Basic Science Medical Students Research Articles

Self-medication among Basic Science Medical Students of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Self-medication is using drugs to treat self-diagnosed signs or symptoms of oneself or others. Being closer to pharmacology and pathology, medical students have been more prone to it. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of self-medication among basic sciences medical students in a tertiary care centre in Kathmandu. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among basic science students from 15 February 2023 to 14 March 2023 after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 04122022/04). A convenience sampling method was used. Data were collected online and analysed. Point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated.Results: Among 322 basic science medical students the prevalence of self-medication was 218 (67.70%) (64.81–70.59 at 95% Confidence Interval). Fever was the most common condition treated by self-medication 106 (48.62%) and paracetamol was the most common medication 93 (42.66%). Of those who engaged in self-medication, 97 (44.50%) did so to save time. Moreover, within this group, 67 (30.73%) experienced adverse drug reactions, leading 37 (16.97%) of these students to visit a private doctor. Additionally, 138 (63.30%) refrained from prescribing medication to their family and friends. Conclusions: Self-medication among basic science medical students was found to be lower in comparison to other studies done in similar settings.

Depression and use of antidepressants among undergraduate medical students

Background and Objectives: Depression is one of the most prevalent conditions worldwide. Medical students are known to be the victims of tremendous stress. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression and the use of antidepressants among undergraduate medical students. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire based study was carried out among the undergraduate basic science medical students of first and second year of Janaki Medical College, Janakpurdham, from May 2021 to September 2021. Depression levels were assessed using Zung Depression Scale. Results: Among 111 students 22% were depressed, 17.7% were depressed among first year students while 26.5% were depressed among second year students. 23.9% males and 17.5% females were depressed while only 5.4% were on antidepressant drugs. Both year students gave higher ratings to academic stress and financial problems as stressors. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression was higher, seen especially in second year students. Therefore, there is a need for counseling services to them.  

Understanding the health risks in basic science medical students: a cross sectional survey.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background Medical students are usually subjected to a high workload environment and stress is one of the most important health risks that medical students encounter. The negative impact of stress on the student's mental and general health in basic science has often been under reported. Methods and Materials A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed in Avalon University School of Medicine (AUSOM), Curacao, amongst the first to fourth semester basic science students with an objective to explore and understand their perspectives on different health risks. ResultsMore than ⅔ of the students (79.61%, n=82) were feeling stressed out during their basic sciences. The mean stress level among the basic science students was 7.42 ± 2.13 (scale:1-10). Common health issues encountered by the students were: sleep problems, impaired concentration, low mood, mood swings, difficulty in making decisions, emotional distress, anxiety, substance abuse, and abnormal weight gain. Conclusion Although lack of sleep and behavioral problems are the most common health issues encountered by the pre-clinical medical students. There is an urgent need to implement health promotion strategies in medical curriculum for mental and physical well-being of the students.

Alive and Well: Encouraging Long Term Health Habits Through Implementation of Student Driven Wellness Programs in Medical Schools.

PurposeA lack of coping mechanisms has been linked to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome among medical students. In response, schools have been searching for methods to negate these results through wellness programs focused on student life.MethodsA survey comprised of three multiple choice questions was disseminated amongst first year basic science medical students to determine their current state of well-being and potential interest in an educational course focused on wellness. Questions inquired about students’ current coping strategies and their interest in engaging in wellness focused activities. Participants’ responses were then used to create a Well-being selective. The course design was centered around a small points reward system in order to promote autonomous decision making and encourage balance of body, mind, and spirit.Results/DiscussionInitial survey data suggests student interest in the creation of a wellness centered selective. Students engaged in a diverse array of activities to support the whole of their being. By tracking student choices of activities to engage in and feedback sent to the selective director, the selective design is being adapted to fit the needs of the student body.ConclusionThrough promotion of on and off-campus extracurricular activities, the Well-being selective offers a non-threatening and self-paced approach to a balanced mind, body, and spirit. In this selective, students participate in diverse activities that support health and life balance, ranging from sunset group yoga to local botany. Student feedback suggests that through the selective they have experienced increased community engagement and support during their basic sciences medical education.

