Professional Undergraduate Students Research Articles

Implementing a cancer survivorship seminar course to non-healthcare professional undergraduate students

BackgroundAt University of California, Irvine (UCI), a seminar course focused on cancer survivorship was developed and offered to non-healthcare professional undergraduate students. Utilizing the knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) framework, this study was designed to examine the impact on students who have taken this course, and to clarify the value of this course for undergraduate students.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional survey. Undergraduate students enrolled in the Life After Cancer Freshmen Seminar course (Uni Stu 3) at UCI between 2021 and 2023 were invited to participate. The survey consisted of 4 main sections: (1) demographics, (2) knowledge of cancer survivorship, (3) attitude towards cancer survivorship, and (4) perception and awareness of cancer survivorship. The survey was administered prior to the implementation of the course, and the same survey was administered at the end of the course.ResultsA total of 33 students completed the pre-implementation survey and 30 students completed the post-implementation survey. Comparing pre- and post-course implementation, there was an increase of perception and awareness of (i) resources and guidelines for cancer survivors (pre, 9.1% vs. post, 36.7%), (ii) mental health complications among cancer survivors (pre, 36.4% vs. post, 56.7%), (iii) benefits of cancer survivorship care (pre, 15.2% vs. post, 40%), latest research in cancer survivorship (pre, 0% vs. post, 23.3%), and (iv) tailoring survivors’ needs according to their age groups (pre, 24.2% vs. post, 66.7%). Knowledge and attitude towards caring of cancer survivors were similar comparing pre- and post-course implementation.ConclusionIn an undergraduate seminar course focused on cancer survivorship, we observed an improvement of non-healthcare students’ perception and awareness of cancer survivorship-related issues, advocating the value on introducing highly prevalent cancer survivorship topics early to both undergraduate STEM and non-STEM students.

Factors Influencing Perceived Stress among Professional and Non - Professional Undergraduate Students in Udupi District, Karnataka

Factors Influencing Perceived Stress among Professional and Non - Professional Undergraduate Students in Udupi District, Karnataka

Developing Speaking Competence of Professional Undergraduate Students Through Socratic Questing Approach

Abstract : This research article primarily focuses on how speaking competence can be enhanced by Socratic Questioning Approach. There are several methods and approaches formulated and applied at different levels to enhance speaking skills, but critical thinking and questioning attitude is still lacking at undergraduate levels. 32 heterogeneous professional undergraduate students (Creswell, 2018, p.157) have participated in a five months twenty-one days intervention study (Yin,2009 & Stake,1995, p.123) to know the desired outcomes. The pre and post-tests results have considerably and possibly been recorded during the study. CEFR (Common European Framework of References) CAN DO descriptors (Council of Europe, 2018 p.171), are adopted to assess the speaking competence. The pre and post-tests have been assessed based on CAN DO Descriptors. After employing Qualitative Research Methodology (Creswell, 2018) to analyze the data obtained through both succeeding and preceding tests, significant results have possibly been founded and observed that professiona l unde rgradua te student s have considerably enhanced their speaking abilities and competences. CEFR levels of individual performance and variations have scrupulously been observed. This research article ontologically asserts that professional undergraduate engineering students can enhance speaking skills by thinking critically and applying Socratics Questioning Approach (Paul,2006) implicitly and explicitly. Keywords : CEFR, Critical Thinking, Intervention Program

Post COVID-19 Pandemic Generalized Anxiety Status of Health Professional undergraduate students

