Awareness Of Medical Students Research Articles

Assessing social accountability perspectives among Syrian medical students: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundSocial accountability (SA) within medical education signifies a commitment to address critical regional, societal, and national issues through educational, research, and service activities. In resource-limited regions, marginalized communities face barriers to accessing quality healthcare, and the concept of SA is often poorly understood by students. This study aims to investigate the perspectives, awareness, and comprehension of Syrian medical students regarding the concepts and principles of SA.MethodsThis cross-sectional online study was conducted in Syria from June 1st to July 25th, 2023, to assess the perspectives on SA among medical students enrolled in pre-clinical and clinical phases from the 3rd to the 6th year, encompassing both stream I and stream II. The questionnaire included three parts: consent and introduction, socio-demographic data, and a 12-item survey assessing social accountability. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 24 (SPSS 24).ResultsA total of 1312 medical students (62.3% females vs. 37.7% males) participated in our analysis. Less than half of the participants (45.7%) reported that their institution had a limited social mission statement regarding the communities they serve. However, only 39.6% reported that their curriculum partially reflected the needs of the population they serve. A mere 7.5% and 6.8% of respondents indicated that their school had excellent community partners and stakeholders shaping their institution, and they learned significantly about other cultures and social circumstances in the medical context through their curriculum. About 24.1% reported that their institution required them to engage in a substantial amount of community-based learning, and 37.4% believed that their class reflected a good representation of socio-demographic characteristics of the reference population. A significant portion of the participants (44.3%) stated that their school did not encourage them to pursue generalist specialties, and 12.7% felt that their institution did not have a positive impact on the community. Among the included participants, 45.8% had some level of SA status, while 37.7% indicated good SA status. Age, gender, and the phase of study were the only sociodemographic characteristics statistically associated with SA status (p-value < 0.05). The association between the 12 items determining SA and the year of study was statistically significant for seven items (p-value < 0.05). However, adjusted logistic regression revealed no significant correlation between predicting SA status and sociodemographic factors (p-value > 0.05).ConclusionThis study underscores the significant influence of clinical experience and gender on Syrian medical students’ perceptions of SA. To enhance these perceptions, medical institutions should tailor support services for different stages of training and target initiatives to engage male students.

PP138 Awareness Of Health Technology Assessment And Its Predictors Among Medical Students In Public Universities In Klang Valley, Malaysia

IntroductionLack of awareness has been recognized as one of the most important barriers in the implementation of health technology assessment (HTA) across numerous countries. Medical students have been identified as a vital target group to instill an awareness, basic knowledge, and positive attitude towards HTA from the beginning of their medical career. Presently, there was no study found conducted on HTA awareness in medical students in Malaysia. This study aims to determine the level of awareness of HTA, and its predictors among clinical year medical students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia.MethodsA cross-sectional study using the stratified random sampling method was conducted among clinical year medical students in four public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The data on level of awareness of HTA and its associated factors were collected using a self-administered online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 27 to determine the level of awareness of HTA, its associated factors and predictors.ResultsThe total number of study participants was 323 and the response rate was 90 percent. The analysis showed that 69 percent of respondents had low level of awareness of HTA while 31 percent had high level of awareness of HTA. Factors associated with the level of awareness of HTA was attitude towards HTA (p &lt; 0.001). The predictors of level of awareness of HTA were attitude towards HTA (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 7.417, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.491, 15.758), peer interaction on HTA (AOR = 0.320, 95% CI: 0.115, 0.888), and previous training on HTA (AOR = 4.849, 95% CI: 1.096, 21.444).ConclusionsThe majority of clinical year medical students in public university have low awareness of HTA which can be predicted by the level of attitude, peer interaction and training of HTA. Therefore, it is important to increase awareness among these future medical practitioners to encourage evidence-based decision-making. Early exposure and introduction of HTA in the current university curriculum in collaboration with a local HTA agency can be recommended to increase awareness as well as to improve students’ attitude towards HTA.

