Crowdsourcing to increase hepatitis B and C testing and reduce hepatitis stigma among medical students in Bangladesh.

This study addresses the pervasive challenges of low hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) testing rates coupled with the stigma associated with these diseases in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a special focus on Bangladesh. This study aims to introduce an innovative crowdsourcing intervention that involves medical students, a crucial cohort with the potential to shape healthcare attitudes. Through a structured crowdsourcing approach, the study designs and implements a digital intervention to counter stigma and promote testing among medical students in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Participants submitted brief videos or texts aiming to encourage hepatitis testing and reduce stigma. The call, advertised through meetings, emails, and social media, welcomed entries in English or Bengali over 3 weeks. A panel of six judges evaluated each entry based on clarity, impact potential, innovation, feasibility, and sustainability, awarding prizes to students behind the highest-rated submissions. Seventeen videos and four text messages received an average score of 5.5 among 440 surveyed medical students, predominantly 22 years old (16%) and in their fourth year (21%). After viewing, 360 students underwent screening, identifying two previously undiagnosed HBV cases referred for care; no HCV infections were found. Notably, 41% expressed concerns about individuals with HBV working in hospitals or having a doctor living with HBV. In conclusion, this pilot showcases the power of medical students in spearheading campaigns to counter hepatitis stigma and encourage testing. By utilizing crowdsourcing, the study introduces an innovative approach to a persistent issue in LMICs specially in Bangladesh, offering a model that could potentially be adapted by other regions grappling with similar challenges.

A Systematic Review of Ophthalmology Education in Medical Schools: The Global Decline.

TOPIC: This systematic review examined geographical and temporal trends in medical school ophthalmology education in relationship to course and student outcomes. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Evidence suggesting a decline in ophthalmology teaching in medical schools is increasing, raising concern for the adequacy of eye knowledge across the rest of the medical profession. METHODS: Systematic review of Embase and SCOPUS, with inclusion of studies containing data on medical school ophthalmic course length; 1 or more outcome measures on student ophthalmology knowledge, skills, self-evaluation of knowledge or skills, or student course appraisal; or both. The systematic review was registered prospectively on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (identifier, CRD42022323865). Results were aggregated with outcome subgroup analysis and description in relationship to geographical and temporal trends. Descriptive statistics, including nonparametric correlations, were used to analyze data and trends. RESULTS: Systematic review yielded 4596 publication titles, of which 52 were included in the analysis, with data from 19 countries. Average course length ranged from 12.5 to 208.7 hours, with significant continental disparity among mean course lengths. Africa reported the longest average course length at 103.3 hours, and North America reported the shortest at 36.4 hours. On average, course lengths have been declining over the last 2 decades, from an average overall course length of 92.9 hours in the 2000s to 52.9 hours in the 2020s. Mean student self-evaluation of skills was 51.3%, and mean student self-evaluation of knowledge was 55.4%. Objective mean assessment mark of skills was 57.5% and that of knowledge was 71.7%, compared with an average pass mark of 66.7%. On average, 26.4% of students felt confident in their ophthalmology knowledge and 34.5% felt confident in their skills. DISCUSSION: Most evidence describes declining length of courses devoted to ophthalmology in the last 20 years, significant student dissatisfaction with courses and content, and suboptimal knowledge and confidence. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.

Medical students' reproductive health perspectives: Pre- and post-Roe v Wade reversal.

The ability to make informed decisions about reproductive health is a cornerstone principle of the practice of prenatal medical genetics. Unfortunately, these reproductive health decisions have become entangled in the current, contentious political climate. This debate reached an inflection point in 2022 with Dobbs v. Jackson when the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned the national right to abortion previously established in Roe v. Wade. This decision prompted a reassessment of the opinions of medical students on reproductive health and abortion. Our study focused on a medical school in Alabama, a conservative state that enacted a restrictive abortion ban following the Dobbs ruling. Two surveys, conducted in 2015 and 2022, explored students' viewpoints on reproductive health topics, including abortion. The comparison revealed a significant shift toward more pro-choice perspectives among medical students. Notably, religious affiliation did not consistently align with opinions, as many Christian students supported pro-choice views. Our results suggest that medical students' reproductive health opinions at our institution have shifted to a more pro-choice position over the last decade.