Psychological Impact of Acne Vulgaris in Basic Science Medical Students in Nepal

Introduction: Acne vulgaris is a disorder of the sebaceous gland affecting mostly the adolescent age. Although acne does not cause direct physical impairment, it can produce significant psychosocial stress. Due to the paucity of data, there is a poor understanding of etiopathogenesis, treatment and psycho-social impact of acne in the Nepalese population. This study is the first of its kind in Nepal.Objectives: To determine the beliefs, knowledge, misconceptions, myth, psycho-social impact about acne in recently joined undergraduate medical students attending basic science.Materials and Methods: A cross- sectional study was conducted in two medical colleges in Kathmandu affiliated to Kathmandu University (KU), which followed the same curriculum. Medical students of basic science were enrolled in the study. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data regarding their belief and perception about acne.Results: A total of 247 students constituted the study population and female to male ratio was 1:1.62. Stress, oily skin, poor hygiene were the most common causative factors for acne. Belief and perception of acne included bad blood, menstrual cycle, eve teasing, evil eye. According to them, the best way to treat acne was herbal remedies. They liked to explain acne as being related to puberty, followed by dirty face. Psychological impact of acne was embarrassmentfollowed by lack of confidence and impaired social contact. Suicidal tendency due to acne was found in 3.6%.Conclusion: Misconception about acne are widespread and enduring among basic science medical students. Health education program on acne is needed to improve their condition.

Impact of formative assessment on the outcome of summative assessment – a feedback based cross sectional study conducted among basic science medical students enrolled in MD program

Background: Assessment is an integral part of all forms of learning. Formative assessment in different forms have evolved as a mean to find the learning gaps (what students already know in compare to what they need to know). As a result it becomes possible to give appropriate feedback to the students to close this gap. Summative assessment on the other hand is purposefully designed to make judgments about students’ performance and produce grades.Aims and Objectives: The main purpose of this study is to explore students’ view with regards to the impact of formative assessment on the outcome of summative assessment in basic science MD program.Materials and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted involving 142 students of an International medical school. A questionnaire was designed, pretested, and finally used to record different opinions of the students and data was collected, analyzed, and interpreted.Results: Majority of the respondents (78%) favored that the feedback collected from formative assessment remains important for them as it helps to fill their learning gaps. Respondents by large (76.8%) also agreed that formative assessment helps the faculty to identify student’s weak point. A huge percentage (80.8%) of respondents was in agreement that formative assessment inspires them for deep learning and regular study. However, a fair number of respondents (36.4%) thought that frequently scheduled formative assessment impede their independent learning thus negatively impact their performance in summative exam.Conclusion: Formative assessment if scheduled properly can have a positive impact on the summative assessment.Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.8(4) 2017 38-43

Development and evaluation of a voluntary education module on medicine safety for basic science medical students in Nepal

Dear Editor, Although medicines are beneficial, sometimes they can be harmful and can lead to potentially life threatening conditions and even lead to death. Medicines can cause Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), which has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as ‘a response to a drug which is noxious and unintended, and which occurs at doses normally used in man for the prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therapy of disease or for the modification of physiological function’.[1] Data suggests ADRs to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.[2] Evidence suggests knowledge, attitude and practice towards ADR reporting and prevention among health professionals including medical doctors are poor.[3] Often health professionals do not report ADRs to concerned authorities and have a poor understanding regarding the existing ADR monitoring program in their countries.[4] A possible reason may be because medicine safety issues are inadequately addressed in the medical and health sciences curricula which emphasizes the beneficial effects of medicines and puts relatively less emphasis on their rational and safe use. In developing countries, pharmacovigilance is not adequately addressed in the curricula of health professions schools. ADRs are only included as a topic during didactic lectures and the practical aspects of reporting and preventing ADRs are inadequately addressed.[5] Educating medical students about the safe use of medicines and about existing ADR monitoring programs in their countries is important to address the current gap in knowledge. Read more. . .

