Evaluation of Learning Environment among First year MBBS and BDS Students at a Private Malaysian University

Background: The learning environment has a significant impact on the academic success and learning process of students. Implementing a high-quality, student-centered curriculum demands an assessment of the educational environment. The focus of this study was to compare the learning environments of first-year medical and dental students at a private Malaysian University using the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire, a validated method for evaluating educational environments. Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical study was undertaken with students who agreed to participate. The trial lasted three months. After obtaining consent from students for participation, demographic information was gathered. Students in the lecture hall were given physical copies of the DREEM questionnaire to assess their learning environment. A total of 225 students participated, and IBM SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data. The Chi-square and Student t tests were employed to establish the existence of an association or difference between two variables. Result: A total of 225 students were involved in this study showing 100% response rate. The total score indicated that the majority (84%) regarded the educational environment was outstanding, 15.56 percent had a more promising opinion, and a very small percentage (0.44%) believed the educational environment was terrible. In this study with noteworthy findings, medical students were happier with their lecturers and with their own academic abilities than dental students. The weakest 19 questions were identified. Most respondents had extremely favorable attitudes toward the educational environment, followed by a moderately favorable opinion. Less than 1% of pupils exhibited a negative attitude. Conclusion: In this study, perceptions of the educational environment was satisfactory for both medical and dental students, but more positive for medical students. Measures must be taken to improve the scores and ensure that the scores are consistent across both faculties.

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Tomorrow’s doctors and dentists in Malaysia: empathic or indifferent?

European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare ◽

10.5750/ejpch.v5i2.1287 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 205 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Muneer Gohar Gohar Babar ◽

Syed Shahzad Hasan ◽

Lee Ping Lim ◽

Phei June Lim ◽

Nik Mohd Mazuan Nik Mohd Rosdy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

First Year ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Dental Surgery ◽

Empathy Score ◽

Empathic Communication ◽

Student Version ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Objectives: This study compared the empathic behaviour of first year to final year dental and medical students in Malaysia and explored whether academic training of dental and medical students increases their subjective empathic tendencies. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 1020 first year to final year (fifth-year) undergraduate medical and dental students using a validated, self-administered Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Care Provider Student Version (JSE-HPS) questionnaire. The data were collected from first year to final year (fifth-year) students enrolled in Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree programs at 2 government-funded universities and one private university. Results: Dental students had a significantly higher total mean empathy score than medical students (84.11 versus 81.96, p < 0.05). However, medical students had a narrow actual score range (59.35 - 133.35) than dental (22.05 - 133.35) students. Males (Medical: 82.57, Dental: 84.97) and students of Malay origin (Medical: 82.52, Dental: 85.11) were more empathic than females and students of other ethnic origins. The results also indicate that third-year medical students (mean: 82.95) and fourth-year dental students (mean: 86.36) were more empathic than students in other professional years.Conclusions: We recommend the use of some form of active training and assessment to assist in the development of empathy in medical and dental students. Medical and dental schools should place more emphasis on teaching empathic communication.

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Association of severity of depressive symptoms with sleep quality, social support and stress among Pakistani medical and dental students: A cross-sectional study

Global Psychiatry ◽

10.2478/gp-2019-0019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 211-220

Author(s):

Ahmed Waqas ◽

Aqsa Iftikhar ◽

Zahra Malik ◽

Kapil Kiran Aedma ◽

Hafsa Meraj ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Medical Students ◽

Sleep Quality ◽

Severe Depression ◽

Dental Students ◽

Poor Sleep ◽

Poor Sleep Quality ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical And Dental Students

AbstractObjectivesThis study has been designed to elucidate the prevalence of stress, depression and poor sleep among medical students in a Pakistani medical school. There is a paucity of data on social support among medical students in Pakistan; an important predictor of depressive symptoms. Therefore, this study was also aimed to demonstrate the direct and indirect impact of social support in alleviating depressive symptoms in the study sample.MethodsThis observational cross-sectional study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, where a total of 400 students at a medical school were approached between 1st January to 31st March 2018 to participate in the study. The study sample comprised of medical and dental students enrolled at a privately financed Pakistani medical and dental school. The participants responded to a self-administered survey comprising of five parts: a) demographics, b) Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), c) Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), d) Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and e) Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4). All data were analysed using SPSS v. 20. Linear regression analysis was used to reveal the predictors of depression.ResultsIn total, 353 medical students participated, yielding a response rate of 88.25%. Overall, poor sleep quality was experienced by 205 (58.1%) students. Mild to severe depression was reported by 83% of the respondents: mild depression by 104 (29.5%), moderate depression by 104 (29.5%), moderately severe depression by 54 (15.3%) and severe depression by 31 (8.8%) respondents. Subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, daytime dysfunction and stress levels were significantly associated with depression symptoms. Social support was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the regression model (Beta = -0.08, P < 0.09); however, it acted as a significant mediator, reducing the strength of the relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep quality and stress.ConclusionsAccording to our study, a large proportion of healthcare (medical and dental) students were found to be suffering from mild to moderate depression and experienced poor sleep quality. It is concluded that social support is an important variable in predicting depressive symptomatology by ameliorating the effects of poor sleep quality and high stress levels.

