Understanding the impact of academic difficulties among medical students: A scoping review

Abstract Background The re-introduction of medical students into healthcare systems struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic raises concerns as to whether they will be supported when confronted with death and dying patients in resource-limited settings and with reduced support from senior clinicians. Better understanding of how medical students respond to death and dying will inform educationalists and clinicians on how to best support them. Methods We adopt Krishna’s Systematic Evidence Based Approach to carry out a Systematic Scoping Review (SSR in SEBA) on the impact of death and dying on medical students. This structured search process and concurrent use of thematic and directed content analysis of data from six databases (Split Approach) enhances the transparency and reproducibility of this review. Results Seven thousand six hundred nineteen were identified, 149 articles reviewed and 52 articles included. The Split Approach revealed similar themes and categories that correspond to the Innate, Individual, Relational and Societal domains in the Ring Theory of Personhood. Conclusion Facing death and dying amongst their patients affect how medical students envisage their personhood. This underlines the need for timely, holistic and longitudinal support systems to ensure that problems faced are addressed early. To do so, there must be effective training and a structured support mechanism.

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A systematic scoping review on the impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on the psychological wellbeing of medical students.

10.1101/2021.11.28.21266956 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Divya Vythilingam ◽

William Atiomo

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Full Text ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Research Question ◽

Psychological Wellbeing ◽

Bibliographic Databases ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact ◽

Published Research

Background The impact of social isolation, on the psychological wellbeing of medical students, who had to quarantine due to the COVID19 pandemic, is uncertain. A scoping review of the literature was therefore conducted to assess the extent of the published research in this area. Methods The PRISMA ScR guideline, was used to structure this study. A search strategy was carried out across six bibliographic databases. Data from the selected studies were extracted, and the following variables recorded. First author and year of publication, country of study, study design, sample size, focus group, mode of analysing impact of quarantine from COVID19 on mental health and results of the studies. Results A total of 223 articles were identified across the six databases, from which 69 duplicates were excluded resulting in 154 full text articles. Of these, 29 met the inclusion criteria. Following a review of the abstracts of these 29, ten full text articles were identified all of which were cross sectional studies. Sample sizes ranged from 182 to 860 students and all studies used a variety of self administered questionnaires to measure psychological wellbeing. Eight of the 10 articles showed that quarantine had a negative impact on the psychological wellbeing of medical students. Conclusion. The evidence is small but growing. Quarantine because of the COVID19 pandemic appears to have had a negative impact on the psychological wellbeing of medical students. There is a need for more studies to further evaluate this research question.

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A scoping review of clinical reasoning research with Asian healthcare professionals

Advances in Health Sciences Education ◽

10.1007/s10459-021-10060-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ching-Yi Lee ◽

Chang-Chyi Jenq ◽

Madawa Chandratilake ◽

Julie Chen ◽

Mi-Mi Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Nursing Students ◽

Clinical Reasoning ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Steady Increase ◽

Healthcare Profession ◽

Education Today ◽

Number Of Publications ◽

The Impact

AbstractClinical reasoning is the thought process that guides practice. Although a plethora of clinical reasoning studies in healthcare professionals exists, the majority appear to originate from Western cultures. A scoping review was undertaken to examine clinical reasoning related research across Asian cultures. PubMed, SciVerse Scopus, Web of Science and Airiti Library databases were searched. Inclusion criteria included full-text articles published in Asian countries (2007 to 2019). Search terms included clinical reasoning, thinking process, differential diagnosis, decision making, problem-based learning, critical thinking, healthcare profession, institution, medical students and nursing students. After applying exclusion criteria, n = 240 were included in the review. The number of publications increased in 2012 (from 5%, n = 13 in 2011 to 9%, n = 22) with a steady increase onwards to 12% (n = 29) in 2016. South Korea published the most articles (19%, n = 46) followed by Iran (17%, n = 41). Nurse Education Today published 11% of the articles (n = 26), followed by BMC Medical Education (5%, n = 13). Nursing and Medical students account for the largest population groups studied. Analysis of the articles resulted in seven themes: Evaluation of existing courses (30%, n = 73) being the most frequently identified theme. Only seven comparative articles showed cultural implications, but none provided direct evidence of the impact of culture on clinical reasoning. We illuminate the potential necessity of further research in clinical reasoning, specifically with a focus on how clinical reasoning is affected by national culture. A better understanding of current clinical reasoning research in Asian cultures may assist curricula developers in establishing a culturally appropriate learning environment.

