The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Effect on the Premedical Student

The Advisor ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber ◽  
Rhea Jacob ◽  
Janvi Patel ◽  
Neha Singh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
American Medical ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
Premedical Students ◽  
Medical Division ◽  
School Entrance ◽  
Academic Resources ◽  
Premedical Student

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has placed significant restrictions on premedical students trying to meet medical school entrance requirements. Has the pandemic served to inspire or deter pre-medical students from pursuing a career as a physician? To find out, we surveyed members of the Pre-medical Division of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA). Those respondents note that COVID-19 restricted clinical shadowing and research opportunities, delayed medical school applications, limited accessibility to academic resources, and in some cases, severely impacted mental health. Our findings show that premedical students are determined to become physicians and take on the challenge of providing care even under the demanding conditions of a pandemic.

scholarly journals Premedical Student Exposure to Pharmaceutical Marketing: Too Much, Too Soon?

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (9) ◽  
pp. 722-727
Author(s):  
Toby Keys ◽  
Mark H. Ryan ◽  
Sharon Dobie ◽  
David Satin ◽  
David V. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Direct Marketing ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Pharmaceutical Marketing ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Clinical Experiences ◽  
Premedical Students ◽  
Pharmaceutical Representatives

Background and Objectives: Direct pharmaceutical marketing to physicians by pharmaceutical representatives is effective in changing behavior of health care providers, resulting in less evidence-based prescribing. Although much has been written about pharmaceutical marketing exposures among medical students, less is known about direct marketing exposures before students matriculate. This study examined the types of pharmaceutical representative direct marketing exposures for premedical students and where they occurred. Methods: From June to August of 2017, researchers surveyed students who accepted admission to US public medical schools. These prematriculated students completed our survey just prior to matriculation. The survey inquired about whether the students were exposed to pharmaceutical marketing directly from pharmaceutical salespeople, the types of marketing they observed or received, and where these interactions occurred. Results: Survey participants included 911 prematriculated students from 14 of the 188 medical schools invited to participate. Seventy-one percent (646) of the participants received or observed someone receiving pharmaceutical marketing gifts, small meals or snacks, articles, or samples. The two most common contexts for direct pharmaceutical marketing exposures were during shadowing experiences (54%, 346) and during employment (50%, 323). Conclusions: The findings suggest that it may be common for medical students to have interacted directly with pharmaceutical salespeople or observed other health professionals in these interactions before they matriculate in medical school. Because many of these interactions occur during clinical experiences required by institutions for admission, medical schools and premedical associations should consider delivering conflict-of-interest education early in medical school education or before students matriculate.

Perfectionism

2017 ◽  
pp. 68-91
Author(s):  
Samantha Ilia Smith ◽  
Mitchell Dandignac
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Maladaptive Perfectionism ◽  
Medical Educators ◽  
Attention To Detail

Perfectionism is the refusal to accept any standard short of perfect. Perfectionist students might strive for ‘faultless performance, meticulous attention to detail and high levels of competency' (Humphris & Kaney, 1998). In a field as complex and advanced as medicine, faultless performance is unrealistically expected. This chapter will discuss how the rigours of medical school promote perfectionistic behaviours in students. What is perfectionism? How does perfectionism in medical school affect students? How can educators and administrators identify perfectionism, provide psychoeducation, or address maladaptive perfectionism? How can students address perfectionism? It is essential to recognise perfectionism in medical students as research has shown that maladaptive perfectionism has been correlated to physician suicide (Scutti, 2014). The chapter concludes with recommendations on how students and medical educators can employ strategies to promote sound mental health and wellbeing during medical school.

scholarly journals Mandatory physical exercise for the prevention of mental illness in medical students

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Bitonte ◽  
Donald Joseph II DeSanto
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Health Counseling ◽  
Positive Effect

