Medical Students In Preclinical Years Research Articles

Assessing the impact of neurosurgery and neuroanatomy simulation using 3D non-cadaveric models amongst selected African medical students.

Laboratory dissections are essential to acquire practical skills to perform neurosurgical procedures. Despite being traditionally done on cadavers, they are often unavailable and suffer from cultural barriers in the African context. Non-cadaveric UpSurgeOn neurosurgery models have been developed to bridge this barrier, providing an almost similar experience with the human body. This study aimed to assess the impact of the UpSurgeOn hands-on-touch non-cadaver model training amongst selected Cameroon medical students. An anonymous 35-item questionnaire was distributed online using Google drive systems to medical students who attended UpSurgeOn's hands-on-touch non-cadaver model training course. These questions aimed to capture data on previous experience with neuroanatomy and neurosurgery practicals and the perception, attitudes, and impact of the UpSurgeOn neurosurgery tool. Eighty-six students completed the survey. The mean age was 21.2 ± 1.868 years, 61.6% were males with 62.8% of respondents being medical students in preclinical years. Before the training, 29.4% had a fair knowledge of neuroanatomy. Textbooks and Youtube videos were the main sources of neuroanatomy and neurosurgery knowledge for more than half of the respondents. Up to 91.5% had no prior exposure to a neuroanatomy/neurosurgery cadaver laboratory dissection, and 22.6% and 17.6% had witnessed and performed at least one craniotomy before, respectively. There were 11.1%, 15.5%, and 31.3% of our respondents who had used a surgical microscope, a neurosurgical instrument, and the UpSurgeOn Neurosurgery tool before, respectively. The majority perceived the UpSurgeOn tool easy to use and felt they needed to learn just a few things before getting going with the box. Most thought of increasing the use of the UpSurgeOn Box and saw the need to be part of the training curriculum. Finally, the majority felt this tool helped to increase familiarity and acquire neurosurgical skills, and to develop the orientation skills needed during neurosurgical approaches. Undergraduate exposure to traditional neurosurgery/neuroanatomy labs is limited in Cameroon. Neurosurgery/neuroanatomy practical skills are gained essentially using non-practical means. Most students found the UpSurgeOn tool user-friendly, saw the need to incorporate it as part of their training, and perceived it to be essential in getting acquainted with neurosurgical skills.

Pharmacist-led review sessions with medical students and their impact

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) called for a new emphasis on interprofessional approaches to medical education suggesting the ever challenging and complex needs of patients can best be addresses by healthcare professionals communicating and working together as members of an interprofessional healthcare team. A number of different articles are published on the effects a pharmacist can have on medical education in the clinical years. Few articles detail the effect pharmacists could have on medical students in their pre-clinical years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an interprofessional educational approach, defined as having a pharmacist-led pharmacology review session(s), can impact medical student attitudes towards pharmacists. A pre-post survey design using a reliable and validated tool was performed. This study supports, using trending data, the premise that interprofessional education can impact attitudes of healthcare students towards each other. Pharmacist educating medical students in pre-clinical years was shown to have an impact of medical students’ attitudes towards the role of pharmacist, especially in providing drug treatment decisions.

Assessment of Knowledge and Attitude among MAHSA Medical Students towards HIV/AIDS

According to the Ministry of Health Statistics, there have been 87,710 confirmed HIV infectedcases in Malaysia. Objective: To determine how well MAHSA University medical studentsknew about HIV/AIDS. Method: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based studyconducted at MAHSA University's School of Medicine. The surveys focused on differentmechanisms of transmission, high-risk behaviours, and prevention strategies. Result: A total of360 medical students participate in this study. Medical students in pre-clinical years hadsubstantially higher knowledge ratings than those in clinical years (p=0.045). Comfortablenessdealing with HIV/AIDS patients had the highest stigmatizing score (3.78 ± 0.86). Attitudestoward imposed measures had the lowest stigmatization score (mean 2.60 ± 0.62), knowledgescore is significantly correlate with stigmatizing attitude (P=0.004). In addition, higherknowledge scores were shown among medical students who reported to have previousencounters with patients living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) (p<0.001). Knowledge scores weresignificantly low among the patients living with HIV (PEWHIV) (4.2 ± 1.67) (P=0.019).Concerning mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS infection, clinical medical studentsshowed higher degree of knowledge as compare with preclinical years medical students with P<0.05. Conclusion: The knowledge of medical students in Mashsa University is generallyhigh, awareness of HIV transmission from mother to child through breast milk is still lacking,indicating that this is the most significant feature that has to be stressed and improved in futuremedical curriculum for better health care services and public education.

Diabetes SPECIAL (Students Providing Education on Chronic Illness and Lifestyle): anovel preclinical medical student elective.

