectively from seven different batches were evaluated. Choice of specialty differed significantly in each year different batches. The empathy score had no relation to gender or choice of specialty. Empathy declines from first year onwards till third year but is not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

In this large multiple sample cross sectional study, it is evident empathy drops from 1^st to 3^rd year therefore there is an urgent need to evaluate why empathy falls.

Development and implementation of a competency-based module for teaching research methodology to medical undergraduates

CONTEXT

Research experience helps an undergraduate student to understand published works, to learn teamwork, and even to consider research as a career. Few medical institutions have attempted to engage undergraduates in research experience. Competency-based medical education has emerged as a core strategy to educate and assess medical students worldwide.

AIMS

This study aims to develop and implement a competency-based research methodology training module for undergraduate students and find out students' perception about this.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

A cross-sectional study of mixed design was undertaken in the Department of Community Medicine, UCMS, Delhi, India.

METHODOLOGY

A competency-based research training module was developed and implemented with 4^th semester undergraduate students posted in the department. Students' feedback about the module was obtained.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

For quantitative variables, means, ranges, medians, and percentages were calculated. To find out students' perception about the posting a qualitative analysis was done.

RESULTS

The module was implemented with 25 students posted in the department in May 2017. However, feedback was obtained from 23 students. About 83% of the students reported as highly satisfied with the posting, 61% of the students mentioned that after completion of this posting, they felt motivated to do further research. A qualitative analysis of the feedback showed that students found the project helped them to enhance their knowledge and develop skills.

CONCLUSIONS

Competency-based research methodology training can serve as a tool for teaching research methodology to undergraduate students.

Modified Conventional Teaching: An Assessment of Clinical Biochemistry Learning Process Among Medical Undergraduate Students Using the Traditional Teaching in Combination with Group Discussion

Background: Clinical biochemistry is a branch of organic chemistry which involves a detailed study on the normal functioning of living cells in relation to the disease. The subject is not only volatile but also complicated. Also, teaching biochemistry to medical undergraduates is really a challenging job. Routine didactic lectures alone may not be enough for students while learning clinical biochemistry.

Methods: This study included 90 first-year medical undergraduate students. They were grouped as three groups of 30 students each. The routine conventional classroom teaching method was followed by a group discussion session. The topics were informed in advance so that they were provided with adequate time to prepare and be mentally ready for the session. The group discussion was preceded by a set of 10 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and a final assessment of five MCQs following the discussion.

Results: There was only minor difference in the marks obtained by various student groups after the group discussion with Group B students (5.5 ± 1.54; p < 0.001) performing better than the other two groups. Students also scored evenly in the final assessment using MCQs with Group A (2.7 ± 1.36; p < 0.001) performing better than the other two groups. Prior to the group discussion session, 33% of the students in all the groups scored more than 75% of marks. The overall performance of all the students after the final assessment using MCQs revealed that 60% of the students scored more than 75% marks.

Conclusion: The study results confirm the fact that the modified conventional teaching method appears to be better than traditional teaching. The student performances had significantly improved with such kind of education process. The results also highlight the importance of increased student efforts, probably including group discussions and revisions to improve understanding and subject retention.

Knowledge, attitude, practice, and barriers toward research among medical students: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey

Introduction:

Research in medicine has an impact on prevention, diagnosis, and newer treatment for the medical ailments. It has brought reforms in policies for health-care programs. Involvement of undergraduates in research was less, so this study was planned to determine the factors and their perception toward the same.

Objective:

The objective of the study was to evaluate knowledge, attitude, experience, and the barriers of research among medical undergraduates.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted after the protocol was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee and obtaining written informed consent from participants. The predesigned validated questionnaire containing 34 questions was used. Filled questionnaires were received from the medical undergraduates of different phases of MBBS from our institute. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results:

A total of 89% (267/300) responded, 140/267 were females. The knowledge score regarding the concept of research and its methodology was 2405/3458 (70%). Sixty percent strongly agreed to include research in undergraduate curriculum, 57% believed that it would facilitate better understanding of the subject and clinical practice (41%). Nearly 56% opined that research was not waste of time and does not interfere in studies. Barriers for research were lack of awareness (53%), interest (54%), funds (62%), time (59%), and difficulty in follow-up of patients (67%). Almost 59% of students disagreed to lack of encouragement by faculty.

Conclusion:

Most of the participants had knowledge regarding research and expressed positive attitude toward involvement in research activity. Some of barriers were lack of awareness, time, funds, and difficulty in patient follow-up.