Medical students experience higher rates of mental illness than the general population. With competition rising for success in medical school, and residency, increasing incidence of distress are leading this population to experience higher rates of thoughts of dropping out of school, and even suicide. Since many stigmas deter medical students from receiving mental health counseling, such as the perceived inability to handle the stresses of medical school, and the potential lack of competitiveness for residencies if reported, prevention of mental illness may be a better course to take in reducing prevalence in this population. Regular exercise has demonstrated a positive effect on not only promoting physical health, but also mental health. Exercise encourages a healthy mood, positive self esteem, and better cognition, while decreasing the chances of depression, anxiety, and burnout. Implementing exercise time into medical school curriculums, just like the basic sciences, albeit for less time in the day, could provide a feasible way to ensure that all students are taking time to partake in this important activity for their well being. Though medical schools are rigid with attempts to make changes in their curriculum, thirty minutes a day, three to five times a week of exercise of the students’ choice not only is more cost effective than counseling, but it also reduces the chances that they will experience burnout, which if left untreated could transcend into a compromised training experience.

scholarly journals Analysis of American Medical Students’ Knowledge of Physical Activity Recommendations

PRiMER ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candace A. Adedokun ◽  
Wesley G. Curles ◽  
Emily L. DeMaio ◽  
Irfan M. Asif
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
American Medical ◽  
Strength Training ◽  
Exercise Physiology ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Physical Activity Guidelines

Introduction: The benefits of physical activity (PA) are widely recognized; American medical schools have begun to emphasize PA, but the effectiveness of these changes is unclear. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of medical students enrolled in US osteopathic and allopathic medical schools between August 2019 and May 2020. All participants completed an electronic survey about PA instruction across the 4 years of medical school. Objective information including hours and format of PA instruction was collected. Subjectively, participants reported their relative comfort discussing various aspects of PA education with patients. Results: A total of 480 medical students completed the survey, representing 82 of the 192 US medical schools (69 allopathic, 13 osteopathic). Students are more comfortable discussing overall exercise benefits than exercise testing, exercise prescription, and exercise physiology (P<.0001). They also report more exposure to general PA guidelines related to overall PA duration than strength training (P<.0001). Students at allopathic and osteopathic schools reported similar outcomes regarding PA education, while students with class sizes under 200 reported increased familiarity with National Physical Activity Guidelines regarding PA duration (P<.0001) and strength training (P=.01).  Conclusion: Despite recent efforts to improve PA education in medical school, students feel unprepared to apply their knowledge in a clinical setting and remain unaware of national PA guidelines. Future studies should determine how to practically integrate PA education longitudinally into curricula to change PA education from an afterthought to an essential component of medical school education.

scholarly journals Factors associated with interest in psychiatry in UK medical students: qualitative study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Grace Crowley ◽  
Sube Banerjee ◽  
Lisa Page ◽  
Stephanie Daley
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Psychiatry Education ◽  
Extra Curricular Activities ◽  
Fitting In

Aims and method This study aimed to explore factors that positively influence UK medical students’ interest in psychiatry. Delegates and committee members of the National Student Psychiatry Conference 2018 were invited to participate in individual semi-structured interviews. Nine interviews were conducted. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four core themes emerged: psychiatry education and exposure, role of a psychiatrist, fitting in, and factors external to medical school. All students had some degree of interest in mental health before medical school, but placement and extra-curricular factors were strongly influential. Implications Interest in psychiatry may be promoted by facilitating student exposure to enthusiastic psychiatrists and psychiatry subspecialties, encouraging extra-curricular activities and identifying early those with pre-existing interest in mental health on admission to medical school. Aspects of psychiatry that should be promoted include the potential to make a positive difference to patients’ lives and the teamworking elements of the specialty.

A descriptive study of mental health and burnout among Nigerian medical students

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110577
Author(s):  
Olatunde Olayinka Ayinde ◽  
Eniola Racheal Akinnuoye ◽  
Andrew Molodynski ◽  
Oliver Battrick ◽  
Oye Gureje
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Psychiatric Morbidity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Mental Health Conditions