Knowledge, perception and practice of self-medication among premedical and basic science undergraduate medical students

Aims and Objective: Responsible self-medication is recognized as an important component of self-care. Medical students are in a unique position as they cannot yet legally prescribe medicines but their knowledge about and exposure to medicines increase as they progress through their course. Xavier University School of Medicine in Aruba admits students mainly from the United States, Canada and other countries to the undergraduate medical course. The present study was carried out to study the knowledge, perceptions and practice of self-medication among premedical and undergraduate medical students.Materials and Methods: The study was conducted during June and July 2016 using a questionnaire which had been used previously.  Knowledge and perceptions were studied by noting the respondents’ degree of agreement with asset of 40 statements. The use of selected classes of medicines for self-medication during the preceding one-year period was studied. The knowledge, perception and total scores were calculated and compared among different subgroups of respondents. Age, gender, nationality and semester of study of the respondents were noted.Results: Eighty-five of the 125 students enrolled (69.1%) participated. The mean knowledge, perception and total scores were 73.45, 62.75 and 136.2 (maximum possible scores were 105, 95 and 200 respectively). There was no significant difference in scores among subgroups of respondents. Analgesics, skin ointments, antipyretics and anti-allergics were commonly used for self-medication. Over half the respondents had used some form of self-medication during the preceding year.      Conclusion: The present study provides preliminary information regarding self-medication practices among both premedical and basic science medical students. Further studies on factors influencing and information sources used during self-medication can be conducted. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.7(5) 2016 63-68

Self-directed learning during problem-based learning sessions

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Purpose: The study aimed to obtain student perceptions about the influence of problem-based learning on self-directed learning skills among undergraduate basic science medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among first to sixth-semester undergraduate medical students during the last week of July 2016. A previously used instrument was used after obtaining written permission from the developers. The data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences version 20. The free text comments were tabulated. Results: Fifty-two of the 90 students (58%) participated. The majority of respondents were between 20 to 30 years of age, and of either American or Canadian nationality. The gender distribution was nearly equal. The mean self-management of learning, independent pursuit of learning, learner control of instruction and personal autonomy scores were 2.95, 2.94, 2.98 and 2.87 (maximum possible score being 4). There were no significant differences in the mean domain scores according to age group, gender, and nationality of respondents. Conclusion: Respondents in the present study showed good scores on most statements related to the four dimensions of self-directed learning. Due to the hybrid nature of the curriculum and due to lectures being the dominant teaching-learning strategy, students may have devoted less effort and time to the PBL topics.

Standardized patient program: Student feedback

Objective: Standardized patients (SPs) are widely used in medical and other health professions education. At xxxx SPs have been used for teaching-learning and assessment of basic science medical students since January 2013. The opinion of SPs about their involvement in teaching-learning and assessment of students has been recently studied. The present study had the objective of studying student perception about various aspects of the program.Materials and Methods: The study was conducted towards end of March and beginning of April 2016. Student perception regarding the program was studied by noting their degree of agreement with a set of 25 statements. Free text comments were also obtained. Gender, nationality and semester of study of the respondents was noted. The total score was compared among different subgroups of respondents.Results: Ninety-eight of the 107 students (91.6%) participated. The mean ± SD total score was 92.33 ± 13.68 (maximum possible score being 125). The scores were significantly higher among first semester students compared to other semesters. Students agreed that interacting with SPs will prepare them for interacting with patients, for their licensing exams and improve their clinical skills. Students learn how to interact with persons from a different cultural background. Suggestions for further improvement were also obtained.    Conclusions: The response rate was high and students’ perception of the SP program was positive. Our experiences would be of special interest to educators in other medical schools with small and/or new SP programs. Similar feedback could be obtained from other xxx schools with SP programs.Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.7(5) 2016 102-107

Standardized Patient's Views About their Role in the Teaching-Learning Process of Undergraduate Basic Science Medical Students.