The impact of simulation-based training on medical students' whole blood transfusion abilities.

BACKGROUND: Whole blood transfusion has been found to increase the likelihood of patient survival within both military and civilian medicine contexts. However, no whole blood transfusion training curriculum currently exists within undergraduate or graduate medical education in the United States. The purpose of our study was to: (1) determine the impact of simulation-based training on medical students' abilities to conduct whole blood transfusions; and (2) determine the impact of simulation-based training on medical students' confidence in conducting whole blood transfusions. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We assessed 157 third-year military medical students' ability to conduct whole blood transfusion before and after Operation Gunpowder, a 2-day high-fidelity prolonged casualty care simulation. We conducted a paired samples t-test to compare the students' pre- and post-simulation performance scores as well as self-reported confidence and stress ratings. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in students' scores at the beginning of the course (M = 20.469, SD 6.40675) compared to their scores at the end of the course (M = 30.361, SD = 2.10053); t(155) = -18.833, p < .001. The effect size for this analysis (d = 6.56) was large. There was a significant difference (p < .001) between the pre- and post-ratings for all self-reported confidence and stress survey items. DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that simulation-based training is an effective means of training medical students to conduct whole blood transfusiontraining in a limited resource simulated environment where blood inventories may be limited.

The golden tickets: impact of preference signaling on obstetrics and gynecology residency applicants.

BACKGROUND: With the residency selection process becoming more competitive and programs receiving unprecedented numbers of applications, some specialties have introduced preference signaling in an attempt to help applicants target programs of interest. In the 2022-2023 application cycle, obstetrics and gynecology also introduced a 2-tiered system with a limited number of gold signals (n=3) and silver signals (n=15). OBJECTIVE: Given the novelty of preference signaling in the obstetrics and gynecology residency application process, this study aimed to (1) assess the effect of signals on interview offers and match and (2) discuss applicant attitudes toward this preference signaling system. STUDY DESIGN: This was a voluntary cross-sectional survey study conducted in April 2023 that was open to all fourth-year medical students who applied to an obstetrics and gynecology residency in the United States. Self-reported demographics, signaling, interview, and match data were collected. In addition, students were asked about attitudes toward signaling on a 5-point Likert scale. RESULTS: Of the 1507 applicants who entered an obstetrics and gynecology residency via match or Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program process, 969 (64.3%) completed the survey. Moreover, an additional 22 applicants who did not match responded to the survey. More respondents used all 3 gold tokens (98.3%) and all 15 silver tokens (94.3%). The mean number of applications sent was 74.3±35.1, and the mean number of interviews received per applicant was 12.8±6.6. The interviews or token yields were 64.0%±31.5% for gold tokens, 43.8%±23.1% for silver tokens, and 9.8%±10.0% for no token. Of the survey respondents, 340/951 (35.8%) matched to a gold token program, 338/951 (35.5%) matched to a silver token program, and 244/951 (25.7%) matched to a nontoken program. Furthermore, 499/951 applicants (52.5%) reported feeling slightly positive or very positive about signaling. CONCLUSION: Most obstetrics and gynecology applicants in this survey participated in preference signaling. Gold and silver tokens were associated with high ratios of interview invitations compared with no token. However, the overall number of applications did not decrease in the 2022-2023 cycle, and only half of survey respondents reported feeling positive about the signaling process. These results can inform program directors and students about application number and strategy in upcoming cycles.

Relative validity of an intelligent ordering system to estimate dietary intake among university students from a medical school in Shanghai, China.

