A Study to Assess the Attitude of Medical Students towards Learning Communication Skills in a Teaching Hospital in Kerala

BACKGROUND Communication plays a crucial role in the present era of medical litigations and hospital attacks. A good doctor has to be a good communicator. 80 % of medical errors are due to communication failure as reported in a study. The need for improving the medical communication skills of health professionals is getting recognized. The use of structured programme of effective and formal communication skills training is the need of the hour. In order to improve communication skills, Medical council of India (MCI) has launched the ATECOM (attitude, ethics and communication) module in the MBBS curriculum from 2019. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitude of medical students towards learning communication skills. METHODS A total of 447 students from 7 batches were enrolled in the study. All students were asked to fill up the communication skills attitude scale (CSAS) questionnaire which consists of 13 positive attitude questions and 13 negative attitude questions which was scored in Likert’s scale. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). RESULTS There were a total of 447 students, of which 128 were males and 319 were females. The mean total score for positive attitude was 54.19 (SD - 5.99) and the mean score for negative attitude was 33.42 (SD - 5.27). The mean positive attitude score was more for females (54.61; SD - 5.82) than males (53.15; SD - 6.28) and the difference was statistically significant. The female students had a lesser mean negative attitude score compared to males. Batch wise analysis was done using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The P value for total positive score between batches was 0.001 and for total negative score was 0.28. CONCLUSION The study showed an overall positive attitude to learning communication skills with girls showing a more positive attitude and less negative attitude than boys. KEY WORDS Attitude, Communication skills, Medical Students, Competency

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Impact of clinical posting in psychiatry on the attitudes towards psychiatry and mental illness in undergraduate medical students

General Psychiatry ◽

10.1136/gpsych-2019-100072 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. e100072 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rishi Desai ◽

Bharat Panchal ◽

Ashok Vala ◽

Imran Jahangirali Ratnani ◽

Sneha Vadher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Medical Students ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Clinical Medicine ◽

Negative Attitude ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

P Value ◽

Western India ◽

Major Public Health Problem ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students

BackgroundA major public health problem around the world today is mental illness. Although there are several studies on the topic, it is rarely conducted in the context like the current study.AimsThis study aims to find out the attitudes of medical students towards psychiatry and mental illness as a clinical medicine major and evaluate the effects of clinical posting on their attitudes towards psychiatry and mental illness.MethodsThis is a longitudinal study of 6 months’ duration conducted with students in their fifth semester of medical college in Western India during the academic year of 2016–2017. The participants were assessed by pro forma containing demographic details, and the questionnaires—Attitude Towards Psychiatry-30 items (ATP-30) scale and Mental Illness Clinician’s Attitude (MICA) scale, which were presented to the students at the beginning and at the end of their psychiatry clinical posting. The statistical analysis was done with GraphPad, InStat V.3.06. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThe students’ attitudes towards psychiatry were neutral at the beginning of the psychiatry clinical posting, and improved significantly at the end of the posting on both scales: ATP-30 (p=0.002) and MICA (p=0.048). The students became more positive towards the subject and mental illness in general, negative attitudes also reduced but the change was not statistically significant (p=0.058). We found significant improvement in students’ thinking towards being a psychiatrist in the future post-term (p=0.0002). The changes in attitude in terms of gender were equivocal, with an increase in positive attitude and reduction in negative attitude post-term in both sexes.ConclusionPsychiatry clinical posting aids in cultivating positive attitude towards psychiatry and mental illness and reduces the stigma associated with the students of this major and psychiatric patients.

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Attitudes of Dentist Towards Communication Skills Learning

10.20944/preprints202010.0612.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sabika Saeed ◽

Khalid Esmael ◽

Fatima Jassim ◽

Ashwin Shetty

Keyword(s):

Communication Skills ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Negative Attitude ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Attitude Scale ◽

Attitude Score ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

The Mean ◽

Skills Learning

The aim of the study was to determine the attitude of dentist toward learning communication skills and to recognize the factors influencing attitude toward learning communication skills. A cross-sectional study using a self-administered, 26-item, adapted Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) was carried out among dentist working in a public sector hospital in Qatar. Overall, two scores could be ascertained from the adapted CSAS: the mean positive attitude score (PAS) and negative attitude score (NAS). Non-parametric tests for statistical significance were utilized to assess relation between PAS and NAS scores and demographics. Fifty-nine dentists completed the survey giving an overall response rate of 53.6%. The mean (SD) PAS and NAS scores were 3.98 (SD=0.54) and 3.26 (SD=0.49) respectively. Female dentist was more positive towards learning communication skills than male. No statistically significant correlation was found between both PAS and NAS scores and respondents’ age. Dentists’ had both positive and negative attitudes towards learning communication skills. Considering the high NAS scores, it is recommended to introduce communication skills formal training sessions