Standardized Patients (SPs) are widely used in medical education. SPs have a number of advantages but also have certain limitations. At the institution, SPs have been used since January 2013 for both teaching-learning and assessment during the basic science years of the undergraduate medical program. The present study was conducted to investigate the perception of SPs about various aspects of the program and obtain suggestions for further improvement. A Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted with a group of five SPs during the second week of November 2015. Respondents were explained the aims and objectives of the study and invited to participate. Written informed consent was obtained. The FGD was conducted using a discussion guide and was audio recorded. Various aspects of the SP program at the institution were discussed. Motivation/s for joining the program and suggestions for further improvement were obtained. Transcripts were created after listening to the recordings and were read through multiple times. Similar responses were coded. Items with similar codes were grouped together into themes. Three respondents were female while two were male. The major advantage of SPs was their flexibility and ability to present a standardized response to the student. Students become familiar and comfortable with SPs. However, as a SP is simulating an illness s/he may not always be able to do complete justice to the role. The process used by SPs to prepare themselves to portray various diseases was highlighted. The use of SPs both during teaching-learning and assessment was also discussed. Some SPs are trained to provide feedback to students. Most SPs joined the program based on invitations from their friends who were already SPs. Challenges in recruiting SPs in a small island were discussed. Suggestions for further improvement were obtained. The present study obtained the perception of SPs regarding various aspects of the SP program at the institution. The overall opinion of SPs was positive.

Attitude of Basic Science Medical Students Toward Interprofessional Collaboration.

Purpose: Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and interprofessional education (IPE) are increasingly emphasized in the education of health professions. Xavier University School of Medicine, a Caribbean medical school admits students from the United States, Canada, and other countries to the undergraduate medical course. The present study was carried out to obtain information about the attitude toward IPC among basic science medical students and note differences, if any, among different subgroups.Methods: The study was conducted among first to fifth semester students during July 2015 using the previously validated Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Collaboration (JeffSATIC). Gender, age, semester, and nationality were noted. Participants’ agreement with a set of 20 statements was studied. Mean total scores, working relationship, and accountability scores were calculated and compared among different subgroups of respondents (p<0.05).Results: Sixty-seven of the 71 students (94.4%) participated. Cronbach’s alpha value of the questionnaire was 0.827, indicating good internal consistency. The mean total score was 104.48 (maximum score 140) while the working relationship and accountability scores were 63.51 (maximum score 84) and 40.97 (maximum score 56), respectively. Total scores were significantly higher among third-semester students and students of Canadian nationality. Working relationship and accountability scores were higher among first and third-semester students.Conclusion: The total working relationship and accountability scores were lower compared to those obtained in a previous study. Opportunities for IPE and IPC during the basic science years should be strengthened. Longitudinal studies in the institution may be helpful. Similar studies in other Caribbean medical schools are required.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self-Medication Among Basic Science Undergraduate Medical Students in a Medical School in Western Nepal.

Studies have shown self-medication to be common among medical students. These studies are however, few in Nepal. The present study assessed knowledge, attitude, and practice of self-medication among second and fourth semesters' undergraduate medical students and studied differences in knowledge and attitude (if any) among different subgroups of the respondents. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a questionnaire among basic science medical students of Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Nepal. Semester of study, gender, age, nationality, and the profession of their parents were noted. Students' knowledge and attitude about self-medication was studied by noting their degree of agreement with a set of 40 statements using a Likert-type scale. The average scores and frequency of occurrence of particular behaviors among different categories of respondents were compared using appropriate statistical tests. Two hundred and seventy-six of the 295 (93.6%) students participated. The mean (SD) knowledge, attitude, and total scores were 74.54 (6.92), 67.18 (5.68), and 141.73 (10.76) with maximum possible scores 100, 100 and 200, respectively. There was no significant difference in scores according to respondents' gender, age, and the profession of their parents. However, the mean knowledge, attitude and total scores were significantly different among students of different nationalities. Mean scores of fourth semester students were significantly higher compared to second semester students. There were differences in knowledge and total scores among students of different nationalities. Eighty two percent of respondents had self-medicated during the one year period preceding the study; 149 respondents (54%) shared that previous experience with the medicine was one of the information sources for self-medication. Prevalence of self-medication among respondents according to semester of study, gender, age, and profession of the parents was not significantly different. The use of self-medication was more common among Sri Lankan respondents compared to Nepalese. Painkillers (73.2%), antipyretics (68.8%), and antimicrobials (56.2%) were most commonly used for self-medication. Students' knowledge and attitude about self-medication is good. The prevalence of self-medication among medical students was high.