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Medical Students' Perception of the Educational Environment in a Gender-Segregated Undergraduate Program

Journal of Medical Education ◽

10.5812/jme.104934 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Hani Atwa ◽

Rania Alkhadragy ◽

Adel Abdelaziz

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Learning Environment ◽

Educational Achievement ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Educational Environment ◽

Female Students ◽

Scholastic Achievement ◽

Self Perception ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Cross Sectional

Background: The environment where education takes place is essential for students’ engagement and motivation. This study aimed at assessing students’ perception of their educational environment at a private medical college and the influence of gender, among other factors, on it. Objectives: The study assessed the students’ perception of their learning environment, determined the gender effect on environment perception, and examined the correlation between different study variables. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study on 340 undergraduate medical students at a private college with gender-segregated programs. The Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) was used to determine the students' perception of their learning environment. This was correlated with a set of variables, including gender and educational achievement as indicated by students' GPA. Results: The overall DREEM score was ‘more positive than negative’ (114.39/200). The scores of subscales were towards the positive side. This was evident in the perception of learning (26.64/48), perception of teaching (26.36/44), perception of the atmosphere (26.51/48), academic self-perception (19.54/32), and social self-perception (15.33/28). Conclusions: There were statistically significant differences between the perceptions of males and females in both the overall DREEM scale (females: 117.59/200 and males: 111.18/200) and three of the subscales. Female students perceived their learning environment more positively. Moreover, satisfaction with the learning environment was correlated with scholastic achievement. In addition, the more positively perceived learning environment could explain higher scholastic achievement in female students than in male students.

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Knowledge of basic life support among Medical and Dental students: A comparative study

10.51131/ijpccr/v1i1.2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 2-6

Author(s):

AM Amrutha ◽

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Basic Life Support ◽

Life Support ◽

Age Groups ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Life Saving ◽

Life Threatening ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Basic life support (BLS) is the medical procedures and skills which are used to save the victim from life-threatening emergencies until medical care is provided at the hospital. BLS procedures include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), bleeding control, artificial ventilation and basic airway management. Fatal medical emergencies may occur at any time. However, there are no set standards introduced in India to date. These life-saving maneuvers can be given through the structured resuscitation programs, which are lacking in the academic curriculum. The present study assessed the level of awareness toward basic life support (BLS) among medical and dental students. A cross-sectional study was carried out among dental and medical students in 2019. The study participants were people of the age group between 18-25 years. A convenient sample size of 250 was studied. A total of 250 subjects of age groups 18-25 years were analyzed in the study. The majority of students were not aware of BLS, with medical students fairing slightly better than dental students. The present study demonstrates poor knowledge among medical and dental students regarding BLS and showed the urgent need for continuous refreshing courses for this critical topic. Keywords: Knowledge; basic life support; medical students; dental students

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Awareness Regarding Vitamin D Amongst The Medical And Non-medical Students Of Karachi

Journal of Bahria University Medical and Dental College ◽

10.51985/jbumdc2019011 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 09 (03) ◽

pp. 197-201

Author(s):

Asma Dahar ◽

Tahira Assad ◽

Hafiza Touseef Sayyar

Keyword(s):

Vitamin D ◽

Medical Students ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Mean ◽

Graduate Trainees ◽

Male Subjects ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Objective: To assess the awareness regarding Vitamin D amongst medical and non-medical students. Study Design and Setting: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the period December 2016-June 2017 on a sample size of 388 subjects. Methodology: Undergraduate medical and dental students that are in their 3rd or 4th year, house officers, post graduate trainees and graduate medical students were included in the study. Undergraduate and graduate students from non-medical institutes were also included. The participants were assessed on the basis of a questionnaire which contained 15 closed ended questions. Results: The age of participants in this research varied from 21 to 35 years with the mean age of 24. Male subjects were 25 % but the females were predominant in this study, calculating 75%. Medical subjects were 70.4% (n= 273) and Nonmedical subjects were 29.6% (n= 115). Undergraduates were 79.4% (n=308) and Graduates were 20.6% (n=80). An overall of 75% of the medical subjects have satisfactory knowledge as compared to 25% of the non-medical subjects. Conclusion: There is a lack of awareness regarding vitamin D among non-medical students. Awareness of vitamin among medical students was also not up to the mark

