Academic use of smartphones among medical students in Pakistan

2021 ◽  
pp. 026666692199351
Author(s):  
Haseena Khan ◽  
Amara Malik

This study examined the use of smartphones as an academic tool amongst medical students from a developing country context. The study also aimed at identifying the perceived benefits and barriers to using smartphones in medical education. A cross sectional survey was administered to the students from nine medical institutes in Pakistan. A structured questionnaire was self-administered to 270 students from MBBS program. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23. All the respondents owned a smartphone. They used smartphones to browse the Internet to find medical information (100%), to share educational material (90%), and to take notes (79%). Easy and speedy access to information and improvement in study skills were the major benefits, while limited wireless access, small screen, and lack of awareness about medical resources were the main barriers. The students had a positive attitude towards smartphone as an academic tool. Smartphones use is likely to increase with the emergence of new developments in terms of design, medical apps and educational resources.

2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (12) ◽  
pp. 601-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Jackson ◽  
James Warner

To assess knowledge of capacity issues across different medical specialties we conducted a cross-sectional survey with a structured questionnaire at academic meetings, lectures and conferences. Of 190 individuals who received the questionnaire 129 (68%) responded-35 general practitioners, 31 psychiatrists, 29 old-age psychiatrists and 34 final year medical students. Correct answers on capacity to consent to or refuse medical treatment were given by 58% of the psychiatrists, 34% of the geriatricians, 20% of the general practitioners and 15% of the students. 15% of all respondents wrongly believed that a competent adult could lawfully be treated against his or her will, with no obvious differences by specialty. As judged by this survey, issues of capacity and consent deserve more attention in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. NP530-NP537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Nathaniel Grow ◽  
James D Vargo ◽  
Naiman Nazir ◽  
Richard Korentager

Abstract Background There are now over 2.2 million mobile applications (apps) in existence, with more than 250 identifiable by searching “plastic surgery.” Unfortunately, only 30% of these are academically relevant, which makes finding useful plastic surgery apps both challenging and inefficient. Objectives The authors sought to evaluate the use of digital resources and awareness of available apps within plastic surgery to improve their clinical/educational utilization. Methods An extensive search of the Apple and Android databases was performed to identify all relevant plastic surgery apps. An American Society of Plastic Surgeons-sponsored survey was distributed to a random cohort of American Society of Plastic Surgeons members (practicing surgeons, fellows, and residents) and students applying to an integrated plastic surgery residency. The survey queried utilization of resources to access medical information and awareness of apps relevant to clinical/educational plastic surgery. Results A total 153 relevant applications were identified between the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores. Of the 577 respondents (273 practicing surgeons, 117 residents, 11 fellows, and 177 medical students), 99.31% own a smartphone/tablet. Furthermore, medical students and residents/fellows utilized both smartphones and computers more frequently than practicing physicians (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0022, respectively). Digital resources were also utilized more frequently than printed material (P < 0.00001). For app awareness, 82.1% of respondents reported knowing of fewer than 10 apps relevant to plastic surgery, and only 8.41% were aware of more than 20. Conclusions Smartphone usage is nearly ubiquitous among plastic surgeons, and most utilize these devices daily to access medical information. However, awareness of the many available and relevant plastic surgery apps is extremely limited.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara Quant ◽  
Lisa Altieri ◽  
Juan Torres ◽  
Noah Craft

Background. Mobile medical software applications (apps) are used for clinical decision-making at the point of care.Objectives. To determine (1) the usage, reliability, and popularity of mobile medical apps and (2) medical students’ perceptions of app usage effect on the quality of patient-provider interaction in healthcare settings.Methods. An anonymous web-based survey was distributed to medical students. Frequency of use, type of app used, and perceptions of reliability were assessed via univariate analysis.Results. Seven hundred thirty-one medical students responded, equating to a response rate of 29%. The majority (90%) of participants thought that medical apps enhance clinical knowledge, and 61% said that medical apps are as reliable as textbooks. While students thought that medical apps save time, improve the care of their patients, and improve diagnostic accuracy, 53% of participants believed that mobile device use in front of colleagues and patients makes one appear less competent.Conclusion. While medical students believe in the utility and reliability of medical apps, they were hesitant to use them out of fear of appearing less engaged. Higher levels of training correlated with a greater degree of comfort when using medical apps in front of patients.


