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

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
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

<p><strong>Background:</strong> 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.</p><p><strong>Aim:</strong> 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.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> 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.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> 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%.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> 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.</p>

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

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roshini Jain ◽  
Ch Chiech Chang ◽  
Mpho Koto ◽  
Alden Geldenhuys ◽  
Richard Nichol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Undergraduate medical students’ interest in specialising in Family Medicine at the University of the Free State, 2014

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
D T Hagemeister ◽  
A Pal ◽  
U Kristen ◽  
N Mokgosana ◽  
G Joubert
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Family Medicine ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Poor Response ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Free State ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The University

Background: There is a large demand for Family Medicine specialists, yet not enough medical students specialise in this field. This study investigated the interest of undergraduate medical students at the University of the Free State in pursuing a career in Family Medicine, factors associated with this interest, and their opinion of Family Medicine as a specialty. Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, anonymous, self-reporting questionnaires, available in English and Afrikaans, were distributed to first- to fifth-year undergraduates. Data were collected on demographic variables and interest in Family Medicine and other disciplines. The students had to rate the likelihood of them selecting 15 different specialties as a future career according to a five-point Likert scale. Opinions concerning Family Medicine were tested with a yes/no response as to the agreement to five statements. Results: Fifth-year students were excluded due to poor response rate (13.6%). The response rate for the first- to fourth-year groups was 86.4%. Interest in Family Medicine decreased from first to third year (22.4, 21.2 and 14.0%, respectively), but increased again in the fourth year (23.3%). Females and speakers of African languages showed the most interest in this field. Medical students, especially first years, generally had poor knowledge regarding Family Medicine. Conclusion: Family Medicine is not a preferred specialty in any of the four year groups, and students had insufficient knowledge of the field. Family Medicine should be introduced earlier into the medical curriculum. (Full text of the research articles are available online at www.medpharm.tandfonline.com/ojfp) S Afr Fam Pract 2017; DOI: 10.1080/20786190.2017.1317977

scholarly journals Gender difference in resilience among the under graduate medical students – A cross sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL2) ◽  
pp. 21-24
Author(s):  
Mahati Sundar ◽  
Archana R
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Gender Difference ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Second Year

A health professional requires resilience to be able to handle the depression, anxiety and stress, which may occur when they are in the field. Resilience is theability to tackle and overcome difficulties, with personal transformation and growth. Studies in undergraduate medical students have shown a difference in the stress scores of males and females, showing the possibility of gender difference in coping strategies and resilience. Therefore, the objective of the study was to assess the resilience scores of undergraduate medical students and to find out the existence of gender differences in their resilience scores. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the first and second-year MBBS students of 18-25 years of age after obtaining informed consent and Institutional ethical clearance. All willing male and female students fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria formed the study participants. A standard resilience questionnaire was used to assess the resilience scores of the students and the male and female participants scores were noted separately. A total of of282 first and second-year undergraduate medical students participated in the study. A significantly higher percentage of female students had a high resilience score in comparison to male participants. Our study highlights the fact that females have a higher resilience compared to males. But still, the majority of male and female students are having moderate resilience. Thus, the future focus should be on the promotion of resilience-building measures to be taught to the students early in their medical curriculum to successfully tackle the stressful situations.

scholarly journals A Cross-sectional Study Investigating Learning Approaches in Undergraduate Medical Education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aya Akhras ◽  
Waseem Wahood ◽  
Fatemeh Abdulrahman Amir Rad ◽  
Christopher Tuffnell ◽  
David Davis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Strategic Learning ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Teaching Approaches ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Initial Results

Abstract Objective The primary objective of this proof-of-concept cross-sectional study was to identify a framework for appraising the learning-approaches of undergraduate medical students in a competency based medical curriculum and correlating the results with teaching-approaches, as well as academic performance. The study was pursued at MBRU, which is a medical school in the Middle East with an undergraduate entry medical program. Results Our framework was blueprinted using the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) questionnaire, to which we made some modifications such that the overall cogency of the questionnaire wasn’t affected. Initial results with modified ASSIST at MBRU showed that most of our students adopted Deep or Strategic-learning approaches. This observation is in line with other studies in the literature, which shows that modified ASSIST is a suitable tool for mapping generic learning approaches with teaching approaches. Further, based on the insights from our initial results following the implementation of modified ASSIST, we have considered specific pedagogical strategies, in practice at MBRU, which cater to the generic learning approaches of majority of our undergraduate medical students. These pedagogical approaches, A. Feynman’s Technique; and B. Blended learning strategies, if implemented suitably in a curriculum will transform “Surface-learners” to “Deep/Strategic-learners”.

scholarly journals Knowledge and attitude regarding organ donation and transplantation among undergraduate medical students in North coastal Andhra Pradesh