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Social media prevalence, habits and attitudes on e-professionalism of medicine and dental medicine students: A quantitative cross-sectional study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.25603 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Josko Viskic ◽

Drazen Jokic ◽

Marko Marelic ◽

Lovela Machala Poplasen ◽

Danko Relic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Medical Students ◽

Final Analysis ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Study Program ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Student Groups ◽

Health Products ◽

Medical And Dental Students

BACKGROUND Social media (SM) has infiltrated all levels of the healthcare profession with students being at the forefront. Professional behavior on the internet, or “e-professionalism”, is paramount for adequate usage of SM for students, and their interaction with patients online. OBJECTIVE The objectives of this study were to describe and compare SM use by medical and dental students. We also wanted to assess and compare differences in attitudes between medical and dental students on e-professionalism, determine their opinion on potentially unprofessional behavior and posts and their interaction with patients on SM. METHODS A quantitative cross-sectional questionnaire study on the use of SM and attitudes about e-professionalism of students was carried out in the School of Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia and the School of Dental Medicine University of Zagreb, Croatia. RESULTS Of the 714 collected responses 698 entered final analysis (411 medical and 287 dental students). Facebook (99%) and Instagram (80.7%) were the most commonly used SM. Unprofessional content was recognized both by medical and dental students with most interesting significant differences between groups when asked which of the following types of posts/behaviors (posted on SM) do they consider unprofessional: post with patient photos (61% dental vs. 89.8% medical, χ21=81.547, P<.001), interaction with a patient not revealing any personal identifiable information (23% dental vs. 41.8% medical, χ21=26.729, P<.001); advertising of pharmaceutical or health products without disclosing conflict of interest (26.8% dental vs. 41.1% medical, χ21=15.121, P<.001); critical comments about faculty (53% dental vs. 39.7% medical, χ21=12.076, P=.001); critical comments about teaching materials, study program, school, or university (36.2% dental vs. 25.1% medical, χ21=10.118, P=.001). Dental students believe significantly more that people have the opportunity to post photos and document aspects of their professional life which would otherwise remain private (89.5% dental vs. 84.2% medical, χ21= 4.132, P=.026), and that they should be able to do what they want online (68.3% dental vs. 60.8% medical, χ21= 4.083, P=.043). Dental students are also more open to communication through social media than medical students (39.7% dental vs. 16.3% medical, χ22=81.686, P<.001), will (41.5% dental vs. 12.2% medical, χ24= 87.344, P<.001) and have (28.2% dental vs. 5.6% medical, χ21=68.235, P<.001) accepted friend request/follow/track from patients more readily, and even sent friend requests/follow/track their patients (5.2% dental vs. 1.2% medical χ21=9.763, P=.002). CONCLUSIONS Social media use is ubiquitous among the studied student population. Awareness of e-professionalism is relatively high for both student groups with dental students being more desensitized to visual representations of patients, and more prone to interaction with patients on SM. Medical students are more open to criticism of school program and faculty. Our research also highlights previous findings that both student groups would find useful the existence of guidelines about e-professionalism.

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Stress and stressors in female medical and dental students at Kathmandu Medical College

Journal of Chitwan Medical College ◽

10.3126/jcmc.v10i2.29678 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 72-74

Author(s):

Sushil Kharel ◽

Bionod Raut

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

High Stress ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Female Students ◽

Tension Stress ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Background: Stress is a physical, mental or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. Stress upsets an individual both mentally and physically. Study showed that medical students suffer from higher stress than other stream students. Among medical students also female students are more prone to stress due to varied reasons. This study aimed to determine the stress among female medical and dental undergraduates. Methods: This cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate and assess the levels of perceived stress and common stressors among female medical and dental students at a teaching institute of Kathmandu, Nepal. A cross-sectional study was done to the first- and second-year undergraduate female medical and dental students. Perceived stress was evaluated using universally accepted Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS-10). Results: A total of 176 female medical and dental students were enrolled in the study. The mean COHEN PSS score was found to be 27.97 (SD 4.32) which showed high stress among study population. Fifty nine percent (59%) of the female medical and dental students had perceived stress. Conclusions: Levels of perceived stress were very high in female students. The most common stressors were related to educational and economic concerns. The students were more focused to daily matters and problems related to their academic achievements.