BackgroundTraditional medical student curricula limit substantial clinical experiences until the third and fourth years of medical school. This delay in valuable experiences hinders the ability of some medical students to choose a specialty to pursue, delays the formation of meaningful longitudinal mentorship relationships, and limits the development of important clinical acumen. Furthermore, the use of medical students in preclinical years may help to improve patient care and outcomes.ApproachThe novel preclinical Diabetes SPECIAL (Students Providing Education on Chronic Illness and Lifestyle) elective was designed to introduce first year medical students to the field of endocrinology, promote the development of a professional identity, improve medical student communication skills, and raise awareness of the complexities of managing patients living with diabetes mellitus. Furthermore, and novel to this experience, was to measure the impact of this elective on patient outcomes.EvaluationStudents attended patient appointments, communicated with their assigned patients regularly, relayed important health information to the attending endocrinologist, and attended monthly didactic sessions. The elective outcomes were evaluated via completed surveys by patients, students, and attending physicians as well as medical record review for pre- and post-elective hemoglobin A1C levels.ReflectionStudents, faculty, and patients who participated in this elective generally reported having a positive experience. Seven out of 10 patients had a reduction in their hemoglobin A1C levels. The outcomes from the pilot of this novel preclinical elective support the importance of early clinical exposure in medical student training and highlight potential positive impacts on both medical student education and patient outcomes.

Perception of Medical Students Regarding Educational Environment in a Public Sector Medical College: A Cross-Sectional Survey Using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) Questionnaire

The primary success of educational environment heavily depends upon benefits to learners and this further facilitates the learning processing. The most commonly used tool, to measure it, is Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the perceptions of medical students in pre-clinical years about educational environment in a public sector medical college of Pakistan and to compare the DREEM scores with previous published scores. Material and Methods: The DREEM questionnaire was conducted on undergraduate medical students (n=300) of Sheikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan, during the month of June 2015. Results: Two eighty-six (n=286) of the 300 students (95.33%) completed the questionnaire. Analysisof these subjected indicated a total mean score of 113.68. Mean for students’ perception of learning was 26.65±10.235, mean for students’ perceptions of teachers was 26.63±10.177. On the other hands, the mean scores for students’ academic self-perception, students’ perception of the atmosphere, and students’ social self-perception were 17.17±6.73, 26.89±10.89, and 16.34±6.70, respectively. Conclusion: Although DREEM scores showed improvement from previously published scores of same medical college, it also highlighted the areas needing further improvement.

Medical Students' Knowledge, Familiarity, and Attitudes towards Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donation: Stem Cell Donation Behaviors

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a potentially curative treatment for patients with blood disorders and genetic diseases. Approximately 70% of the HSCTs currently performed in the United States use stems cells from an unrelated donor who donated voluntarily. Medical students (MS) are a young, diverse, influential population whose willingness to engage in altruistic acts, such as donating stem cells, may be correlated with knowledge on the topic. A literature gap exists in MS perspectives towards HSCT and the bone marrow registry (BMR) and prior studies suggest that misconceptions about donation deter MS from participation on the BMR, which may decrease opportunities to educate other potential donors. We performed a cross-sectional survey among the 4-year cohort of MS at Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota. The questionnaire evaluated multiple areas including whether MS were current members of the BMR and/or prior blood donors, MS current knowledge on donor eligibility (DE) and the donation process (DP), MS familiarity with HSCT and the DP, and MS attitudes towards joining the BMR and towards donating stem cells. The responses were analyzed and assessed alongside a self-reported, standardized scale measuring students' altruistic behaviors. There were 99 out of 247 potential respondents (40%), with 45% (n = 44) of MS in preclinical years 1 or 2, 37% (n = 37) in clinical years 3 or 4, and 18% (n = 18) in research or alternative portions of their training, of which 43% (n = 41) in total were current BMR members. BMR status correlated positively with prior blood donation (P = .015) and female sex (P = .014). Respondents had a 57.7% and 63.7% average correct response rate regarding knowledge of DE and DP, respectively, with knowledge of DE not surprisingly higher in BMR members (P < .0001). The majority of MS surveyed, 68% (n = 65), had learned about HSCT during medical school. BMR status correlated with the following attitudes towards donating stem cells: lower concern with all evaluated aspects of HSCT—time, cost, pain, and side effects (for all subsections, P < .05) but not with the altruism score (P = .32). The mean altruism score for respondents was 59.9 ± 11.3 (of a possible 100 points) with no significant difference in age, race, sex, level of training, or participation in the BMR. Altruism scores did not directly correlate with lower concern with aspects of time, cost, and pain of HSCT but did with long-term side effects (P = .021). This latter correlation was regardless of BMR status. Among MS, positive predictors for participation in the BMR included prior blood donation and female sex. BMR status did not ensure knowledge of all aspects of donating stem cells, but it correlated with less concern regarding the DP and was unrelated to altruism score. Improving knowledge gaps regarding the BMR and HSCT for the next generation of physicians and health care providers through expanded medical education curriculum may be beneficial to for the recruitment and retention of donor populations to the BMR.