BACKGROUND: Dietary assessment methods have limitations in capturing real-time eating behaviour accurately. Equipped with automated dietary-data-collection capabilities, the "intelligent ordering system" (IOS) has potential applicability in obtaining long-term consecutive, relatively detailed on-campus dietary records among university students with little resource consumption. We investigated (1) the relative validity of IOS-derived nutrient/food intakes compared to those from the 7-day food diary (7DFD); (2) whether including a supplemental food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) improves IOS accuracy; and (3) sex differences in IOS dietary intake estimation. METHODS: Medical students (n = 221; age = 22.2 ± 2.4 years; 38.5% male and 61.5% female) completed the 7DFD and SFFQ. During the consecutive 7-day survey period, students weighed and photographed each meal before and after consumption. Then, students reviewed their 3-month diet and completed the SFFQ, which includes eight underprovided school-canteen food items (e.g., dairy, fruits, nuts). Meanwhile, 9385 IOS dietary data entries were collected. We used Spearman coefficients and linear regression models to estimate the associations among the different dietary intake assessment methods. Individual- and group-level agreement was assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, cross-classification, and Bland‒Altman analysis. RESULTS: IOS mean daily energy, protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake estimations were significantly lower (-15-20%) than those of the 7DFD. The correlation coefficients varied from 0.52 (for added sugar) to 0.88 (for soybeans and nuts), with fruits (0.37) and dairy products (0.29) showing weaker correlations. Sixty-two (milk and dairy products) to 97% (soybeans and nuts) of participants were classified into the same or adjacent dietary intake distribution quartile using both methods. The energy and macronutrient intake differences between the IOS + SFFQ and 7DFD groups decreased substantially. The separate fruit intake measurements from each assessment method did not significantly differ from each other (p > 0.05). IOS and IOS + SFFQ regression models generally yielded higher R2 values for males than for females. CONCLUSION: Despite estimation differences, the IOS can be reliable for medical student dietary habit assessment. The SFFQ is useful for measuring consumption of foods that are typically unavailable in school cafeterias, improving the overall dietary evaluation accuracy. The IOS assessment was more accurate for males than for females.

Scholarly Activity and Gender of an Applicant for a General Surgery Residency.

INTRODUCTION: Applying to general surgery residency is undoubtedly a competitive process. Participation in scholarly activity (SCA) has been cited as a criterion when selecting applicants for interview and in the ranking process. This study aims to evaluate the association between gender of applicants to surgery residency and SCA and to characterize trends in SCAs over time. METHODS: We analyzed the SCA of applicants interviewed at a general surgery residency program over 6-interview cycles (2016-2021). Eight SCA categories were included: (1) Poster Presentation, (2) Oral Presentation, (3) Peer-Reviewed (PR) Journal Articles/Abstracts, (4) PR Journal Articles/Abstracts (Other than Published), (5) PR Online Publication, (6) PR Book Chapter, (7) Nonpeer reviewed Online Publication, and (8) Other Articles/Scientific Monograph. RESULTS: Of a total of 335 interviewed applicants, 288 (86%) had at least one count of SCA. Overall, no difference between male and female applicants was noticed (n = 178, 84.8% versus n = 110, 88%, P = 0.409) and no change in percentage of SCA over the six cycles (P = 0.239). The most reported SCAs were poster presentations (n = 242, 72.2%), oral presentations (n = 159, 47.5%), PR journal articles/abstracts (n = 159, 47.5%). Female applicants have marginally higher median (interquartile range) for SCAs compared to male applicants (5 [3, 8] versus 4 [3, 8], P value 0.272). CONCLUSIONS: No association between gender and SCA among applicants for general surgery residency positions was observed. While more than three-fourths of applicants have at least one SCA, only a small fraction of applicants were published. Students should be made aware of the importance of SCA early in graduate medical education.

How to Create a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Curriculum: More Than Checking a Box.

