Higher rates of depression and anxiety have also been noted among female medical students compared to age matched peers in the general population (5). Too much stress can cause physical and mental health problems, reduce students' self-esteem and can affect their

Xavier University School of Medicine admits students mainly from the United States and Canada to the undergraduate medical program. A previous study conducted in June 2013 used the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure to measure the educational environment and impact of different teaching and learning methods in the program. The present study aims to obtain information about students' perceptions of changes in the educational environment, which underwent modifications in teaching and learning, in January 2014. Information was collected about the participants' semester of study, gender, nationality, and age. Students' perceptions of the educational environment were documented by noting their degree of agreement with a set of 50 statements grouped into five categories. Average scores were compared among different groups. The mean total and category scores were compared to those of the 2013 study. Sixty of the sixty-nine students (86.9%) who enrolled in the undergraduate medical program participated in the survey. The majority were male, aged 20-25 years, and of American nationality. The mean±SD total score was 151.32±18.3. The mean scores for students' perception in the survey categories were perception of teaching/learning (38.45), perception of teachers (33.90), academic self-perceptions (22.95), perception of atmosphere (36.32), and social self-perception (19.70). There were no significant differences in these scores among the different groups. All scores except those for academic self-perception were significantly higher in the present study compared to the previous one (P<0.05). The above results will be of particular interest to schools that plan to transition to an integrated curriculum.

admits students from the United States, Canada to the undergraduate medical (MD) course. Learning styles have not been previously studied in the institution. Objective: The present study was carried out to study the learning styles of students and note the association of these with their demographic characteristics, if any among first to fourth semester premedical students and first to fourth semester undergraduate medical (MD) students during November 2013. Method: Version 7.2 of the VARK questionnaire was used. Age, gender, semester of study and nationality of the respondents were noted. The mean scores among different subgroups of respondents were compared using appropriate statistical tests (p<0.05). Result: Ninetyone of the 108 students (84.26%) completed the questionnaire. The median visual, auditory, read-write and kinaesthetic scores were 3, 5, 4 and 5 respectively. The median auditory score was significantly higher among Premedical 2 and 4 students. Forty-three respondents (47.2%) preferred a unimodal learning style while 48 (52.7%) used multiple learning styles. Conclusion: The most preferred learning style was kinaesthetic followed by auditory and read and write. More small group sessions and active learning can be used to cater to these students.