Medical Experience Research Articles

Career Path Education System at the College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea

This study examines a systematic and effective approach to career guidance in medical education, with a particular focus on the 6-year integrated career guidance education framework implemented at the College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea. Based on the “New SLICE” educational development principles, this framework comprehensively addresses the needs of medical students in career planning and development. It is structured into three phases: understanding yourself, exploring options, and choosing a specialty. The first phase, understanding yourself, helps students to recognize their strengths, weaknesses, aptitudes, and potentials, thereby setting the direction for future career choices. This phase includes various psychological tests and Self-Development and Portfolio courses. The second phase, exploring options, enables students to engage in related activities such as research and practical training, providing direct and indirect experiences across various fields. This phase offers courses including Medical Field Experience, Career Guidance through the Learning Community & Advisory Professors, and Student Participation in Professor Research Projects. The final phase, choosing a specialty, involves students making decisions based on in-depth self-assessment and exploration of majors, with a capstone project being a significant component. Maximizing the efficiency of career decision-making requires integration between the basic medical curriculum and postgraduate education. Including the period up to residency entrance in the framework is necessary for effective career guidance education.

Onychopapilloma: a single medical center experience in Southern Taiwan

Background: Onychopapilloma is an uncommon benign tumor of the nail bed and the distal matrix. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the clinical and pathological features of onychopapilloma in Taiwan.Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 12 patients with histopathologically proven onychopapilloma in a medical center in southern Taiwan from 2017 to 2023. Results: This case series consisted of 5 men and 7 women aged 29 to 38, with a mean age of 41.25 years. The clinical features were as follows: distal subungual hyperkeratosis (100%), longitudinal erythronychia (50%), longitudinal leukonychia (50 %), distal onycholysis (41%), and distal nail plate fissuring (41%). The duration of the disease varied greatly, ranging from 1 month to several years. Most patients were asymptomatic (58%), while some presented tenderness (41%). Fingernail involvement was more prevalent than toe involvement, with the thumb being the most commonly affected site. Most of the patients presented with a solitary onychopapilloma. None of the seven patients who underwent surgery and were available for follow-up experienced recurrence.Conclusions: This study highlights that longitudinal erythronychia and leukonychia emerged as the predominant clinical presentations of onychopapilloma. Furthermore, our findings suggest that surgical excision appears to be an effective method for onychopapilloma.

Medical and surgical nurses' experiences of modifying and implementing contextually suitable Safewards interventions into medical and surgical hospital wards.

To explore general nurses' experiences of modifying and implementing contextually suitable Safewards interventions into medical and surgical hospital wards. Qualitative action research was used working with nurses as co-researchers. Pre-implementation focus groups were conducted in April 2022 to understand and explore the current strategies nurses utilized to avert, respond to or decrease violence. Following this, two Safewards interventions were modified by the nurses on the wards. Post-implementation focus groups were conducted in October 2022, to explore the nurses' experience of implementing Safewards interventions and the effect on their nursing practice. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's framework for thematic analysis. Three themes emerged from the analysis of the pre-implementation focus groups that reflected the type of violence experienced by these nurses and the context within which they occurred: 'the space is hectic'; 'it can feel like a battlefield'; and 'the aftermath'. These themes encompass the nurses' experience of violence from patients and their visitors. Following the implementation of two modified Safewards interventions, the analysis of the focus groups reflected a change in nursing skills to avert or respond to violence: 'Safewards in action'; 'empathy and self-reflection'; and 'moving forward'. Safewards interventions can be successfully modified and used in general hospital wards and influence nursing practice to manage patient and visitor violence. In the interests of safety, successful interventions to reduce violence towards general hospital nurses should be a priority for managers and healthcare organizations. Averting, mitigating and managing violence can decrease the negative professional and personal effect on nurses and ultimately improve well-being, job satisfaction and retention rates. Furthermore, decreasing violence or aggressive incidents leads to a safer patient experience and decreased number of nursing errors ultimately improving patient experiences and outcomes. Understanding nurses' experiences of violence and working with them to explore and develop contextually relevant solutions increases their capacity to respond to and avert violent incidents. Contextually modified Safewards interventions offer one such solution and potentially has wider implications for healthcare settings beyond the specific wards studied. This study addressed the implementation of modified Safewards strategies in medical and surgical wards to prevent violence. Three themes emerged from the analysis of the pre-implementation focus groups that reflected the type of violence experienced by these nurses and the context within which they occurred. Following the implementation of two modified Safewards interventions, the post-implementation focus groups reported positive changes to their practices using the modified resources to prevent violence from patients and their visitors. Mental health interventions, such as those used in the Safewards model can be modified and provide a tool kit of interventions that can be used by medical and surgical nurses. This paper has adhered to the COREQ guidelines. No patient or public contribution. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER CONTRIBUTE TO THE WIDER GLOBAL CLINICAL COMMUNITY?: This paper outlines and discusses the action research approach undertaken to work with general hospital nurses to modify mental health nurses' Safewards interventions into their clinical practice. This paper provides evidence of the 'real world' application of Safewards interventions by medical and surgical nurses in general hospital wards. This paper presents qualitative findings based on focus group methods to highlight the narratives of general nurses and their experiences of violence.