We are beginning to accept and address the role that medicine as an institution played in legitimizing scientific racism and creating structural barriers to health equity. There is a call for greater emphasis in medical education on explaining our role in perpetuating health inequities and educating learners on how bias and racism lead to poor health outcomes for historically marginalized communities. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI; also referred to as EDI) and antiracism are key parts of patient care and medical education as they empower health professionals to be advocates for their patients, leading to better health care outcomes and more culturally and socially humble health care professionals. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education has set forth standards to include structural competency and other equity principles in the medical curriculum, but medical schools are still struggling with how to specifically do so. Here, we highlight a stepwise approach to systematically developing and implementing medical educational curriculum content with a DEI and antiracism lens. This article serves as a blueprint to prepare institution leadership, medical faculty, staff, and learners in how to effectively begin or scale up their current DEI and antiracism curricular efforts.

Knowledge Levels About Inflammatory Bowel Disease Vary Between Healthcare Professional Groups.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is one of the most serious chronic diseases affecting the global population. Clinical team members involved in the care of individuals with IBD should have sufficient knowledge about IBD. AIMS: The study aim was to assess IBD knowledge among four health care professional groups in New Zealand: nurses, medical students, dietitians, and pharmacists. METHODS: All four groups completed surveys on demographics, work experience, and contact with patients with IBD. All completed a validated IBD knowledge assessment questionnaire (IBD-KID2), and percentage scores with standard deviation (SD) for each group calculated and compared. RESULTS: Participants included 200 nurses, 196 medical students, 45 dietitians, and 28 pharmacists. Mean IBD-KID2 percentage scores were nurses 69.7% (SD 14.7), medical students 77.6% (SD 14.5), dietitians 87.4% (SD 8.3), and pharmacists 83.4% (SD 10.1). Nurses scored lower than other HCP (P < 0.001). Independent variables were associated (P < 0.05) with higher scores for nurses having first degree relative with IBD, access to IBD guidelines, worked with children with IBD; medical students in their clinical years of study; and dietitians with IBD-specific education. Specific items scored poorly: growth, food triggers, heritability of IBD, and nutrient absorption. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge gaps exist among HCP that may be addressed with targeted education. Improvements in the knowledge of those caring for people with IBD may optimize patient outcomes.

Red Ribbon Club inculcation of positive deviance approach to promote blood donation among undergraduate medical college students.

BACKGROUND: Blood is an essential part of human life and blood donation has become a necessity that every society must take into consideration. Health care professionals have a major responsibility in raising community awareness on blood donation. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to find out the knowledge and attitude of undergraduate medical students on blood donation and to determine the effectiveness of positive deviance (PD) approach. METHODOLOGY: This institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted as a part of World AIDS Days celebration by Red Ribbon club among 414 undergraduate students using convenient sampling technique. A baseline and endline survey were conducted using a pre-structured validated questionnaire. To address the knowledge gap PD approach was used for the students who had voluntarily donated blood, volunteered in providing health education, and shared their experience to their peers. Ethical principals were adhered. RESULTS: The mean age of the students was 20.4 ± 1.2 years. Most respondents had moderate knowledge on blood donation and positivity attitude towards the same. The key finding of our study is that about 45 students (10.9%) have donated blood till now. As a result of PD training session more than half of them volunteered to donate blood in the future. CONCLUSION: This study shows that awareness about blood donation were minimal among the medical students with misconceptions. After PD approach, the willingness was increased from 10% to 66%. Thus, PD approach builds capacity and leadership in volunteers is considered as the best approach for behavior change among their own peers.

Empathy in undergraduate medical students: a multi-center cross-sectional study in China.