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Knowledge and attitude regarding stem cell research and its application among medical students in Pakistan

10.1101/2020.08.24.264838 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mashal Daud ◽

Zaina Sajid ◽

Tooba Ali

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Medical Students ◽

Stem Cell Research ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Negative Attitude ◽

Knowledge Score ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Mean ◽

Knowledge And Attitude

AbstractBackgroundThe utilization of stem cells (SCs) has led the way into a new era of therapeutics known as regenerative medicine. Their renewal property offers exciting possibilities in reversing tissue damage caused by metabolic and degenerative changes. Research should be conducted increasingly to explore the possibilities of SC utilization in Pakistan.ObjectivesTo assess the level of knowledge, perception, and attitude of medical students regarding stem cell research (SCR) and its application, to obtain a better insight into the future of stem cell therapy in Pakistan as it is a rapidly emerging field in medicine.Materials and MethodsThis cross-sectional study was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire filled by 206 medical students from different medical colleges in Pakistan. A convenience sampling method was used. Knowledge and attitude scores were calculated based on answers to 28 well-structured questions. Data was analyzed using SPSS.ResultsThe mean values of the answers showed that 60.2% (n=124) of the students had a good knowledge and 39.8% (n=82) had poor knowledge of stem cells. Whereas, 56.8% (n=117) expressed a positive attitude and 43.2% (n=89) expressed a negative attitude towards SCR. Independent t-test applied on knowledge score and attitude showed that the mean knowledge score of people with a positive attitude is higher i.e. 21.25 as compared to the mean knowledge score of people with negative attitude i.e. 19.21. And the difference of the means is significant at p=0.007. Thus, the attitude of students was observed to be significantly dependent on their knowledge about SCR.ConclusionThe results show that medical students have baseline knowledge about SC therapy and a positive attitude towards it. Seminars, workshops should be conducted and this topic should be added to their syllabus so that they obtain proper information about SCR and encourage further research.

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Start the Way You Want to Finish: An Intensive Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Orientation Curriculum in Undergraduate Medical Education

Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development ◽

10.1177/23821205211000352 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 238212052110003

Author(s):

Denise L. F. Davis ◽

DoQuyen Tran-Taylor ◽

Elizabeth Imbert ◽

Jeffrey O. Wong ◽

Calvin L. Chou

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Personal Narratives ◽

Skills Training ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Relationship Building ◽

Cultural Humility ◽

Mindfulness Skills ◽

Orientation Week ◽

Equity And Inclusion

Problem: Medical students often feel unprepared to care for patients whose cultural backgrounds differ from their own. Programs in medical schools have begun to address health: inequities; however, interventions vary in intensity, effectiveness, and student experience. Intervention: The authors describe an intensive 2-day diversity, equity, and inclusion curriculum for medical students in their orientation week prior to starting formal classes. Rather than using solely a knowledge-based “cultural competence” or a reflective “cultural humility” approach, an experiential curriculum was employed that links directly to fundamental communication skills vital to interactions with patients and teams, and critically important to addressing interpersonal disparities. Specifically, personal narratives were incorporated to promote individuation and decrease implicit bias, relationship-centered skills practice to improve communication across differences, and mindfulness skills to help respond to bias when it occurs. Brief didactics highlighting student and faculty narratives of difference were followed by small group sessions run by faculty trained to facilitate sessions on equity and inclusion. Context: Orientation week for matriculating first-year students at a US medical school. Impact: Matriculating students highly regarded an innovative 2-day diversity, equity, and inclusion orientation curriculum that emphasized significant relationship-building with peers, in addition to core concepts and skills in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Lessons learned: This orientation represented an important primer to concepts, skills, and literature that reinforce the necessity of training in diversity, equity, and inclusion. The design team found that intensive faculty development and incorporating diversity concepts into fundamental communication skills training were necessary to perpetuate this learning. Two areas of further work emerged: (1) the emphasis on addressing racism and racial equity as paradigmatic belies further essential understanding of intersectionality, and (2) uncomfortable conversations about privilege and marginalization arose, requiring expert facilitation.