Increasing medical student awareness of pathology through a virtual, asynchronous pathology elective

Faculty from the University of Florida Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine developed an asynchronous, fully virtual pathology elective for medical students that emphasizes both foundational pathology concepts as well as the role of pathologists in the broader health system. The program includes ten core modules as well as several selective modules which allows students to tailor their coursework to better align with their desired specialty. After completing each module, students were required to concisely summarize the topic in the form of a 280-character tweet. Students were surveyed immediately after finishing the course and again one year after finishing the course to assess the effectiveness of the course in teaching students about pathology. Survey results showed significant improvement in student knowledge about the field of pathology and high levels of satisfaction with the course content and delivery. The tweet summaries required in the course provided a unique challenge for students. Although the course was initially developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment has continued steadily through 2023. Our study suggests that online pathology electives can be an effective way to increase medical student exposure to pathology and facilitate learning about the field of pathology, especially among students who may not ultimately pursue a career in pathology.

Implementation of a shared research database to increase medical student awareness and involvement in urology research A pilot study.

We aimed to assess the effect of a shared institutional research database on medical students' scholarly work, perceived research competency, and self-reported satisfaction. An institutional inventory database was created on Google Sheets with a listing of available mentors and a description of their ongoing research projects. The inventory database was shared with interested students and faculty. Students who agreed to participate were surveyed pre- and post-inventory. Survey questions assessed student demographics, prior research experience, and their perception of research competency and satisfaction. The number of presentations, publications, and articles pre- and post-inventory were also abstracted. Survey responses were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. A total of 20 students were surveyed pre-inventory and at a median followup of six months (5-7) post-inventory. There was a significant increase in scholarly presentations and publications post-inventory (p<0.05 for all). Furthermore, post-inventory, students reported feeling more confident in establishing an academic career, finding good mentors, managing their relationship with their mentor, managing professional challenges, and effectively showcasing themselves professionally and describing their research (p<0.05 for all). More than 65% of students agreed or strongly agreed that the database was easy to use, accessible, transparent, and would like a similar database created for other specialty departments. After performing mentorship-guided research through an institutional research database, medical students felt more confident in their ability to perform research and produced more scholarly work. Therefore, we recommend a research database be created across all institutional departments to foster interest in conducting research.

A study on the optimization of English writing teaching system in medical colleges and universities based on the perspective of curriculum ideology and politics

By adopting a theoretical framework based on constructivism and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), this study uses case study and action research methods to explore how to enhance medical students’ language skills, humanistic literacy, and research awareness under the perspective of curriculum ideology and politics. Observations and in-depth interviews revealed teachers’ and students’ views on English writing teaching, while action research explored and tested strategies for teaching reform. The results indicated that integrating the cultivation of language skills, humanistic literacy, and research awareness into the actual teaching process, along with providing ample practical opportunities and specific guidance, are key to improving medical students’ abilities. Continuous evaluation and adjustment are required in teaching reform to ensure its effectiveness and adaptability. This study provides empirical evidence for understanding how to optimize teaching activities under the perspective of ideological and political education in the curriculum to enhance the language skills, humanistic literacy, and research awareness of medical students, and provides guidance for future teaching reforms.

To donate or not to donate? Future healthcare professionals’ opinions on biobanking of human biological material for research purposes

