scholarly journals Stress and Resilience among Medical Students during Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Shivananda Manohar ◽  
Rajesh Raman ◽  
Bindu Annigeri

Medical students who are future physicians are faced with a lot of uncertainties during this pandemic. It includes both academic as well as clinical difficulties. Previous literature has revealed that the stress among medical students is higher when compared to their peers. The stress has even been more during the pandemic as their role during the pandemic is not clear. The purpose of medical training is to produce good doctors but not at the cost of the integrity of the individuals.’Moral inquiry’ is a term used to represent the ethical dilemma faced by doctors during life-death situations. Helplessness faced by students during emergencies leads to moral inqury which in turn leads to more distress. Most of the Medical universities have responded to the pandemic rapidly, by switching to online mode in teaching. This unpatrolled response also has to lead to more stress among medical students. Resilience, by definition, is the capacity to bounce back productively during a stressful situation. Resilience can be viewed as a personality trait or as a fluid process that nurtures according to the situation and the individuals’ reservoir. In this article, we have tried to emphasise the importance of Resilience.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Bientzle ◽  
Marie Eggeling ◽  
Simone Korger ◽  
Joachim Kimmerle

BACKGROUND: Successful shared decision making (SDM) in clinical practice requires that future clinicians learn to appreciate the value of patient participation as early as in their medical training. Narratives, such as patient testimonials, have been successfully used to support patients’ decision-making process. Previous research suggests that narratives may also be used for increasing clinicians’ empathy and responsiveness in medical consultations. However, so far, no studies have investigated the benefits of narratives for conveying the relevance of SDM to medical students.METHODS: In this randomized controlled experiment, N = 167 medical students were put into a scenario where they prepared for medical consultation with a patient having Parkinson disease. After receiving general information, participants read either a narrative patient testimonial or a fact-based information text. We measured their perceptions of SDM, their control preferences (i.e., their priorities as to who should make the decision), and the time they intended to spend for the consultation.RESULTS: Participants in the narrative patient testimonial condition referred more strongly to the patient as the one who should make decisions than participants who read the information text. Participants who read the patient narrative also considered SDM in situations with more than one treatment option to be more important than participants in the information text condition. There were no group differences regarding their control preferences. Participants who read the patient testimonial indicated that they would schedule more time for the consultation.CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that narratives can potentially be useful for imparting the relevance of SDM and patient-centered values to medical students. We discuss possible causes of this effect and implications for training and future research.


Author(s):  
Earley H. ◽  
Mealy K.

Abstract Introduction Postgraduate specialty training in Ireland is associated with considerable cost. Some of these are mandatory costs such as medical council fees, while others are necessary to ensure career progression, such as attendance at courses and conferences. In particular, surgical specialities are believed to be associated with high training costs. It is unknown how these costs compare to those borne by counterparts in other specialities. Aims The aims of this study were to Quantify the amount that trainees in Ireland spend on postgraduate training Determine whether a difference exists between surgery and other non-skill-based specialties in terms of expenditure on training Methods A standardised non-mandatory questionnaire was circulated to trainees across two training centres in Ireland. Trainees at all levels were invited to participate. Results Sixty responses were obtained. Fifty-seven questionnaires were fully completed and included for analysis. The median expenditure on training was higher for surgical than non-surgical specialities. Subgroup analysis revealed surgical training was associated with higher expenditure on higher degrees and courses compared to medical training (p = 0.035). > 95% of trainees surveyed felt that greater financial support should be available for trainees during the course of their training. Conclusions This study demonstrated that a career in surgery is associated with higher ongoing costs for higher degrees and courses than counterparts in non-surgical training. All surgical trainees surveyed felt that better financial support should be available. Increasing financial support for may be a tangible way to mitigate against attrition during training.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019459982110328
Author(s):  
Tobias Albrecht ◽  
Christoph Nikendei ◽  
Mark Praetorius