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Validity of the Diabetes, Hypertension and Hyperlipidaemia (DHL) Knowledge Instrument among Medical Students of Karachi

Global Journal of Health Science ◽

10.5539/gjhs.v9n1p265 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 265

Author(s):

Muhammad Bilal ◽

Abdul Haseeb ◽

Aleena Zehra Merchant ◽

Muhammad Ahad Sher Khan ◽

Arsalan Majeed Adam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Knowledge Score ◽

Educational Status ◽

Educational Programs ◽

P Value ◽

Medical College ◽

Knowledge Based ◽

The Mean ◽

Knowledge Levels

BACKGROUND: While there have been a number of studies on DM, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia, an instrument which assesses knowledge based on all three conditions has neither been established nor authorized in Pakistan. Hence, the focus of this study was to establish a pre- tested extensive questionnaire to evaluate medical students’ understanding of DM, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and their medications for use.METHODS: A pre-validated and pre-tested DHL instrument was employed on 250 students of Dow Medical and Sindh Medical College and on 45 physicians working in a leading teaching hospital of Karachi. The DHL knowledge instrument was then distributed a second time to the very same set of students, after a period of 2 months, at the end of the foundation module, once they had received some basic formal medical education including diabetes and CVS diseases.RESULTS: The overall internal consistency for the DHL instrument failed to comply with the set standard of more than or equal to 0.7 as our results yielded Cronbach’s α of 0.6. Overall the average difficulty factor of 28 questions is 0.41, which highlighted that the instrument was moderately tough. The mean scores for all domains were substantially lower in the students section in comparison to that of the professional section, which had remarkable impact on the overall mean(SD) knowledge score (40.58 ± 14.63 vs. 63.49 ± 06.67 ; p value = 0.00).CONCLUSION: The instrument can be used to recognize people who require educational programs and keep an account of the changes with the passage of time as it could help in differentiating the knowledge levels among its participants based on their educational status.

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Communication skills training for medical students: is it fashion or urgent need? (Literary review and teaching experience)

Profilakticheskaya meditsina ◽

10.17116/profmed20212404163 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 63

Author(s):

L.V. Sakhno ◽

V.I. Orel ◽

I.V. Koltuntseva ◽

A.G. Rykachevskaya ◽

T.V. Mishkina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

Skills Training ◽

Communication Skills Training

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Comparison of Virtual and Actual Education Models on the Learning of Internal Interns During the Pandemic of COVID-19

10.21203/rs.3.rs-506082/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Azadeh Mottaghi ◽

Nazanin Alibeik ◽

Shokoufeh Savaj ◽

Behnam Shakiba ◽

Raheleh Alimoradzadeh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Good Alternative ◽

Educational Process ◽

Virtual Education ◽

P Value ◽

Educational Models ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Post Test ◽

E Learning ◽

The Mean

Abstract Background: Following the outbreak of coronavirus and its impact on the educational process of medical students, attention was paid to e-learning due to importance of education and research. The aim of present study is to evaluation of virtual and actual education models on the learning of internal interns during the pandemic of COVID-19. Results: The mean±SD age of the participants was 24.9±2.3 years, 46% of participants were men and 54% of them live in dormitory. Results of study shows that difference of pre-test and post-test score with actual and virtual education models in the male and female is significantly different (P value=0.020). Virtual education for men and actual education for women have resulted in higher difference scores in pre-test and post-test. Actual and virtual education models were no different in academic achievements of participants. Thus, the scores obtained in 9 areas did not make a significant difference between the two types of educational models.Discussion: Virtual and actual education methods for internal interns were examined and the results showed that there is no significant difference between these two methods in student output. Given the conditions that have created by COVID-19 disease in the world, it seems that the use of virtual education can be a good alternative to educating medical students so that education does not stop.

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Factors Associated with Attitudes towards the Preferred Method of Delivery in Medical and Non-Medical Female Students

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International ◽

10.9734/jpri/2020/v32i3731004 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 62-71

Author(s):

Sakineh Abdi ◽

Fatemeh Jafarzadeh- Kenarsari ◽

Zahra Bostani- Khalesi ◽

Ehsan Kazemnejad- Leili

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Mode Of Delivery ◽

Female Students ◽

Normal Vaginal Delivery ◽

Attitude Score ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Exact Test ◽

Medical Undergraduate

Aims: In order to reduce the rate of cesarean section (CS), it is necessary to be aware of attitudes of women to predict their preferred method of delivery and its related factors. This study aimed to compare attitudes of medical and non-medical female students regarding the preferred method of delivery and its related factors in 2019. Study Design: cross sectional-analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Medical and non-medical undergraduate female students of Guilan, Rasht, Iran, were randomly selected between October 2019 and November 2019. Methodology: We included 1040 students (873 non-medical, 167 medical students; mean age 20.90 ± 1.54 years). The data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential (Chi Square, Fisher's exact test, Kruskal–Wallis, Mann-Whitney and multiple regression) statistics (P =.05). Results: In general, 71.50% of subjects in both groups had a neutral attitude. For group comparison, the medical and non-medical groups (24% and 12.40%) had a positive attitude towards CS and (11.40% and 14.80%) had a positive attitude towards normal vaginal delivery (NVD), respectively. Attitude score according to the university (P =.002), the school (P =.002), the academic year (P =.001), age (P =.031), ethnicity (P =.001), child rank (P =.042), father education (P =.007), mother education (P =.006), childbirth method of the mothers in other children (P =.007), and delivery method of the relatives (P =.05) was significant. Conclusion: Although non-medical students had more possitive attitude towards NVD, in general, in both groups, the majority of them had a neutral attitude towards the mode of delivery. It seems necessary to develop the educational-counseling interventions to form a positive attitude towards NVD in all students and youngs.