BackgroundOver the last few decades biobanks have been recognised as institutions that may revolutionise biomedical research and the development of personalised medicine. Poland, however, still lacks clear regulations regarding the running of biobanks and the conducting of biomedical research. While the awareness of the general public regarding biobanks is low, healthcare professions and medical students also lack basic knowledge regarding biobanks, and such ignorance may affect their support for biobanks.MethodsThis study is aimed at assessing the knowledge and attitudes of future healthcare professionals towards the donation of human biological material for research purposes and is based on a sample of 865 Polish medical students at Poznań University of Medical Sciences.ResultsThis research has shown that the awareness of medical students’ regarding biobanks is low. It has also shown that while the majority of future healthcare professionals enrolled in this study supported the idea of biobank research and declared themselves willing to donate, still many students felt ambivalent about the biobanking of human biological material for research purposes and expressed concerns over biobanking research. While the primarily motivation to participate in biobank research was the desire to help advance science and to develop innovative therapies, the most common reason for a refusal was the fear that the government, insurance companies or employers, might have access to the samples. Concerns over unethical use of samples and data safety were also prevalent. More than half of students opted for a study-specific model of consent and only a few opted for broad consent.ConclusionsThis research suggests that a lack of knowledge about biobanks, their role and activities may affect medical students’ support for biobanks and their active participation in the collection and management of biospecimens for research purposes. Since in the future medical, nursing and pharmacy students will be involved in the collection, storage, testing and analysis of biospecimens from their patients, medical students in all professional fields should be trained regarding the concept, purposes and operational procedures of biobanks, as well as the ethical, legal and social implications of biobank research.

Medical Students' Attitudes and Awareness toward Teaching and Participation in Formal Clinical Teaching in Iraq

Abstract Objective Clinical teaching is essential for the continuity of education of health care professionals. Developing teaching skills is highly required to communicate efficiently and transfer experience and knowledge to others. To our knowledge, medical students across Iraq did not give their perception of clinical teaching in a comprehensive way. Therefore, the aim of this study is to understand our students' perception of clinical teaching and to learn from their responses what subtypes of clinical teaching they may desire the most. Materials and Methods An online survey was distributed among medical students in Iraqi universities between February and April 2022. Results In all, 2,562 students (1,567 females and 995 males) responded from 24 of 26 colleges of medicine in Iraq. The majority of responders were senior students. In total, 73.3% of our students had no previous experience in teaching. Those willing to work in a teaching or academic hospital comprised 84.2% of the students, and 1,563 students were interested in pursuing “clinical teaching” for medical students/residents upon completion of residency. Collective confidence in teaching abilities was rated as 3.4 out of 5. In total, 1,505 medical students felt they would be interested to have an elective period in medical education, and the majority voted for a 1-month period. Male students perceived more confidence in their variable teaching abilities compared to females (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusion This is the first study among Iraqi medical students that revealed a desire to avail of a 4-week elective in clinical teaching and become incorporated within the undergraduate curriculum of medical schools in Iraq.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Preference of Radiology as a Future Specialty Among Medical Students at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare continues to spark interest and has been the subject of extensive discussion in recent years as well as its potential effects on future medical specialties, including radiology.In this study, we aimed to study the impact of AI on the preference of medical students at Jazan University in choosing radiology as a future specialty. Methodology An observational cross-sectional study was conducted using a pre-tested self-administered online questionnaire among medical students at Jazan University. Data were cleaned, coded, entered, and analyzed using SPSS (SPSS Inc., USA) version 25. Statistical significance was defined as a P-value of less than 0.05. We examined the respondents' preference for radiologyrankings with the presence and absence of AI. Radiology's ranking as a preferred specialty with or without AI integration was statistically analyzed for associations with baseline characteristics, personal opinions, and previous exposures among those who had radiology as one of their top three options. Results Approximately 27.4% of males and 28.3% of females ranked radiology among their top three preferred choices. Almost 65.2% were exposed to radiology topics through pre-clinical lectures. The main sources of information about AI for the studied group were medical students (41%) and the Internet (27.5%). The preference of students for radiology was significantly affected when it is assessed by AI (P < 0.05). Around (16.1%) of those who chose radiology as one of their top three choices strongly agree that AI will decrease the job opportunities for radiologists. Logistic regression analysis showed that being a female is significantly associated with an increased chance to replace radiology with other specialty when it is integrated with AI (Crude odds ratio (COR) = 1.91). Conclusion Our results demonstrated that the students' choices were significantly affected by the presence of AI. Thereover, to raise medical students' knowledge and awareness of the potential positive effects of AI, it is necessary to organize an educational campaign, webinars, and conferences.

