Number Of Medical Students Research Articles

Building a local medical workforce in Tasmania: where are international fee-paying medical graduates likely to work?

Much of regional Australia continues to face challenges in recruitment and retention of medical practitioners, despite the apparently successful rural medical education initiatives funded by the Commonwealth Government. International fee-paying (IFP) medical students are a significant component of Australian medical education, contributing additional income and more diverse learning environments for universities. Their contribution to the Australian medical workforce is harder to determine. After obtaining registration, IFP graduates may apply to remain in Australia as skilled migrants. Since 1999 there has been a 325% increase in the number of international medical students in Australia, with approximately 73% of IFP graduates remaining in Australia for at least some postgraduate training. Recognising the potential contribution of IFP students to the Tasmanian medical workforce, the authors sought better understanding of the career intentions and work locations of IFP graduates from the medical program in Tasmania, Australia, through two studies. Firstly, a quantitative study was conducted of the locations of all IFP graduates from the Tasmanian medical program, and then a qualitative study exploring graduating students' intentions and factors that contribute to their decisions about work location choices. This was a cohort study of IFP students who graduated from the University of Tasmania School of Medicine over the period 2000-2015. Work locations for 2016 were mapped to a Modified Monash rurality classification. Semi-structured interviews were held with 15 final year IFP medical students, exploring career intentions and location preferences. There were 261 IFP graduates, 54.4% male. The most common country of origin was Malaysia (55.2%). In 2016, 189 (72.4 %) were working in Australia, 42 (16.1%) in Tasmania and 126 (66.7%) in areas categorised as Modified Monash 1. Recent graduates in postgraduate year 1/2 (71.3%) were more likely to be working in Tasmania but most left for specialty training. All 15 interview participants intended to remain in Australia for at least their intern year, although at enrolment only six had planned to remain. Factors influencing workplace location decisions were (1) 'professional': greater appeal of Australian medical workplaces, intention to pursue a speciality, and to complete this at an Australian metropolitan hospital; (2) 'social': proximity to family/partner or opportunity to meet a prospective partner, family obligations, positive rural experiences; and (3) 'location': direct travel access to family. IFP graduates from the Tasmanian medical program make an important contribution to the Australian mainland metropolitan medical workforce, but play only a small role in workforce development for both Tasmania and the broader Australian rural and remote context. Most IFPs do not choose to work rurally. Rurally focused medical programs need to consider how they place IFP students to meet both the learning and career needs of IFP students and the goal of the rural medical programs in developing a rural workforce.

Effect of Curriculum Changes on Student Performance During General Surgical Clerkship

Good clinical knowledge of anatomy, taught in medical school, is necessary for practicing physicians. It is a key feature of performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 score. Student performance on anatomy is also an early indicator of overall medical student performance. Unfortunately, curricular time provided for the teaching of anatomy has declined significantly over the last 30 years, leading to growing concerns that the anatomical knowledge of new medical graduates may not be adequate. Data regarding the impact of these changes to the medical school curriculum are lacking, with studies often being limited in number of medical students or time. This study examined the anatomy knowledge of students on third-year clinical rotations at Tulane University Medical School. Oral examinations were administered at the conclusion of the junior surgical clerkship. Data on performance were collected over a 5-year period from 690 medical students tested in their knowledge of anatomy, and the other basic sciences collectively considered as pathophysiology. Over the 5-year period, student total scores by year increased in all categories tested. However, during the course of the students' third-year clerkships, the later in the year the students rotated on surgery, the more their scores progressively declined. Unfortunately, this fall was most severe in the knowledge of anatomy. Although it is possible to teach anatomy in increasingly shorter periods of time, such that the students achieve high test scores in the standardized short answer examinations, it is clear that their knowledge, as applied to clinical care, rapidly declines the further they get away from Step 1 studying. Further study is necessary to elucidate the weaknesses in the current basic science curricula as they pertain to anatomy and to devise mechanisms to assure retention of this critical science during clinical rotations and beyond into practice.