Stress and Coping Strategies among Premedical and Undergraduate Basic Science Medical Students in a Caribbean Medical School

Introduction : Sources of stress and coping strategies have not been previously studied at Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba. Objective: Hence the present study was carried out to obtain information about sources of stress and coping strategies among different groups of students and note differences, if any, among subgroups of respondents. Method : Sources of student stress and coping strategies were studied using the medical student stressor questionnaire (MSSQ) and the brief COPE. The present study was carried out among premedical and basic science undergraduate medical students during June 2014. Demographic characteristics like gender, semester of study, age and nationality were noted. Mean scores of different groups of stressors and coping strategies were calculated and compared among various subgroups of respondents using appropriate statistical tests (p<0.05). Result : Ninety-two of the 108 students (85.2%) participated. Cronbach’s alpha values for various categories of stressor scores were high. The major categories of stressors were academic related and group activity related. Certain stress scores were higher among female respondents and undergraduate medical (MD) students especially those studying in the fourth and fifth semester. The main coping strategies employed were planning, active coping, positive reframing, and acceptance. There were differences in use of certain coping strategies among subgroups of respondents. Conclusion : Academic related stressors were high especially among fourth and fifth semester students. Longitudinal studies following students over their basic science years are required. Studies among students doing their clinical rotations in the United States are required. Studies among students in other Caribbean medical schools are needed.

Attitude of Basic Science Medical Students towards Post Graduation in Medicine and Surgery: A Questionnaire based Cross-sectional Study from Western Region of Nepal

Background Career choice of medical students plays a vital role for health care system of a country. It also plays a crucial role to bring medical specialties into mainstream focus. Materials and Method A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study has been performed at Manipal College of Medical Sciences, during the period of 1st May to 31st August–2011. A self reported questionnaire was given to the undergraduate medical students of Basic sciences. Questionnaire included career choices, nature of career, reason for choice, and education level and occupation in their parents. Results Data was collected from 269 medical students, among them 145 males and 124 female students participated in the study. The mean age of Indian (85, 31.6%), Nepalese (110, 40.9%) and Sri Lankan (74, 27.5%) students were 18.3 ± SD 0.7, 18.6 ± SD 0.8 and 18.0 ± SD 1.5 years respectively. Education and Occupation of parents seems to influence the determination of career choice in case of Medical students (p&lt;0.01). Females have 2.19 times preference of choosing Medicine and 0.22 times Surgery compared to males (p&lt;0.01). In case of Nepali male students, Surgery (60.3%) was the most preferred Postgraduate subject followed by medicine (20.6%) and in female students, medicine (44.7%) and OBG (31.9%). But in case of Indian male students 58.0% &amp; 31.4% female students want to choose surgery as their career. 53.1% of the Sri-Lankan male students want to choose medicine as their post graduation and apart from these 50% of the female students also, which is followed by surgery 46.9% (male) and 21.4% (female) respectively. Conclusion Our study supports that Post-graduation in clinical specialties is always preferred over Basic sciences due to more interaction with patients and the practical aspects of medical profession. The relatively less popularity of some streams may show long-term impact on the health of health system of Nepal. Medical Universities have to modify their academic intervention activities to improve the basic science teaching learning programme in Nepal to turn around the deficiency of post graduates in this stream.http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nje.v1i4.5754 Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(4):126-134

P-835 - Attitude toward mental illnessamong medical students: comparison between basic science and clinical medical students

Introduction and objectives Proper attitudes by medical students can impact on the quality of health care delivered to their patients. Negative attitude toward person with mental illness may form a barrier for patients to receive appropriate care. Aim The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes of medical students toward mentally ill and to investigate impact of medical education on attitude among medical students. Method The study comprised 200 clinical &135 basic science medical students at the medical school of Shiraz university who agreed to participate. Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill questionnaire were used to assess attitude toward mental illness The tool focuses on measuring levels of authoritarianism, benevolence, social restrictiveness and community mental health ideology. Result There was little difference in attitudes about mental illness Between basic science- and clinical medical student except for restrictiveness (p value Conclusion Our sample overly have positive attitude about mental illness ,but there is no significant positive correlation between years of studying in medical university and attitude about mental illness . Medical school need to develop new curricula to convey scientific information to students and implementing and evaluating suitable programs leading to appropriate attitude development.