2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
pp. 384-389
Author(s):  
NOREEN RAHAT HASHMI ◽  
Khalid Maqsood ◽  
SEEMA DAUD ◽  
Shezad Saleem ◽  
IRAM MANZOOR ◽  
...  

Objective: To determine the smoking patterns of medical students of 4th year MBBS. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Setting:Lahore Medical and Dental College (LMDC), Lahore, Pakistan. P e r i o d : From November to December 2006. M e t h o d o l o g y : The 50 medicalstudents of 4th year MBBS, who were current smokers. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics wasdetermined in terms of percentages. Results: In present study, 48% students started smoking between 14-17 years of age, 34% started tosmoke between ages 18-21 years and 18% of them had been smoking for past 4-6 yrs. Main reason to commence smoking included curiosity(27%), need to look glamorous (22%), peer pressure (16%) and stress relieving (10%). When probed about numbers of cigarettes smoked daily,the response of majority was that 32% of students admitted to smoking 1 -5 cigarettes, similar number admitted to smoking 6-10 cigarettes, and30% of students smoked more than 20 cigarettes. Among the respondents, 41 % had a brother who was a smoker and 37% had a father whowas a smoker. More than half the respondents (58%) said that their parents were unaware of their smoking habit. Regarding awareness aboutthe medical hazards of smoking, 31% of students named cancer, 29% mentioned heart disease, 18% were familiar with COPD and only 7%referred to stroke. The main concerns of respondents regarding smoking were fear of being discovered by their parents (22%), psychologicaldependence (20%) and physical dependence (18%). Only 50% of students tried to quit smoking, using hypnosis and substitutes like nicotinegum and nicotine patches. Conclusion: Tobacco smoking among medical students is alarming. These findings not only raise concerns for thefuture health of our medical students but also their credibility and effectiveness as health promoters for population at large.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23
Author(s):  
B.B. Subba ◽  
N. Rimal ◽  
B.M. Shrestha

Introduction: TB is considered one of the opportunistic infection among PLHIV. The increasing burden of HIV/TB co-infection among key population cause problem to maintain adherence to ART and DOTS services. The emergence of MDR-TB is one of the greatest challenge to control and management of both diseases. However, having knowledge and information of both diseases are important role to access the available HIV/TB services. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among key population who had HIV/TB co-infection in two-epidemic zone of Nepal. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. ANOVA test was done to analyze the collected data by using SPSS version 20.0. Results: A total of 343 HIV/TB co-infected individuals were enrolled to the study. Most of participants were from ART and DOTS clients. Therefore, the study found that there was significance difference found between knowledge about TB (F=4.400, p= 0.005), causative agent of TB (F=3.160, p=0.025), risk of TB illness among PLHIV (F=8.491, p=0.001) and among key affected population. Moreover, there was significance difference found between access to OI treatment (F=5.113, p=0.002) and access to viral load (F=4.642, p=0.003) among key study population. In gender perspective, there was no significance difference to use and access to available HIV/TB services. Conclusion: The general knowledge on HIV/TB co-infection was significant association with key population. The knowledge on HIV/TB and access to NGOs’ help can significant effect to access the available HIV and TB services.