In My Veins

In this narrative medicine essay, an oncology lecture conjures a medical student's lived experience of diagnosis and treatment, which separates him from his classmates whose understanding of the disease remains abstract.

The perioperative experience and needs of hepatocellular carcinoma patients in interventional therapy: a phenomenological qualitative study.

This study aims to investigate the perioperative experience and needs of patients with liver cancer for interventional therapy, in order to provide the basis for further improving a patient's medical experience and satisfaction. A semi-structured in-depth interview was conducted for 16 patients with liver cancer in interventional therapy using the phenomenological research method of qualitative research. The themes were analyzed, summarized, refined and extracted using the Colaizzi analytical procedure. The study results revealed that the perioperative experience and needs of patients with liver cancer for interventional therapy could mainly be summarized into seven themes: anxiety, fear and helplessness; not understanding the specific procedures of interventional therapy; worrying that the disease would not be treated as expected; lack of understanding of perioperative adverse reactions and the inability to cope with these; concern on the financial burden of health care costs on families; concerned on the physical and mental health of the dependent; the further improvement of diagnosis and treatment procedures. Patients with liver cancer undergo a complex psychological experience during interventional therapy. In clinical practice, a patient's psychological needs and changes should be valued, in order to provide a targeted psychological intervention, health guidance and social support, thereby improving the medical experience and satisfaction of patients.

Examining Children’s Experiences of Visiting Their Pediatrician: Insights into Communication, Actions, and Emotions

ABSTRACT The way children experience a medical visit lays the groundwork for their health education and fosters trust and comfort in healthcare relationships. This study employed a retrospective and narrative-based design to analyze how children perceived their experiences of visits to their doctor, how they describe their emotions, and how they portray the different relationships within the doctor-caregiver-patient triad. Three hundred fifty students (50.75% female, 8–13 years, Mage = 10.5, SD = 5.93, 77.95% from primary school) completed a booklet comprising different narrative activities. The booklet underwent quantitative content analysis according to gender and school level. Children reported that the doctors primarily addressed their caregivers when asking for and delivering health-related information, while their role was mostly passive. Meeting with friendly doctors and being in a welcoming environment were associated with a positive medical experience, while negative emotions and encounters with unsympathetic practitioners contributed to negative experiences. Most respondents wanted to talk privately with their doctors at their next visit. Some examples and practices are discussed to enable healthcare practitioners to create an environment where children are heard and valued, and their involvement during consultation processes is enhanced.

"The faculty was really hearing what I had to say and really validating who I was": Learning from validation theory to support students of colour in undergraduate medical education.

Medical students of colour face numerous challenges during their undergraduate training period, reflecting the harmful norms and cultures in the learning context of medical school. Despite negative experiences for students of colour in medicine, there are episodes of support and encouragement that come from faculty or staff. This asset-based qualitative study uses Rendón's Validation Theory to illuminate specific ways faculty at a community-based medical college support medical students of colour, thereby challenging structural injustices in medical school. This study is grounded in a humanising and asset-based perspective, where participants are viewed as legitimate knowers from whom researchers can learn. Twenty-four medical students of colour and 14 faculty identified by students as supportive participated in five focus groups where participants shared how they felt validated and supported during their undergraduate medical school experiences. Inductive open-coding followed by deductive thematic coding using Validation Theory-a theory that describes how external validation is a necessary component of fostering students' personal and academic drive-and literature about the context of medical school informed the three findings. Three major themes provide examples of ways faculty validated students. First, participants indicated the importance of acknowledging identities and experiences to understand the socio, historical and cultural context of learning. Second, participants implored the value of giving praise and offering encouragement to work against professional expectations. Finally, participants shared the intimacy of fostering personal relationships to reduce hierarchies. This study offers concrete guidance on teaching practices faculty can use to support students of colour. As medical schools may seek to move toward a more student-centred approach, promoting feelings of validation for students of colour can be a key practice in teaching and learning to ensure support for medical students throughout their medical school journey.