Relationship Between Metacognitive Awareness of Undergraduate Students and Students' Academic Performance at Vietnam Military Medical University.

Metacognition plays an essential role in competency-based medical education. Metacognitive skills consist of knowledge and regulation metacognition. This study was conducted to investigate the metacognition of undergraduate students and its correlation with students' academic performance. The metacognitive skills inventory comprised 52 binary-scale items administered to 202 Vietnam Military Medical University medical students. The entire semester and clinical results were used to measure their academic performance. Medical students' total metacognitive awareness score was high (median 0.8). The median metacognitive knowledge score was significantly lower than the metacognitive regulation score (0.7 vs 0.8, respectively). The participants with a total metacognition score ≥0.8 had significantly higher academic results (full semester exam results of 7.4 and clinical exam of 7.5). The group of participants in the military, having sports habits and usually searching academic documents in English, had a higher proportion of total metacognitive awareness score ≥0.8 than the group without these above characteristics (with the percentages of 53.3%, 59%, and 64.3%, respectively; p < 0.05). The number of books read by participants with a total metacognitive awareness score ≥ 0.8 was significantly higher than those with a total metacognitive awareness score <0.8 (3.5 compared to 2.4 books). Metacognitive awareness of Vietnam Military Medical University medical students was likely to be high. A high score of metacognitive awareness could predict high academic performance. Being a military student, playing sports, reading books, and searching English documents were predictors of better metacognitive awareness.

Attitude and awareness of the public toward genetic testing in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwara, Saudi Arabia

Background: Genetic testing is a growing field that can provide valuable information about an individual's health, ancestry, and potential risks for various health conditions. While some people are aware of its potential benefits, others have concerns about the privacy of their genetic data, limitations of the testing, ethical issues, and disparities in access to testing and interpretation services. While genetic testing has the potential to provide valuable information, there are valid concerns about privacy, accuracy, and ethical issues. The public's attitudes toward genetic testing is shaped by various factors, including accessibility, cost, accuracy, and reliability of the testing and ethical and privacy concerns. A survey-based methodology was used to investigate the attitudes and awareness of the public toward genetic testing and identify the factors that influence these attitudes and awareness. Our study aimed to study the attitude and awareness of Saudi medical and non-medical students toward gene testing across different Universities in Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 274 participants. The data were analyzed descriptively using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). Results: Across the 274 participants, the majority have agreed on the importance of gene studying especially in facilitating the marriage process and assuring healthier generations, while there was also a concern about the security and confidentiality of gene mapping and banking, screening for cancer, and cardiac disorder were on top of interest among the participants to use gene screening in. Conclusions: In conclusion, genetic testing is essential for diagnosing genetic diseases, but predictive genetic tests have limited benefits due to gene-environment interactions. Advances in genome technologies have produced large amounts of sensitive genetic data. Genetic education is necessary to promote informed decision-making, reduce genetic essentialism, and improve genomics literacy. Most study participants acknowledged the significance of genetic disorder screening before marriage to improve their health and their offspring's health.

“Discrimination is always intersectional” – understanding structural racism and teaching intersectionality in medical education in Germany

BackgroundRacism in medicine represents a global problem. It takes place on the individual, institutional and structural level. Especially structural racism can have serious effects on the health of individual people. Furthermore, racist discrimination is not always based on race solemnly but frequently intersects with other social categories such as gender, class or religion. To describe this multidimensional form of discrimination the term intersectionality has been coined. However, the understanding of structural intersectional racism in medicine is still fragmented, especially in the German context. Yet, medical students need to be trained in understanding structural and intersectional racism to see the impact of racist structures on the patient’s health.MethodWe conducted a qualitative study to explore the knowledge, awareness and perception of racism in medicine and health care of medical students in Germany. Our research questions are how do medical student understand structural racism and its effects on health in Germany? Do students see interrelations with other forms of discrimination and in this context to what extent are they familiar with the concept of intersectionality? Which categories intersect from their point of views with race in context of medicine and health care? We conducted focus groups with medical students (n = 32) in Germany.ResultsOur results demonstrate that students have a wide spectrum of knowledge, awareness and perceptions about racism from being rather elaborate to very little knowledge about it. The students have particular problems to understand and situate structural racism in Germany. Some raised doubts about the relevance. Yet, other students are aware of the concept of intersectionality and are convinced that racism must be looked at from an intersectional perspective.ConclusionsThe diverse knowledge, awareness and perceptions of medical students about structural racism and intersectionality hints to a lack of systematic education of medical students about these issues in Germany. Yet, in context of diversifying societies an understanding about racism and its impact on health is imminent for future medical doctors to provide good care for their patients. Therefore, this knowledge gap must be systematically filled by the medical education.