Background: Information technology (IT) is a new way of teaching and learning. One of the promising media of information technology is e-Learning, which is used to enhance knowledge and skills among users. A student gains better and deep knowledge through a useful tool. This survey aimed to determine practices among medical students for e-Learning. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted on 184 students amongst the 500 students currently enrolled in medical college. Data was collected using questionnaires and were analyzed through SPSS version 22. Chi-square was used for qualitative values. Results: Majority 90.80% (n=167) students were aware of e-Learning and were statistically high in first year students (p-value: 0.018). The student did not show statistically significant results for content learned through e-Learning with a p-value of 0.063. Different resources were used for e-Learning in which videos had the highest percentage (87.60%) and audios were used as the least resource for e-Learning (29.20%). Daily, 56% of the students use e-Learning for 1 hour or less and only 3% of the students used it for more than 4 hours. Conclusion: Majority of undergraduate medical students were aware of the use of e-Learning and most of them preferred e-Learning for their course work and studies showing a significant increase in understanding and use, compared to studies conducted earlier. Participants found e-Learning useful and effective tool in increasing knowledge and understanding of their subject. Keywords: e-Learning; Practices; Students.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e044240
Author(s):  
Abraham Bohadana ◽  
Hava Azulai ◽  
Amir Jarjoui ◽  
George Kalak ◽  
Ariel Rokach ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe value of chest auscultation would be enhanced by the use of a standardised terminology. To that end, the recommended English terminology must be transferred to a language other than English (LOTE) without distortion.ObjectiveTo examine the transfer to Hebrew—taken as a model of LOTE—of the recommended terminology in English.Design/settingCross-sectional study; university-based hospital.Participants143 caregivers, including 31 staff physicians, 65 residents and 47 medical students.MethodsObservers provided uninstructed descriptions in Hebrew and English of audio recordings of five common sounds, namely, normal breath sound (NBS), wheezes, crackles, stridor and pleural friction rub (PFR).Outcomes(a) Rates of correct/incorrect classification; (b) correspondence between Hebrew and recommended English terms; c) language and auscultation skills, assessed by crossing the responses in the two languages with each other and with the classification of the audio recordings validated by computer analysis.ResultsRange (%) of correct rating was as follows: NBS=11.3–20, wheezes=79.7–87.2, crackles=58.6–69.8, stridor=67.4–96.3 and PFR=2.7–28.6. Of 60 Hebrew terms, 11 were correct, and 5 matched the recommended English terms. Many Hebrew terms were adaptations or transliterations of inadequate English terms. Of 687 evaluations, good dual-language and single-language skills were found in 586 (85.3%) and 41 (6%), respectively. However, in 325 (47.3%) evaluations, good language skills were associated with poor auscultation skills.ConclusionPoor auscultation skills surpassed poor language skills as a factor hampering the transfer to Hebrew (LOTE) of the recommended English terminology. Improved education in auscultation emerged as the main factor to promote the use of standardised lung sound terminology. Using our data, a strategy was devised to encourage the use of standardised terminology in non-native English-speaking countries.


2021 ◽  
pp. 155982762110181
Author(s):  
Sam Sugimoto ◽  
Drew Recker ◽  
Elizabeth E. Halvorson ◽  
Joseph A. Skelton

Background. Many diseases are linked to lifestyle in the United States, yet physicians receive little training in nutrition. Medical students’ prior knowledge of nutrition and cooking is unknown. Objective. To determine incoming medical students’ prior nutrition knowledge, culinary skills, and nutrition habits. Methods. A dual-methods study of first-year medical students. Cross-sectional survey assessing prior knowledge, self-efficacy, and previous education of cooking and nutrition. Interviews of second-year medical students explored cooking and nutrition in greater depth. Results. A total of 142 first-year medical students participated; 16% had taken a nutrition course, with majority (66%) learning outside classroom settings. Students had a mean score of 87% on the Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire versus comparison group (64.9%). Mean cooking and food skills score were lower than comparison scores. Overall, students did not meet guidelines for fiber, fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. Interviews with second-year students revealed most learned to cook from their families; all believed it important for physicians to have this knowledge. Conclusions. Medical students were knowledgeable about nutrition, but typically self-taught. They were not as confident or skilled in cooking, and mostly learned from their family. They expressed interest in learning more about nutrition and cooking.


BJS Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Vigneshwar Raj Veerappan ◽  
Michal Kawka ◽  
Aleksander Dawidziuk ◽  
Sanskrithi Sravanam ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction The training medical students receive means they can be used as auxiliary healthcare staff during pandemics and disasters. During COVID-10, many medical students volunteered in healthcare settings in clinical and non-clinical capacities. While there has been research into students’ perceptions of the pandemic and their role within the NHS, the perceptions of healthcare staff perceive this student response has not been explored. Methods COVIDAssist is a survey based cross sectional observational study of medical student volunteering during COVID-19. The study consists of a cross sectional survey of doctors & nurses who worked alongside medical students in the NHS during the pandemic. We will use qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze responses. Results The primary objective of the study is to assess how effective student response was in reducing the burden on healthcare teams during the pandemic. Secondary objectives are: to identify the broad specialty (e.g. medicine, surgery, primary care) and healthcare roles medical students were most beneficial) ; the GMC outcome-based skills students exhibited; the training provided to students before volunteering and what additional training could have been provided to students. Conclusion The outcomes of this study will help inform current and future guidance on effective student deployment during pandemics and disasters. The results are also expected to provide insight into necessary training adaptations.


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