We are living in an era of technology where smart phones and hence social media has entered into many aspects of our life. Many professions are using social media to improve communication between colleagues. Social media tools are gaining attention in medical education as well. Objective: To explore the potential of WhatsApp as an instructional strategy for 4 th Year MBBS students in Ophthalmology. Methods: We made two groups of students on Whats-App one for males and one for females. Topic of lecture , relevant images of taught topic and MCQs and SEQs were shared in both groups and students were encouraged to ask questions if they had any. After ten lectures the students were asked to give their feedback on our activity of WhatsApp group on an anonymous questionnaire. Results: Two hundred and thirty four students, 145 (62.0%) female and 86 (36.8%) males students filled in the anonymous questionnaire. One hundred and eighty nine students (88.77%) were using social media to learn medicine while 45 students (19.23%) were not. Sixty seven students (29.39%) were using both WhatsApp and Facebook, 65 students (28.51%) were using Facebook, 57 students (25%) were using Whats-App. Sixty percent of students were using social media once or more than twice a day. Eighty eight (63.8%) female students and 66 (77.7%) male students ranked this activity as high or above. To the open ended question we got appreciative comments and some suggestion. Conclusion: WhatsApp is an effective social media tool to motivate, augmentand perhaps improve the learning of undergraduates in addition to traditional teaching .

These findings suggest that educational interventions can be effective in maintaining and enhancing empathy in undergraduate medical students. In addition, they highlight the need for multicenter, randomized controlled trials, reporting long-term data to evaluate the longevity of intervention effects. Defining empathy remains problematic, and the authors call for conceptual clarity to aid future research.

Reframing the issue to emphasize the structural factors contributing to prescription opioid use disorder and the barriers to accessing evidence-based treatment might improve support for policies that benefit affected individuals.

Misconceptions about e-cigarettes are common among pregnant women, potentially motivating use that may pose risks to both maternal and child health. Screening and education regarding e-cigarettes should be included in prenatal care. Future research in this area is necessary, including research examining pregnancy outcomes among women who use e-cigarettes.

Aims This study examined the feasibility and efficacy of behavioral incentives for reducing cigarette smoking among pregnant methadone-maintained patients. Methods Participants (N=102) were randomly assigned to: 1) contingent behavioral incentives (CBI: n=42); 2) non-contingent behavioral incentives (NCBI: n=28); or 3) treatment as usual (TAU: n=32). Baseline carbon monoxide (CO) levels were calculated for each participant. Subsequently, breath samples were tested three times weekly to measure changes in smoking behavior. CBI participants received incentives for target reductions from baseline: any reduction (week 1); 10% reduction (weeks 2-4), 25% reduction (weeks 5-7), 50% reduction (weeks 8-9), 75% reduction (week 10-11); abstinence (CO<4ppm) (week 12 until delivery). NCBI participants received incentives independent of smoking CO measurement results. TAU participants received no incentives, the standard treatment at the program. Results CBI condition participants submitted significantly lower mean CO values than the NCBI and TAU conditions over the course of the intervention (p<.0001). Nearly half (48%) of the CBI participants, met the 75% smoking reduction target and one third (31%) met the abstinence target at week 12. In contrast, none of the NCBI met either the 75% or abstinence target. Only 2% of the TAU participants met the 75% reduction and none of the TAU participants met the abstinence target. These smoking behavior reductions did not yield significant differences in birth outcomes. Conclusions Cigarette smoking may be significantly reduced among pregnant, methadone-maintained women through the use of contingent reinforcement for gradual reductions in breath carbon monoxide levels.

Traditionally, scholars focused their efforts in the domains of clinical care, research, and education; however, the last decade has witnessed the rise of novel areas of development such as innovation, quality improvement, informatics, and recently, digital scholarship. Academic institutions adapted and began considering these fields for academic promotion and tenure. Social media has become a critical space for the dissemination of knowledge and outreach to community and policy makers and also for the creation of communities of practice. This new realm brings multiple challenges, such as the appraisal of the quality and appropriateness of the content, the evaluation of impact on the academe and general populations, coupled to the creation of a system to reward scholars engaged in this novel endeavor. In this article, we describe the current state of academic promotion and the definition, nature, and merit of digital scholarship. We outline new strategies and tools for the assessment of dissemination and impact of these works, such as altmetrics, and finally, we reference innovative concepts on how to organize and use this digital academia on career promotion and tenure.

Psychiatric conditions (including substance misuse disorders) are serious, potentially life threatening illnesses that can be successfully treated by psychotropic drugs, even during pregnancy. Because few rigorously designed prospective studies have examined the safety of these drugs during pregnancy, the default clinical recommendation has been to discontinue them, especially during the first trimester. However, in the past decade, as more evidence has accumulated, it seems that most psychotropic drugs are relatively safe to use in pregnancy and that not using them when indicated for serious psychiatric illness poses a greater risk to both mother and child, including tragic outcomes like suicide and infanticide. This review presents an up to date and careful examination of the most rigorous scientific studies on the effects of psychotropic drugs in pregnancy. The lack of evidence in several areas means that definite conclusions cannot be made about the risks and benefits of all psychotropic drug use in pregnancy.

In spite of the growing knowledge and understanding of addiction as a chronic relapsing medical condition, individuals with substance use disorders (SUD) continue to experience stigmatization. Pregnant women who use substances suffer additional stigma as their use has the potential to cause fetal harm, calling into question their maternal fitness and often leading to punitive responses. Punishing pregnant women denies the integral interconnectedness of the maternal-fetal dyad. Linking substance use with maternal unfitness is not supported by the balance of the scientific evidence regarding the actual harms associated with substance use during pregnancy. Such linkage adversely impacts maternal, child, and family health by deterring pregnant women from seeking both obstetrical care and SUD treatment. Pregnant women who use substances deserve compassion and care, not pariah-status and punishment.