BACKGROUND: Fostering empathy has been continuously emphasized in the global medical education. Empathy is crucial to enhance patient-physician relationships, and is associated with medical students' academic and clinical performance. However, empathy level of medical students in China and related influencing factors are not clear. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study among medical students in 11 universities. We used the Jefferson Scale of Empathy Student-version of Chinese version to measure empathy level of medical students. Factors associated with empathy were identified by the univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Based on the variables identified above, the nomogram was established to predict high empathy probability of medical students. Receiver operating characteristic curve, calibration plot and decision curve analysis were used to evaluate the discrimination, calibration and educational utility of the model. RESULTS: We received 10,901 samples, but a total of 10,576 samples could be used for further analysis (effective response rate of 97.02%). The mean empathy score of undergraduate medical students was 67.38 (standard deviation = 9.39). Six variables including gender, university category, only child or not, self-perception doctor-patient relationship in hospitals, interest of medicine, Kolb learning style showed statistical significance with empathy of medical students (P < 0.05). Then, the nomogram was established based on six variables. The validation suggested the nomogram model was well calibrated and had good utility in education, as well as area under the curve of model prediction was 0.65. CONCLUSIONS: We identify factors influencing empathy of undergraduate medical students. Moreover, increasing manifest and hidden curriculums on cultivating empathy of medical students may be needed among medical universities or schools in China.

A cross-sectional study on personal values of medical students: the differences from their instructors, their associations with mental wellbeing, and the influences of gender.

BACKGROUND: Personal values of Thai medical students have been observed to be diverging from those of their seniors, but the differences remain uncharacterized. Despite its potential association with mental wellbeing, the issue remain unexplored in the population. This study aimed to explore (1) the difference in personal values between medical students and instructors and (2) the association between student's value adherence to mental well-being and the interaction by gender. METHODS: An online survey was performed in 2022. Participants rated their adherence to five groups of values, namely, Self-Direction, Hedonism, Achievement & Power, Universalism & Benevolence, and Tradition. Participants also rated their mental wellbeing. Comparisons were made between the personal values of students and instructors. The association between the personal values of students and their mental wellbeing and the interaction between values and gender were analyzed in linear regression. RESULTS: Compared to instructors, students rated higher on Universalism & Benevolence, marginally higher on Hedonism, and lower on Tradition. Students' ratings on Self-Direction, Universalism & Benevolence, and Tradition predicted better mental wellbeing. Their rating on Hedonism predicted poorer mental wellbeing, the effect of which was marginally stronger in males. Ratings on Achievement & Power marginally predicted poorer mental wellbeing in females. CONCLUSION: Difference in personal values between medical students and instructors have been observed. Some of these values hold potentials over student's mental wellbeing. Curricular and medical school environmental accommodation for the changes in the characters of learners may be necessary to mitigate the adverse effects on their mental wellbeing and foster development of desirable professional characteristics.

Prevalence and correlates of generalized anxiety disorder and perceived stress among Sudanese medical students.

BACKGROUND: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) causes significant disturbance in an individual's well-being and activity. Whereby, interfering with the dynamic progress in life. Also, anxiety is a product of stress and a major predictor of academic performance. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), measure levels of anxiety and perceived stress, evaluate the academic profile, identify lifestyle characteristics, and explore the relationship between these factors. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 340 Sudanese medical students filled out online questionnaires, composed of the sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics, academic profile, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 scale (GAD-2), and Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10). Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 20.0 for data analysis. RESULTS: Of 340 medical students, 3.8% of them were diagnosed with GAD, while 29.1% scored ≥ 3 in GAD-2, indicating a possible diagnosis. The study found that 9.7% of the participants used addictive substances, with 42% of them having high GAD-2 scores. Moreover, high anxiety levels were associated with high-stress scores (p-value = 0.000). Also, high GAD-2 scores were significantly associated with students who spent less than 10,000 SDG (18 USD) weekly, spent more time on entertainment using smart devices (p-value = 0.004), and had an unhealthy diet (p-value = 0.004). Low anxiety levels were associated with better sleep quality (p-value = 0.00), satisfaction with religious practices (p-value = 0.00), and increased leisure/hobby time (p-value = 0.018). High-stress levels were observed in females (p-value = 0.035), those with lower academic performance satisfaction levels, and increased hours of smart device usage for entertainment (p-value = 0.001). Reduced stress levels were associated with being ≥ 23 years old, increased leisure/hobby time (p-value = 0.002), satisfaction with religious practices [F(3, 166.6) = 10.8, p-value = 0.00)], and having a healthy diet (p-value = 0.006). CONCLUSION: The low prevalence of GAD corresponded with previous literature, but 29.1% of medical students had a high probability of having GAD. The study emphasizes on providing accessible mental health services for medical students and interventions addressing modifiable risk factors.