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Vulnerability of medical students and professionals to extreme work stress: A select review of the literature

Communication & Medicine ◽

10.1558/cam.31007 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 181-187

Author(s):

Maciej Walkiewicz ◽

Małgorzata Tartas

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Work Stress ◽

English Language ◽

Psychological Intervention ◽

Medical Professionals ◽

Extreme Stress ◽

Online Databases ◽

Medical Career ◽

Medical University ◽

The Impact

The goal of the paper is to describe the extent to which medical students and professionals are vulnerable to extreme stress. A select review of existing literature on this area has been undertaken, using the English-language online databases EBSCO, Medline and PubMed. The search has identified 36 citations relating to 6324 medical students and 28,285 medical staff (physicians, residents, nurses). The review indicates that merely beginning medical studies is a risk factor for stress, and that medical professionals, who are vulnerable to extreme work stress, say that they do not receive enough support from their co-workers. They are also often notably impulsive, introverted, neurotic and perfectionist, with low emotional intelligence and agreeableness, as well as low and external locus of control. Additionally, from longitudinal studies we have been able to identify psychological factors underpinning admission to a medical university that may be useful for predicting future stress in medical career. The results of this study may be taken into account when organizing psychological intervention programs targeted at educating future medical professionals. It seems that early identification of people at risk could reduce the impact of stress related to medical career and enhance the somatic and mental health of medical professionals.

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State Medical Board Disciplinary Hearings as Tools for Teaching Professionalism in Medical Education

Journal of Medical Regulation ◽

10.30770/2572-1852-97.3.8 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 97 (3) ◽

pp. 8-12

Author(s):

Onelia G. Lage ◽

Sydney F. Pomenti ◽

Edwin Hayes ◽

Kristen Barrie ◽

Nancy Baker

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Ethics Education ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Specific Method ◽

Pilot Studies ◽

Medical Board ◽

Medical Institutions ◽

State Medical Boards ◽

State Medical Board ◽

The Impact

ABSTRACT This article proposes a partnership of state medical boards with medical schools to supplement professionalism and ethics education for medical students, residents, physicians and faculty members of medical institutions. The importance of professionalism has been recognized by several studies, but a specific method of teaching and developing professionalism has yet to emerge. Studies suggest that there is an association between a lack of professionalism in medical school and future disciplinary actions by medical boards. However, there has been little collaboration between these institutions in addressing unprofessional behaviors. One collaborative concept that holds promise, however, is the idea of inviting medical students to attend physician disciplinary hearings. Students and physicians alike report that watching a hearing can significantly impact attitudes about professionalism as a part of medical practice. While formal research is scarce, the positive response of individual students who experience disciplinary hearings firsthand suggests that further pilot studies may be useful. Presented in this paper are the perspectives of three individuals — a medical student, a faculty member and a medical board chair — who discuss the impact and potential of attending disciplinary hearings in developing professionalism and ethics. Also included is a review of the current literature.

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The impact of patient narratives on medical students’ perceptions of shared decision making: A randomized controlled trial

10.31234/osf.io/f84cq ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Martina Bientzle ◽

Marie Eggeling ◽

Simone Korger ◽

Joachim Kimmerle

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Medical Students ◽

Shared Decision Making ◽

Medical Training ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Future Research ◽

Shared Decision ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Information Text ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND: Successful shared decision making (SDM) in clinical practice requires that future clinicians learn to appreciate the value of patient participation as early as in their medical training. Narratives, such as patient testimonials, have been successfully used to support patients’ decision-making process. Previous research suggests that narratives may also be used for increasing clinicians’ empathy and responsiveness in medical consultations. However, so far, no studies have investigated the benefits of narratives for conveying the relevance of SDM to medical students.METHODS: In this randomized controlled experiment, N = 167 medical students were put into a scenario where they prepared for medical consultation with a patient having Parkinson disease. After receiving general information, participants read either a narrative patient testimonial or a fact-based information text. We measured their perceptions of SDM, their control preferences (i.e., their priorities as to who should make the decision), and the time they intended to spend for the consultation.RESULTS: Participants in the narrative patient testimonial condition referred more strongly to the patient as the one who should make decisions than participants who read the information text. Participants who read the patient narrative also considered SDM in situations with more than one treatment option to be more important than participants in the information text condition. There were no group differences regarding their control preferences. Participants who read the patient testimonial indicated that they would schedule more time for the consultation.CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that narratives can potentially be useful for imparting the relevance of SDM and patient-centered values to medical students. We discuss possible causes of this effect and implications for training and future research.