The effect and influence of undergraduate research on medical undergraduates in China

Undergraduate research (UR) refers to a series of scientific research activities for undergraduates. For the past few years in China, medical colleges and universities have increasingly attached importance on UR, aiming to provide undergraduates with better scientific research conditions, improve their understanding about scientific research and their basic scientific skills. Chinese medical undergraduates participate in scientific research spontaneously. However, the specific effects of UR are still unclear. In China, few quantitative standards to evaluate the detailed roles and effects of medical undergraduates' UR are available yet. To explore how UR influences Chinese medical undergraduates' scientific research abilities and their individual development, we conduct a cross-sectional analytical study by anonymous self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires access the scientific research capabilities and qualities of students. The results show that students who participate in UR are equipped with better self-evaluation of designing research projects, using statistical software, making figures and charts, evaluating experimental results and performing experiments than those who do not; and the students who persist in UR have the highest self-evaluation on the abilities mentioned above. Hence, through quantitative criteria, it can be concluded that UR can help Chinese medical undergraduates build interest in scientific research, develop scientific thinking and basic research capacities, and set a solid foundation for future research. © 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47(1):41-50, 2018.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Yoga in Medical Students: Assessment of Anthropometry and Lifestyle Factors

Medical students often experience significant stress during their undergraduate training. Evidence has shown short-term yoga to be effective in decreasing stress in students. This study aimed to assess knowledge about, attitude toward, and practice of (KAP) yoga among medical students. A secondary objective was to analyze their dietary habits and physical activity. Participants consisted of 224 medical students aged 18-23 years in pre- and paraclinical groups. A closed-ended KAP questionnaire was used to collect data. Anthropometric measurements were taken. Results showed that paraclinical students (70.5%) favorably perceived the health benefits of yoga. Nearly three-fourths of study subjects had previously practiced yoga; greater numbers intended to practice yoga in the future. About 95.5% of the preclinical students who had done yoga had discontinued the practice. Perceived barriers to the practice of yoga were lack of time, insufficient facilities, lack of company, and lack of interest. Consideration of the undergraduates' lifestyle revealed that 50.4% of preclinical students did not exercise, and they routinely consumed more junk food with fewer servings of fresh fruits/salads. Preclinical students exhibited higher BMI and waist circumference compared to paraclinical students. Findings suggest that knowledge of and attitude regarding yoga were good among medical undergraduates.

Selective admission policy of medical undergraduates in western China: applicants' real attitudes to the choice of a rural medical career

INTRODUCTION

Since 2010, the Chinese government has been introducing selective admission policy to recruit rural students for 5-year western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine undergraduate education in order to improve rural townships' medical services system in western China. This study aimed to analyse the selective admission policy in western China from the perspective of medical students' attitudes towards rural career choice.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted and an anonymous questionnaire was used to investigate a sample of medical undergraduates chosen under the selective admission policy.

RESULTS

The results indicate that medical undergraduates' enthusiasm to work in rural areas was very limited in Gansu province, western China. Extrinsic motivation played a more important role in rural career choice than intrinsic motivation. The students' attitudes were affected by socioeconomic and cultural conditions, which determined their personal and professional environment. Course major and family economic conditions were associated with their self-decisions.

CONCLUSION

Further educational intervention should emphasise the students' humanistic inner qualities and recognition of professional value. Further policy adjustment should considered, for example improving social policy-based regional character and national development strategies.

Physical activity patterns and socio-demographic correlates of physical activity among medical undergraduates in Sri Lanka: an observational study

BACKGROUND

Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for mortality worldwide and a leading risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Medical undergraduates are a group of young adults expected to have a sound knowledge of the benefits of physical activity (PA) and have an active lifestyle.

OBJECTIVE

To quantifyPA levels among medical undergraduates of a Sri Lankan university and to determine the socio-demographic correlates of physical inactivity.

METHODS

Medical undergraduates in their third, fourth and fifth years of study were recruited for this quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire.

RESULTS

A total of 421 students were recruited. Overall 41% were physically inactive. Females (47%) were more inactive than males (34%). The total mean weekly metabolic equivalent (MET)-minutes was 1468.2±1873. Males (1676.2±1629) had a higher mean weekly MET minutes than females (1319±20102), p=0.05. 88% owned a portable internet device such as a smartphone or tablet. Students using health-related apps on their devices had significantly higherPA (p=0.01) and lower body mass index (BMI) (p=0.04), than those who did not. Binary logistic regression revealed physical inactivity to be significantly associated with gender (p=0.01), not using a health-promoting app on their portable device (p=0.01) and the year of study (p=0.03).

CONCLUSION

Physical inactivity is a significant problem among medical undergraduates. The use of health applications was associated with a higher PA and lower BMI. The reasons for inactivity and the discrepancy in activity levels between males and females needs to be explored in greater detail.

Knowledge, attitude and perception of medical and dental undergraduates about antimicrobial stewardship

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to identify the current knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) of the future prescribers about antimicrobial (AM) education so that the identified lacunae in the training curriculum can be effectively addressed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A questionnaire-based survey was carried out in the 2(nd) year students of medical and the dental undergraduate (UG) courses at a tertiary care teaching center in Jaipur. Each respondent completed the given questionnaire independently in the allocated time. A scoring system was used to rate the KAP of the respondents as poor, average, or good.

RESULTS

Statistically significant differences were found in the KAP of the medical and dental future prescribers (P = 0.0086, 0.0002, and <0.0001 for the KAP, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The attitude of the UG students towards AM education is good, but the deficiencies in the knowledge and perception need to be improved further. Suitable interventions to address these lacunae must be planned.

