scholarly journals Measuring the Efficacy of Pathology Career Recruitment Strategies in US Medical Students

Author(s):  
Patricia V. Hernandez ◽  
Dana Razzano ◽  
Nicole D. Riddle ◽  
John T. Fallon ◽  
Humayun K. Islam ◽  
...  

Context.— Multiple articles and surveys in the literature suggest that medical students find a career in pathology undesirable and believe it is disproportionately focused primarily on the autopsy. Objective.— To measure the effect of applied interventions on medical student attitudes about the field of pathology. Design.— This prospective study involving medical students from first through fourth year was conducted as a pilot study in 2 medical schools in the United States. A 2-part anonymous survey regarding interest in pathology as a career and familiarity with the specialty using a 10-point scale was given to first- and second-year medical students before and after they listened to a 10-minute pathology career presentation. The same survey was given to third- and fourth-year medical students before and after a 4-week pathology elective. Results.— A total of 121 and 83 students responded to the survey before and after the intervention, respectively. Of the 121 students who responded to the survey before the intervention, 106 (87.6%) had not spent significant time in a pathology laboratory before the intervention. The majority of responses in interest in career, job responsibilities, and features of pathologists before and after the intervention demonstrated a statistically significant difference (P < .001). We compared survey scores of presentation versus 4-week rotation groups before and after the intervention. Students who experienced the presentation did not differ from students who experienced the rotation in the majority of questions related to interest in career, job responsibilities, and features of pathologists. Conclusions.— Our study suggests that pathology exposure strategies can have a beneficial effect on student perceptions of the field and consideration of a career in pathology. Overall, the presentation intervention on the first- and second-year students seemed to have the greatest effect.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Rubab Abdi ◽  
Elizabeth Metcalf

Purpose This paper aims to determine whether an inclusive teaching session changes student attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities (ID). To investigate the impact of an inclusive teaching session in terms of student perceptions. Design/methodology/approach 66 years 4 students at Cardiff University completed the attitudes towards disabled people form B questionnaire (ATDP-B) before and after a communication skills session on ID. Before and after scores were collated and compared using a paired t-test analysis. Common perceptions were identified using anonymised ATDP-B results to conduct five semi-structured interviews and one focus group with nine students. The common perceptions were discussed, alongside how the teaching session tackled them and suggestions for further improvements. Findings Mean ATDP-B score before the teaching session was 115 (SD = 14.5). Mean ATDP-B score after the teaching session was 122 (SD = 17.2). The teaching session improved scores in the ATDP-B by a mean of 6.92 (4.69, 9.16). A paired t-test found this to be a statistically significant difference, t(65) = 6.20, p < 0.001. Qualitative data was thematically analysed and three main themes were identified: Student identity, patient contact and curriculum content. Originality/value This is the first study to investigate the origin of the negative attitudes of medical students, and found they stem from a lack of confidence in their abilities and failure to develop a professional identity. The impact of the teaching session stems from its focus on meaningful patient contact and identifying and overcoming communication barriers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Barfett ◽  
Brent Lanting ◽  
Julian Lee ◽  
Michael Lee ◽  
Victor Ng ◽  
...  

It has been estimated that pharmaceutical companies spend $1.7 billion every year promoting their products to physicians in Canada. At least $21 billion are spent every year on drug promotion in the United States. Although pharmaceutical marketing campaigns are primarily directed toward practicing physicians and residents, medical students are targeted as well. The goal of this study was to assess medical student attitudes toward pharmaceutical promotion in a Canadian academic centre. A questionnaire was designed to assess the attitudes of medical students about pharmaceutical promotion, including the acceptability of receiving various gifts and incentives. The survey was administered to first, second, and fourth-year medical students at the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario, Canada). Statistical methods were employed to compare subpopulations of students based on demographic and socioeconomic data. Some 81% of students were not opposed to interacting with drug companies in medical school. Medical students felt comfortable accepting gifts of low monetary value, such as lunches (75%) and penlights (74%), but were willing to accept gifts of higher monetary value if the gifts served an educational purpose, such as textbooks (65%) and drug company-sponsored educational seminars (66%). 17% of students said that if presented with a choice of drugs identical in terms of price, efficacy, and effectiveness, they would prescribe the drug from the company that provided them with financial incentives. Statistical analysis showed no differences in responses among the different years of medical students. There were some differences in responses between medical students who had a doctor parent compared to those who did not have a doctor parent. Medical students are generally not opposed to interacting with or receiving gifts from pharmaceutical companies. Insights gained from this study raises issues that may be of interest to medical educators concerning the attitudes of the future physicians in Canada.


