The authors observed a positive association between QoL measures and DREEM scores. This association had a dose-response effect, independent of age, sex, and year of medical training, showing that educational environment appears to be an important moderator of medical student QoL.

ObjectivesTo assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and to describe factors associated with its variation among undergraduate medical students at a Brazilian private medical school. MethodsA cross-sectional study in a sample (n=180) of medical students at a private medical school in Salvador, Brazil, stratified by year of medical course. Data about age, sex, year of course, physical activity, sleepiness, headaches, participation in a student loan program supported by the Brazilian government (FIES) and living arrangements were collected using a self-administered form. HRQOL was assessed by using a Brazilian Portuguese version of the SF-36 form. The eight domains of SF-36 and the Physical Component (PCS) and Mental Component (MCS) Summaries scales were calculated. ResultsThe medical students showed poor HRQOL, mainly because of the mental component. Lower mean scores were found among those with FIES support, females, those suffering from sleepiness, headaches and lacking physical activity. No clear trend was observed in the variation of the SF-36 mean scores according to the year of medical school. However, students in the fifth year of the course had the highest HRQOL mean scores. ConclusionsHealth-related quality of life of students at this private medical school was poor, mainly because of its mental component. Lower HRQOL was associated with FIES support, females, sleepiness, headaches and lack of regular physical activity. Higher scores were found among fifth year students.

Resumo As diretrizes curriculares para o curso de graduação em medicina preconizam formação médica humanista, reflexiva e ética. Determinam também que o profissional médico esteja apto para acompanhar o processo de morte, sendo fundamental para isso a avaliação de métodos ativos de ensino-aprendizagem das humanidades e da ética e bioética no curso de medicina. Este artigo propõe avaliar o uso da obra “As intermitências da morte” de José Saramago como ferramenta de ensino da ética e bioética, abordando essencialmente reflexões individuais e coletivas ao lidar com o tema da morte. Trata-se de estudo descritivo com análise qualitativa de avaliação da obra em questão por alunos de medicina da Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública. Conclui-se que esse instrumento é recomendado no ensino das humanidades, comprovando que sua leitura atribuiu capacidades subjetivas ao estudante para lidar com situações relacionadas à morte respeitando os princípios da bioética.

This study aimed to evaluate the health-related quality of life of medical students participating in a large Brazilian government loan programme for undergraduate students in private schools.A cross-sectional study in a stratified sample of students from a private medical school in Salvador, Brazil, evaluated their health-related quality of life by using a Brazilian Portuguese version of the 36-item Short Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-36).Students supported by the loan programme consistently presented lower mean scores in all SF-36 domains and in the physical and mental component summary scores than those who were not in the programme. Students supported by the loan programme presented systematically lower physical and mental component mean scores, after stratification by age, gender, school year, physical activity, sleepiness, headache, having a car, having a housemaid, living with family, and living in a rented house.The loan programme has enabled less wealthy undergraduate students to attend private medical schools in Brazil. However, this support is insufficient to improve students’ health-related quality of life during medical school, as compared with students who do not participate in the programme. Because of a poorer health-related quality of life, students supported by the loan programme deserve special attention from private medical schools.

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Acute poisoning is a frequent accident in childhood, particularly in children under 4 years of age. This was a descriptive study with data collected from standardized forms of the Poison Control Center and patient record charts. All the cases of acute poisoning in children aged 0 to 14 years during the period 2008 to 2012 were selected. The variables studied comprised characteristics of the events and toxic agents, clinical development, and outcome. A total of 657 cases of acute poisoning, with higher frequency in the age-group from 1 to 4 years (48.7%) and male sex (53.4%), were recorded. The occurrences were accidental in 92% of the cases, and 5.8% were due to suicide attempts. Among the toxic agents, medications (28.5%), venomous animals (19.3%), nonvenomous animals (10%), household cleaning products (9.0%), and raticide agents (8.7%) predominated. The majority of cases were characterized as light (73.5%) and around 18% required hospitalization, and there was low lethality (0.5%).

KEYWORDS-Medical Education.-Bioethics.-Literature. ABSTRACT Education is a social pillar characterized by its nobility and complexity and has undergone a paradig

Background . The Choosing Wisely (CW) campaign informs physicians and the public about safety and quality in medical practice. Objective . To evaluate a CW campaign in a medical internship in pediatrics. Methods . An interventionist study with teachers of medicine and pediatric internship students in which the Delphi technique was applied using online questionnaires. Specialists identified 3 unnecessary situations that commonly occur in clinical practice. Following the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) model evaluation, a group of students who participated in the educational interventions was compared with another group that was not exposed to the campaign. Results . Most students evaluated the CW campaign content as excellent (64%) or very good (31.6%). The level of successes in the OSCE evaluation was higher in the exposed group when compared with the nonexposed group ( P = .001). Conclusions . The CW campaign improved the clinical skills of pediatric internship students.