Participation in a scientific pre-university program and medical students\u2019 interest in an academic career

BackgroundThe proportion of medical doctors involved in research activities is declining. Undergraduate medical research programs are positively associated with medical students’ research interest. Scientific pre-university programs (SPUPs) outside the medical domain are also positively associated with research interest, but have not been related to the shortage of clinician-scientists. This study examined the effect of an SPUP on medical students’ research interest.MethodsThis study was conducted at a Dutch medical school. Medical students in all years who had participated in an SPUP and first-year master students who had not participated in an SPUP were invited to fill out an online survey on extracurricular activities and future career interests. SPUP participants were compared with three groups of non-participants: (i) an unmatched group, (ii) a group matched on gender and pre-university Grade Point Average (pu-GPA) and (iii) a group matched on gender and first-year GPA, one to five years after finishing the SPUP. Participants evaluated the SPUP through ratings of statements about the program.ResultsTwo-hundred forty medical students, including 71 SPUP participants responded to the survey. SPUP participants participated significantly more often in the Honors class (i.e., extracurricular educational program for high-performing students), gained significantly more often extracurricular research experience, enrolled significantly more often in the Research master (i.e., research training program parallel to the clinical master program) and obtained significantly more often a scholarship than unmatched non-SPUP participants. Using a non-SPUP group matched on gender and pu-GPA reduced the effect size of the significant differences in Honors class participation, Research master participation and scholarship obtainment. Using a non-SPUP group matched on gender and first-year GPA rendered the significant difference in Research master participation and scholarship obtainment insignificant. Significantly more SPUP participants than unmatched non-SPUP participants preferred a combination of clinical care and research in their future career. Using a non-SPUP group matched on gender and either pu-GPA or first-year GPA did not change the effect size of this significant difference.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate the potential value of an SPUP in increasing the number of medical students with research interest and as a policy measure to help to alleviate the shortage of clinician-scientists.

Internet Addiction among Senior Medical Students in King Abdulaziz University, Prevalence and Association with Depression

INTRODUCTION: Excessive internet use can lead to negative outcomes such as poor academic performance and social isolation. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of the internet addiction and to explore the factors associated with depression among medical students, King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.METHODS: The total number of senior medical students was 1049 in the academic years 2013-2014. An analytical cross sectional study was adopted. Stratified sampling technique with proportional allocation to recruit medical students. A self-administered questionnaire was used which adopted the 20-item Young’s internet addiction test (IAT) to explore the internet addictions, while the existence of depression was assessed using the centre for epidemiological studies depression scale (CES-D).RESULTS: The study included 161 medical students, making the response rate of 78.2%. Majority (94.4%) had computer and 99.4% were using the internet. Community sites ranked first (40.6%), whereas general sites, chatting and emailing were preferred by 14.4%, 10% and 10% respectively. Internet addiction was reported among only five students (3.1%). Possible addiction was reported among 74 students (46.3%). Male students (66.2%) were more addicts to internet than females (44.6%) (P=0.007). The 4th year students reported the highest rate of internet addiction or possible addiction (70.3%) (P=0.003). All internet addicts were depressed, whereas 74.1% of possible addicts and 62.2% of non addicts were depressed (P=0.088). However, the trend in the prevalence of depression in the three different situations was statistically significant (P=0.034).CONCLUSION: Internet addiction is growing hidden problem, which has psychological and social impact on medical students and requires preventive strategies and therapeutic interventions.

Stability of and Factors Related to Medical Student Specialty Choice of Psychiatry.

Targeted efforts are needed to increase the number of medical students choosing psychiatry, but little is known about when students decide on their specialty or what factors influence their choice. The authors examined the timing and stability of student career choice of psychiatry compared with other specialties and determined what pre- and intra-medical school factors were associated with choosing a career in psychiatry. Using survey data from students who graduated from U.S. allopathic medical schools in 2013 and 2014 (N=29,713), the authors computed rates of psychiatry specialty choice at the beginning and end of medical school and assessed the stability of that choice. A multivariate-adjusted logistic regression and recursive partitioning were used to determine the association of 29 factors with psychiatry specialty choice. Choice of psychiatry increased from 1.6% at the start of medical school to 4.1% at graduation. The stability of psychiatry specialty choice from matriculation to graduation, at just over 50%, was greater than for any other specialty. However, almost 80% of future psychiatrists did not indicate an inclination toward the specialty at matriculation. A rating of "excellent" for the psychiatry clerkship (odds ratio=2.66), a major in psychology in college (odds ratio=2.58), and valuing work-life balance (odds ratio=2.25) were the factors most strongly associated with psychiatry career choice. Students who enter medical school planning to become psychiatrists are likely to do so, but the vast majority of students who choose psychiatry do so during medical school. Increasing the percentage of medical students with undergraduate psychology majors and providing an exemplary psychiatry clerkship are modifiable factors that may increase the rate of psychiatry specialty choice.