Author(s):  
Samuel Hall ◽  
Octavia Kurn ◽  
Deepika Anbu ◽  
Eva Nagy ◽  
Oliver Dean ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Neurophobia has been identified as a potential barrier to adequate knowledge of neurology in the medical community, and therefore to patient safety. There is a drive to identify the source of neurophobia, in the hope of tackling it. Comparing the learning motivations of standard medical students with those who enjoy neuroanatomy may be a way of doing this. Methods The science motivation questionnaire (SMQ) was modified for neuroanatomy. It was distributed to three cohorts of second year medical students and students attending the extracurricular National Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Competition (NUNC). Cohen’s D test for effect size was used to compare standard medical students and those attending the NUNC. Results Five hundred ninety-seven questionnaires were completed by second year students, and 320 by NUNC attendees. The differences in motivation to learn neuroanatomy between the 2 groups mainly fell into themes of career motivation, personal relevance, intrinsic motivation and assessment anxiety. Conclusion This study has demonstrated the use of the SMQ in neuroanatomy, and found differences in motivators to learn neuroanatomy between self-selecting “neurophiles” and standard medical students, mainly relating to intrinsic motivation and its role in their lives. More research is needed to further explore these differences and how they might apply to interventions in medical school curricula.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-119
Author(s):  
Christianus Heru Setiawan ◽  
Rita Suhadi ◽  
Phebe Hendra ◽  
Fenty Fenty, ◽  
Dita Maria Virginia ◽  
...  

Cardiovascular disease is the highest cause of mortality in Indonesia. One of the factors that causes the disease is low level of health awareness, including healthy lifestyle and health control. Improving public health awareness can be done by providing health education in collaboration with interprofessional health services. A collaboration involving students from various health-related disciplines aims to build good collaboration in the future after the corresponding students become health workers. This study is quasi-experimental. Students from health-related disciplines, especially pharmacy and medical students, were authorized to work directly in health screening and to provide education to the community. Student’s perceptions on the Interprofessional Collaboration (IPC) program were explored through Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education (SPICE) questionnaire, which were given before and after the community project. Among 87 SPICE questionnaires, 78 questionnaires filled in completely were collected from pharmacy and medical students. The results of the questionnaire showed good perceptions before and after activities in the community with mean scores of 4.46 (0.35) and 4.5 (0.37) respectively. Wilcoxon test results found no significant difference on the total SPICE scores before and after the activity (P> .05). One item from the SPICE questionnaire, which was the seventh item related to understanding the role of other professionals in the interdisciplinary team, had a significant increase (P <.05).


Author(s):  
Vincent Dennis ◽  
Melissa Craft ◽  
Dale Bratzler ◽  
Melody Yozzo ◽  
Denise Bender ◽  
...  

Purpose: This study investigated changes in students’ attitudes using 2 validated interprofessional survey instruments—the Collaborative Healthcare Interdisciplinary Relationship Planning (CHIRP) instrument and the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale (IPAS)—before and after didactic and clinical cohorts.Methods: Students from 7 colleges/schools participated in didactic and clinical cohorts during the 2017–2018 year. Didactic cohorts experienced 2 interactive sessions 6 months apart, while clinical cohorts experienced 4 outpatient clinical sessions once monthly. For the baseline and post-cohort assessments, 865 students were randomly assigned to complete either the 14-item CHIRP or the 27-item IPAS. The Pittman test using permutations of linear ranks was used to determine differences in the score distribution between the baseline and post-cohort assessments. Pooled results were compared for the CHIRP total score and the IPAS total and subdomain scores. For each score, 3 comparisons were made simultaneously: overall baseline versus post-didactic cohort, overall baseline versus post-clinical cohort, and post-didactic cohort versus post-clinical cohort. Alpha was adjusted to 0.0167 to account for simultaneous comparisons.Results: The baseline and post-cohort survey response rates were 62.4% and 65.9% for CHIRP and 58.7% and 58.1% for IPAS, respectively. The post-clinical cohort scores for the IPAS subdomain of teamwork, roles, and responsibilities were significantly higher than the baseline and post-didactic cohort scores. No differences were seen for the remaining IPAS subdomain scores or the CHIRP instrument total score.Conclusion: The IPAS instrument may discern changes in student attitudes in the subdomain of teamwork, roles, and responsibilities following short-term clinical experiences involving diverse interprofessional team members.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000313482110110
Author(s):  
Rahima Khatun ◽  
Banan W. Otaibi ◽  
Anna Ssentongo ◽  
Joshua P. Hazelton ◽  
AmandaB. Cooper

Background In situations of increased need, such as mass casualty incidents (MCIs) and COVID-19, donated blood products are in shortage across the United States. Medical students are a potential pool for blood donors. The aim of this study was to determine overall attitudes of medical students at a single academic institution toward blood donation during times of increased need. Methods Three anonymous REDCap surveys were administered to all medical students at a rural academic institution. Surveys 1 and 2 were administered preceding and after an institution-wide MCI drill, in September and November 2019, respectively. Survey 3 was administered following a student-organized COVID-19 blood drive in June 2020. Multivariable analysis was performed to determine if factors, ie, experience with MCI drills and emergency medical services (EMS) training, were associated with willingness to donate blood. Furthermore, barriers to donation among those not willing to donate were assessed. Results Overall response rate for MCI surveys (surveys 1 and 2) was 38% (mean age 25.2 years and 50% women). 91% (n = 210) of respondents were willing to donate blood. Previous participation in MCI drills and EMS training was not associated with higher willingness to donate blood. Response rate for survey 3 was 15.6% (59.4% women), and 30 (31.3%) respondents indicated they did not volunteer to donate blood during the COVID-19 drive. Most common reasons for not donating were “other,” medical concerns, and being out-of-town. Conclusions Majority of medical students are willing to donate blood during times of increased need and offer a possible solution to increase blood donor pool.


