Medical Student Substance Abuse Intervention: A Case Report and Literature Review

2009 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 27-35
Author(s):  
Daniel M. Avery ◽  
Gabriel H. Hester ◽  
Rane McLaughlin ◽  
Gregory E. Skipper
Keyword(s):  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Clinical Training ◽  
English Language ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Substance Abuse Intervention ◽  
Alcohol And Drug Abuse ◽  
Student Intervention

ABSTRACT Alcohol and drug abuse and addiction among medical students have been reported extensively. This is an important topic because substance abuse can lead to impairment, which affects the well-being of many, including medical students, and because it compromises physician competency. Education and clinical training regarding substance use disorders (SUDS) has been severely neglected, especially in relation to their incidence, not only among health professionals but also among patients. Students know little about SUDS and little regarding identifying a colleague in trouble. This article presents a case of a peer medical student intervention with a successful outcome as a proximate result of a brief educational program for medical students and argues for more education regarding SUDS, professional impairment, and how to deal with a peer who has a problem. To our knowledge, peer medical student intervention for a fellow student addicted to alcohol or drugs has never been reported in the English language.

Meditation buffers medical student compassion from the deleterious effects of depression.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S Mascaro ◽  
Sean Kelley ◽  
Alana Darcher ◽  
Lobsang Negi ◽  
Carol Worthman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Daily Functioning ◽  
Wait List ◽  
School Students ◽  
Social Emotions ◽  
The Face ◽  
Second Year

Increasing data suggest that for medical school students the stress of academic and psychologicaldemands can impair social emotions that are a core aspect of compassion and ultimately physiciancompetence. Few interventions have proven successful for enhancing physician compassion inways that persist in the face of suffering and that enable sustained caretaker well-being. To addressthis issue, the current study was designed to (1) investigate the feasibility of cognitively-basedcompassion training (CBCT) for second-year medical students, and (2) test whether CBCT decreasesdepression, enhances compassion, and improves daily functioning in medical students. Comparedto the wait-list group, students randomized to CBCT reported increased compassion, and decreasedloneliness and depression. Changes in compassion were most robust in individuals reporting highlevels of depression at baseline, suggesting that CBCT may benefit those most in need by breakingthe link between personal suffering and a concomitant drop in compassion

scholarly journals Development of a Positive Psychology Program (LAVENDER) for Preserving Medical Student Well-being: A Single-Arm Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 216495612098848
Author(s):  
Elaine O Cheung ◽  
Ian Kwok ◽  
Allison B Ludwig ◽  
William Burton ◽  
Xinzi Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Albert Einstein College ◽  
Albert Einstein ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Psychology Program

Background Mental health tends to worsen over the course of medical school, with steep declines in well-being in students’ clerkship year (M3). Positive emotion promotes adaptive coping to stress and may help preserve medical student well-being. Objective This study describes the development of LAVENDER (Leveraging Affect and Valuing Empathy for Nurturing Doctors’ Emotional Resilience), a program aimed at increasing positive emotion to preserve well-being in medical students. Methods We conducted a single-arm pilot of LAVENDER, a positive psychology intervention developed for medical students delivered in an interactive classroom format to a cohort of 157 third-year medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Our primary outcome was the acceptability of LAVENDER. We also examined preliminary efficacy using measures of emotion, stress and burnout collected at each intervention session. Results LAVENDER showed good acceptability: 76% of participants agreed that the LAVENDER skills were useful and 72% agreed that they would recommend the LAVENDER program to others. Qualitative feedback suggested that medical students enjoyed the program and found the skills to be useful for coping with stress, but also reported the following barriers to engagement: lack of time to practice the skills, resistance to the mandatory nature of the wellness sessions, and difficulty integrating the skills in daily life. We did not find support for the preliminary efficacy of LAVENDER for improving medical student well-being in students’ clerkship year. Participants showed decreases in positive emotion and increases in symptoms of burnout over the intervention period ( ps < .01). Conclusion The current paper describes the development and a single-arm pilot test of LAVENDER, a positive psychology program tailored for medical students. Although we found preliminary evidence for the acceptability of LAVENDER, we did not find support for the preliminary efficacy. Lessons learned and next steps for the program are discussed.

