Knowledge Of Final-year Medical Students Research Articles

Is Dietary Knowledge a need of final-year medical undergraduates for better clinicians in future?

Background: A healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition. Health professionals are considered role models in promoting healthy diet patterns. However, in a few studies, it was evident that most physicians have inadequate training in dietary knowledge to guide patients, although final-year students have better knowledge than first-year students, which shows nutrition care improved with progression through their medical training. Aim: To assess the dietary knowledge of final-year medical students and to assess their attitudes toward the importance of dietary counseling as practicing physicians in the future. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Shalamar Medical and Dental College, Lahore, on final-year MBBS students of Shalamar Medical and Dental College. After the approval of SMDC-IRB (IRB-197), data was collected in the form of study proforma by the final-year students of SMDC using their WhatsApp contacts. Those who responded were considered participants in the study, while those who did not respond after the second reminder were considered excluded from the study. Statistical analysis was done using the SPSS package version 20.0. To access differences in means of quantitative variables, independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA tests were applied. The correlation was analyzed by the Pearson correlation coefficient. The statistical methods were verified, assuming a significance level of p < 0.05 and a highly significant level of p<0.001. The total score for knowledge, attitude, and practice was categorized as good/positive or poor/negative based on a 75% cut-off point out of the total expected score for each. Results: The 134 students participated in the study. Male students were found to be more overweight or obese compared to female students (p<0.025). M The majority of students rated their self-reported health as good. To explore the knowledge, responses to questions related to cardiovascular problems, diabetes, respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and anemia were recorded. Almost three-fourths of the students were aware of the major health issues. According to 773% of students, iron present in meat is a better source of iron compared to vegetables. A similar response was found for gluten-rich diets. More than 90% of the students considered dietary knowledge an essential component for better clinical care of the patient. Conclusion: Final-year MBBS students, though adequately trained, consider that having additional dietary knowledge can help them in counseling patients about diet. Keywords: Nutrition, diet intake, food knowledge, medical education, medical students

Incidence of the exposure to blood and blood products and its relationship with the medical education accreditation among last grade medical students in Turkey

Abstract:
 Backgrounds: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the blood contact and needle-stick injury rates of final-year (year-6) medical students receiving their education and training at medical schools in different regions of Turkey and to analyse the relationships between blood contact and needle-stick injury and the personal variables of students and accreditation certifications of medical schools.
 Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, self-reporting questionnaires were completed anonymously by consenting final-year medical students. The study population (N = 7900) included all final-year medical students attending the 76 medical schools of Turkey. Of the 76 medical schools, 13 were selected by stratified random sampling, according to their accreditation certification and geographical location, which resulted in 2786 final-year medical students being contacted for participation. The dependent variable was percutaneous contact and the timing of the contact. The independent variables were the personal characteristics, occupational health and safety knowledge, invasive medical procedure skills, and blood-borne disease knowledge of final-year medical students, as well as, the accreditation certification of medical schools. Comparisons between groups were analysed using Cox proportional hazards regression.
 Results: 83.8% (n = 2334) of 2786 final-year medical students contacted, consented to participate. Blood contact rates of 75.2% for intact skin contact, 20.0% for mucosal contact, and 35.4% for percutaneous contact were reported; with27.0% of medical students reporting contaminated blood contact. The average percutaneous time-to-contact was 8.95 ± 0.09 months, with the percutaneous contact rate approaching 50% in the 12th month of the hazard analysis. Percutaneous contact was significantly higher in students who received no formal occupational health and safety training (OR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.11-1.50) and who attended non-accredited medical schools (OR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.26-1.66). Percutaneous contact increased significantly in medical students with increasing invasive medical procedure applying scores (OR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.04-1.09).
 Conclusion: The final year of medical education and training is a high-risk period for percutaneous contact, with the evidence suggesting that the high risks could be mediated by implementing appropriate occupational health and safety education and training. The accreditation certification of medical schools is a significant independent variable in exposure risk. The low blood-contact reporting rate among medical students is a serious concern that requires the implementation of appropriate interventional measures.
 Key words:blood contact,needle-stick injury, medical students, accreditation, occupational health and safety

Knowledge of final-year medical students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal about family medicine, and long-term career choices

Background: While international experience suggests that well-trained primary care physicians improve the quality and cost effectiveness of health care, family medicine (FM) as the discipline of the specialist primary care physician appears to not be an attractive career for medical graduates in South Africa (SA). The aim of this study was to establish final-year medical students’ knowledge about FM and its relevance to the healthcare system, explore their perceptions of the discipline’s relevance, and identify their specialty preference.Methods: This was a descriptive study conducted amongst final-year medical students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in 2017 at the conclusion of their seven-week FM module. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and results were analysed descriptively.Results: The response rate of completed questionnaires was 80.2% (157/196). Students reported limited exposure to FM in their early undergraduate years and low levels of awareness about essential public health programmes. Students showed good awareness of the six roles of family physicians (FPs), but FM was only the sixth most popular choice for specialisation.Conclusions: In general, students had favourable views concerning FM and its role in the future of healthcare delivery in SA, although their knowledge of essential health programmes was poor. The majority of students had limited interest in pursuing a career in FM. A key recommendation to address these issues is to introduce FM into the curriculum earlier, to cover the key roles of the FP, and provide teaching that highlights the relevance of FM to health system programmes.

Knowledge of final-year medical students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal about family medicine, and long-term career choices

Background: While international experience suggests that well-trained primary care physicians improve the quality and cost effectiveness of health care, family medicine (FM) as the discipline of th...