Evaluating the attitude of medical students toward the impact of social media on improving learning and increasing awareness during the Covid-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study in Iran.

The use of social media has become an inseparable part of many students' lives. Therefore, in this research, we have tried to evaluate the attitude of medical students toward the impact of social media on improving their learning and increasing their awareness during the coronavirus disease 2019pandemic. This is a descriptive correlation study that was conducted in Iran in 2021. The statistical population of this study included medical students. Finally, 260 students participated in it. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. Most students use social media for educational purposes, including sending and sharing educational materials (42.8%), membership in study groups (42.6%), uploading educational content and presenting class topics (39.7%), chatting with students and professors (35.5%), formation of educational groups (34.2%), checking homework (32.7%), class discussion (30%), and sending and sharing photos and videos (29.5%). The most followed topics in social media by students to increase their level of awareness were respectively scientific topics not related to the field of study (46.9%), topics related to immigration (46%), cultural topics (44.2%), learning English (43.2%), academic and scientific materials related to the field of study (40.8%). Also, WhatsApp and Telegram were the most popular social media among students at the same time (58.8%). Also, students had a very positive attitude towards social media and considered them effective in improving learning and raising awareness. In general, the results of our study showed that social media could play an influential role in improving learning and raising the level of awareness of medical students. However, there may be problems and challenges in usingthese technologies, such as blocking the popular social media platform in some countries, the imposition of some restrictive government laws, low internet speed, protecting the privacy of students, professors, and so on.

Awareness of medical students about autism spectrum disorders

Background. The level of awareness of future doctors is an important factor that can further affect the quality of life of children with autism spectrum disorders. The problem has both scientific significance due to the lack of such studies in domestic science, and practical significance for identifying problem areas in the system of pediatric education.&#x0D; Aim. To identify the level of awareness of pediatric faculties students about autism spectrum disorders, methods for their diagnosis and treatment, technologies for non-medical intervention.&#x0D; Material and methods. A questionnaire, aimed at identifying the awareness of medical students about autism, methods of its diagnosis, patient routing and self-assessment of knowledge, was developed. The questionnaire included 29 questions, which could be conditionally divided into blocks: questions on knowledge about autism, action scenarios and routing, self-assessment of awareness of autism spectrum disorders, assessment of environmental components for children with such disorders, passport. Data collection was carried out using Google forms. The survey involved 408 students of pediatric faculties of 7 Russian medical universities of Kazan, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Izhevsk, Kirov. The survey was conducted in December 2020. The type of research can be defined as a questionnaire survey, which was carried out in two stages (field and analytical) from December 2020 to March 2021. The survey was conducted among 14th year (144 people), 5th year (116 people) and 6th year students (125 people). The selection of subgroups was due to the specifics of the educational process: until the second semester of the 4th year, pediatric students do not study disciplines related to the problem of autism spectrum disorders, 5th year students study neurology and psychiatry, 6th year students additionally have experience in outpatient practice. The obtained data were processed using the SPSS package.&#x0D; Results. Officially accepted in Russia at the time of the survey, the medical interpretation of autism spectrum disorders as a group of complex disintegrative disorders of mental development was indicated by only a third (32.8%) of the medical students surveyed. Another part of the respondents (28.7%) considered autism to be a genetic disorder in the development of the nervous system due to the lack of inhibition of certain genes. The high proportion of students (21.1%) who define autism as mental retardation associated with socio-pedagogical neglect, causes concern. Senior students were more likely to give more relevant answers about the factors of autism spectrum disorders (2=22.318 at p=0.034). Only 14.2% of students were able to indicate the age of the child for screening the risk of such disorders, 19.1% correctly named the scale used for screening. 71.3% of students did not know about non-medical interventions for autism spectrum disorders, more than 90% did not have information about institutions that families with a child with autism can apply for professional help.&#x0D; Conclusion. Insufficient awareness of students of pediatric faculties on the problems of autism spectrum disorders, issues of screening, interventions and routing of children with autism was revealed.