Quarantining From Professional Identity: How Did COVID-19 Impact Professional Identity Formation in Undergraduate Medical Education?

Professional Identity Formation (PIF) entails the integration of a profession's core values and beliefs with an individual's existing identity and values. Within undergraduate medical education (UGME), the cultivation of PIF is a key objective. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about substantial sociocultural challenges to UGME. Existing explorations into the repercussions of COVID-19 on PIF in UGME have predominantly adopted an individualistic approach. We sought to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced PIF in UGME from a sociocultural perspective. This study aims to provide valuable insights for effectively nurturing PIF in future disruptive scenarios. Semi structured interviews were conducted with medical students from the graduating class of 2022 (n = 7) and class of 2023 (n = 13) on their medical education experiences during the pandemic and its impact on their PIF. We used the Transformation in Medical Education (TIME) framework to develop the interview guide. Direct content analysis was used for data analysis. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the UGME experience, causing disruptions such as an abrupt shift to online learning, increased social isolation, and limited in-person opportunities. Medical students felt disconnected from peers, educators, and the clinical setting. In the clerkship stage, students recognized knowledge gaps, producing a "late blooming" effect. There was increased awareness for self-care and burnout prevention. Our study suggests that pandemic disruptors delayed PIF owing largely to slower acquisition of skills/knowledge and impaired socialization with the medical community. This highlights the crucial role of sociocultural experiences in developing PIF in UGME. PIF is a dynamic and adaptable process that was preserved during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Application of LightGBM hybrid model based on TPE algorithm optimization in sleep apnea detection.

Sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS) is a serious sleep disorder and early detection of sleep apnoea not only reduces treatment costs but also saves lives. Conventional polysomnography (PSG) is widely regarded as the gold standard diagnostic tool for sleep apnoea. However, this method is expensive, time-consuming and inherently disruptive to sleep. Recent studies have pointed out that ECG analysis is a simple and effective diagnostic method for sleep apnea, which can effectively provide physicians with an aid to diagnosis and reduce patients' suffering. To this end, in this paper proposes a LightGBM hybrid model based on ECG signals for efficient detection of sleep apnea. Firstly, the improved Isolated Forest algorithm is introduced to remove abnormal data and solve the data sample imbalance problem. Secondly, the parameters of LightGBM algorithm are optimised by the improved TPE (Tree-structured Parzen Estimator) algorithm to determine the best parameter configuration of the model. Finally, the fusion model TPE_OptGBM is used to detect sleep apnoea. In the experimental phase, we validated the model based on the sleep apnoea ECG database provided by Phillips-University of Marburg, Germany. The experimental results show that the model proposed in this paper achieves an accuracy of 95.08%, a precision of 94.80%, a recall of 97.51%, and an F1 value of 96.14%. All of these evaluation indicators are better than the current mainstream models, which is expected to assist the doctor's diagnostic process and provide a better medical experience for patients.

Why do patients want medication free treatment for psychosis? An explorative study on reasons for applying to medication free programs

BackgroundA focus on patient’s and service user’s perspectives regarding long-term antipsychotic treatment led to a declaration from the Norwegian Ministry of Health in 2015 to offer treatment without psychotropic medication in mental health as a voluntary option in all four health care regions. In the northernmost region, a 6-bed inpatient ward unit was established, uniquely designed to give people with severe mental illness the possibility to choose such treatment. Only voluntary admissions were accepted. The aim of the present study was to explore the motivation for applying for medication free treatment among patients with several years of treatment history due to psychosis.MethodWe performed nineteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews with persons having at least one admission at the medication free treatment ward during the period 01.01.17 – 17.10.2021. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (NVivo). Systematic Text Condensation was applied, with analysis of data from the first interview. Exploration of connections, similarities and nuances was performed through axial coding with continuous comparison of data and memo writing, followed by focused coding identifying core concepts.ResultsAll participants had a diagnosis of severe mental illness and a history of use of antipsychotics throughout many years. The motivation to apply for medication free treatment was complex. Negative experiences with medication were described, but also positive. Many had tried to taper off before, but described this as a lonely and difficult process. Five core concepts were formed and developed from the participants’ narratives: 1) Medication experiences, 2) Developing illness, 3) Treatment in general, 4) Social life and 4) Growing up.ConclusionThe concept of medication free treatment represents a salutogenetic hope for change, closely linked to self-efficacy and an experience of mastery. Potential conflicts concerning guidelines or evidence on medication does not come forward as important. Support from family and professionals is crucial, in contrast to the feeling of being alone when hoping for change. Motivational factors are closely linked to the concept of recovery, where interaction happens on both an individual and a structural level.