Mental health disturbance in preclinical medical students and its association with screen time, sleep quality, and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Affected by various hurdles during COVID-19, preclinical medical students are at an elevated risk for mental health disturbances. However, the effects of modern mental health problems on preclinical medical students have not been adequately researched. Thus, this study was aimed to identify the proportions and implications of current mental health problems for depression, sleep quality and screen time among Indonesian medical preclinical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted using crowdsourcing between October 2020 and June 2021. During the study period, 1,335 subjects were recruited, and 1,023 datasets were identified as valid. General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) was used to measure current mental health disturbances (categorized as without current mental health disturbances, psychological distress, social dysfunction, or both). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to assess depression, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was employed to assess sleep quality, and a questionnaire devised for this study was used to assess screen time length per day. Multivariate data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 24 for Mac. RESULTS: According to the findings, 49.1% of the 1,023 participants had current mental health disturbances: 12.8% had psychological distress, 15.9% had social dysfunction, and the rest (20.4%) had both psychological distress and social dysfunction. The statistical analysis provided strong evidence of a difference (p < 0.001) between the medians of depression and sleep quality with at least one pair of current mental health disturbance groups, but the difference for screen time was not significant (p = 0.151). Dunn's post-hoc analysis showed that groups without current mental health problems had significantly lower mean ranks of depression and sleep quality compared to groups that had current mental health problems (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Current mental health disturbances during the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly associated with preclinical medical students' depression and sleep quality in preclinical medical students. Thus, mental health programs for this specific population should be tailored to integrate mindfulness therapy, support groups, stress management, and skills training to promote mental wellbeing.

Factors influencing stress and resilience among Egyptian medical students: a multi-centric cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Psychological stress is a common psychological comorbidity among medical students and worsens their quality of life. Psychological resilience is thought to have a protective role against stress. However, evidence regarding the prevalence of stress and resilience alongside their associated factors is scarce, especially in the Middle East. This is the first multicenter, cross-sectional study to investigate resilience and stress among Egyptian medical students. METHODS: The current cross-sectional study was conducted on 2465 university students in seven public universities in Egypt. The universities were selected using the simple randomization method. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire consisting of four parts: demographic data, socioeconomic tool represented in the Family Affluence Scale (FAS), the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Data was analyzed in SPSS version 26 software. RESULTS: The majority of the students were stressed (86.5%), most of whom had severe stress (48.9%). Most of the students had low resilience (49.9%), while only 3.2% had high resilience. In the logistic regression analysis, being a female, living alone, spending long hours on social media, and thinking of suicide or leaving medicine were associated with being stressed and having low resilience. Medical students with low resilience were significantly more liable to stress [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.667, confidence interval (CI): 2.709-4.965, P = 0.000], and vice versa [AOR = 3.709, CI: 2.746-5.009, P = 0.000]. Interestingly, high socioeconomic status showed a significant association with high resilience (P = 0.004); nonetheless, it was not associated with stress (P = 0.993). Academic grades were not associated with both the level of stress and resilience. Aging, being in clinical or academic stages, smoking, having a chronic disease, and being financially-supported are neither associated with stress nor resilience. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that Egyptian medical students had low resilience and high stress, with a significant relationship between both of them. Further investigations via longitudinal study design to understand the resilience-stress relationship are recommended. Developing and implementing resilience-improving strategies in medical schools is highly recommended to decrease the prevalence of stress and its subsequent burdens.

Comparison of medical students' considerations in choosing a specialty: 2020 vs. 2009/10.