Objective Otologic diseases are common in all age groups and can significantly impair the function of this important sensory organ. To make a correct diagnosis, the correct handling of the otoscope and a correctly performed examination are essential. A virtual reality simulator could make it easier to teach this difficult-to-teach skill. The aim of this study was to assess the face, content, and construct validity of the novel virtual reality otoscopy simulator and the applicability to otologic training. Study Design Face and content validity was assessed with a questionnaire. Construct validity was assessed in a prospectively designed controlled trial. Setting Training for medical students at a tertiary referral center. Method The questionnaire used a 6-point Likert scale. The otoscopy was rated with a modified Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills. Time to complete the task and the percentage of the assessed eardrum surface were recorded. Results The realism of the simulator and the applicability to medical training were assessed across several items. The ratings suggested good face and content validity as well as usefulness and functionality of the simulator. The otolaryngologists significantly outperformed the student group in all categories measured (P < .0001), suggesting construct validity of the simulator. Conclusion In this study, we could demonstrate face, content, and construct validity for a novel high-fidelity virtual reality otoscopy simulator. The results encourage the use of the otoscopy simulator as a complementary tool to traditional teaching methods in a curriculum for medical students.


2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asunción Álvarez-del Río ◽  
Ma. Luisa Marván ◽  
Julieta Gómez Avalos

This study explores how medical students feel about caring for terminally ill patients as well as how their medical courses prepare them for addressing end-of-life (EOL) issues with patients. Four hundred and five Mexican medical students were surveyed through the Student Views on Death questionnaire. The vast majority of students (94%) felt that physicians should inform patients of their impending death. Most students said they felt comfortable talking with (61%) or examining (76%) terminally ill patients. However, only half the students actually talked with patients about death. Participants in our study were interested in learning about EOL medical attention, yet most considered themselves poorly prepared to offer this type of care to terminally ill patients. The study provides objective data on a topic that has scarcely been explored in Mexico, data that will be useful in designing educational activities to improve EOL medical training.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Nataly Rahimzadeh ◽  
David Lessard ◽  
Peter Nugus

Objective—This article provides a reflection on medical teaching opportunities for whole person care based on our experiences mentoring 2nd-year medical students through an Ethnography Practicum at a Canadian university.                                                                  Background—The Ethnography Practicum is a new addition to the Family Medicine Transition to Clinical Practice (TCP) curriculum introduced in the second year of medical school at McGill University. It involves 30 hours of instruction (6 hours in lectures with an instructor, and 24 hours in small-group tutorials with the authors), and 9 hours of fieldwork observations in various community health settings across Montreal, QC. The primary aims of the Practicum converge with those of the TCP generally in two important ways: to inculcate in students the concepts of patient centered care, and to promote family medicine as both an academic discipline and career option.                    Results and Discussion— Our experiences illustrate two tensions that shape students’ expectations and experiences throughout their involvement in the Practicum and, in turn, highlight the implications for teaching whole-person care. First, ethnography as a combination of different methods has itself been the locus of tensions between positivist and critical traditions in the three last decades. Second, the Practicum is situated precisely at the crossroads of key moments on the professional identity formation continuum for our students. Such a crossroads is disruptive to the status quo of medical traineeship characteristic of the first two years in medical school, and thus reorients professional identity formation. The above tensions reveal how ethnography is not only a revered research tradition in the humanities, but can also be a conduit to whole person care-inspired clinical practice.Conclusion—As instructors and mentors involved in this Ethnography Practicum, we are continually forging a new relevance for organizational ethnography in medical training, where medical students can reflect and act on competencies beyond clinical ones. The Practicum provides a space for students to wrestle with alternative epistemologies to understanding the social world in which medicine is embedded. We lastly provide pragmatic ways to better address these tensions in an effort to support students as they proceed through the (multifaceted) development of their professional identities as future physicians.