Cross Campus Perceptions of the Role of a Novel Regional Medical Campus

Regional medical campuses (RMCs) were initially established to address a projected physician shortage and have gained popularity throughout the country in also providing unique medical educational experiences. Despite the increasing prevalence of RMCs and progress toward meeting these needs, the overall perceptions of RMCs by faculty and students at the associated main campus have yet to be fully explored. In an attempt to address this gap, we administered a survey to both main campus and RMC students and faculty inquiring about perceptions of its associated RMC, including relative student competencies and opportunities for academic success at the RMC compared to their main campus counterpart. Furthermore, we paired these subjective perceptions with objective Match data, USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK results, and research output data in order to better substantiate or challenge these viewpoints. Not only did we find significant differences in a variety of perceptions surrounding the RMC and its associated students, but we also identified overall negative viewpoints of RMC-trained students by main campus students and faculty. Looking more deeply, RMC students surveyed were found to believe their RMC may be even more negatively perceived by main campus faculty than actual responses indicated. Contrary to the prevailing views by main campus students and faculty, Match data revealed no significant differences between successful acceptance into both primary care and surgical specialties across both campuses. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK scores or research output across both campuses. This study identifies several unexpected perceptions of a successful RMC curriculum and its students held by main campus students and faculty responding to a survey. However, such viewpoints do not correlate with objective evidence, suggesting the presence of bias. Results suggest the need to further explore and define cross-campus perceptions between main campuses and their RMCs with objective metrics while also considering the potential unintended effects of crosscampus bias.

“If I knew you were a travesti, I wouldn't have touched you”:Iatrogenic violence and trans necropolitics in Turkey

Since 2007, the number of HIV diagnoses in Turkey has increased more than 600% and the AIDS-related deaths have more than doubled. Despite trans community being severely impacted by the growing epidemic, there exists a conspicuous absence of epidemiological data regarding the HIV burden of trans people. This paper examines the medical experiences of HIV-positive trans women who engage in sex work and the harmful violence they encounter at the hands of health providers. The paper emphasizes the urgent need for comprehensive interventions to address the intersecting issues of HIV risk, structural violence, and discrimination faced by HIV-positive trans sex workers, one of the most marginalized communities worldwide. To interpret better how transphobia and HIVphobia become deeply entangled in Turkish medical settings, the paper draws from the concepts of iatrogenesis, necropolitics, and immunity. By bringing together these conceptual tools with long-term ethnographic data and in-depth interviews, this paper demonstrates that trans women are treated by healthcare providers as though they are always-already infectious. The paper contends that aggressive immunitarian boundaries, erected between healthcare personnel and individuals deemed "contagious others," are central to doctors' denial of medical care and reluctance to touch, examine, or even admit trans patients, particularly when they are HIV-positive.

Utility of tele-guidance for point-of-care ultrasound: a single center prospective diagnostic study.

Point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) improves diagnostic accuracy and expedites lifesaving procedures. Remote areas disproportionately underuse ultrasound (US) due to a dearth of US trained professionals, imaging tools, and lack of quality assurance. Handheld US probes have been approved for diagnostic imaging but there have been limited studies examining their tele-guidance features. This study investigates whether physician tele-guidance improved ultrasound image acquisition by untrained scanners. To determine the effectiveness of tele-guidance for ultrasound image acquisition, 30 participants (15 in each study arm: experimental and control) with no ultrasound or medical experience gathered images of the heart, right kidney, and gallbladder of a standardized patient using a handheld ultrasound probe (Butterfly iQ +). All participants watched a standardized ultrasound tutorial video and were randomized into the control or experimental group. A physician assisted the experimental group using ultrasound probe's tele-guidance feature while the control group received no assistance. Time to image acquisition was recorded for both groups, and the images were graded by 3 blinded radiologists using the RACE tool to determine image and diagnostic quality. There was evidence that mean imaging time was greater in the control group for the heart, right kidney, and gallbladder (p < 0.0001, all; Cohen's DL: 2.0, 1.7, 3.0, respectively). Similarly, there was evidence that the predicted mean image quality for the heart, right kidney, and gallbladder was higher for the experimental group compared to the control group (3.46 versus 1.86, 4.49 versus 1.58, and 3.93 versus 1.5, respectively; p < 0.0001, all). There was also evidence that the diagnostic quality of images had a statistically higher predicted probability of meaningful interpretation for the experimental group for pericardial fluid, intraperitoneal fluid, and acute cholecystitis (p = 0.003, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, respectively). Tele-guidance improves time to image acquisition and clinical applicability of ultrasound images obtained by untrained scanners.

