First graduates' perceptions on a problem-based and task-based learning curriculum.

INTRODUCTION: Determination of graduates' perceptions and suggestions is essential in the evaluation of educational programmes. Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine (DEUSM), the country's first medical school implementing a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Task-Based Learning (TBL) programme, graduated the first students of its new educational programme starting from the 2002-2003 academic year. The aim of the present study is to determine first graduates' perceptions on their self-efficacy and school's educational programme's efficacy. METHODS: In June 2003, 51 graduating students were asked to use five-point scales to evaluate: the content of the educational programme, the educational methods, communication with educators, assessment methods and instruments, the efficacy of each year of their undergraduate programme and the overall program, their satisfaction levels about educational programme regarding the acquisition of knowledge and skills, their self-efficacy and contentment level of being a physician. RESULTS: In the content of educational programme, the highest score was attributed to "acquisition of behavioural objectives" and the lowest score to "acquisition of basic science knowledge". Regarding the efficacy of educational programme, the highest score was attributed to "communication with educators". The highest scores regarding the satisfaction levels on the acquisition of knowledge and skills provided by the School were attributed to "implementing basic professional procedures" and "history taking" and the lowest score to "selecting appropriate treatment". CONCLUSION: The graduating students' mainly positive evaluations regarding the efficacy of DEUSM's new educational programme were considered as supportive reflections on the new educational programme. Further studies to monitor our graduates' future professional performances are being envisaged.

Hormonal responses to exercise stress test in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.

Twenty patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and 20 matched healthy controls were subjected to an exercise stress test above their anaerobic threshold. Serum samples for the measurement of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), prolactin (PRL), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol were taken prior to and after the test at 30-min intervals. Compared to the controls, the patients with FMS displayed significantly lower basal GH levels and slightly, though significantly, higher prolactin levels. Following the exercise test there was a significant increase in the mean GH level in the patient group (P = 0.0474) and a significant decrease in the control group (P = 0.0286) 1 hour after the exercise. A slight decrease in ACTH levels in the control group was observed (P = 0.0002), but there was no significant change in FMS patients. Cortisol levels were significantly lower in both groups after the exercise (P = 0.0001). These results suggest the possibility of a perturbation in hormonal response to exercise in patients with FMS.

The development and psychometric assessment of the Turkish version of the Nottingham Health Profile.

The Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) is a widely used measure of perceived health status. The aim of the present study was to adapt the NHP for use in Turkey and to test its psychometric properties. Following translation and testing for its face and content validity, 50 patients with osteoarthritis were interviewed on two occasions. Each interview included administration of the NHP and the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), a measure of functional disability. Test-retest reliability of the new version was satisfactory and comparable with other available language versions. As predicted, high correlations were found between the HAQ and the physical mobility, pain and energy level sections of the NHP and low correlations between the HAQ and emotional reactions, social isolation and sleep, confirming the construct validity of the NHP. It is concluded that the adaptation of the NHP into Turkish was successful but that additional studies are required to assess its suitability for use with other patient populations and its equivalence to other language versions of the measure.

LIGO: The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory.

The goal of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Project is to detect and study astrophysical gravitational waves and use data from them for research in physics and astronomy. LIGO will support studies concerning the nature and nonlinear dynamics of gravity, the structures of black holes, and the equation of state of nuclear matter. It will also measure the masses, birth rates, collisions, and distributions of black holes and neutron stars in the universe and probe the cores of supernovae and the very early universe. The technology for LIGO has been developed during the past 20 years. Construction will begin in 1992, and under the present schedule, LIGO's gravitational-wave searches will begin in 1998.