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The Impact of Excessive WeChat Use on Mental Health Among Medical Students: A Representative Nationwide Population-Based Study in China

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3422997 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Weifang Zhang ◽

Tingzhong Yang ◽

Joan L. Bottorff ◽

Sihui Peng

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Medical Students ◽

Population Based ◽

Population Based Study ◽

The Impact

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The Relationship Between Highly Visual Social Media and Young People’s Mental Health: A Scoping Review (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.18177 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Alanna McCrory

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Young People ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Mental Wellbeing ◽

Published Evidence ◽

The Impact

UNSTRUCTURED Users of highly visual social media (HVSM), such as Snapchat and Instagram, share their messages through images, rather than relying on words. A significant proportion of people that use these platforms are adolescents. Previous research reveals mixed evidence regarding the impact of online social technologies on this age group’s mental wellbeing, but it is uncertain whether the psychological effects of visual content alone differ from text-driven social media. This scoping review maps existing literature that has published evidence about highly visual social media, specifically its psychological impact on young people. Nine electronic databases and grey literature from 2010 until March 2019 were reviewed for articles describing any aspect of visual social media, young people and their mental health. The screening process retrieved 239 articles. With the application of eligibility criteria, this figure was reduced to 25 articles for analysis. Results indicate a paucity of data that exclusively examines HVSM. The predominance of literature relies on quantitative methods to achieve its objectives. Many findings are inconsistent and lack the richness that qualitative data may provide to explore the reasons for theses mixed findings.

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MHealth Applications for People with Cognitive Impairment and Their Caregivers: A Scoping Review (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.22474 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Qing Zhao ◽

Pei Chen ◽

Yu Zhang ◽

Haining Liu ◽

Xianwen Li

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Sample Size ◽

Research Design ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Life Support ◽

Small Sample ◽

Mobile Technologies ◽

Control Group ◽

Caregiver Support ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND Mobile health application has become an important tool for healthcare systems. One such tool is the delivery of assisting in people with cognitive impairment and their caregivers. OBJECTIVE This scoping review aims to explore and evaluate the existing evidence and challenges on the use of mHealth applications that assisting in people with cognitive impairment and their caregivers. METHODS Nine databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, PsycARTICLES, CINAHL, Web of Science, Applied Science & Technology Source, IEEE Xplore and the ACM Digital Library were searched from inception through June 2020 for the studies of mHealth applications on people with cognitive impairment and their caregivers. Two reviewers independently extracted, checked synthesized data independently. RESULTS Of the 6101 studies retrieved, 64 studies met the inclusion criteria. Three categories emerged from this scoping review. These categories are ‘application functionality’, ‘evaluation strategies’, ‘barriers and challenges’. All the included studies were categorized into 7 groups based on functionality: (1) cognitive assessment; (2) cognitive training; (3) life support; (4) caregiver support; (5) symptom management; (6) reminiscence therapy; (7) exercise intervention. The included studies were broadly categorized into four types: (1) Usability testing; (2) Pilot and feasibility studies; (3) Validation studies; and (4) Efficacy or Effectiveness design. These studies had many defects in research design such as: (1) small sample size; (2) deficiency in active control group; (3) deficiency in analyzing the effectiveness of intervention components; (4) lack of adverse reactions and economic evaluation; (5) lack of consideration about the education level, electronic health literacy and smartphone proficiency of the participants; (6) deficiency in assessment tool; (7) lack of rating the quality of mHealth application. Some progress should be improved in the design of smartphone application functionality, such as: (1) the design of cognitive measurements and training game need to be differentiated; (2) reduce the impact of the learning effect. Besides this, few studies used health behavior theory and performed with standardized reporting. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary results show that mobile technologies facilitate the assistance in people with cognitive impairment and their caregivers. The majority of mHealth application interventions incorporated usability outcome and health outcomes. However, these studies have many defects in research design that limit the extrapolation of research. The content of mHealth application is urgently improved to adapt to demonstrate the real effect. In addition, further research with strong methodological rigor and adequate sample size are needed to examine the feasibility, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of mHealth applications for people with cognitive impairment and their caregivers.

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