Incidence of dislocation and associated risk factors in patients with a femoral neck fracture operated with an uncemented hemiarthroplasty

BackgroundSeveral factors might be associated with risk of dislocating following uncemented hemiarthroplasty (HA) due to femoral neck fracture (FNF). Current evidence is limited with great variance in reported incidence of dislocation (1–15%). Aim of this study was to identify the cumulative incidence of first-time dislocation following HA and to identify the associated risk factors.MethodWe performed a retrospective cohort study of patients receiving an HA (BFX Biomet stem, posterior approach) at Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg, in 2010–2016. Patients were followed until death or end of study (dec 2018). Dislocation was identified by code extraction from the Danish National Patient Registry.Variables included in the multivariate model were defined pre-analysis to include: age, sex and variables with a p-value < 0.1 in univariate analysis. A regression model was fitted for 90 days dislocation as the assumption of proportional hazard rate (HR) was not met here after.ResultsWe identified 772 stems (some patients occurred with both right and left hip) and 58 stems suffered 90 dislocations during the observation period, resulting in a 7% (CI 5–9) incidence of dislocation 90 days after index surgery. 55 of the 58 stems (95%) experienced the first dislocation within 90 days after surgery.Only absence of dementia was identified as an independent protective factor in the cause-specific model (HR 0.46 (CI 0.23–0.89)) resulting in a 2.4-fold cumulative risk of experiencing a dislocation in case of dementia. Several other variables such as age, sex, various medical conditions, surgery delay and surgical experience were eliminated as statistical risk factors.We found a decrease in survival probability for patients who experienced a dislocation during follow-up.ConclusionsThe incidence of first-time dislocation of HA (BFX Biomet stem, posterior approach) in patients with a hip fracture is found to be 7% 90 days after surgery. Due to the non-existing attribution bias, we claim it to be the true incidence. Dementia was among several variables identified as the only risk factor for dislocation.In perspective, we may consider treating patients with dementia by other methods than HA e.g., HA with cement or with a more constrained solution. Also, a surgical approach that reduce the risk of dislocation should be considered.

Repurposing phone booths into COVID-19 sampling stations: medical operator experiences

This study investigated the repurposing of phone booths into COVID-19 sampling stations and assessed medical operator experiences in twelve healthcare facilities in Thailand. Amidst the pandemic, these facilities became sampling stations as an emergency measure to enhance medical staff protection. The stations, repurposed from decommissioned phone booths, aimed to reduce COVID-19 infection risks among healthcare workers and patients. After 13 to 16 months of use, a review collected user satisfaction information from each facility. Results indicated high user satisfaction in addressing protection concerns and increasing swab testing participation. This study discusses station design, operational characteristics, and social benefits, emphasizing their adaptability in resource-limited settings. Findings underscore the potential for repurposing infrastructure in public health emergencies and suggest avenues for future research in sustainable healthcare solutions.

Pharmacy residency training program increases residents' confidence in inpatient medical emergency response.

The benefits of pharmacists' involvement in medical emergencies are well established, but optimal methods of training pharmacists for emergency response are unknown. The primary objective of this report is to describe the design and evaluation of a pharmacy resident medical emergency response training (PR-MERT) program for preparing trainees to respond to hospital medical emergencies, including cardiac arrest and rapid sequence intubation (RSI). The PR-MERT program was a year-long longitudinal experience designed to prepare postgraduate year 1 pharmacy residents for medical emergency response. During the first month, the residents completed an orientation session that encompassed several lectures, certification by the American Heart Association in basic life support and advanced cardiovascular life support, standardized simulation scenarios, and mock medical emergencies. The trainees continued to utilize these skills and clinical knowledge through a longitudinal didactic lecture series, resident case conferences, and practice-based application by responding to real-life medical emergencies. Residents were assessed and coached throughout the program by clinical pharmacy preceptors and a "code coach" with extensive medical emergency response experience. After the year-long training, residents completed an anonymous survey assessing self-confidence and the structure of the program. The results showed improved confidence in medication selection and dosing, as well as anticipating the needs of the team and speaking up in cardiac arrest and RSI situations. Residents were satisfied with the training offered and structure of the program. The development of a PR-MERT program at an academic medical center was successful in achieving longitudinal learning objectives and improving residents' confidence in responding to medical emergencies. The implementation of a similar medical emergency training curriculum in inpatient pharmacy residency programs may be beneficial.

