International student exchange and the medical curriculum: evaluation of a medical sciences translational physiology course in Brazil

The objective of the present study was to conduct a short-term international course on translational physiology for medical students from Wright State University and the University of Iowa. The goals were to 1) provide students with an exposure to the academic, cultural, and medical environments in Brazil; 2) promote awareness of the global medical community; and 3) provide an academic course focused on translational physiology. An evaluation of the students was conducted to determine whether such a short-term course might be useful in the medical curriculum. The 2-wk course was held in the summer of 2005 at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, for 23 American students. The program included presentations of basic and clinical topics, meetings with medical students, and clinical presentations. The program finished with student attendance at a scientific meeting sponsored by the Brazilian Society of Hypertension. Student surveys evaluated issues related to perceived treatment, Brazilian medical school environment, culture and personal attributes, and career aspirations. The international Medical Sciences Translational Physiology course for medical students provided a brief, but intense, experience. It gave students a picture of the medical environment in Brazil and an appreciation for the differences and similarities in cultures. Most students reported that it was a positive experience that would be beneficial to their careers. In conclusion, a short-term international course provides an efficient means for medical students to experience aspects of global medical science.

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Evaluation of the geriatric curriculum implemented at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, since 2017: A qualitative study

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.16040.2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 417 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Faezeh Jaafari ◽

Somayeh Delavari ◽

Leila Bazrafkan

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Clinical Education ◽

Group Discussion ◽

Geriatric Medicine ◽

General Medicine ◽

Ambulatory Setting ◽

Field Observations ◽

Medical Sciences ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

The University

Background: Recently, there has been an increase in life expectancy due to improvements in nutrition, health, and sanitation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the geriatric curriculum in the field of general medicine at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS), Iran to improve the quality of services provided to this population in the community. Methods: This was a qualitative study. Six educational hospitals and ambulatory centers of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences participated in this study. Within these centers, 15 medical education faculty members and educational experts, 6 medical students, 6 elderly patients and 6 nurses working in the university related to the geriatric field were selected using purposive sampling. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion and field observations in the teaching hospital and ambulatory setting of SUMS from June 2017 to May 2018. Based on the qualitative research, the data underwent conventional content analysis and the main themes were developed from this. Results: Three main themes were extracted from the data: effective clinical education, geriatrics curriculum challenges and promotion strategies for geriatric medicine. Subcategories that emerged were a competent curriculum teacher, a challenging program, management of resources, promotion of the program, and the revision required in the curriculum, which were related to other concepts and described in the real-world situation of the geriatric curriculum in the university, as observed in field observations. Conclusions: This study identified three concepts as main themes that can be used to explain how to implement a geriatric curriculum in a medical university. The main contributing factor to different views of the participants was identified as the revision required to the curriculum for integrative care in a geriatric patient. This should be taken into consideration while planning any programs and decisions aimed at education of medical students on this topic.

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Non-medical use of methylphenidate among medical students of the University of the Free State

South African Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v23i1.1006 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 5 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Roshini Jain ◽

Ch Chiech Chang ◽

Mpho Koto ◽

Alden Geldenhuys ◽

Richard Nichol ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Medical Curriculum ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Free State ◽

Specific Information ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Questionnaire Response ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Training Programmes ◽

The University

Background: Faced with demanding training programmes, medical students may be more prone to use methylphenidate for non-medical purposes in order to improve concentration, alertness and academic performance.Aim: The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of the non-medical use of methylphenidate and knowledge of this drug among undergraduate medical students of the University of the Free State.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was distributed during lectures to all students in the five year groups of the undergraduate medical programme.Results: Of the 643 undergraduate medical students, 541 completed the questionnaire (response rate: 84.1%). Approximately 11.0% of surveyed students were using methylphenidate at the time of the study, of which the majority (67.9%) used it for academic purposes and 70.6% received it from a medical health professional. Less than a third of users had been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Methylphenidate users’ median knowledge was greater than non-users, and methylphenidate knowledge increased from first-year and second-year students to third-year to fifth-year students. Median knowledge scores per year group ranged from 52.0% to 60.0%.Conclusion: Methylphenidate is mainly used for non-medical purposes by medical students. Students generally have a low level of knowledge on methylphenidate. Specific information on methylphenidate should be included in lectures on stress management and study methods during the course of the medical curriculum.