Aim: To assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 on mental status of undergraduate medical students, after reopening of educational institutions. Methods: This descriptive, online cross-sectional study was conducted on medical students of Combined Military Hospital Lahore Medical College & Institute of Dentistry, Lahore Pakistan for 6 months from 1st June to 30th November, 2021. Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) was used as the study tool. Data was analyzed by using statistical software SPSS - 23. Frequencies and percentages were used for descriptive variables. A univariate analysis was utilized to identify the noticeable associations between traits of sample and the anxiety level in current scenario of COVID-19 pandemic. Finally multivariate logistic regression analyses, odds ratio (OR), and Spearman's correlation coefficient, r, was used to evaluate the association between COVID-19-related stressors and anxiety level. Results: Of the 324 respondents, majority were females residing in urban areas with their parents. Severe anxiety was experienced by 23.8% of students. Female respondents were found to have more anxiety as compared to males (OR = 1.81; 95% CI = 1.173 – 2.815). Moreover, respondents having a relative or an acquaintance infected with COVID-19 reported to have more anxiety (OR = 3.007, 95% CI = 2.377 - 3.804). Conclusion: A significant number of students are experiencing anxiety in the post COVID-19 phase, especially those that had an acquaintance infected with COVID-19. There is a need to look after student's mental health and to implement appropriate psychological strategies and interventions to deal with this level of psychological distress in the students at this phase of pandemic for optimum training of future health professionals. Keywords: Anxiety, COVID-19, healthcare professionals, mental health, medical students, pandemic

Social Innovation Capability of a Social Entrepreneur: Scale Development and Validation

Social innovation helps to address the complex problems of society by identifying the social issues and providing targeted actions. Here, the study investigates the factors of social entrepreneur capability towards social innovation. This paper discusses the scale development for measuring the social innovation capability of the social entrepreneur. The study uses the expert opinion method to select the items to increase the content validity from 800 professional under-graduate students who are ready for placements in educational institutions and would like to become social entrepreneurs and who are members of the Entrepreneur Cell in India. Further exploratory factor analysis was employed to check the proposed dimension fit in the construct of social innovation. Accordingly, the results of the study state that the proposed dimension ‘Intent to Innovate’ was found to be significant with the other existing factors of social innovation capability. Hence, it paves the way for future research.

Undergraduate health profession students attitudes toward illicit substance users in Jordan

BackgroundThe use of illicit substances is a critical international issue that must be addressed by healthcare systems worldwide. Today, the problem of illicit substance use is increasingly becoming a burden on healthcare systems in both developed and developing countries. The aims of this study were: (1) to describe the attitudes of health major undergraduate students (the study participants) toward illicit substance users; (2) to describe the discriminatory behaviors among the study participants toward illicit substance users; and (3) to examine the relationship between the attitudes and the actual discriminatory behaviors of the study participants. MethodA cross-sectional descriptive design was used to investigate the attitudes and behaviors of health professional undergraduate students enrolled at university in Jordan. ResultsStudents who were younger and identified as female were generally more positive toward illicit substance users versus those students who were older and identified as male. ConclusionThe findings of this study supported the literature that students who were younger and identified as female were generally more positive toward illicit substance users versus those students who were older and identified as male. It is therefore important to determine whether the type of courses in health majors available for undergraduate students affects their attitudes toward illicit substance users.

A cross-sectional survey of knowledge, perceptions and practice of antimicrobial stewardship concepts among university non-health professional undergraduate students in southwest Nigeria

Background: Non-health professional students (NHPS) can be a veritable tool in the advocacy for antimicrobial stewardship in a community if imbued with adequate knowledge and correct perceptions. However, little is known about the knowledge, perceptions, and practice (KPP) of antimicrobial stewardship among NHPS.Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the KPP of antimicrobial stewardship among NHPS.Methods: A cross-sectional survey of KPP of antimicrobial stewardship was carried out among 600 consecutively selected NHPS at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria, using a pretested 30-item self-administered questionnaire with varying options and a 5-point Likert scale. Each correct answer in the knowledge domain was scored “1” and incorrect “0” and a total of eleven points were available. The modified Bloom’s cut-off points were used to grade the knowledge into good (≥9 points), moderate (7-8 points) and poor (≤6 points). The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to assess the differences in perceptions among the groups.Results: Many of the respondents (319;53.2%) were male, 274 (45.7%) had used antimicrobials without advice from physicians or pharmacists. The respondents (387; 64.5%) scored ≤ 6.0 of the total 11.0 on the knowledge scale and 430 (71.7%) with a significant difference between faculties (p<0.001) strongly agreed or agreed that “everyone needs to take responsibility for using antimicrobials responsibly”.Conclusions: Many of the non-health professional students had poor knowledge of antimicrobial stewardship and had practices that are antithetical to the concept. However, the majority perceived correctly, that appropriate use of antimicrobials was a collective responsibility.Keywords: Antimicrobial; stewardship; non-health professional; knowledge; Nigeria