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srinivas Rao Ganta ◽  
Kiran Pamarthi ◽  
Lakshmi Prasad K. K.
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Organ Donation ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Organ Procurement ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Modern Medicine ◽  
First Year ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Usa

Background: Organ transplantation is one of the greatest scientific advances and remains one of the most challenging and complex field of modern medicine. In the USA and UK, the organ donation rate is 26 and 14 per million, whereas in India, it is only 0.34 per million population. Healthcare professionals act as the critical link in the organ procurement process because they are the first individuals to establish relationship with the potential donors' family.Methods: An institution based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among first year undergraduate medical students during November 2017. Convenient sampling method was used to obtain the sample size. Out of 150 students in first year, 136 students fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were studied.Results: Out of 136 students who participated in the study, 58 (42.6%) were boys and 78 (57.4%) were girls. All the 136 (100%) students had heard about organ donation, but only 24 (17.6%) of them were aware of organ donation associations. Very few students (5, 3.6%) know about any law related to organ donation in India. Mass media like TV, Internet and Newspapers have played a major role in imparting awareness regarding organ donation among students besides relatives and friends. Majority of the students i.e. 104 (76.4%) were ready to donate their organs if need comes and two third of them accepted that they would allow organ donation from a member of their family after Brainstem death.Conclusions: There is a positive attitude of medical students towards organ donation but there is lack of sufficient knowledge on the topic. Improving their knowledge by including organ donation topic in medical curriculum can help to reduce this gap.

scholarly journals Perceived Stress among Undergraduate Medical Students and its Determinants: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Teaching Hospital in West Bengal

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (02) ◽  
pp. 52-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Samanta ◽  
S. Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Medical College ◽  
Relationship Problem

Stress among medical students is a growing concern worldwide. The objectives were to assess the perceived stress, its sources and its pattern among undergraduate medical students and to find out determinants of stress among them. This cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among 225 undergraduate medical students of three academic years of Bankura Sammilani medical college during March-June 2015.Data were collected using a pretested, semistructured, anonymous, self-administered questionnaire which consisted of Perceived Stress Scale -10 for assessment of stress . Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) model was adopted to find determinants of stress. Proportion of stressed students was 38.2% and mean stress score was 18.41(SD±6.22). Female students were more stressed than male students. About 80% of students perceived ‘vast syllabus’ and ‘lack of attention and time from teacher’ as stressors. Around 50% of students reported ‘Worry about future’, ‘Own expectation of becoming doctor’, ‘Inadequate quantity and quality of food in hostel’ and ‘Lack of recreation’ as stressors. ‘Disturbed in-campus political environment’ was perceived as a source of stress by 42.2% students. In BLR model, only five stressors, ‘Relationship problem with partner/love affair’, ‘Quarrel/maladjustment with friends’, ‘Living away from home’, ‘Competitive environment’, ‘Lack of attention and time from teachers’ were found statistically significant. Most of the stressors were related to academic and psychological domains. Regular review and restructuring of medical curriculum, implementing in-campus health promotional measures for students to cope with stress are needed to address the issue.

scholarly journals Visible Facebook profiles and e-professionalism in undergraduate medical students in India

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Setu Gupta ◽  
Satendra Singh ◽  
Upreet Dhaliwal
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Excessive Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Unprofessional Behaviour ◽  
Sexually Explicit ◽  
The University ◽  
Diverse Groups

Purpose: This study aimed to assess medical students’ presence on Facebook and the extent of their visible activity, with particular reference to online professionalism. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including all medical students enrolled in the University College of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi, India during the period of the study, which was conducted from 2011 to 2012. After approval by the Institutional Ethical Committee, the full names of all students were obtained from our institution. After creating a fictitious profile, Facebook was searched for students’ profiles, and those found were examined for visible content and unprofessional behaviour. Results: Of 611 students, 477 (78.1%) had detectable Facebook profiles. Out of 477 profiles, date of birth, address, email, phone number, religion, and political views were rarely shared; sexual orientation and relationship status were displayed on approximately one third of the profiles; and an identifiable profile picture (80.3%), field of study (51.6%), and institution (86.2%) were commonly shared . The visible content included friend lists (88.7%), photo albums (36.1%), and associations with diverse groups and pages (97.1%). Five profiles (1.05%) displayed unprofessional content, including one profile photograph depicting alcohol consumption, one association with groups relating to excessive alcohol consumption, two profiles containing sexually explicit language, and one association with a sexist page. Conclusion: Most of our students use Facebook’s privacy settings to hide some content from others. Unprofessional content was rarely visible from a stranger’s profile. However, even when hidden from strangers, unprofessional behaviour is still unprofessional behaviour. As Facebook is an integral part of life, it is important for medical educators and students to understand the implications and importance of e-professionalism. Professionalism curricula should address e-professionalism.