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Challenges and Motivational Facilitators of Social Accountability in Medical Students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences: A Qualitative Study

Shiraz E-Medical Journal ◽

10.5812/semj.97422 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol In Press (In Press) ◽

Author(s):

Mahbobeh Mohammadi ◽

Mehdi Bagheri ◽

Parivash Jafari ◽

Leila Bazrafkan

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Medical School ◽

Informed Choice ◽

Social Accountability ◽

Medical Sciences ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Educational Challenges ◽

Content Analysis Method ◽

The University ◽

The Impact

Background: Accountability in the community is one of the main missions of the medical school. Objectives: The current study aimed at explaining the motivational facilitators and challenges in medical students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, for social accountability based on their experiences. Methods: The current study using semi-structured interviews was conducted on 28 individuals, 16 of whom were students and 12 professors and managers of the medical school. Purposeful sampling was used up to saturation. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method. First, conceptual codes were extracted and then grouped into several main themes. Selected concepts or main themes included facilitators, inhibitors, or challengers. Results: Selected concepts or main themes included facilitating factors and educational challenges for the social accountability of the students. The facilitators included informed choice, personality and moral commitment, content and process of motivation, promotion of community-based learning in the university, and the role of professors in motivation. The inhibitors or challenges included traditional routines, ineffective evaluations, manners of meeting the students’ needs, the lack of educational facilities, and the impact of the increased number of students on the quality of education. Conclusions: According to the current study findings, the conditions and facilities should be shared among medical education programs to provide a supportive environment for the students, and take a positive and effective step toward motivating them to improve their accountability.

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Workshops in Healing for Senior Medical Students: A 5 Year Experience

International Journal of Whole Person Care ◽

10.26443/ijwpc.v1i1.13 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

John Henry Kearsley ◽

Elizabeth Lobb

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Medical Curriculum ◽

Repeated Reading ◽

Contemporary Literature ◽

Art Music ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Music And Literature ◽

South Wales ◽

Open Coding ◽

The University

Objectives: To provide a 5-year (2008-2012) overview and appraisal of a novel course for senior undergraduate medical students (Workshops in Healing) at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia within the context of a traditional 6-year curriculum. In these innovative workshops, 8-12 self-selected students per year participate over 6 hours in two sessions, several days apart. The sessions use artwork and other evocative images, poetry, music, statues and classic/contemporary literature to illustrate points of discussion relating to suffering, healing and the doctor-patient relationship. Methods: A written open-ended reflection was requested from 48 students in the final year of their 6-year medical course within a few weeks of the second workshop. The study employed an emergent qualitative design. Open coding involved repeated reading of the sections of the student’s feedback and a line-by-line analysis of this data. Selective coding was then used to link data together and develop the themes.Results: Students identified the following benefits from the workshops: 1) the opportunity to re-affirm their commitment to their chosen career path; 2) the value of listening to other students share their stories; 3) the importance of the timing of the Workshops to occur after exams; 4) the use of various mediums such as art, music and literature to present concepts of suffering and healing; and 5) the creation of a safe and confidential space.Conclusions: Students reported that the workshops gave them a renewed sense of drive and enthusiasm for their chosen career. They highlighted the importance of addressing an aspect of Medicine (healing) not covered in the traditional medical curriculum. For many students the workshops provided a broader understanding of the meaning of concepts such as suffering and healing, and helped them to rediscover a deeper meaning to Medicine, and their roles as healthcare professionals.