Background: Increasing attention is being paid to medical students’ mental wellbeing globally due in part to their exposure to stressors inherent in medical education and the numerous reports of elevated rates of mental health conditions in this population. Aims: This study aimed to identify stressors and determine prevalence rates of psychiatric morbidity, substance use and burnout in a sample of Nigerian medical students. Methods: In a cross-sectional online survey, 505 medical students from 25 Nigerian medical schools completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, short version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the CAGE questionnaire and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI). Result: The most commonly reported sources of stress were study (75.6%), money (52.3%) and relationships (30.1%). Nine students (1.8%) had received a mental health diagnosis prior to medical school but this number had increased to 29 (5.7%) whilst in medical school, with the majority being cases of anxiety and depressive disorders. The prevalence of psychological distress was 54.5%, but <5% of affected students had received any help for their mental health conditions. Twenty five students (5%) met criteria for problematic alcohol use and 6% had used cannabis. The proportions of students who met criteria for disengagement and exhaustion domains of the OLBI were 84.6% and 77.0% respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of psychological distress and burnout is high among medical students. Interventions for medical students’ well-being should be tailored to their needs and should target risk factors related to personal, organisational and medical school academic structure attributes.

scholarly journals Depression, stress and anxiety in medical students: A cross-sectional comparison between students from different semesters

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Lúcia Damásio Moutinho ◽  
◽  
Natalia de Castro Pecci Maddalena ◽  
Ronald Kleinsorge Roland ◽  
Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Stress Symptoms ◽  
Chi Squared

Summary Objective: To compare the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress in medical students from all semesters of a Brazilian medical school and assess their respective associated factors. Method: A cross-sectional study of students from the twelve semesters of a Brazilian medical school was carried out. Students filled out a questionnaire including sociodemographics, religiosity (DUREL - Duke Religion Index), and mental health (DASS-21 - Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale). The students were compared for mental health variables (Chi-squared/ANOVA). Linear regression models were employed to assess factors associated with DASS-21 scores. Results: 761 (75.4%) students answered the questionnaire; 34.6% reported depressive symptomatology, 37.2% showed anxiety symptoms, and 47.1% stress symptoms. Significant differences were found for: anxiety - ANOVA: [F = 2.536, p=0.004] between first and tenth (p=0.048) and first and eleventh (p=0.025) semesters; depression - ANOVA: [F = 2.410, p=0.006] between first and second semesters (p=0.045); and stress - ANOVA: [F = 2.968, p=0.001] between seventh and twelfth (p=0.044), tenth and twelfth (p=0.011), and eleventh and twelfth (p=0.001) semesters. The following factors were associated with (a) stress: female gender, anxiety, and depression; (b) depression: female gender, intrinsic religiosity, anxiety, and stress; and (c) anxiety: course semester, depression, and stress. Conclusion: Our findings revealed high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in medical students, with marked differences among course semesters. Gender and religiosity appeared to influence the mental health of the medical students.

scholarly journals Stigma and Attitudes towards Psychiatric Patients in Portuguese Medical Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Telles-Correia ◽  
João Gama Marques ◽  
João Gramaça ◽  
Daniel Sampaio
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Psychiatric Education ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Community Attitudes ◽  
The Impact

<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> This study aims to assess the impact of psychiatric education on attitudes of medical students towards psychiatric patients.<br /><strong>Material and Methods:</strong> A cross-sectional survey of medical students was conducted at the biggest Portuguese medical school. The students completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire, including sociodemographic data, family history of psychiatric illness, and the Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill scale.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> Of the 2 178 students, 398 answered the survey, representing 18.2% of the whole medical school. There was a significant improvement in all Community Attitudes toward the Mentally Ill scale dimensions along the medical course. The higher scores were in Restrictiveness subscale (38.01), and the lower scores were for Authoritarianism (36.13). The best improvement along the course was for Authoritarianism (5th year score - 1st year score = 2.03), and the worse was for Benevolence (5th year score - 1st year score = 0.39). The biggest improvement, in all scores, was found at the end of the 3rd year.<br /><strong>Discussion: </strong>The authors propose that the better attitudes found on third year students were due to a very specific anti-stigma module on the theoretical discipline ‘Introduction to Mental Health’. After that, this positive effect was lost, with fourth and fifth year medical students showing a worsening of their attitudes.<br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Our results highlight the importance of anti-stigma specific education modules in order to improve students’ attitudes toward mental health. Thus more anti-stigma preventive measures can be taken onward, on preparing the best way possible, the next generation of doctors.</p>

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