Elective Course for Medical Students: Topicality, Development, Implementation, Benefits

A growing trend in Latvia’s healthcare is patients’ choice to use phytotherapy alongside pharmaceutical drugs both as a preventive measure and means of therapy for various diseases. A number of medical students of the Faculty of Medicine at Rīga Stradiņš University (hereinafter – RSU) plan to become general practitioners in the future. These specialists should have an overall understanding of phytotherapy, skills to evaluate its effects on the body and possible side effects in order to professionally advise and give suggestions to their patients. Therefore an innovative elective course Medicinal Plants and Their Use was introduced in the curriculum of the Medicine programme in 2011. In order to be chosen by the students the course must correspond to the highest quality standards. Important aspects of quality are the evaluation of implementation and perfection. The university by involving students in the content creation of elective courses promotes the belonging of students, extends the range of courses, develops maximum practical benefit of students and is able to ensure high quality of education. The article summarizes the experience in developing the elective course, analyses its implementation, evaluation and perfection as well as benefits for medical students.

We’ve Come a Long Way

We’ve Come a Long Way

Medical student research at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center: increasing research participation with a summer research program

Background: Medical student participation in research is important to increase their understanding of clinical and biomedical research. In addition, it is becoming increasingly important for medical students to have research experience for acceptance into highly competitive residency programs. In 2009, 39.7% of medical students graduating from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine reported research participation. This was well below the national average of 58%, as reported in the 2009 Mission Management Tool (MMT). Therefore, our goal was to use a medical student summer research program to increase medical student participation in research to at least the national average.Methods: Data from the summer research program, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) MMT, and AAMC Graduate Questionnaire (GQ) were used to assess the success of the program from its initiation in 2010 until 2016.Results: For the summer of 2010, a student summer research program was created. Since that time the number of medical students participating in the program has increased from 18.5% in 2010 to 51.9% in 2016. Consistently there has been an increase in the percentage of students who, at graduation, report research participation from 55.1% in 2010 to 74.5% in 2016. This is above the national average of 74.1% as reported in the 2016 AAMC GQ.Conclusion: A medical student summer research program can increase student research particpiation.

Long-term benefits by a mind–body medicine skills course on perceived stress and empathy among medical and nursing students

Background: A significant number of medical students suffer from burnout symptoms and reduced empathy. This controlled, quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate whether a mind–body medicine (MBM) skills course could reduce perceived stress and increase empathy and self-reflection in medical and nursing students.Methods: The MBM course (consisting of experiential sessions of mind–body techniques and group reflections) was piloted among Dutch medical students and Swedish nursing students. Main outcome variables were perceived stress (PSS), empathy (IRI subscales perspective taking, fantasy, empathic concern, and personal distress), and self-reflection (GRAS). Participating and control students completed questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, at 6 and 12 months follow-up.Results: Seventy-four medical and 47 nursing students participated in the course. Participating medical students showed significantly increased empathic concern [1.42 (95% CI 0.05, 2.78), p = 0.042], increased fantasy [3.24 (95% CI 1.58, 4.90), p < 0.001], and decreased personal distress [−1.73 (95% CI −3.04, −0.35), p = 0.010] compared to controls until 12 months follow-up. Participating nursing students showed significantly decreased levels of perceived stress [−5.09 (95% CI −8.37, −1.82), p = 0.002] and decreased personal distress [−5.01 (95% CI −6.97, −3.06), p < 0.001] compared to controls until 12 months follow-up.Conclusions: This study demonstrated long-term beneficial effects of the MBM course on perceived stress and empathy in medical and nursing students.