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An Evaluation of Internet Addiction and Its Related Factors among the Students of Yazd University of Medical Science

Journal of Community Health Research ◽

10.18502/jchr.v9i4.4974 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nasim Namiranian ◽

Seied Saman Mansouri ◽

Mohammad Shafiee

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Internet Addiction ◽

Medical Science ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Statistical Relationship ◽

Medical Sciences ◽

Chi Square ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significance Level

Introduction: Considering the increase in Internet addiction rate, we tried to investigate the rate of internet addiction among medical students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd in 2016. Methods: This analytic-cross-sectional study was performed on 350 students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd. The data collection tool was a demographic questionnaire, and Yang's Internet addiction inventory. The questionnaire contains 20 questions, according to which the person is placed in one of four classes: normal, mild, moderate, and severe. After collecting the data, the data were entered into SPSS 16 software and analyzed using Chi-square and independent t-tests. The significance level was considered less than 0.05. Results: According to Internet addiction, students were 65% normal, 33.3% border lip and 1.7% were addicted to the Internet. The results also showed that there was a significant statistical relationship between the prevalence of internet addiction among students and sex, smoking, and registration in cyberspace (p<0.05), and there was no significant statistical relationship between the prevalence of internet addiction and marital status, place of residence and birthplace (p>0.05). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it can be concluded that by increasing the awareness of medical students, the rate of Internet addiction in them can be minimized

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Anti-stigma training for medical students: The Education Not Discrimination project

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.112.114017 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 202 (s55) ◽

pp. s89-s94 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Bettina Friedrich ◽

Sara Evans-Lacko ◽

Jillian London ◽

Danielle Rhydderch ◽

Claire Henderson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Medical Curriculum ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Mental Health Stigma ◽

Control Group ◽

Short Term ◽

Study Intervention ◽

The Impact ◽

Intended Behaviour

BackgroundEducation Not Discrimination (END) is the component of the Time to Change programme intended to reduce mental health stigma among professionals and professional trainees.AimsTo investigate the impact of the END anti-stigma programme on medical students immediately and after 6 months with regard to knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and empathy.MethodA total of 1452 medical students participated in the study (intervention group n = 1066, control group n = 386).Participants completed questionnaires at baseline, and at immediate and 6-month follow-up. Groups were compared for changes in stigma outcomes.ResultsAll measures improved in both groups, particularly among students with less knowledge and more stigmatising attitudes and intended behaviour at baseline. At immediate follow-up the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in stigma-related knowledge and reductions in stigma-related attitudes and intended behaviour, relative to the control group. At 6 months' follow-up, however, only one attitude item remained significantly better.ConclusionsAlthough the intervention produced short-term advantage there was little evidence for its persistent effect, suggesting a need for greater integration of ongoing measures to reduce stigma into the medical curriculum.

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Medical Students’ Commitment during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Preparedness, Motivation, and Impact on Students’ Skills

10.21203/rs.3.rs-37069/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lukas Müller ◽

Markus Heymanns ◽

Laura Harder ◽

Julia Winter ◽

Stephan Gehring ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Medical Students ◽

Medical School ◽

Medical Curriculum ◽

Medical Center ◽

Care Staff ◽

Health Care Staff ◽

Web Based ◽

The University ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, many authors have suggested a commitment of medical students to support overworked health care staff. However, whether the students are prepared for such an occupation remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate medical students’ preparedness for a commitment in the pandemic and to assess the impact on their skills and attitudes.Methods: In April 2020, the CoronaPreventMainz (CPM) study was initiated to test 3300 employees with direct patient contact at the University Medical Center Mainz. To accomplish the huge logistic effort, medical students were recruited as support staff.Using a web-based questionnaire, the participating students were asked 27 questions covering six different topics.Results: Of the 75 recruited students, 63 (84.0%) participated in this survey. The median age was 24 years, and 66.6% (n = 42) were female. The vast majority agreed that students should be used as voluntary helpers during this crisis (87.3%) and had the feeling of contributing in the fight against the pandemic (90.5%). Most of the students (80.6%) even reported an improvement in their practical skills. Fear of self-infection was low (7.9%), and overextending situations occurred for just 3.2%. However, less than one-fifth (19.4%) of the students felt prepared for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic by medical school, and two-thirds (67.7%) demanded special preparation. Conclusion: Through their commitment, the medical students felt that they were taking part in the fight against the pandemic. However, only a few felt well-prepared by medical school and the students’ need for special preparation courses is huge. Therefore, single-center initiatives can only be the beginning. Dedicated courses on how to support health care staff in natural disasters should be integrated into the medical curriculum to better prepare medical students for the next crisis.

