Perceived sources of stress among first-year medical students.

A survey of first-year medical students at the University of Toronto shows that academic factors are viewed as the most stressful and social factors as the least stressful. Among anticipated sources of stress those dealing with perceived failure are highly stressful, and those dealing with sexual aspects of the doctor-patient relationship are much less so. Factor analysis reveals that sources of stress are multidimensional rather than unidimensional. Particular socio-demographic antecedent variables are much more highly correlated with stress than are others. In particular, it is found that students in subgroups differing from "mainstream" students feel more stress than their mainstream counterparts. Feelings of stress are also found to be positively related to possible consequences of stress, such as frequency of thinking about dropping out and to number of days off school because of illness.     

对一年级医学新生学习适应状况的分析

为了解大学新生入校后的学习状况 ,掌握新生在学习适应方面存在的主要问题 ,对泰山医学院2 0 0 0级 72 8名医学新生进行了问卷调查和分析 ,并就其对策提出了一些看法和建议 ,以期为高校实施素质教育、培养高素质医学人才提供一定参考依据。     

Efficacy and perceived utility of podcasts as a supplementary teaching aid among first-year dental students

Background

The advent of newer technology and students’ growing familiarity with it has enabled information providers to introduce newer teaching methods such as audio podcasting in education. Inclusion of audio podcasts as a teaching aid for undergraduate medical or dental students could serve as a useful supplement to make reviewing more convenient and to enhance understanding and recall of the subject matter.

Aims

1. To assess the efficacy of podcasts as a supplementary teaching and learning aid for first-year dental students of Manipal.
2. To study students’ attitudes towards audio podcasts and perceived utility of podcasts.

Method

This study was conducted at the Manipal College of Dental Sciences, India. The participants were first-year dental students. Live lecture classes were conducted for the students (n=80). The students were then divided randomly into two equal groups of 40 each. Group 1 students (n=40) had a study session followed by a multiple choice question (MCQ) test. This was followed by a podcasting session. Group 2 students had a study session along with an opportunity to listen to a podcast, followed by the test. Following this both groups completed a feedback form intended to assess their perceived utility and attitude towards podcasts. The performance score was analysed using SPSS and an independent sample t test was used to test the significance of differences in the mean score between the two groups.

Results

Our analysis revealed a significant difference (p = 0.000) in the mean score between the two groups. Group 1 scored a mean of 7.95 out of 13 and group 2 scored a mean of 6.05 out of 13. Analysis of the feedback forms showed that 91.3 per cent of the students found the podcasts useful, as they could listen to lecture content repeatedly and at their own convenience. Sixty-three per cent of the students, however, felt that the absence of images and diagrams in podcasts was a disadvantage.

Conclusion

Students benefited when podcasts were used to supplement live lectures and textbook content. This was indicated by better student performance in the podcast group. Also, students showed a favourable attitude for podcasts being used as a supplementary teaching and learning aid.     

Team-based learning as a teaching strategy for first-year medical students

Background

Teaching programmes in medical education are now routinely employing active learning strategies to enhance the learning process and engage students in higher levels of learning. Team-based learning (TBL) is one active learning strategy that builds on individuals’ strengths by allowing them to collaborate and work as a team to achieve a common learning objective.

Aims

The present study aims to evaluate the impact of TBL on student performance. It also aims to assess students'' attitudes towards TBL and the feasibility of its incorporation into the course curriculum.

Methods

From a class of 241 students, 128 who agreed to participate in the study underwent two sessions of TBL each consisting of Individual and Group Readiness Assurance Tests (IRATs and GRATs). The readiness assurance tests each had 13 multiple choice questions (MCQ). To analyse the impact of TBL supplementation, the median sessional MCQ scores of students who underwent TBL supplementation (group 1) were compared with those who did not undergo the session (group 2). Students'' experiences with TBL and their attitudes towards incorporation of TBL into the course curriculum were analysed using a feedback questionnaire that was given to students who underwent TBL.

Results

Students belonging to the TBL group performed significantly better than the students who did not undergo TBL (p<0.001). The median sessional MCQ score of the TBL group was seven and non-TBL group was six. The overall mean attitude score obtained from feedback questionnaires was 3.57, which indicates a positive attitude towards TBL.

Conclusion

The team-based learning session improved student engagement with course content. The majority of the students felt that TBL supplementation enhanced their understanding of course content and believe that it will help them perform better in their exams.     