Evaluation of impact of teaching clinical pharmacology and rational therapeutics to medical undergraduates and interns

Objectives:

To find out the impact of teaching clinical pharmacology and rational therapeutics (CPT) to medical undergraduates (UGs) and interns.

Materials and Methods:

This cross-sectional, prospective study was conducted on three UGs batches and interns using two pretested validated structured questionnaires, modified from the work of Tobaiqy et al. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. ANOVA and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. The value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

A total of 379 UGs and 96 interns participated in this study. Mean knowledge score of interns was significantly reduced as compared to UGs (P < 0.0001). A significant increase in confidence for unsupervised prescribing of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (99%), oral rehydration salt, iron salts was perceived among interns as compared to UGs (P < 0.05). However, 63.5% confessed problems in selection of drugs, drug–drug interactions, prescribing in special patient population. Although they were confident prescribing fixed dose combination for adult patients (89.5%), majority were hesitant to prescribe opioids (77%), steroids (76%), vaccines (75%), and antihypertensives (62%).

Conclusion:

The theoretical CPT teaching transfers knowledge to UGs; however, it is not retained in internship and does not adequately prepare interns to prescribe safe and rational drugs.

Perception, knowledge, and attitude toward mental disorders and psychiatry among medical undergraduates in Karnataka: A cross-sectional study

CONTEXT

Globally, psychiatry as a subject, psychiatrists as professionals, and patients with psychiatric disorders are subjected to cultural stereotypes and negative attitude by the general population. What is of alarming concern is that these prejudices exist within the medical community as well.

AIMS

This study aims at evaluating the perception, knowledge, and attitude toward psychiatric disorders, therapeutic modalities used in psychiatry, psychiatry as a subject and psychiatrists as professionals among undergraduate medical students in Karnataka.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

This is a descriptive, cross-sectional type of study conducted in three medical colleges located in Karnataka.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A sample of 500 students from all three professional phases of MBBS was selected using purposive sampling. A semistructured prevalidated questionnaire was used to assess the perception, knowledge, and attitude of undergraduate medical students toward psychiatric disorders and psychiatry.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 16.0.

RESULTS

The undergraduate medical student population had significant shortcomings in knowledge and attitude pertaining to psychiatric disorders, more glaring in the initial years of education. A comparatively positive opinion was obtained regarding psychiatry as a subject and psychiatrists as professionals, which may reflect the changing trends and concepts, both in society and medical community.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the need for better educational measures at undergraduate level in order to shape a positive attitude of the health care providers towards psychiatry, which is essential for ensuring better care for patients as well as reduction of stigma surrounding psychiatric disorders.

Virtual classroom helps medical education for both Chinese and foreign students

AIMS

The rapid development of computer and internet technology has a strong influence over one's quality of education within different fields of study. To determine the potential benefits of introducing internet into medical school classes, a pilot study was conducted in three different Chinese medical schools.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seven hundred and eight medical school undergraduates, 385 dental school students and 366 foreign students were randomly recruited to complete a self-administered questionnaire. The contents included personal information, current usage of computer and internet, and attitudes towards the computerised teaching methods. Two forum groups were created using instant message software and were randomly assigned to two classes, allowing students to freely ask or discuss questions with the help of their teachers in these two virtual classrooms.

RESULTS

All 1539 questionnaires were accepted and analysed. Although there were some differences between Chinese and foreign undergraduates, both group of students were highly proficient in internet usage and navigation. Overwhelmingly, 88.37% of the students owned a computer and frequently logged onto the internet. Most of them believed that the internet is a helpful adjunct to their studies and held positive attitudes towards computerised teaching. Compared to the classes that were not assigned internet forums, the two experimental classes performed significantly better on the examination.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that computerised teaching methods have significant potential to assist in learning for both Chinese and foreign medical undergraduates.

Emotional intelligence scale for medical students

BACKGROUND

Emotional Intelligence has been associated with positive outcome process in varied professions. There is paucity of Indian literature on the subject; especially involving medical undergraduates; and presently there is no scale available to measure the same in the Indian scenario.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a scale to measure Emotional Intelligence among medical undergraduates.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Four domains of Emotional intelligence were selected, viz. Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social-Awareness & Social-Skills and these were included for the purpose of domains of the scale. On the basis of focused group discussions and in-depth deliberations with experts, undergraduate and postgraduate medical students a pool of 50 items was generated. The items were reduced to 27 based on expert consensus and on the basis of frequency of endorsement by expert reviews. It was followed by a pilot study of 50 undergraduates. This completed the preparation of the preliminary draft based on content analysis. The questionnaire was then administered in 480 students and the data was analyzed by appropriate statistical methods. For the purpose of concurrent validity, emotional intelligence scale developed by Dr. Ekta was used.

RESULTS

The Cronbach's Alpha for Internal Consistency Reliability was 0.68. The EIS had a significant correlation with social awareness domain of Emotional Intelligence Test (EIT) establishing Concurrent Validity.

CONCLUSION

Emotional Intelligence Scale for medical undergraduates was constructed. Reliability and concurrent validity were also established for the same.