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Comparative Study of Attitudes towards Communication Skills Learning between Medical and Dental Students in Saudi Arabia

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18010128 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 128

Author(s):

Ahmed Abed Elwahab Nourein ◽

Rubayyi Faris Shahadah ◽

Marwan Abdulrahman Alnemer ◽

Saif Saud Al-Harbi ◽

Hani T. Fadel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Medical Students ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Attitude Scale ◽

Dental Students ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Background: Communication skills (CS) learning is a core skill in medical and dental education. The comparison of attitudes towards CS between dental and medical students based on the taught curriculum (problem-based learning vs. traditional teaching) in Saudi Arabia awaits investigation. Aims: (1) To assess the attitudes of both undergraduate dental and medical students towards communication skills (CS) learning and (2) to compare the attitudes towards CS between Medical and Dental students in relation to sociodemographic and education-related characteristics. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional study, using an online survey, invited 260 conveniently sampled Taibah university medical and dental undergraduate students. The survey collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, education-related factors, and CS using Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) that assess positive and negative attitudes (PAS, NAS). Data analysis included descriptive statistics and the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Of the distributed questionnaire 91% responded (145 dental and 91 medical students). There were, overall, non-significant scores’ differences between medical and dental students on PAS (Medicine Median 51 vs. Dentistry Median 50, p = 0.059) and NAS (Medicine Median 32 vs. Dentistry Median 32, p = 0.596). Older medical students, those at clinical levels and those who reported they need to improve their communication skills and student whose parents were not doctors, tended to score statistically significantly (p = 0.032, 0.017, 0.034, and 0.004, respectively) on PAS compared with dental students; on the other hand, medical students with doctor parents scored significantly high in NAS compared to dental students (p = 0.015). Conclusion: Demographic and education-related characteristics underpinned medical student positive attitude towards CS compared to dental students. Although medical and dental students showed no differences in self-rating their attitudes towards (CS). Different factors influence medical and dental students’ attitudes towards CS learning.

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Comparison of Knowledge and Attitude among Medical and Dental Students Towards COVID-19

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International ◽

10.9734/jpri/2021/v33i20b31357 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 44-49

Author(s):

Fareya Usmani ◽

Saba Arshad ◽

Nasima Iqbal ◽

Zakia Saleem ◽

Hira Mehmood ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Knowledge Score ◽

Dental Students ◽

Demographic Variables ◽

Protective Measure ◽

P Value ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Safety Measures ◽

Knowledge And Attitude ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Aim: To assess and compare the knowledge and attitude of medical and dental undergraduates towards COVID-19 in current setup Study Design: Cross-sectional Place and Duration of Study: Study was done at Ziauddin university Karachi during the period of October 2020 to December 2020 Methodology: Medical and dental students from 1st year to final year were enrolled in the study. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.71. The questionnaire was consisting of demographic variables, questions regarding the knowledge towards COVID-19 and the attitude of medical and dental students. Analysis was done by using SPSS version-20. Frequency and percentages was used to present the categorical data. Comparison between demographic variables and knowledge score was done by using the independent t-test and one-way ANOVA test as appropriate. p-value less than 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: About 56% of participants were female and from 3rd year (25.2%). Comparing with socioeconomic status, the upper class of medical students were having higher score. As the year of study upgraded the students reported higher knowledge score with significant p-values among both medical and dental students. Medical students were having higher knowledge about COVID-19 than the dental students but dental students were having more knowledge about the safety measures. Looking over the attitude, majority of medical students were interested in gaining information about COVID-19. Conclusion: It can be concluded that medical students are having more knowledge about the COVID-19 but the dental students were more aware of the protective measure which should be taken. Both groups of medical and dental students having positive attitude towards limiting the spread of COVID-19.

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Comparison of depression among medical and dental students of Qassim University 2019

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20203889 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (9) ◽

pp. 3335

Author(s):

Anas Saleh Alsumaani ◽

K. Chandra Sekhar

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Statistical Tests ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dental Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Scientific Terminology ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Prevalence Of Depression ◽

Study Participants ◽

Medical And Dental Students

Background: Prevalence of depression enormously increasing throughout the world including developing and developed world. Especially in case of medical and dental students, after completion of schooling, will enter into University level and there will be different exposure, syllabus load and scientific terminology and adjustment to the surroundings leads to become depressive nature. Objective was to estimate the prevalence of depression, demographic variables and risk factors association with depression among medical and dental students of Qassim university.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted March 2019 to June 2020 among the medical and dental students of Qassim University. A total of 235 sample collected through Google forms due to COVID-19 pandemic situation. Data entered in Statistical package for social sciences, 21.0 version and necessary statistical tests were applied.Results: In the present study about 235 study participants, of which 174 medical and 61 dental students participated. Among the 174 medical students, about 62.1% were males and among the 61 dental students, about 39.3% were males. Prevalence of depression among medical students and dental students was 82.90% and 86.90% respectively. Socioeconomic status was significantly associated with depression in both the groups’ medical and dental students.Conclusions: High prevalence of depression was noticed in medical and dental students. Need to strengthen the supportive health programs to the medical and dental students to be arranged and will indirectly reduce the stress among the students.

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