Accreditation Of A Private Medical University: Medical Students Awareness And Expectations

Accreditation Of A Private Medical University: Medical Students Awareness And Expectations

Assessing Fertility Awareness in Female Medical Students, Trainees, and Attending Physicians [ID: 1374645

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of female physician infertility is greater in comparison to the general public. In this study, we utilized a validated instrument to assess fertility and infertility knowledge among biologically female medical students, trainees, and attending physicians. METHODS: The validated Fertility &amp; Infertility Treatment Knowledge Score (FIT-KS) instrument was distributed from April 2022 to July 2022 to biologically female medical students, trainees, and attending physicians. Demographics were obtained to assess for differences between groups via contingency table analysis. The IRB found this study exempt. RESULTS: Participants answered 20 of the 29-item FIT-KS instrument correctly. Nine items had a less than 50% correct response rate, four pertained to fertility knowledge, and five pertained to infertility treatment knowledge. Most participants (81.4%) correctly identified the years of peak fertility, but 44.8% overestimated the fecundity of a 30-year-old woman and 36.9% underestimated the chance of miscarriage in peak reproductive years. Most participants (76.6%) underestimated in vitro fertilization (IVF) success for a woman under 35 year old and overestimated IVF success for a woman over 44 year old (56.0%). Obstetrics and gynecology performed significantly better on the FIT-KS instrument overall in comparison with other specialties. No differences in performance were present based on participant age, parity, or position. CONCLUSION: Female medical students and physicians recognize that fecundity decreases with age but overestimate successful pregnancy rates with increasing age. In concordance with low knowledge surrounding infertility treatment success, medical trainees are underequipped to make informed family planning decisions while in medical training.

The level of awareness of medical students of the internship course of Shahid Sadoughi Hospital of Yazd about AIDS

AIDS is an immune system deficiency disease. Still, the best way to control AIDS is prevention and awareness about this disease. The aim of the present study was to measure the level of knowledge of medical interns about AIDS. The present study was a cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was used in this research. The studied community included medical interns in 2019 and 2020. Finally, SPSS was used for analyzing. This study was conducted on 211 medical students. There was no significant difference in the knowledge level of the interns in terms of gender. The score of the questionnaire of the students who passed the infectious part was higher. In the current study was proved that the sex and marriage of the students was not effective on the awareness about AIDS.

Awareness of Cervical Cancer Screening Amongst Pakistani Medical Students and Doctors; A Systematic Review

Background Cervical cancer screening is one of the most important public health interventions for cervical cancer prevention, yet awareness among Pakistani medical students and doctors is alarmingly low. Objective: to provide an in-depth understanding of the awareness and attitudes of Pakistani medical students and doctors towards cervical cancer screening Methodology: A systematic review of the literature was conducted, and qualitative and quantitative findings from studies conducted between January 2010 and June 2022 were synthesized. Results: The research found that Pakistani medical students and doctors have limited knowledge of cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening and a generally negative attitude towards cervical cancer screening. The paper also identified numerous influencing factors that contribute to the low awareness and attitudes towards the screening, such as traditional cultural beliefs, lack of training and education, and limited access to health care services. Conclusion, the research found a desperate need for interventions to raise awareness and to create an environment of acceptance and support for cervical cancer screening among Pakistani medical students and doctors. Keywords: Cervical Cancer, Screening, Pakistani Medical Students and Doctors, Knowledge, Pap smear, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)