Knowledge of final-year medical students at the University of the Free State of hand hygiene as a basic infection control measure

Background: One of the main reasons for the spread of infection in the healthcare environment is inadequate hand hygiene. Poor knowledge of hand hygiene techniques leads to poor compliance. This study aimed to determine Free State University finalyear medical students’ knowledge of hand hygiene as a basic infection control measure. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using self-administered anonymous questionnaires. The questions and memorandum were based on an extensive literature review with WHO documentation on the guidelines for hand hygiene in health care. Each participant received an envelope with an optical computer card, questionnaire and information document during a pre-arranged class. Participants recorded their answers on the card by shading in the squares corresponding to their responses.Results: The average score of the 107 participants was 46.8% (range 10.1–73.6%). Participants who felt that they had basic knowledge of hand hygiene (n = 32, 30.5%) had an average score of 47.9%. Participants with a self-reported knowledge level of more than basic but less than advanced (n = 56, 53.3%) had an average score of 44.9% while those who reported advanced knowledge (n = 17, 16.2%) had an average score of 50.8%. Three-quarters (n = 81, 77.1%) felt that their training was sufficient. Only 53.3% knew that the most important way to prevent the spread of infection is good hand hygiene. Only 10.5% of the students knew that hands should not be rinsed with water after using alcohol-based sanitisers.Conclusion: Medical students have a poor level of knowledge regarding hand hygiene as a basic measure of infection control.

Knowledge of final-year medical students about oral and maxillofacial surgery: a two-centre study

The aim of this study was to assess the exposure of final-year medical students to oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) and to find out how this has influenced them in terms of recruitment or possible future referral patterns. We sent questionnaires to final-year students at Oxford University and St George’s University medical schools (n=100 in each) to find out how much experience they had had of the specialty, their knowledge of disease (through clinical situations), and specific knowledge about oral cancer. In both, exposure to, and knowledge about, OMFS were poor, and patients had been referred inappropriately to ear, nose, and throat (ENT) or plastic surgery. Despite targeted teaching in OMFS at both institutions, further engagement is needed, and awareness of the specialty may need to be improved at all medical schools.

Knowledge of final-year medical students at the University of the Free State of hand hygiene as a basic infection control measure

Background: One of the main reasons for the spread of infection in the healthcare environment is inadequate hand hygiene. Poor knowledge of hand hygiene techniques leads to poor compliance. This st...

Is it Time for a Specific Undergraduate Interventional Radiology Curriculum?

Interventional radiology (IR) is traditionally underrepresented in undergraduate medical curricula. Final-year medical students ought to be familiar with some common IR procedures in order to make adequate referrals and work-up patients appropriately. We evaluated the knowledge of final-year medical students on common IR procedures and compared it with their knowledgeof other specialties. A fourteen-question, single-best-answer questionnaire assessing the knowledge of IR procedures and other minimally invasive non-IR procedures was administered to a group of final-year medical students. Paired two-tailed student's t test was used to compare knowledge across specialties. Fifty-one questionnaires were administered and returned. No student answered all questions correctly. The median score was 5/11. The best-answered question was on coronary intervention followed by neurosurgical procedures. The average score for IR procedures was 38% versus 57% for non-IR procedures (P<0.0005). While most students had come across IR previously, 70% would like further exposure. We also accessed the undergraduate curricula of five London Medical Schools; all five have a radiology curriculum, but only one has a dedicated IR section. Medical students' lack of IR exposure translates into a lack of appreciation of the role of the specialty. We propose the introduction of a specific undergraduate IR curriculum to bridge this knowledge gap.

End-of-Life Decisions: A Comparative Survey on (Teaching) Experiences, Views, and Ethico-Legal Knowledge of Final-Year Medical Students in Germany and France

Research on the teaching experiences and knowledge of medical students on end-of-life decisions in medicine is important because it provides information on the competency of future doctors with respect to an important field of clinical practice and can support the development of a curriculum. A multiple-choice and free-text survey on the teaching experiences and knowledge of final-year medical students at the universities of Bochum (Germany; n=212) and Tours (France; n=108) regarding end-of-life decisions in medicine was conducted during the last months of their studies. Our results indicate that even though students had training in ethico-legal aspects of end-of-life care and participated in clinical practice there is considerable lack of knowledge among students with respect to the ethico-legal framework for the limitation of treatment at the end of life. The study indicates that even with the recent changes in both medical schools there seems to be a further need to prepare students better for end-of-life issues.

Practical diabetes knowledge of final-year medical students in Tripoli, Libya

Objectives: To evaluate the practical knowledge of final year medical students as it relates to care of patients with diabetes. Methods: A convenient sample of 325 students (2006) from the Faculty of Medicine at Al-Fateh University, Tripoli, Libya was studied. An Arabic “Short Diabetes Knowledge Test” consisting of 24 multiple choice questions (14 general questions and 10 questions specific to insulin-treatment issues) was used. Results: The mean total score was 76.7% [18.4/24 (range 9-24)], 71.4% [10.0/14 (range 4-10)] for the general questions and 85% [8.5/10 (range 4-10)] for insulin-treatment related questions. The highest scores (&gt;90% correct) were related to clinical management issues such as hypoglycemia, insulin-dosing, driving, and complications. Whereas, the lowest scores (&lt;50% correct) were in four questions related to dietary education. Conclusions: This information should be helpful in planning the diabetes curriculum for medical students.