The relationship between stress and attitudes toward leisure among first-year medical students

The purpose of the study reported in this article was to examine first-year medical students' attitudes toward their free time and how these attitudes relate to self-reported stress levels. Members of the entering class of 1982-83 at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine were asked to complete surveys designed to measure perceived stress and leisure attitudes. The results indicated a significant negative correlation between the total leisure scale and the stress scale. This correlation supported the hypothesis that students who perceived that they had high stress levels scored low on the leisure attitude scale. These findings suggest a need for educating students about the benefits of well spent leisure time as a stress management mechanism that is important in coping with daily pressures and anxieties.     

Computer instruction as part of a course on analytic medicine for first-year students

The Medical University of South Carolina integrated instruction in information science and computer technology into a required freshman-level course. Analytic and Community Medicine. The advantages of this placement in the curriculum are two-fold. First, the course provides an opportunity to integrate computer methodology with clinically relevant topics such as medical decision-making. This integration enhances the students' view of the computer as a useful tool that can aid the physician in the practice of medicine. Course organizers are convinced that the success of the first offering is attributable to this integration. Second, the instruction comes early in the medical education process and allows the concepts learned to be utilized throughout the students' medical school careers. The degree to which these concepts and methods are actually utilized by students will depend upon the degree of reinforcement of these ideas in the clinical years and residency. Thus, faculty members must act as role models who not only acknowledge the importance of mastering the use of computers in medicine but also manifest those skills.     

某高校医学生人格特征与学业拖延的关系

目的 了解医学生人格因素与学业拖延的关系。方法 采用中国大学生人格量表(CCSPS)和拖延评估量表-学生卷(PASS),对随机抽取的某高校医学专业2007级～2010级598名在校生进行自填式问卷调查。采用单因素方差分析比较不同程度拖延者的CCSPS因子标准得分。结果 本研究回收有效问卷570份。与严重学业拖延关系密切的人格因素随学习任务类型的不同而变化,但是处世态度因子得分较低在所有学习任务中均与严重的学业拖延行为密切相关。此外,较高的坚韧因子和严谨因子得分是促进医学生积极完成学习任务的另外两个重要人格因素。结论 人格因素与学业拖延行为密切相关。     

Comparison of performances of transfer students and first-year acceptees

Graduates of the Medical College of Pennsylvania during 1970-1977 were studied to determine the impact of three types of preclinical training on prelicensure clinical performance. The 586 students who comprised these groups consisted of 471 students admitted to the first year, 53 students admitted with advanced standing from U.S. medical or graduate programs, and 62 students admitted with advanced standing from foreign medical schools. Academic performances among the groups differed as measured by scores on the examinations of the National Board of Medical Examiners. However, perceived clinical performances of both transfer groups, as measured by honors awarded in year four and by first-year residency evaluation, were on a par with that of the original matriculants.     

Career preferences and decision-making habits of first-year medical students

Few studies that examine the career decisions of medical students have been based upon theories of decision-making. Several theories were used by the present authors to study differences among first-year medical students in North Carolina who preferred family medicine and those who preferred other specialties. Responses by 358 first-year students to a career preferences questionnaire administered in the fall of their freshman year revealed that students who preferred family medicine were more interested than other students in using medicine as a tool to help people. They were equally persistent and thorough in their career decision-making, were at an earlier stage of decision-making, and had less concern with themselves compared with other students. Decision-making theory helps to explain the relationships found in earlier studies between students' characteristics and their specialty preferences. The results of the present study also may explain the reason for the decrease during medical school in the number of students who prefer family medicine as a career. Those results show that first-year medical students who prefer family medicine are at an earlier stage of the decision-making process than other first-year medical students.     

本科理论课授课质量浅析

教学评估能反映出教师的教学水平及教学质量，而且在一定程度上有助于教学水平的提高。通过对南方医科大学临床医学2002年级第三学年第六学期内科、外科理论大课的39位授课教师的授课质量评价分析，显示经过师资培训和预讲课的教师授课质量比未参加师资培训和预讲课的教师授课质量有显著的提高，为综合医院的教师改进教学，提高教学效果提供借鉴。     

浅谈医学研究生科研诚信存在的问题及对策

医学研究生的培养对于未来医学的发展至关重要。近年来,学术造假、抄袭他人论文、篡改实验数据等科研诚信缺失的不正之风不断蔓延,在这样的社会大环境影响下,医学研究生的培养也面临巨大挑战。本文结合问卷调查分析目前医学研究生科研诚信存在的问题并分析其原因,提出相应的对策,对医学研究生良好科研品质的培养具有重要意义。