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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES AMONG UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS DURING PRE AND POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN.

10.36106/ijsr/2903859 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 31-32

Author(s):

Neha Farheen Mushtaq ◽

Shiva Kumar B K. ◽

Vinay HR. ◽

Bramaramba D Honnugudi

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

T Test ◽

P Value ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Perceived Stress Scale ◽

Stress Scale ◽

The Mean ◽

And Coping

Background: Medical students are facing huge challenge due to COVID-19 pandemic which has impacted their learning and has become vital stressor and affecting their psychological well-being. The objective of this study was to assess the perception of the stress among the undergraduate medical students and their coping strategies pre and post lockdown. Materials and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 321 undergraduate medical students at Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, Mandya, Karnataka, India. This study was initiated after getting approval from the Institutional Ethical Committee. After obtaining consent the extent of the students stress was assessed using Perceived Stress Scale and Brief COPE was used to assess their coping strategies. Scores were analysed using paired t test in Microsoft excel/ SPSS software. Results: On paired 't' t test the mean difference in total score was 0.68 and the p value was 0.166 for scores of perceived stress scale, similarly the mean difference in scores of sub groups under coping strategies was 0.90 and 0.49 with 'p' value 0.173 and 0.498 respectively. Conclusion: Overall, there was not much of difference in scores of perceived stress scale and coping strategies before and after lockdown. Except for minor difference across age group and scores of specic coping strategies which was again not statistically signicant.

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11 Filling the void: preparing future junior doctors for challenging conversations

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care ◽

10.1136/bmjspcare-2018-mariecurie.11 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 363.3-364

Author(s):

Hannah Costelloe ◽

Alice Copley ◽

Andrew Greenhalgh ◽

Andrew Foster ◽

Pratik Solanki

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Small Group ◽

End Of Life ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Skills Training ◽

Junior Doctors ◽

List Type ◽

The Impact

Evidence demonstrates that medical students have limited experience in developing ‘higher-order communication skills’ (Kaufman et al. 2000). Anecdotally many do not feel confident in their ability to conduct difficult conversations often due to a lack of exposure to such scenarios in practice or a pervasive notion that these scenarios are inappropriate for students and beyond the scope of a junior doctor’s role and thus not a focus of curriculums (Noble et al. 2007). There is however a correlation between level of clinical experience and improved confidence for medical students (Morgan and Cleave-Hogg 2002).We surveyed a group of final year medical students to assess their confidence using a 10-point Likert scale in tackling common palliative and end of life care scenarios. Our intervention comprised a study day of 10 practical small-group teaching simulation and OSCE-style stations designed to provide exposure to common experiences in a controlled setting. We reassessed the confidence of students after delivery and objectively explored the impact of the day by asking participants to complete a validated assessment before and after the course. All results showed significant improvement on t-testing: confidence in end of life communication in an OSCE setting improved by 42.2% and assessment marks improved by 24.7% (p=0.039).Palliative care is an area in which students approaching the end of undergraduate training feel underprepared. Our findings demonstrate that small group sessions improve confidence by facilitating communication practice in a controlled environment and providing crucial exposure to common palliative care scenarios they will face as doctors.References. Kaufman D, Laidlaw T, Macleod H. Communication skills in medical school: Exposure confidence and performance. Academic Medicine [online] 2000;75(10):S90–S92. Available at https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Fulltext/2000/10001/Communication_Skills_in_Medical_School__Exposure.29.aspx [Accessed: 30 May 2018]. Morgan P, Cleave-Hogg D. Comparison between medical students’ experience confidence and competence. Medical Education [online] 2002;36(6):534–539. Available at https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2923.2002.01228.x [Accessed: 30 May 2018]. Noble L, Kubacki A, Martin J, Lloyd M. The effect of professional skills training on patient-centredness and confidence in communicating with patients. Medical Education [online] 2007;41(5):432–440. Available at https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2007.02704.x [Accessed: 30 May 2018]

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