scholarly journals A cross-sectional study of factors determining empathy levels among undergraduate medical students of a medical college in Northern Telangana

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-55
Author(s):  
Shiv Kumar R ◽  
Puli SK ◽  
P. Kishan ◽  
Sanjay ND ◽  
Pusukuri Sphurthi ◽  
...  

Background: The development of an ideal doctor-patient relationship requires empathy. Empathetic conversation aids in the formation of an open and trusting equation between doctor and patient. Furthermore, this leads to accurate diagnoses and more compliance to the advised treatment. In this manner, empathy helps in overall recovery of the patient and improves global functioning and generalised well-being. This study aims to make note of the fluctuation in empathy levels during medical education. Studies done in various countries have found factors such as curriculum, clinical rotations timing and gender to progressively influences empathy levels in students throughout their medical training. The recent trend of violence against healthcare professionals in India calls for an urgent action into the gap between doctors and patients communication. Empathy towards patients and attendants will reduce such untoward events. In this current context, we should improve empathy levels among the training doctors. As a first step, we should assess various factors affecting empathy among health care professionals. Method: This cross sectional study was done among undergraduates of a rural medical college in Northern Telangana during the time period of October to December 2019. Their empathy levels were assessed using Jefferson’s Scale for Empathy- Student version (JSE-S). Result: Of the 470 students surveyed, 227 were males and 243 females. Female students were having higher empathy among first year and second years (p<0.001). Empathy levels seem to decline from first year to second year following which the mean empathy remains similar throughout the remaining years in students of both sexes. There is no significant relation between mean empathy scores and choice of future speciality (p>0.05). Conclusion: Female undergraduate students are found to be more empathetic than their male counterparts. A fall in empathy scores from the first to second year of MBBS is seen, which is when students enter their clinical rotations. Targeted intervention at this time may go a long way in the creation of a new generation of more empathetic physicians. Hence, there is a need for evaluation of teaching and learning techniques in medical education. Further, there is a call for more research into the determinants of decline in empathy amongst medical professionals.

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (240) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarbada Makaju ◽  
Chandra Kala Rai

Introduction: The pandemic of COVID-19 affected every single person in the world. This pandemic also affected the academics of medical and dental colleges of Nepal. In these conditions, the virtual study was used as an emergency measure during the COVID-19 period, with an adaptation to the “new normal” to deliver preclinical medical education. This has brought both challenges and opportunities to medical education. The objective of the study is to find out whether the anatomy virtual classes were helpful among the first and second year medical and dental students of a medical college. Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 206 first and second-year medical and dental students of a medical college between 1st May 2021-31st May 2021 after getting the ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Committee (reference no. 0504202109). The convenient sampling was done. The data were analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20 version. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and percentage for binary data. Results: Out of the total 206 students, 173 (84%) (78.99-89.01 at 95% Confidence Interval) found that virtual anatomy classes were not helpful for the study of the anatomy classes.  Conclusions: From the study, we conclude that more than half of the students found that virtual classes were not helpful for the study of anatomy classes. Students have difficulty in studying dissection, cadaveric, and embryological structures via virtual classes. Physical class is better for studying anatomy than virtual classes for medical and dental students.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-33
Author(s):  
Sujit Kumar Sarker ◽  
Geethanjali Bhas ◽  
Priyanka Moitra ◽  
Ratna Paul ◽  
Md. Abdullah Yusuf ◽  
...  

Background: Periodic students’ feedback ensures and enhances the effectiveness of the curriculum of medical subject. Objective: This study was designed to obtain students appraisal of the undergraduate pharmacology curriculum and teaching methodology. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology at Colonel Malek Medical College, Manikganj, Bangladesh from May to June, 2019 for a period of two months. Questionnaire-based data were collected from students of both sexes who had completed 3rd Professional examination. Likert Scale was applied to collect students’ feedback on pharmacology. Results: A total number of 40 students were recruited for this study of which 60.0% students were strongly agreed about organized teaching. About 47.5% students were agreed that the course was appropriate at their level and achieved their goals in Pharmacology. However, 55% of them strongly agreed that teacher provided clear constructive feedback during class. Total 60%, were agreed that the course improved their problem-solving skills. Overall, 55% students were agreed regarding their satisfaction on Pharmacology course delivery and conduction. Conclusion: In conclusion, periodic appraisal from students regarding evaluation of the student-centric undergraduate pharmacology curriculum is vital in developing efficient medical graduates. Journal of Current and Advance Medical Research, January 2021;8(1):30-33


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253808
Author(s):  
Dhan Bahadur Shrestha ◽  
Nagendra Katuwal ◽  
Ayush Tamang ◽  
Agrima Paudel ◽  
Anu Gautam ◽  
...  