Magical beliefs and discriminating science from pseudoscience in undergraduate professional students

Paranormal beliefs and magical thinking exist in the public, and amongst university students. Researchers have found that media can influence such beliefs. A 2012 study suggested pseudoscientific rationales can influence acceptance of reported paranormal phenomena. Using a paranormal belief survey and controlled experiment this work explores the paranormal beliefs and test the effects of three versions of a supernatural news story on undergraduate professional students. One version of the story presented a simple news article, another the same with a pseudoscientific rationale, and another gave a discrediting scientific critique. Results confirmed that many students do hold magical beliefs but discriminated between scientific and pseudoscientific narratives. However, pre-existing paranormal beliefs were associated with an increased likelihood of students finding paranormal reports scientific, believable and credible.

Self-efficacy perceptions of interprofessional education and practice in undergraduate healthcare students

ABSTRACTSelf-efficacy is an individual’s perception of their ability to be successful in a given endeavour and it has been shown to have an important role in successful university education and clinical performance of healthcare workers. This article examines the self-efficacy beliefs of undergraduate healthcare students (n = 388) for the skills required for interprofessional education and interprofessional collaboration. The students were enrolled at an Australian university from the disciplines of public health, social work, and paramedic practice. The Self-Efficacy for Interprofessional Experiential Learning (SEIEL) scale, which is a valid and reliable scale, was used to determine the self-reported perceptions of self-efficacy in this cohort. The 16-item scale was developed for use with medicine and other healthcare professional undergraduate students. Student t-tests were used to compare scores between males and females, with one-way ANOVAs used to explore SEIEL scores across disciplines and year level. A significant difference was found between genders for the scores on SEIEL subscale 2 “Interprofessional evaluation and feedback” (p = 0.01) with the male mean being 2.65 units higher (Cohen’s d = 0.29). There was also a significant gender difference for the overall SEIEL scale (p = 0.029) with the male mean being 4.1 units higher (Cohen’s d = 0.238). No significant gender differences were demonstrated for the subscale “Interprofessional interaction.” Neither subscale demonstrated significant differences between healthcare disciplines or course year. Further investigation is required to explore the reasons for the outcomes of this study. With the increasing importance of interprofessional education and practice within healthcare, it would also appear reasonable to consider further research into the development and support of student self-efficacy for the skills required for interprofessional education and interprofessional collaboration within healthcare curricula.

Study on Drug Prescribing Pattern in Dengue Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital – A tool to teach Clinical Pharmacology

Abstract Introduction and Aim: Dengue fever (DF) is the most common arboviral infection of mankind gaining global attention. Data about drug usage patterns in DF in India are lacking.The present study was undertaken to analyze drug utilization pattern of dengue infections to teach certain basic skills to MBBS students which will form an integral component of practising rational therapeutics. Methods : A total no of 122 cases were followed up by the 5 th semester 2 nd Professional undergraduate students in the department of pharmacology at hospital wards of SGRRIM &HS, Dehradun from June 2012 to July 2014. Patients were analysed on various parameters using WHO drug use indicators and National List of Essential Medicines. Results: A total of 122 prescriptions were analyzed. Male:Female ratio was (72.95%, 27.05%) Age wise distribution of patients was done: 0-15 years were 9 (7.34%), 16-30 years were 45(36.88%), 31-45 years were 46(37.70%), 46-60 years were 18 (14.75%) and >60 years were 4 (3.28%). A total of 614 drugs were prescribed. 169(27.52%) antimicrobials, 99(16.12%) antipyretics, 91(14.82%) antacids, 65(10.59%) multivitamins, 55(8.96%) antiemetics and 135(21.99%) in miscellaneous category were prescribed. 243(40.23%) oral drugs and 361(59.77%) injectable drugs were prescribed. 5.03 drugs per prescription were prescribed. 377(62.42%) drugs were prescribed from National Essential Medicine List.100% drugs were prescribed by brand names. Conclusion: Majority of the drugs were prescribed from national essential medicine list. As the incidence of DF is increasing with epidemics, the demand for specific treatment guidelines is in great need. Key words: Dengue fever, drug utilisation pattern, rational prescribing.