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On the Necessity of all Medical Students attending a Course of Lectures and receiving Clinical Instruction also in Psychological Medicine

Journal of Mental Science ◽

10.1192/bjp.31.133.38 ◽

1885 ◽

Vol 31 (133) ◽

pp. 38-46

Author(s):

Edward B. Moore

Keyword(s):

Medical Student ◽

Medical Students ◽

Medical School ◽

Mental Disease ◽

Medical Studies ◽

Clinical Instruction ◽

Short Term ◽

Psychological Medicine ◽

The University

Few, I think, will attempt to deny that it is desirable that all medical students should attend a course of lectures on the important subject of Mental Disease. And further, that these lectures should be compulsory, no matter what the university or medical school may be at which the students matriculate, or where they may intend to take their degrees or diplomas. Some there are who may object to these lectures being compulsory, for the reason that this course of lectures would be the addition of another subject to the already lengthened curriculum of medical studies. I think we are all agreed that the medical student of the present day has enough, and more than enough, of subjects to occupy the short term of four years that is usually allotted to his studies.

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Journey Across State Lines: Transition to a regional campus

Journal of Regional Medical Campuses ◽

10.24926/jrmc.v1i2.888 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Michael J LaRock ◽

Kira K Zwygart ◽

Kelli Herman ◽

Amy B Smith

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Medical Curriculum ◽

Leadership Skills ◽

Management Training ◽

South Florida ◽

Academic Affairs ◽

Healthcare Leadership ◽

Leadership And Management ◽

Regional Campus ◽

The University

The University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine’s SELECT program was developed to equip medical students with healthcare leadership skills as they progress through the medical curriculum by providing them with leadership and management training, as well as a curriculum based on emotional intelligence. Medical students spend their pre-clerkship years in Tampa, Florida and then spend their clinical years at the Lehigh Valley Health Network regional campus in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The authors describe how faculty at the regional campus are involved with student and academic affairs on the main campus and the process of helping students transition not only from the pre-clinical to clinical years but also transition from Florida to Pennsylvania.

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Saudi Medical Students’ Interest in Basic Medical Sciences and the Factors Affecting It

Global Journal of Health Science ◽

10.5539/gjhs.v10n4p30 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 30

Author(s):

Suha Althubaiti ◽

Norah Althubaiti

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Clinical Medicine ◽

Medical Science ◽

Survey Study ◽

Practical Training ◽

Medical Sciences ◽

Basic Sciences ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Basic Medical

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate medical students’ interest in basic sciences and identify perceived obstacles for choosing a career in basic science.METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted and carried out between March and May 2016 with 600 undergraduate medical students at the College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Students’ interest towards basic medical sciences was evaluated using a questionnaire.RESULTS: A total of 352 medical students (180 male and 172 female) responded. The leading reasons for not pursuing a career in basic sciences were that medical students aimed primarily to become clinicians (71.6%), would prefer to engage in clinical research (40.4%), were concerned about salaries in basic sciences (36.6%), and had not experienced exciting practical training in basic sciences (26.2%).CONCLUSION: Integrating basic sciences and clinical medicine and increasing research participation will result in more positive attitudes towards basic sciences. Furthermore, reducing the students’ concerns will encourage medical students to engage more with basic medical science.

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