Medical training is full of stress and this has been a topic of concern for nearly half a century. 1 Various stressors in the life of a medical student include homesickness, heavy workload, sleep deprivation, difficult patients, financial concerns, information overload and career planning. 2 These stressors often have a negative impact on the students' academic performance, physical health, and psychological well-being, making them more susceptible to depression. 3,4 This is harmful not only for the students but may also have adverse effect on patient care. 5 Many studies support the fact that medical students experience depression at higher rates than graduate students or young adults in the general public. 6 Studies from other parts of world have shown a high prevalence of depression in medical students but studies on Indian medical students are lacking. 7,8 The present study was therefore undertaken to determine the prevalence of depression, its severity and some of the factors associated with it.
Children in the age group of 5-14 years are regarded as of school age. 1 A recent estimate (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005), in developing world, states that approximately 146 million children are underweight, 39% of whom live in India. 2 Malnutrition comprises of both under nutrition as well as over nutrition. While under nutrition in children has always been of high magnitude in developing countries ,over weight and obesity is also increasing in prevalence because of improvements in socioeconomic conditions and rapid urbanization the so called 'nutrition transition '. 3
Background: Empathy is a critical construct in the context of the doctor patient relationship. Very few studies in India have previously assessed clinical empathy explicitly in medical students. The present study aimed to estimate and compare the empathy scores of the medical students with various independent factors and to determine the correlation between empathy scores and age of participants.Methods: A web based cross-sectional study was undertaken using a partly self-designed and partly pre-designed Jefferson scale of physician empathy (JSPE) questionnaire for data collection.Results: The mean empathy score of the students was found to be 98.79±12.02. Gender, type of schooling and personal rating of the student were found to have a statistically significant association on comparison. A low degree of statistically insignificant negative correlation (r=-0.1) between age and empathy scores was found.Conclusions: The mean empathy scores recorded in our study are lower as compared to those obtained by Western studies. Aptitude assessment at the time of Bachelor of medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) entry could improve the selection of students to those who possess more attributes necessary in a doctor. Orientation in empathy is also required for MBBS students as it is documented that clinical empathy level is amenable to change by empathy education. Males, government school students and very good and average to poor students need special attention to improve their empathy levels. Longitudinal empathy training could minimize the negativity of age on empathy levels in student.
Background: Medical Science is still one of the most sought after professions. The possession of an aptitude for the profession is a pre requisite, considering its strenuous demands from the candidate. Presently, there is no mechanism in place in India to assess aptitude in students prior to medical college entry. The aims and objectives of the study were to assess the baseline medical aptitude in the new medical entrants, to Introduce Teaching Learning Sessions for Development of Medical Aptitude in new Medical Entrants, to assess the post T/L session medical aptitude in the new medical entrants.Methods: A cross sectional, one group pre- post study was undertaken amongst 150 fresh MBBS students of Adesh Medical College and Hospital, Shahabad, after approval from the IEC. A pre-tested and pre-validated semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection both at baseline and after relevant Teaching learning sessions. Data collected was analyzed by using Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) Version 21.Results: The overall mean aptitude value before and after the T/L session was 102.98±8.47 and 114.51±8.60 respectively (p<0.001). Also, there was increase in the proportion of students having average and above average aptitude and decline in those having below average aptitude in the post T/L sessions as compared to the baseline levels.Conclusions: It can be concluded that medical aptitude can be built up in the new medical entrants by making them aware about it through well crafted teaching learning sessions.
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