Building Bridges Between Brazil and the US: Anatomical Sciences and Medical Education

Brazil and the US represent the two most populous countries in the western hemisphere with the greatest number of medical schools and students in training. Over the past decade there has been considerable cross‐fertilization among anatomists in the two countries particularly in the American Association of Anatomists / Experimental Biology Meetings. Medical schools and universities in the US generally count on excellent infrastructure; high quality, motivated faculty; and cutting edge technology. The interplay of these assets results in flexible strategies that address the needs of millennial students and a modern way of learning that is interactive, multimodal and stimuli‐dependent. In Brazil, different educational settings have particular difficulties and needs. Building Bridges is an international initiative in medical education to foster collaborations and exchange experiences in anatomical sciences among students, researchers, and educators in Brazil and the US. Here we report the results from the first endeavor of our ongoing initiative. We organized three meetings that were held in Brazil, in November 2015, hosted by private, state and federal medical universities, respectively: Santa Casa School of Medical Sciences in Sao Paulo, University of Sao Paulo ‐ Ribeirão Preto, and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Each meeting consisted of lectures on both current research and educational topics in anatomy by faculty from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and local professors. In addition, there were discussions on medical curricula, and specific challenges faced by each school. Students representing academic organizations (e.g. “Anatomy Leagues”) had the opportunity to introduce their work, ask questions, and discuss subjects of particular interest, for example availability of cadaver dissection and the use of imaging technology in the gross anatomy lab. The active participation of over 300 students and professors showed a clear interest for this program. There were also meetings with the Deans and Course Coordinators in the different settings to exchange experiences, discuss current issues in medical curricula and specific difficulties in teaching anatomy from the different educational standpoints. These opportunities allowed for us to better understand specific needs of medical students in each type medical school in Brazil. Lastly, we met with Brazilian Government Officials in both Brazil and the US to give feedback. We are currently planning on student workshops visiting programs and meetings in both the US and Brazil as part of the ongoing Building Bridges initiatives.Support or Funding InformationSupport Sources: National Counsel of Technological Development – CNPq; Santa Casa School of Medicine of Sao Paulo; University of Sao Paulo ‐ Ribeirao Preto; Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; The Anatomical Record.

Bad Medicine: Medical student numbers.

Here is an interesting fact. In 2011, only 50 out of 30 000 pupils receiving free school meals were accepted into Oxbridge, compared with 60 from the final year of 300 from Eton College.1 Oxbridge is deemed to be the zenith of academic achievement and parents use hushed reverential tones when they even mention the word. But I’m good at statistics and, if you consider the spread of IQ in the population, it is statistically impossible that Oxbridge are accepting the most able students based on merit. There is a confounding factor at play: schooling. Many pupils gain admission by old-fashioned cheating, help with coursework, extra tutors, support with writing personal statements, and the slew of …

Female Doctors in Conflict: How Gendering Processes in German Hospitals Influence Female Physicians’ Careers

In German medicine, there is a gap between the increasing number of female medical students and the backlog of women at different turning points of their career. In hospitals, which can be regarded as ‘gendered organizations’, female doctors are confronted with structural discrimination, which is interpreted as gendering processes. In a qualitative, longitudinal study with twenty female physicians who were interviewed three times over the course of 5 years, discriminatory processes were shown on two levels. First, female physicians were categorized as females, and their gender role rather than their professional role as a physician was emphasized. Second, if they were (expectant) mothers, they became even more stereotyped as a female. This stereotyping occurred by reinforcing the conflict between the role of a mother and the role of a professional. It is shown how the women themselves, organizational peculiarities of hospitals, job conditions, and behaviours of male staff members may all contribute to maintaining vertical gender inequality in medicine.