BACKGROUND: Workforce shortage in healthcare and particularly in physicians poses a threat to healthcare delivery and its quality. In comparison to other OECD countries, Israel currently has a small number of medical graduates relative to its number of physicians, naturally emphasizing the importance of ensuring that this population chooses to remain in medicine. Understanding what is most important to medical students can help improve working conditions in residency. Such information is particularly needed to facilitate policy planning that will encourage the next generation of physicians to specialize in medical fields that are experiencing shortages. We hypothesized that between 2009/2010 and 2020, there were significant changes in medical students' preferences regarding their considerations for choosing a medical specialty. METHODS: We compared cross-sectional data from questionnaire-based surveys of 5th year medical students performed in 2009-2010 and 2020 at two Israeli universities. RESULTS: Of the 335 medical students who responded (237 and 98 in 2009/2010 and 2020, respectively) those in 2020 were 2.26 less likely vs. those in 2009/2010, to choose a residency for its high-paying potential (P < 0.05), and had significantly more interest in residencies with greater teaching opportunity (98.8% vs 82.9%, P < 0.05), increased responsibility and chances to make clinical decisions on their own (67.9% vs 51.6%, P < 0.05). Criteria important to both the 2009/2010 and 2020 students were choosing a bedside specialty (70.2%vs 67.9%, NS), and an interesting and challenging specialty (95.2%v s 91.3%, NS). CONCLUSIONS: These results partially supported our hypothesis that medical students' preferences have changed over the years, though there are fundamental factors that apparently reflect medical students' nature that do not change over time.

Primary headaches prevalence, characteristics, and healthcare utilization in Italian medical students.

BACKGROUND: Among university students, migraine is notably prevalent and is linked to compromised academic performance and daily functioning. Medical students are a particularly vulnerable category due to the demanding nature of their training, as they are often exposed to headache trigger factors. We therefore aimed to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and healthcare-seeking practices of primary headaches among Italian medical students. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study among medical students attending the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome who completed a self-administered questionnaire designed following the International Classification of Headache Disorders-3 criteria. The questionnaire assessed sociodemographic and headache features, healthcare utilization, the use of symptomatic and preventive treatment, and headache trigger factors. RESULTS: Five hundred thirty-six students filled out the questionnaire. The lifetime and last-year prevalence of headache in this cohort was 76.7% (n = 411). Among the students surveyed, migraine had a prevalence of 26.9%, probable migraine of 12.9%, and tension-type headache (TTH)/probable TTH of 36.9%. Two hundred and forty-six students (59.8%) reported that their headache worsened after starting university. All students reporting headache had at least one trigger factor. In students fulfilling the criteria for migraine (n = 144), 137 (95.1%) had previously used acute non-prescription treatments, and eight concurrently used a preventive treatment. Thirty-five students fulfilling the criteria for migraine underwent a brain MRI scan (24.3%), 43 performed a neurological evaluation (29.9%), 36 received a diagnosis of migraine (25%), and 20 (13.9%) accessed the emergency room. DISCUSSION: Migraine and TTH are common among medical students in Italy despite low healthcare resource utilization. These results support the need to promote public health policies and strategies in order to reduce the disability and burden associated with primary headaches among medical students.

The prevalence of probable overactive bladder and associated risk factors among medical students in Jordan: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: To discuss the impact of overactive bladder (OAB) on medical students. overactive bladder. is a chronic condition that causes sudden and intense urges to urinate, which can have significant physical and psychological effects on patients' lives. The prevalence of OAB among medical students is relatively high, with some studies reporting rates as high as 35.4%. This research aims to shed light on the prevalence rates and risk factors associated with OAB among medical students in Jordan. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online self-reported questionnaire as the study tool. The questionnaire collected the sociodemographic, health, and academic characteristics of medical students, as well as the new 7-item OABSS score. RESULTS: Out of the total sample of medical students surveyed (n = 525), 44.5% reported experiencing symptoms of OAB. Furthermore, the analysis also revealed that there was a significant difference in the prevalence of OAB between the ages of medical students. In addition, the study also found that there was a significant association between OAB symptoms and basic years, positive history of diagnostic UTI, positive history of recent trauma, high stress, and taking certain medications. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the need for further research in this area and emphasizes the possible implications of OAB for medical students, including the need for additional support and resources to manage the condition.