Author(s):  
Monica Rose Arebalos ◽  
Faun Lee Botor ◽  
Edward Simanton ◽  
Jennifer Young

AbstractAlthough medical students enter medicine with altruistic motives and seek to serve indigent populations, studies show that medical students’ attitudes towards the undeserved tend to worsen significantly as they go through their medical education. This finding emphasizes the need for medical educators to implement activities such as service-learning that may help mitigate this negative trend.All students at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) School of Medicine are required to participate in longitudinal service-learning throughout medical school, and a majority of students interact with the underserved at their service-learning sites. Using the previously validated Medical Student Attitudes Towards the Underserved (MSATU), independent sample T-tests showed that students who interact with underserved populations at their sites scored with significantly better attitudes towards the underserved at the end of their preclinical phase. Subjects included 58 medical students with 100% taking the MSATU. This result indicates that longitudinal service-learning, particularly when it includes interaction with the underserved, can be one method to combat the worsening of medical students’ attitudes as they complete their medical education.


2021 ◽  
pp. 155982762110181
Author(s):  
Sam Sugimoto ◽  
Drew Recker ◽  
Elizabeth E. Halvorson ◽  
Joseph A. Skelton

Background. Many diseases are linked to lifestyle in the United States, yet physicians receive little training in nutrition. Medical students’ prior knowledge of nutrition and cooking is unknown. Objective. To determine incoming medical students’ prior nutrition knowledge, culinary skills, and nutrition habits. Methods. A dual-methods study of first-year medical students. Cross-sectional survey assessing prior knowledge, self-efficacy, and previous education of cooking and nutrition. Interviews of second-year medical students explored cooking and nutrition in greater depth. Results. A total of 142 first-year medical students participated; 16% had taken a nutrition course, with majority (66%) learning outside classroom settings. Students had a mean score of 87% on the Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire versus comparison group (64.9%). Mean cooking and food skills score were lower than comparison scores. Overall, students did not meet guidelines for fiber, fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. Interviews with second-year students revealed most learned to cook from their families; all believed it important for physicians to have this knowledge. Conclusions. Medical students were knowledgeable about nutrition, but typically self-taught. They were not as confident or skilled in cooking, and mostly learned from their family. They expressed interest in learning more about nutrition and cooking.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052110164
Author(s):  
Abbie West ◽  
Cara Cawley ◽  
Elizabeth Crow ◽  
Alexis M. Stoner ◽  
Natalie M. Fadel ◽  
...  

Objective: Approximately 1 in 6 adults 60 and older have experienced a form of abuse in the past year. Many cases remain under-reported due to lack of knowledge and awareness. This study created an educational program on elder abuse for medical students to determine if participation would increase knowledge and awareness of elder abuse. Methods: This study used a pre and post survey methodology to evaluate students’ knowledge and awareness of elder abuse before and after participating in this educational program. Sixty first and second year osteopathic medical students at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Carolinas Campus participated in this study. Students were emailed a pre-survey to evaluate their pre-existing knowledge and awareness. The survey was, previously created by the Student Training on Preventing Domestic Violence (STOP-DV) team using validated measures. Participants then attended educational events about various forms of elder abuse and recognizing its associated signs, and afterward completed the post-survey. The results were compared using t-tests to determine if there was a significant difference. Results: First and second year students differed significantly in pre-survey results of knowledge but not post-survey results. The results showed a significant difference in overall mean knowledge ( P-value < .001) and awareness scores ( P-value < .001) in all students. Conclusion: These results suggest education on elder abuse can enable future physicians to better recognize, understand, and support older adults regarding elder maltreatment.


Author(s):  
Giuliana Scarpati ◽  
Paolo Remondelli ◽  
Ornella Piazza

"Background and aim: This study aimed to compare a serious game and lectures for the pretraining of medical students before learning about simulation-based management of cardiac arrest. Methods: Participants were 150 volunteer second-year medical students between April and June 2018 randomly assigned to CPR training using either lectures (n = 75) or a serious game (n = 75). Each participant was evaluated on a scenario of cardiac arrest before and after exposure to the learning methods. The primary outcome measures were the median total training time needed for the student to reach the minimum passing score. This same outcome was also assessed three months later. Results: The median training time necessary for students to reach the minimum passing score was similar between the two groups (p=0,45). Achieving an appropriate degree of chest compression was the most difficult requirement to fulfill for students in both groups. Singing the refrain of the song ""staying alive"" significantly increased the number of compressions with the correct rate. Three months later, the median training time decreased significantly in both groups. However, students have remained interested in the serious game for a longer time showing a preference for using this method. Conclusions: The serious game was not superior to lectures to pretraining medical students in the management of a cardiac arrest."


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