Medical Education Policy Makers Research Articles

An Assessment of Student's Perception of Learning Anatomy and Virtual Tools among Bangladeshi Medical Undergraduates

Introduction: The rapid advancement of virtual tools in medical education has led to a debate on the most effective methods for teaching anatomy to medical students. This study aimed to assess the perceptions of first-year medical students in Bangladesh regarding traditional cadaveric and modern virtual methods in anatomy education. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study was conducted among 110 first-year medical students from two medical colleges in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A pre-tested, open-ended questionnaire was administered to collect data on demographic characteristics, student preferences in anatomy learning, and their level of agreement on the use of traditional and virtual methods. Non-parametric statistical tests were performed to evaluate score differences between teaching methods. Result: The study revealed a strong preference for a blended approach, integrating both cadaveric and virtual methods. Cadaveric methods were predominantly favored for tasks requiring a deep understanding of anatomical structures (76.36%), while virtual methods were preferred for understanding the anatomical basis of functional consequences (60.91%). A significant number of students strongly agreed that cadaveric dissection is vital in anatomy learning (29.09%). Conclusion: The study suggests that both traditional cadaveric and modern virtual methods have unique strengths and weaknesses in anatomy education. A blended approach, integrating both methods, could offer the most comprehensive learning experience for students. The findings have implications for curriculum designers, educators, and policymakers in medical education.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Myopia among Medical students

Aim: To access the prevalence and investigate the contributing risk factors of myopia in M.B.B.S students impacted by medical school lifestyle practices Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of two months between September and October of 2020, among the students of Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. Data was collected by using questionnaires from medical students. IRB approval was granted. Descriptive analysis was done using the research tool SPSS 25. Results: Out of 110 medical students, majority were male and 83.6% were myopic. Off which, 56.4% had a refractive error less than -3.00 D, 22.7% had a refractive error between -3.00 D to -6.00 D and 1.8% above -6.00 D. About 61.8% students had the onset of myopia in their adult age, while 23.6% since childhood. 54 students have a myopic familial history. Students spent most of their time doing near work like studying with 58.2% students reported use of digital devices (also at night). Most of the students wear prescription glasses, with 67.3% use it while writing. About 73.6% students do not take rest after doing work. About 70% students do not do any hourly outdoor exercise. Only 12.7 % of the students have an intake of vitamin A supplements. 97 % students do not have any history of ocular trauma, ocular surgery and laser treatment. Conclusion: Proper measures need to be taken by health authorities and medical college’s student affairs department to guide the students on how to improve heathy eye hygiene and routines. Regular ocular checkups should also be encouraged. It is recommended for students to study in good light, take proper rest, reduce their nutritional deficiencies and most importantly limit their screen time, especially at night. Health education programmers and medical education policy makers should be involved to ensure the implementation of frameworks that facilitate the control of risk factors of myopia amongst medical students. Keywords: Medical students, Myopia, Near work, Screen time.

Educational needs of physicians (in training) for management of patients with epilepsy

ObjectivesTo investigate the opinions of medical students, residents in different disciplines, and clinical attendings in various disciplines on the educational needs and learning objectives about epilepsy at the basic and intermediate levels of medical education. MethodsOn July 15th, 2021, we posted an online invitation including a questionnaire to all the medical students, residents, and attendings of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The survey anonymously collected data about the participants [sex, age, educational level, and their disciplines (attendings)], and answers to the questions about their opinions about the educational needs and learning objectives of the medical students and residents about epilepsy. ResultsFive hundred and seventy-eight trainees and 53 attendings participated in the study. Trainees at different educational levels and in various disciplines had significantly different opinions on their educational needs and learning objectives about epilepsy. At the undergraduate level, the opinions of the trainees and their attendings were similar and the most reported needs by both groups included: Terminology and definitions, Physiopathology and etiology, Semiology and clinical characteristics, Medical treatment, Comorbidities. For the residents in neurology, psychiatry, and neurosurgery, the most reported needs included: all aspects of epilepsy. SignificanceTrainees at various educational levels/disciplines in medicine have different educational needs and learning objectives with regard to epilepsy and management of PWE. Policy makers in medical education should consider the observations of this study in order to design tailored and targeted educational curricula about epilepsy for various educational levels/disciplines in medicine.

Assessing empathy in final-year medical students using the Persian version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy.

BACKGROUND:A doctor–patient relationship built on the concept of empathy is so essential to attain the best clinical outcomes in medicine. Since empathy has a positive role in interpersonal relationships and medical outcomes, its assessment is highly crucial. The aim of this study was to assess the empathy in last-year medical students using the Persian version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) and correlate empathy scores with demographic features.MATERIALS AND METHODS:In this cross-sectional study, last-year medical students at Shiraz Medical School, Shiraz, Iran, were recruited for this study. In this research, we used the Persian version of JSPE. The validity and reliability of the Persian version of this tool were confirmed in the previous research. For the analysis of data, we employed descriptive statistics and the independent sample t-test.RESULTS:One hundred and eighty-five final-year medical students were included in this study. The maximum score of the questionnaire was 140, and the total mean score of empathy was 98.15 ± 13.29. The females' total mean score (102.05 ± 11.89) was higher than the males' score (93.57 ± 13.46). The difference between the mean score of gender and empathy was significant (P value <.001), but there was no significant difference between empathy and the two other demographic factors (P > 0.05).CONCLUSIONS:Although physicians would gain the essential characteristics of empathy during their career, attending professors and other responsible policymakers in medical education should focus more on the factors related to physicians' empathy to train better and more professional physicians.

