Technology advances have enabled modification of the size and shape of the electronic components to the microscale, with commensurate scaling down of their power requirements to milliwatts and microwatt range. Consequently, many complex electronic systems and devices such as wearable medical and autonomous devices consume power in the range less than 200 lW, and wireless sensor networks in the range lW to 100 mW are operated on battery power. Due to the salient limitations of battery power, such as longevity of charge and where applicable, the requirement for periodic recharging, possibilities for utilization of autonomous energy sources is critical for operation of such devices. Ambient energy sources, such as vibrations (1 lW to 20 mW), motion (wide range in power outputs), temperature gradient (0.5-10 mW), radiofrequency waves (>180 lW/cm 2 ), light (100 lW/cm 2 to 100 mW/cm 2 ), acoustics (0.003-0.11 lW/cm 2 ), and many other, have the potential to directly power the electronic device. Ambient energy harvesting, when used separately or in conjunction with batteries, will enhance the longevity of equipment operations requiring portable or autonomous power supply. This paper reviews the state of the art in energy-harvesting techniques, power conversion, and characterization of mini-and microscale self-sustaining power generation systems in the range 600 lW to 5 W, specifically focusing on low-power system applications, for personal assistive and mobile technology devices.
IntroductionMentorship, a supportive relationship that actively provides knowledge and insight, has many benefits. Although not extensively studied, medical students pursuing various specialties have diverse experiences with mentorship.
Objective
Board examinations in undergraduate medical education are imperative for competency assessment and a standard licensure process. While the cost of attendance and mean indebtedness of medical students have been quantified, the financial burden experienced by medical students from board preparation and examination has never been quantified.
Materials and methods
A total of 290 fourth-year osteopathic medical students from 38 osteopathic medical schools completed an anonymous survey that asked them to select the resources they had purchased for board preparation. Along with demographic information, respondents were asked which board examinations they had taken during their medical school education. The price for each resource was located by going to the resource website and finding the “list price” of a brand-new copy/version of that resource. If a price was not found, a current
Amazon.com
“list price” was utilized. These prices best approximate the maximum a student would spend per resource. Response and statistical analysis such as analysis of variance, post hoc comparison (Scheffé and Bonferronis test), and chi-square tests were conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics, version 25.0 (IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, NY).
Results
This study found that osteopathic medical students spent, on average, $7,499 (s.d.=$2,506) for board preparation and examination. This cost when isolated is $3,370 for the cost of taking board examinations and $4,129 for the cost of board preparation. Respondents from the West were found to spend most at $9,432, while students from the Northeast spent the least, $7.090. Additionally, non-traditional medical students, those who matriculated after the age of 30 were found to spend more than individuals who began when they were under the age of 25 or between the ages of 25-30. The two most commonly used resources for both Level 1/Step 1 and Level 2/Step 2 examinations were COMBANK and UWorld.
Conclusions/relevance
This study is the first of its kind to quantify the mean cost of board preparation and examination in undergraduate medical education at $7,499. When considering the mean indebtedness of the osteopathic graduating class of 2017-2018, 2.94% of medical education debt can be attributed to the cost of board preparation and assessments. As competitiveness for graduate medical education increases, individuals will spend more money to ensure a competitive board exam performance, a key selection factor. Stakeholders in undergraduate medical education are encouraged to further understand the interplay between medical student debt and the cost of board examinations and preparation.
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