Assessing Medical Students’ Knowledge of IR at Two American Medical Schools

PurposeTo determine if there was a difference in the level of knowledge about interventional radiology (IR) between medical students in preclinical years of training compared with medical students in clinical years of training at two medical schools and to compare awareness of IR based on the curriculum at each school: one with required radiology education and one without such a requirement. Materials and MethodsAn anonymous survey was distributed to students at two medical schools; the survey assessed knowledge of IR, knowledge of training pathways, and preferred methods to increase exposure. Responses of the preclinical and clinical groups were compared, and responses from the clinical groups at each school were compared. Results“Poor” or “fair” knowledge of IR was reported by 84% (n = 217 of 259) of preclinical students compared with 62% of clinical students (n = 110 of 177; P < .001). IR was being considered as a career by 11% of all students (15%, n = 40 of 259 preclinical; 5%, n = 9 of 177 clinical). The main reason respondents were not considering IR was “lack of knowledge” (65%, n = 136 of 210 preclinical; 20%, n = 32 of 162 clinical). Students in the clinical group at the institution with a required radiology rotation reported significantly better knowledge of IR than clinical students from the institution without a required clerkship (P = .017). ConclusionsThere are significant differences in knowledge of IR between preclinical and clinical students. Required radiology education in the clinical years does increase awareness of IR.

Perceived stress among medical students in preclinical years: A Saudi Arabian perspective

Context: The study of medicine is extensive, time-consuming, and highly stressful, especially during preclinical study period. Aim: To assess perceived stress in medical students studying in a medical college in Saudi Arabian Eastern Province and observe any gender-related variations in stress. Study and Design: Cross-sectional comparative study. Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out in College of Medicine, University of Dammam using Arabic version of Perceived stress scale-10 questionnaire. Eighty students (40 males and 40 females) studying in 2 nd year were included in the study. Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed by using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 19. Descriptive analyses were conducted to determine the frequency distributions of the study variables. Independent sample t-test was used to compare stress scores among male and female students. Stress level was analyzed by quartiles of perceived stress. Results: The overall prevalence of stress found in this study was 71.7%. Mean perceived stress score of all the students was 17.31 ± 5.31. There was no significant difference in the mean stress scores of males and females students. The percentage of students with no, mild, moderate, and severe stress was found to be 28.3%, 21.7%, 31.7%, and 18.30%, respectively. Conclusions: The present study indicates of high prevalence of stress in these medical students in the preclinical years. Hence, there is a need to take measures by the authorities to reduce stress among students.

Perceived self-efficacy and academic performance of medical students at Ataturk University, Turkey.

To determine the association of perceived self-efficacy with academic performance of pre-clinical medical students. A cross-sectional analytical study. Medical Education Department, Ataturk University, Turkey, from March to May 2012. Participating students were members of the first to third year medical students class considered to be preclinical years at Ataturk University. A validated and reliable questionnaire consisted of 10 questions applied to assess the general self-efficacy of the medical students in pre-clinical years and evaluate whether their self-efficacy has relation to their academic performance. Responses and studied variables were compared using ANOVA and Pearson correlation test as applicable. The mean scores of three consecutive examinations were compared with self-efficacy mean scores of three classes. A validated and reliable questionnaire was used for assessment of self-efficacy. There was no correlation found in between mean examination scores and self-efficacy mean scores in first year (r = -0.11, p = 0.276), second year (r = 0.20, p = 0.180), and third year (r = -0.040, p = 0.749). However, comparison of mean scores between male and female demonstrated significant difference (p = 0.001) and males dominant in self-efficacy scores. The results illustrate in pre-clinical years at medical schools the general self-efficacy does not play any role in their performance.

The Attitudes of Israeli Medical Students Toward Residency in Psychiatry

The authors analyze attitudes toward psychiatry residency of Israeli medical students in preclinical years, compared with similar U.S. data. A 23-item questionnaire was administered anonymously to 181 Israeli medical students in their preclinical years and was completed by 70% of the students present. Psychiatry was ranked most attractive as far as intellectual challenge was considered and least attractive when the degree to which it draws upon all aspects of medical training was considered. Our study shows that 32.8% of the Israeli medical students in the preclinical years consider residency in psychiatry, compared to 7.7% in the U.S. and 15.9% in Australia, using the same questionnaire and methodology. The population of students interested in family medicine and neurology, as well as those interested in the humanities, should be the source of psychiatry residents, and their faith in the psychiatric paradigm should be strengthened.