10: ADJUSTMENT THE BEST STRATEGIES TO NEW EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING: NEED TO CHANGE AND PROSPECTIVE FOR FUTURE

Background and aims:Evidence-based teaching has the potential to promote processing in learners that leads to better transfer of skills and knowledge to the workplace and contributes to the emergence of...

The need for a comprehensive medication safety module in medical education.

Objective:A rising number of medicines and minimal emphasis on rational prescribing in the medical curriculum may compromise medication safety. There is no focused module in the curriculum dealing with factors affecting safety such as quality, medicines management, rational use, and approach to adverse effects. Creating awareness of these issues would hopefully plant a seed of safe prescribing and encourage pharmacovigilance. A study was therefore done to determine the need for such a module.Method:A quasi-experimental pre-post module study. Medical students (n = 88) completing pharmacology term were recruited after informed consent. A questionnaire containing 20 questions on various themes was administered and scored. Subsequently a module was developed and relevant safety themes taught to the students. After one month, the questionnaire was re-administered.Results:The pre module score was 9.52/20. Knowledge about the various themes, adverse effects, medication management, quality issues and rational use were similar though poor knowledge was evident in specific areas such as clinical trials, look alike-sound alike medicines (LASA) and medicine storage. The post module score was 12.24/20. The improvement of score was statistically significant suggesting the effectiveness of the module.Conclusion:The relatively poor knowledge and improvement with a specific educational module emphasizes the need of such a module within the medical curriculum to encourage safe use of medicines by Indian Medical Graduates (IMG). It is hoped that the policy makers in medical education will introduce such a module within the medical curriculum.

Medical students’ characteristics as predictors of career practice location: retrospective cohort study tracking graduates of Nepal’s first medical college

Objective To determine, in one low income country (Nepal), which characteristics of medical students are associated with graduate doctors staying to practise in the country or in its rural areas.Design...

The Association Between Parental Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Medical Students’ Personal and Professional Development

In order to commit to their mission and placement requirements, medical education policy-makers are required to understand the background and character of students in order to admit, cultivate and support them efficiently and effectively. This study sample consisted of 408 homogeneous medical students with the same level of education, occupation, school and societal environment. They differed mainly in their family background. Therefore, this study used part of a multidimensional "student portfolio system" database to assess the correlation between family status (indexed by parental education and occupation) and medical students' mental health status and characters. The controls were a group of 181 non-medical students in another university. The parents of the medical students were from a higher socioeconomic status (SES) than the parents of those in the control group. This showed the heritability of genetic and environment conditions as well as the socioeconomic forces at play in medical education. Students' personal and professional development were associated with their parents' SES. The mother's SES was associated with the student's selfreported stress, mental disturbances, attitude towards life, personality, health, discipline, internationalisation and professionalism. The fathers' SES did not show a statistically significant association with the above stress, physical and mental health factors, but showed an association with some of the personality factors. The greater the educational difference between both parents, the more stress, hopelessness and pessimism the student manifested. Medical educators need to be aware that socioeconomic factors have meaningful patterns of association with students' mental and physical health, and their characters relating to personal and professional development. Low maternal SES negatively influences medical students' personal and professional development, suggesting that medical education policy-makers need to initiate support mechanisms for those with latent vulnerability.

Stress, debt and undergraduate medical student performance

Against the background of current debate over university funding and widening access, we aimed to examine the relationships between student debt, mental health and academic performance. We carried out an electronic survey of all medical undergraduate students at the University of Aberdeen during May-June 2004. The questionnaire contained items about demographics, debt, income and stress. Students were also asked for consent to access their examination results, which were correlated with their answers. Statistical analyses of the relationships between debt, performance and stress were performed. The median total outstanding debt was pound 7300 (interquartile range 2000-14 762.50). Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and postgraduate students had higher debts. There was no direct correlation between debt, class ranking or General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) score; however, a subgroup of 125 students (37.7%), who said that worrying about money affected their studies, did have higher debt and were ranked lower in their classes. Some of these students were also cases on the GHQ-12. Overall, however, cases on the GHQ had lower levels of debt and lower class ranking, suggesting that financial worries are only 1 cause of mental health difficulties. Students' perceptions of their own levels of debt rather than level of debt per se relates to performance. Students who worry about money have higher debts and perform less well than their peers in degree examinations. Some students in this subgroup were also identified by the GHQ and may have mental health problems. The relationships between debt, mental health and performance in undergraduate medical students are complex but need to be appreciated by medical education policy makers.