Author(s):  
Shikha Gautam ◽  
Salamah Parveen Imteyaz ◽  
Mohammed Iqbal Alam

Introduction: The coronavirus pandemic has involved nearly all the countries of the world. The lockdowns and closure of educational institutes to reduce the risk of disease transmission has brought a change in the medium of teaching as most educational institutes have moved to the online mode. There is a widespread increase in stress as the number of cases and mortality associated with Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) continue each day. Aim: To assess the stress status of first year undergraduate medical students in reference to the coronavirus pandemic and the perception of first year undergraduate medical students in reference to the E-learning being carried out during the coronavirus pandemic. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional web-based online survey that was conducted using a questionnaire in August 2020 at Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, New Delhi, India. The questionnaire was prepared and reviewed by the involved faculty members of the project and it was approved by a faculty from Department of Psychiatry. Reliability of questionnaire was measured using Cronbach’s alpha (0.89). A questionnaire with 20 questions was administered via Google forms to all 100 students of first year MBBS course. Some of the questions in the questionnaire were framed to assess the stress status of the students; some were designed to study students’ perception of E-learning. Data was represented as the percentage distribution of response for each question. Results: Ninety five responses were received, after accounting for exclusion factors; data was compiled for 91 respondents. Out of the 91 participants in the study, 48.4% were males (n=44) and 51.6% were females (n=47). Most of the students in this study (84.6%) felt that online teaching had helped in learning Physiology theory; around 43% students found online practical teaching useful. Around 39% students have reported internet connectivity issues all the time while 59% faced problem sometimes. Total 51.6% of students had difficulty in accessibility to devices. Due to coronavirus pandemic, 37.4% of students have reported to be under stress. Around 33% reported feeling unsafe all the time while 39.5% felt unsafe some of the times. Conclusion: Students found online teaching more helpful in learning Physiology theory than practical. Majority of class reported internet connectivity issues. All the responders agreed that this pandemic affected their regular life. Most of the students felt that online classes have helped them to remain positive and motivated towards study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (21) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Árpád Hudra

Imre Magyar, the last great representative of the Korányi School, who was appointed as the director and professor of the Internal Medicine Clinic I of the Budapest University of Medicine in 1965, emphasised in his inaugural address that from the three closely intertwined functions of the university clinic, i.e. patient care, research and medical training and education, he considers the latter the most important. The study intends to present that Imre Magyar, as an absolute educator, pursued this objective until his retirement in 1980. In his inaugural address he regarded lectures given by teachers of higher calibre with the intention to teach students medical thinking as one of the most important components of education. He even looked at lectures rather as seminars, never forgetting to make presentations on patients. Textbooks were meant for home education. Magyar, however, also “provided assistance” with this for medical students. His functional holistic thinking made it possible that medicine as specialised sciences be once again summarised as a uniform internal medicine dealing with the whole individual in his textbooks co-written by Petrányi and used in medical training for decades. Making a concrete connection with the patient, appropriate verbal and metacommunications, empathy, understanding and showing appropriate medical behaviour were, in his view, prerequisites for becoming a doctor. That is why he was concerned about the function of the doctor’s character in healing, and conducted investigations also described in this study on several occasions in relation with the cultivation of medical students. That is why Imre Magyar, who saw the big picture of education, emphasised the vital role of literature, arts and music in a doctor’s life.


Author(s):  
Chitvan Singh ◽  
Udeyana Singh ◽  
Anshu Soni ◽  
Rohit Verma

Background: The stress of medical training stems from academic pressure, exhausting work hours and striving for perfectionist standards. The demanding nature also requires involvement with emotionally draining aspects of life (human suffering, death, sexuality and fear). This may impair quality of life of medical students and influence patient care. As a consequence, post graduate medical students can experience an alarming amount of stress-associated anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and even suicide. Chronic stress is also known to influence memory, learning and especially problem-solving abilities which require flexible thinking. The study was carried out to evaluate the relationship of stress to cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression in post graduate medical students. Methods: 150 post graduate medical students participated in the study. Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Professional Life Stress Questionnaire were administered on each participant. Data collected was kept confidential. Results were tabulated and statistically analysed.Results: Out of 150 participants, 85 (56.67%) experienced stress. 65 (43.33%) participants had stress in the moderate range, 20 (13.33%) participants had stress in the problematic area for whom remedial action was required. 52% showed high cognitive reappraisal, while 54% showed emotional suppression.Conclusions: The correlation between stress, cognitive reappraisal and between stress, emotion suppression showed weak strengths.


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