scholarly journals University of the Free State medical students' view of at-risk drinking behaviour and psychoactive substance use

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Smit ◽  
P J Pretorius ◽  
G Joubert
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Free State ◽  
Drinking Behaviour ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional

<p><strong>Objectives:</strong> To investigate undergraduate medical students' knowledge of at-risk drinking behaviour and their own patterns of alcohol intake. The use of non-alcoholic psychoactive substances was also investigated.</p><p><strong>Design:</strong> A cross-sectional study design was used. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was completed by participants. Questionnaires were designed using the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines for identifying at-risk drinking.</p><p><strong>Setting:</strong> The School of Medicine, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.</p><p><strong>Subjects:</strong> Participants included first-, fourth- and fifth-year medical students enrolled in 2006. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>Results:</strong> 371/408 (90.9%) questionnaires were returned. 10% of students who repeated an academic year ascribed it to substance use. The majority of students conservatively estimated the maximum daily and weekly safe levels of alcohol consumption for both men and women as notably lower than recommended by the guidelines. Nevertheless, 32% of students admitted to alcohol intake exceeding these limits, and 55.3% were identified as at-risk drinkers. Marijuana was the most common non-alcoholic substance used by medical students (14.6%) in the preceding three years. Alcohol or other substances was most frequently used during social activities with friends.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Medical students' knowledge of levels of alcohol intake associated with increased risks and their own drinking patterns might influence their approach to patients with alcohol-related problems. Therefore, education regarding at-risk drinking behaviour requires to be addressed.</p>

scholarly journals STUDENTS' PERCEPTION OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENT USING DUNDEE READY EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT MEASURE (DREEM) INVENTORY

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-116
Author(s):  
Khola Noreen ◽  
Kausar Aftab Khan ◽  
Risat Ali Nehra
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Self Perceptions ◽  
Education Environment ◽  
Class Room

Background: Educational Environment is defined as everything that take place in class room, department, college or university and is fundamental in achievement of students' academic success. Understanding the medical student's perception about the education environment has great impact in evaluating deficiencies in exiting medical curriculum, to make comparison between different groups and to make necessary changes accordingly. The objective of our study was to evaluate the perception of under graduate medical students about their learning environment. Methods: We conducted this cross-sectional study on 131 undergraduate medical students. DREEM Inventory was used to collect the data. DREEM is validated tool and universally used as diagnostic inventory to assess the quality of education environment. Data was collected after taking informed written consent. Results: Students' perceptions of learning, students' perceptions of teachers, students' academic self-perceptions, students' perceptions of atmosphere, students' social self-perceptions and total DREEM score were 25.4/48, 23.3/44, 17.3/32, 27/48, 14.3/28 and 107.5 /200, respectively. Out of total 50 item, 11 items scored less than 2 which indicate the area of significant problem and these issues need to be addressed on urgent basis. Conclusion: Over all students assessed education environment as average. There is a need for improvement in all five domains of students' perception.

A cross sectional study: The association between sleeping quality and stress among second and third medical students at the University of Jordan

2021 ◽  
pp. 009121742110112
Author(s):  
AA Toubasi ◽  
BR Khraisat ◽  
RB AbuAnzeh ◽  
HM Kalbouneh
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Regular Exercise ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Mean ◽  
University Of Jordan ◽  
The University

Objective Medicine is considered one if not the most stressful educational field. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of stress and poor sleeping quality among medical students and the association between them. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Jordan on second- and third-year medical students. The questionnaire consisted of: 1) Demographics; 2) The assessment tools which were Pittsburgh Quality of Sleep Index (PSQI) and Kessler Psychological Distress Status (K10). Binary logistic regression, chi-square and linear regression were used to investigate the association between PSQI, K10, and their determinants. Results The mean for PSQI score was 6.76 ± 3.32. PSQI scores interpretation revealed that 61.7% of the 282 participants of this study were poor sleepers. Logistic regression results showed that only the category of not napping at all from the napping hours variable was significantly associated with sleeping quality. Furthermore, the mean of K10 scores was 24.5 ± 8.5. K10 scores revealed that 66.3% of the participants were stressed. Logistic regression results showed that gender and regular exercise were significantly associated with psychological distress. Additionally, chi-square test, logistic regression and linear regression showed that PSQI was significantly associated with K10 (P <0.01). Conclusions Stress and poor sleeping quality in medical students at the University of Jordan were highly prevalent and strongly associated. What determined PSQI was daytime napping, and for K10 were regular exercise and gender. Further investigations into stress and sleep quality in the Arabian region are needed.

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