scholarly journals Exploring the relationship between medical student basic psychological need satisfaction, resilience, and well-being: a quantitative study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Neufeld ◽  
Greg Malin
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Basic Needs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Need Satisfaction ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Psychological Need ◽  
Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction

Abstract Background There is increasing acknowledgment that medical training is stressful for students and can impact their well-being. An important aspect of this is self-determination and basic psychological need satisfaction. A better understanding of how medical student perceptions of the learning environment impacts their basic psychological needs for motivation, resilience, and well-being may help to create learning environments that support the needs of medical students and help them become better healthier physicians. We aim to add to the literature on this topic by examining this relationship through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. Methods A total of 400 students from all 4 years of the medical program at our institution were invited to complete an anonymous online survey, measuring basic need satisfaction/frustration (autonomy, competence, relatedness) within the learning environment, resilience, and psychological well-being. We used analysis of variance to assess the effect of gender, age, and year on all variables, with t-tests to compare subgroups. Structural equation modelling was performed to test a hypothesized model in which support of medical students’ basic needs would positively relate to their resilience and well-being. Results The response rate was 183/400 (46%). After data cleaning, 160 remained: 67 males (42%) and 93 females (58%). There were 67 first years (42%), 35 second years (22%), 30 third years (19%), and 28 fourth years (18%). The sample mean age was 25.8 years (SD = 4.1). A well-fitting model was confirmed to fit the data, χ2 = 3.15, df = 3, p = 0.369, RMSEA = 0.018, SRMR = 0.022, CFI = 0.999. Autonomy and relatedness satisfaction exerted direct effects on well-being. Competence satisfaction did so indirectly, through its direct effect on resilience. Female medical students had lower resilience scores compared to their male peers. Conclusions When medical students perceived their learning environment as supportive to their basic needs, it was associated with an increase in their psychological well-being. Satisfaction of competence, but not autonomy or relatedness, predicted an increase in their resilience. Fostering medical students’ basic needs for motivation, especially competence, is recommended to support their resilience and well-being. Further research is required to generalize these results further.

Psychometric properties of the Medical Student Well-Being Index among medical students in a Malaysian medical school

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhamad Saiful Bahri Yusoff ◽  
Mohd Jamil Yaacob ◽  
Nyi Nyi Naing ◽  
Ab Rahman Esa
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Well Being

scholarly journals A Qualitative Exploration of Medical Student Empathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Ellison ◽  
Thomas Pruzinsky
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Clinical Training ◽  
Medical Specialty ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Difficult Times

Abstract BackgroundThere is evidence that medical student self-reported empathy may decline as one progresses through their clinical training. Due to the unprecedented changes to both patient care and medical education caused by COVID-19, it is reasonable to assume that medical student empathy may be impacted. The goal of this July 2020 study was to qualitatively explore how the COVID-19 pandemic might affect medical students’ reported experience of empathy.MethodUsing a semi-structured interview, the authors interviewed 12 medical students, 6 second-year and 6 fourth-year. They selected these groups because of the distinct differences in their clinical experience. ResultsData analysis identified 5 major themes: 1) Expanded Perspective (e.g., a feeling of “we’re in this together”, increased awareness of patient vulnerability) 2) Moral Dilemmas (e.g., difficult decisions faced by students as a result of the pandemic such as weighing educational vs. family responsibilities, students risking their own health to provide the best possible care) 3) Confirmation of Values (e.g., Feeling reaffirmed in decision to enter medicine, feeling the pandemic was “what we signed up for” by entering medical school) 4) Shaping Priorities (e.g., changes in medical specialty or populations of interest) 5) Barriers to Empathy and Adaptive Strategies (e.g., COVID-19 created many physical, psychological, and social barriers to empathy for students, students presented many strategies for ameliorating these barriers). Five students (42%) reported increased empathy with no students reporting a decrease in empathy due to experiences during the pandemic. Conclusions Participants did not report that their personal experience of empathy for patients was negatively influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many reported that their empathy increased. The observed differences in responses by pre-clinical (second-year) and clinical (fourth-year) students suggests a possible shift in how empathy is experienced and practiced as one progresses through their medical education. The overwhelmingly positive responses to the semi-structured interview, emphasizing appreciation of the opportunity to discuss topics not previously openly discussed, underscores the importance of providing explicit opportunities for students to discuss their emotional/interpersonal experiences within medical education, particularly in difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Understanding Student Experiences in a Near-Peer Resident Shadowing Program