Student peer teaching in paediatric simulation training is a feasible low‐cost alternative for education

The World Health Organization recommends regular simulation training to prevent adverse healthcare events. We used specially trained medical students to provide paediatric simulation training to their peers and assessed feasibility, cost and confidence of students who attended the courses. Students at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria were eligible to participate. Students attended two high-fidelity simulation training sessions, delivered by peers, which were videorecorded for evaluation. The attendees then completed questionnaires before and after the training. Associated costs and potential benefits were analysed. From May 2013 to June 2015, 152 students attended the sessions and 57 (37.5%) completed both questionnaires. Satisfaction was high, with 95% stating their peer tutor was competent and 90% saying that peer tutors were well prepared. The attendees' confidence in treating critically ill children significantly improved after training (p < 0.001). The average costs for a peer tutor were six Euros per working hour, compared to 35 Euros for a physician. Using peer tutors for paediatric simulation training was a feasible and low-cost option that increased the number of medical students who could be trained and increased the self-confidence of the attendees. Satisfaction with the peer tutors was high.

Avoiding pitfalls in overseas medical educational experiences

In the United States, there are a growing number of medical students participating in international health electives. These experiences have the potential to be mutually beneficial to both the host country and the student. However, there is a significant risk of unethical and damaging practices during these trips, including concerns for sending trainees without appropriate pre-travel preparation with inadequate accountability to local health care providers at a stage in their education that imposes an undue burden on the local health facilities. This article describes one first year medical student’s experience in navigating common challenges faced in international health electives and offers practical advice enlightened by the literature on how to overcome them. We emphasize the need for students to ensure adequate pre-trip preparation, communicate their level of training clearly, practice cultural humility, ensure personal safety, and engage in projects needed by the host community.

Impact of elective versus required medical school research experiences on career outcomes

Many US medical schools have added a scholarly or research requirement as a potential intervention to increase the number of medical students choosing to become academic physicians and physician scientists....

Rethinking Anatomy: How to Overcome Challenges of Medical Education's Evolution.

Due to scientific and technological development, Medical Education has been readjusting its focus and strategies. Medicalcurriculum has been adopting a vertical integration model, in which basic and clinical sciences coexist during medical instruction.This context favours the introduction of new complementary technology-based pedagogical approaches. Thus, even traditional coresciences of medical curriculum, like Anatomy, are refocusing their teaching/learning paradigm. We performed a bibliographic review aiming to reflect on Medical Education's current pedagogical trend, byanalysing the advantages of the introduction and diversification of pedagogical approaches in Anatomy Education. Anatomy Education's status quo is characterized by: less available teaching time, increasing demands from radiology andendoscopy imaging and other invasive and non-invasive medical techniques, increasing number of medical students and other logisticalrestrains exposed by the current Medical Education scenario. The traditional learning approach, mainly based on cadaveric dissection,is drifting to complementary newer technologies - such as 3D models or 2D/3D digital imaging - to examine the anatomy of the humanbody. Also, knowledge transfer is taking different channels, as learning management systems, social networks and computer-assistedlearning and assessment are assuming relevant roles. The future holds promising approaches for education models. The development of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Realityand Learning Analytics could provide analytic tools towards a real-time and personalized learning process. A reflection on Anatomy Education, as a comprehensive model, allows us to understand Medical Education's complexity.Therefore, the present Medical Education context favours a blended learning approach, in which multi-modality pedagogical strategiesmay become the landmark.

Learning effectiveness and satisfaction of international medical students: Introducing a Hybrid-PBL curriculum in biochemistry.

A biochemistry course is a fundamental but important subject in medical education in China. In recent years, the number of international medical students has increased. Curriculum reform in biochemistry teaching is needed because of the knowledge limitations of students, a close linkage of biochemical content with clinics, the shortcomings of lecture-centered teaching, and the requirements for early clinical practice training and competence. In this study, we analyzed a novel curriculum reform, "Hybrid-PBL," which combined problem-based learning (PBL) with biochemistry lectures and was implemented for biochemical teaching at Dalian Medical University (DMU) in China. The change in curriculum affected 189 international medical students. This study selected two PBL cases concerning the basic biochemical issues of carbohydrate metabolism and liver biochemistry for the analysis, and ten examples of learning issues for each case were reported by the international students. A questionnaire was utilized to evaluate students' perceptions of the Hybrid-PBL, and examination scores were analyzed to assess the curriculum reform in biochemistry teaching. A statistical analysis revealed that the Hybrid-PBL curriculum was well accepted by the international students as an effective supplement to lecture-centered teaching programs. The students obtained more abilities, higher examination scores, and an improved understanding of biomedical information from the Hybrid-PBL program than from conventional teaching methods. Our study was an innovative trial that applied a PBL curriculum to the specific discipline of biochemistry and may provide a potential and promising new teaching method that can be widely utilized. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(4):336-342, 2017.