Background Medical students are more prone to burnout than the general population and students of other faculties due to the demanding nature of medical education with limited time and resources. Burnout has a negative impact on the academics and personal life of the students which can continue into their professional life and ultimately hamper patient care. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of burnout among medical students of a medical college and find its association with age, gender, and year of study. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students of a medical college in Kathmandu, Nepal from 14 January to 7 March, 2021. Stratified sampling followed by a simple random sampling technique was employed to select study participants. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire using the English version of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory adapted for students (OLBI-S) and analyzed in STATA version 15. Results The prevalence of burnout was found out to be 65.9% (n = 229). And of the remaining, 12.7% were exhausted, 11.4% were disengaged and 10.0% were neither exhausted nor disengaged. Burnout had no significant association with age in years, gender, and year of study. Conclusions This study shows an alarming prevalence of burnout in almost two-thirds of medical students. These results indicate the necessity of employing effective strategies by relevant authorities for the mental well-being of future physicians. Further multicenter prospective studies are required for a better understanding of the prevalence and associated factors of burnout.


Author(s):  
Sajjan Madappady ◽  
Hemant Kumar ◽  
S. Jayaram ◽  
Krutarth Brahmbhatt ◽  
Manjula Anil ◽  
...  

Background: Tobacco kills more than seven million people each year. In India tobacco kills nearly one million people each year and many of these deaths occur among people who are very young. Studies indicate that approximately 70% of all tobacco users would like to quit smoking and tobacco use.Methods: A non-randomized, cross sectional study was conducted in a Medical College in Mangaluru (Karnataka) which included medical students from first year to third year. A module developed by “Quit Tobacco International” was used for the purpose of training and counselling the selected medical students, focusing on the specific effects of tobacco, depicting simulated case scenarios.Results: A total of 404 medical students were included in the study. It was observed that 15.9% males and 5.3% females among first year students, 21.0% males and 5.3% females among second year students and 24.6% males and 9.2% females among third year students had smoked at some point in their life while the among current users, the prevalence of smoking was found to be much higher i.e. 8.7% and 2.6% among first year students, 9.9% and 3.5% among second year students; while it as highest among third year students i.e. 14% and 4.6%; among boys and girls respectively.Conclusions: The study brings out the need for inclusion of structured teaching and training of our medical students on harmful effects of tobacco use and its cessation techniques.


2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (243) ◽  
pp. 1146-1149
Author(s):  
Sajala Kafle ◽  
Nisha Jha ◽  
Ravi Shankar Pathyil

Introduction: Self-medication is common among medical students. Medical and dental students can also educate the population about the use of medicines. The aim of the study was to find the mean knowledge score of self-medication among first and second year medical and dental students at a medical college in Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in a medical college from 1st to 28th February 2021 using a structured online questionnaire after obtaining approval from the Institutional Review Committee (approval number 077/78/32). Convenience sampling method was undertaken. The responses were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26. Results: Out of 173 students the mean±SD knowledge score was 79.47±6.76. The mean knowledge score of the participants of age group 17-18, 19-20 and 21-22 years were 83.8, 79 and 79.1 respectively. The mean knowledge scores of the male and female participants were 80.2 and 78.6 respectively. Similarly, the knowledge scores of respondents from undergraduate medical and dental backgrounds were 80.1 and 77.7 respectively. Conclusions: Knowledge of self-medication was high among the students. However, educational sessions to further improve and strengthen knowledge can be carried out to improve the knowledge.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (232) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pravakar Dawadi ◽  
Sabina Khadka ◽  
Milan Chandra Khanal ◽  
Raj Kumar Thapa

Introduction: Voluntary blood donation is a reliable source of increasing the demand for blood transfusion. Medical students are the potential pool of blood donors. This study aims to find the prevalence of blood donation practice among medical students of a medical college in Nepal. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in a medical college of Nepal among students studying from the first year to final year MBBS. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (Ref no. 245). A stratified random sampling technique was used to collect data. A self-administered pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2016. Results: The prevalence of blood donation practice among medical students of the medical college is 41 (22.20%) (17.35-27.05 at 95% Confidence Interval). The practice of blood donation is seen more among students of the final year 15 (35.71%) and the least among first year 3 (8.57%). Most of the donors, 24 (58.54%), have donated blood only once before. The most common reasons for donating and not donating blood before are ‘behavior of altruism’ 12 (29.27%) and ‘I am not fit/disapproved’ 44 (30.56%) respectively. Conclusions: This study shows less prevalence of blood donation practice among medical students. It points to the need for more extensive studies to explore the factors deterring medical students from donating blood. Definitive strategies are also needed to encourage medical students to increased voluntary participation in blood donation.


F1000Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Areeb Sohail Bangash ◽  
Nisreen Feroz Ali ◽  
Abdul Haseeb Shehzad ◽  
Sobia Haqqi

Objectives:The purpose of this study was to quantifythe levels of empathy amongst medical students in the first year and final year of the medical curriculum at a medical university in Karachi, Pakistan.Methods:A cross-sectional study, comprising of participating students in their first year and final year of the medical curriculum at Ziauddin University Medical College, was carried out, using the Empathy Quotient (EQ) scale consisting of 60 questions through a self-administered questionnaire. The results were collected anonymously over a time period of six months from a sample of 171 participants.Results:According to our analysis, we found 82.67% of fifth year students and 80.21% of first years showing average or above average levels of empathy. Female mean scores were 42±9.60 while males were 38.7±9.358 (P=0.03). No association was found between empathy and age of the participants (p=0.77).Conclusion:We found no significant difference in the levels of empathy between the first and fifth year medical students. However, it was shown that females exhibited higher levels of empathy than males.


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