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon R. Turner ◽  
Jonathan White ◽  
Cheryl Poth ◽  
W. Todd Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Clinical Training ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
First Year ◽  
Clinical Environment ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Close Relationship

Introduction. The preparation of medical students for clerkship has been criticized, both in terms of students’ ability to understand their new role as clinical trainees and in their ability to carry out that role. To begin to address this gap, this paper reports the experiences of students in a shadowing program aimed at enhancing the preparedness of medical students for clinical training. The study examined a novel program, the Resident-Medical Student Shadowing Program, in which first-year medical students at the University of Alberta shadowed a first-year resident during clinical duties over the course of eight months. Methods. A study was conducted to assess the experiences of 83 first-year medical student participants who shadowed a first-year resident intermittently for one year. Student and resident participants’ experiences were explored using semistructured interviews. Results. Students and residents experiences indicate that participation increased students’ understanding of the clinical environment and their role within it and introduced them to skills and knowledge needed to perform that role. Students reported that a close relationship with their resident enhanced their learning experience. Conclusion. This study demonstrates that a low-cost program in which first-year students shadow residents may be a useful tool for helping prepare students for clerkship.

scholarly journals Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and Mental Well-being among Medical Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nida Nafees ◽  
Musaddiq Jahan
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Academic Environment ◽  
Cognitive Differences ◽  
Effects Of Stress ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Adverse Environments

Currently, PsyCap study has drawn the attention of many researchers in order to help the stressed persons to cope up with adverse environments. In light of PsyCap, present study was planned to examine the influence of PsyCap on the mental well-being of medical students pursuing either MBBS or BUMS form Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. We have given an emphasis on PsyCap in order to visualize its influence on the well-being of undergraduates of the medical students. It was observed that medicos who were more hopeful, optimistic, efficacious, and resilient have had more ability to withstand against unfavourable environmental or in other words, they perceived academic environment as being less perturbing more than likely to see in their peers with lower PsyCap. This type of resilient adaptive characters and cognitive differences is considered to reconcile the effects of stress on well-being for medical students. It was, therefore, observed that PsyCap will mitigate the effects of stress on mental well-being of medical students. In this way, PsyCap were found to be positively correlated with mental well-being of the medical students. In order to impart PsyCap among the medical student there is urgent need of conveyance of a larger scale of consistent trainings, workshop, discussions on PsyCap which is particularly adaptive to medical students that will surely resolve the issues what they find challenging.

Being a medical student in Turkey: The myths, challenges and reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (S1) ◽  
pp. S1-S8
Author(s):  
Ayşen Koşan ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
The Status ◽  
Open Coding ◽  
Qualitative Phenomenological

Medical education is a complex process for training physicians. Although being a medical student is highly prestigious and seems advantageous in many respects, the students have a variety of perceptions towards medical education and their future profession. This study explores medical students’ perceptions about being a student in the faculty of medicine in Turkey. A qualitative phenomenological approach was used. Semi-structured interview method was conducted with thirty medical students to collect data. The audio recordings were analyzed using the phenomenological coding technique in which transcriptions were taken into an open coding process. The students' perceptions revealed some commonalities about how they define themselves and their concerns about their future profession. Findings revealed that although they are mostly satisfied with the status of their future profession, they have several concerns and regrets. Students who aim to study at a medical school in the future need to be aware of the fact that medical education is not an easy training process as it requires developing certain professional competencies, values and attitudes, and the well-being of medical students should also be considered by the educators at medical schools.

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