The Covid-19 Pandemic Restrictions and Its Impact on Surgical Treatment of Male Infertility Due To Spermatic Cord Varices – A Single Academic Medical Center Experience

The Covid-19 Pandemic Restrictions and Its Impact on Surgical Treatment of Male Infertility Due To Spermatic Cord Varices – A Single Academic Medical Center Experience

Customized Mobile App for Residents Rotating Through Pediatric Critical Care Unit.

Physicians often use mobile apps for patient care, but few apps are dedicated to pediatric critical care medicine (PCCM). This study developed a mobile app specifically for Pediatric Critical Care Unit (PICU) residents to aid their onboarding process and aimed to assess whether it could enhance their confidence and comfort levels. From March 2020 to April 2021, 90 residents participated and completed pre- and post-rotation quizzes with 20 questions each. Quiz score differences between the control and app groups were analyzed using t-tests. A survey was also administered at the end of the rotation to compare comfort level and confidence in PCCM knowledge pre- and post-rotation. Enrollment included 50 residents in the control group and 40 in the app group. The participation rate was 100%, but not all participants completed both quizzes and survey. The app group showed a significantly greater improvement in quiz scores from pre- to post-rotation compared to the control group (increase of 0.23 questions vs 1.67, p = 0.045). However, the two groups had no significant differences in confidence in PCCM knowledge (p = 0.246) or comfort levels (p = 0.776) in the PICU. This study found no significant difference in confidence levels between the App and control groups at the end of the PICU rotation. However, the App group outperformed the control group in knowledge assessments. Frequent use of the app likely reinforced essential concepts and facilitated adaptation to the PICU service. Overall, the app's positive impact on knowledge and adaptation indicates it is a valuable tool for enhancing medical residents' educational experiences in busy clinical environments.

Historical background and current situation of pharmacy education in Mongolia.

In Mongolia, the medical education system with a long history has developed with its characteristics since ancient times. Modern medical education, including pharmacy education, began to grow in 1921. Before modern pharmaceutical science developed in Mongolia, pharmacy and pharmacy education were part of Traditional Mongolian Medicine and education. Medical knowledge and experience were transferred from generation to generation through simple teaching. From the sixteenth century, Manba Datsan was established in religious temples to teach Mongolian medicine through discipleship. Modern pharmacy education in Mongolia began in 1926 with the course training of pharmacy technicians, and pharmacist training started in 1961. Pharmacy technician training with a 3-year and pharmacist training with 5-year programs oriented on patient-centered pharmaceutical care are implemented in Mongolia. Pharmacy technicians can also study towards a B. degree in Pharmacy with an additional 3 years of training. As of 2023, seven state-owned and private higher education institutions offer pharmacy education and the number of institutions and students of pharmacy is expected to increase. The pharmacy education policy and the license examination type may be reformable, and the curricula should be regularly updated in line with international trends.

Exploring user interaction patterns in an online physician interactive community based on exponential random graph models

The online physician interactive community (OPIC) is a platform designed for medical workers to discuss medical issues. Physician users can create content in OPIC by posting and replying to posts to discuss the solutions of medical problems with other users. The OPIC plays an important role in bringing together physicians from different medical specialties and disseminating medical experience. However, most OPIC users are not very active in replying to posts, which makes it difficult to fulfill users’ needs for medical information exchange and the development of OPIC is difficult. Current research has given little attention to the communication of physician users in the OPIC. It is necessary to examine how reposting links are established between users in OPIC. This study builds a user interaction network based on the perspective of social network analysis using user repost data from a well-known OPIC in China. Then, an exponential random graph model (ERGM) was applied to quantitatively analyze this user interaction network. Some reposting patterns among OPIC users were discovered. There is significant reciprocity in OPIC of reposting interactions between users. Users with homogeneous characteristics in terms of professional status, community honor status, and geographic location were more likely to interact with each other. In addition, users who added a profile, had a higher level of social effort, and generated more neutral content were more likely to receive responses from others. This study reveals the interaction patterns between physician users in OPIC, which enriches the related research within the OPIC domain and helps to improve communication between users in OPIC.