Prospective study on blood donation awareness of medical science students at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

Prospective study on blood donation awareness of medical science students at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

Awareness of Final-Year Medical Students of Omdurman Islamic University on Their Career Choices

Background: Medical students undergo a complex process as a student to make a career decision and pursue further specialization. This study explores the factors that influence the career choices of the two genders studying in the final year of medicine at Omdurman Islamic University.Methods: This institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 194 male and female fifth-year medical students studying at Omdurman Islamic University. The questionnaire contains 15 multiple-choice questions to determine the factors affecting students’ career choices – lifestyle, income, family impact,…etc. – and the association between gender and the specialties they choose to pursue.Results: The specialties were preferred in the following order: surgery by 22.9%, internal medicine by 18.3%, obstetric gynecology by 13.8%, and pediatric by 10% (limited to the four major specialties). The least chosen specialties were histopathology, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and anesthesia (all were 0.9%). Family medicine and forensics were not chosen by any participant. Females significantly preferred dermatology, obstetrics and gynecology, otolaryngology, and pediatrics compared to their male counterparts. Whereas, males compared to females significantly preferred orthopedics and surgery. The factors influencing change in students’ specialties based on their gender were family views and family obligations. Nearly 80% of students choose a career based on personal interest; lifestyle and financial reward were also seen to play an important role in choosing a specialty. About 91% of participants agreed that there is a need for guidance. A great proportion of final-year students (62%) preferred to specialize abroad and related it to a good lifestyle and financial stability.Conclusion: This study showed that the students’ awareness about specialty choices was limited to certain specialties as seen in the literature. The most preferred specialties were surgery (22.9%), internal medicine (18.3%), obstetrics and gynecology (13.8%), and pediatric (10%). There are many factors influencing the selection of specialties, however, the most common one is personal interest followed by lifestyle issues and financial reward. Additionally, there is a significant gender difference in career-choice decisions.

Анализ осведомленности студентов-медиков и медицинских работников республики Башкортостан и Рязанской области о коронавирусной инфекции COVID-19

INTRODUCTION: The new coronavirus infection has affected almost every citizen of the country. It is known that, despite the published government statistics and information about the new infection, not all the Russian population observe the measures of non-specific prevention of coronavirus infection. One of the reasons is the massive spread of numerous rumors and speculations about COVID-19. AIM: To study the level of awareness of medical workers and medical students of the coronavirus infection COVID-19 specifying the sources of information about this disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey of 312 respondents from the Ryazan region and the Republic of Bashkortostan was conducted. The study was conducted using a questionnaire based on GoogleForms distributed in social networks and consisting of three blocks of questions. Statistical data processing was carried out using the free computing software environment R (ver. 4.1.2) and the MS Excel 2019 software package in Windows 11. The target significance level p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: The survey revealed insufficient awareness of students and medical professionals of the transmission routes and symptoms of COVID-19 infection. Only a small part of medical workers (as a rule, people of younger working age) and medical students receive information about COVID-19 from official and reliable sources. Only every 7th respondent gives correct answers about the transmission routes of COVID-19. In general, respondents considered wearing masks to be an effective means of prevention, especially in the group of those who had suffered the disease. When analyzing the spread of various rumors and legends about COVID-19 among medical professionals and medical students, it was found that almost half of them believe various legends about COVID-19. CONCLUSION: It was found that respondents received information mainly from unofficial sources, not trusting federal TV channels, as well as the data from the state statistics service. Often, respondents do not have complete information about the ways of transmission of infection and of its symptoms, but at the same time, most of them observe the self-isolation and the mask regimes. About half of the respondents believe various legends associated with this disease. Respondents who had had COVID-19 gave more correct answers and used more reliable sources of information.