Role of yoga in stress management and implications in major depression disorder.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is one of the leading causes of disability affecting more than 340 million people and second largest contributor to global burden of disease. Chronic stress is a common risk factor and important contributor for MDD. Stress could be defined as the "perceived inability to cope". Stressful life events are shown to provoke a sequence of psychological and physiological adjustments including nervous, endocrine and immune mechanisms. Stress can lead to elevation of a variety of inflammatory cytokines and stress hormones, can cause autonomic dysfunction and imbalance in neurotransmitters. Yoga can reduce depressive symptoms by alleviating stress. Studies have shown that yoga can reduce inflammation, maintain autonomic balance and also has a role in maintaining the neurotransmitters. It has role on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the peripheral nervous system including GABA, limbic system activity, inflammatory and endocrine responses. Yoga along with antidepressants can help in reducing the depressive symptoms in patient with MDD. Yoga is an ideal complementary and alternative therapy for mental health disorders.

Polarity Based Model for Guiding Medical School Strategy During Crisis - A Cross Sectional Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Crises in academia can best be dealt with as a polarity that needs to be leveraged rather than a problem that needs to be solved. This work aimed at utilizing the Polarity Approach for Continuity and Transformation (PACT)™ to establish a guide for medical schools during times of crisis to minimize the effect of crisis-driven decisions on strategic growth. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A qualitative study following the 5-Steps of the PACT process was conducted. A virtual mapping session was held with 108 medical educators from 22 countries to determine the upsides and downsides of strategic orientation and crisis management subsequently. RESULTS: Four polarity maps were generated identifying four tension areas; University reputation, mission, teams, and individuals followed by a 72-item assessment and another mapping session to map the warning signs and action steps. A comparison between private school scores and the whole cohort of respondents showed that private schools had the least problems in team-oriented work. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the importance of taking measures to communicate the mission and supporting team functions inside universities either by enhancing resources or utilizing time and effort-saving strategies.

A toolbox for conducting an online OSCE.

This toolbox highlights the lessons learned and the tools used to run the online OSCE at the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University (CMMS-AGU) using Zoom™ï¸. The examiners considered the examination to be valid in assessing all clinical skills except for psychomotor skills and students found it to be highly acceptable. We describe three phases. Planning and preparation phase in which situation analysis, aligning stakeholders, mobilizing resources, creating a shared vision, and ownership of the exam project take place. For successful implementation of examinations, detailed plans are needed including manpower, timings, number of stations and detailed description of the steps of the examination process. We provide a set of guiding questions for proper decision making related to online clinical exams. Implementation Phase in which piloting is very useful to apply improvements to the original plan and to outline the needed capacity building of the participating staff. We give a detailed description of the guiding documents, means of communication and features of ZOOM that were used. Evaluation phase we provide a guide for evaluating the process and outcome, including a list of key performance indicators.