Assessment of the prevalence and risk factors for dry eye symptoms among Romanian medical students using the ocular surface disease index - a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to assess how Romanian medical students suffer from dry eye disease symptoms, establish the prevalence and severity of dry eye (DE) symptoms and identify potential risk factors. METHODS: An analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted on students from "Carol Davila" University of Medicine, Romania, after the final examination period of July 2022. The OSDI score (Ocular Surface Disease Index©) was applied in an online survey. The study adopted the standards used by other authors, who defined symptomatic DED as an OSDI score greater than 12. The chi-square test was used to establish statistical significance at a cutoff value of p < 0.05. The predictive model was created using linear logistic regression analysis. The goodness of fit of the logistic regression model was assessed using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. When the severity outcome had a nominal categorical form, multinomial regression analysis with normal subjects as a reference was performed. The distribution of the severe type of symptomatology across sex categories and years of study was analyzed using a nonparametric test (Independent-Samples Kruskal-Wallis Test). RESULTS: A total of 274 answers were received from 81.4% females and 18.6% males with a response rate of 35.58%. The mean age was 22.7 years ± 1.66 with an age range between 20 and 25 years old. Using the OSDI score, we established that the overall prevalence of DE symptoms was 83.6% (95%CI: 79.6%, 88%), with an 85.2% (95%CI: 80.5%, 89.8%) prevalence in females and 76.5% (95%CI: 65%,88%) in males. The severe form of DE was the most prevalent, regardless of the study year or sex. Increased screen time (p-value < 0.05) and non-smokers (p-value < 0.05) were proven risk factors. The predictive model which includes the explanatory variables (sex, contact lens wearers, smoking, oral contraceptives, screen time) proved an 84.7% predictability for symptomatic DE and was able to better predict the dependent variable than the intercept model only (p-value < 0.05). Smoking (p = 0.002) and screen time (p = 0.009) preserved their significance in the multinominal regression as well. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to report the epidemiology of DE symptoms among Romanian medical students. OSDI revealed a high prevalence of symptomatic DE in medical students. Screen time, although not the only factor, likely plays a role in exacerbating the disease. This information can be used to inform healthcare policies, establish occupational health guidelines, and implement preventive measures for individuals in similar high-stress academic or professional environments.

The effect of the attitude towards risk/ambiguity on examination grades: cross-sectional study in a Portuguese medical school.

Given the high prevalence of multiple-choice examinations with formula scoring in medical training, several studies have tried to identify other factors in addition to the degree of knowledge of students which influence their response patterns. This study aims to measure the effect of students' attitude towards risk and ambiguity on their number of correct, wrong, and blank answers. In October 2018, 233 3rd year medical students from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, in Porto, Portugal, completed a questionnaire which assessed the student's attitudes towards risk and ambiguity, and aversion to ambiguity in medicine. Simple and multiple regression models and the respective regression coefficients were used to measure the association between the students' attitudes, and their answers in two examinations that they had taken in June 2018. Having an intermediate level of ambiguity aversion in medicine (as opposed to a very high or low level) was associated with a significant increase in the number of correct answers and decrease in the number of blank answers in the first examination. In the second examination, high levels of ambiguity aversion in medicine were associated with a decrease in the number of wrong answers. Attitude towards risk, tolerance for ambiguity, and gender did not show significant association with the number of correct, wrong, and blank answers for either examination. Students' ambiguity aversion in medicine is correlated with their performance in multiple-choice examinations with negative marking. Therefore, it is suggested the planning and implementation of counselling sessions with medical students regarding the possible impact of ambiguity aversion on their performance in multiple-choice questions with negative marking.