Student and faculty perceptions on the rapid scale-up of medical students in Ethiopia

BackgroundEthiopia is a country of over 94 million people that has a severe physician shortage with approximately only 2.5 physicians per 100,000 persons. Recently, the Ethiopian government implemented a “flood and retain” initiative to rapidly increase the quantity of physicians in Ethiopia. Consequently, medical student enrollment at Addis Ababa University (AAU) School of Medicine increased from 100 to approximately 300–400 students per class. This study evaluated the impact of the rapid scale-up in the number of medical students on the quality of medical education at AAU and the impact of the U.S. government-funded Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) grant awarded to AAU to provide resources to strengthen the quality of medical education at AAU.MethodsQualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 key informants including faculty members, administrators and medical students at AAU. The audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and interview data were analyzed with thematic analysis.ResultsFour key themes emerged from the data. Overall, participants perceived a decrease in the quality of medical education at AAU due to challenges created by the rapid scale-up in the number of medical students. Positive learning environments were described as difficult to achieve due to overcrowding in classrooms and the limited numbers of textbooks. Overall, participants stated that infrastructure improvement is needed to provide adequate medical student training. The medical education initiatives implemented and funded by MEPI have provided significant resources to support the medical student curriculum but additional resources are required to accommodate a large student body.ConclusionsThe unprecedented rapid scale-up of medical students has impacted multiple facets of medical education at AAU. It is important to consider the perspectives of students and faculty in order to focus future medical education policies, MEPI programming and the allocation of resources.

Are Australian medical students being taught to teach?

The current global trend of growth in medical training is increasing the demand for the teaching and supervision of medical students and junior doctors. If well trained and supported, junior doctors and medical students represent an important teaching resource. Unfortunately, there is limited evidence available on whether Australian medical students are equipped with teaching skills. This study aimed to gain insight into the type and amount of teaching-skills training and peer-to-peer teaching present in Australian medical schools. A survey of Australian medical schools was conducted between May and December2014. An online 22-item questionnaire was sent to all 19 Australian medical schools. The response rate to the questionnaire was 100percent. Eleven Australian medical schools reported offering a teaching-skills programme, of which five were described as compulsory formal programmes. Eight schools did not offer such a programme, citing time restraints and other subjects taking higher priority. Formal peer-to-peer teaching opportunities were described by 17 schools, with 13 offering this electively. Two schools reported that they did not offer such opportunities because of time restraints, the belief that the quality of expert teaching is superior and because of a lack of staffing. The demand for the teaching and supervision of medical students and junior doctors is increasing CONCLUSIONS: Despite the increasing number of medical students and subsequently junior doctors in Australia, a minority of Australian medical schools report including a formal, compulsory teaching-skills programme. These results may imply a lost opportunity to use the positive effects of teaching-skills programmes, and are in line with studies from other countries.

The Role of Historically Black College and University Medical Schools in Academic Medicine.

Although less than 3% of medical schools are considered Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), they have played a significant role in the education of Black physicians. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) databases were used to obtain faculty and student demographic data from 2003-2013. We analyzed racial distributions of faculty and students at HBCU medical schools compared with all other medical schools and calculated correlations between rates of Black chairs, faculty, and students. Although HBCUs represent 2.4% of medical colleges, they house 31% of Black chairs, 10% of Black faculty and 14% of Black students. A significant (a* &lt; .002) positive correlation was found between rates of Black chairs and students. Black chairs are associated with higher percentages of Black students. Medical colleges may find that increasing the number of Black chairs increases the number of Black medical students.