Biomedical subjects

C Betson

Publications and source records attributed to C Betson.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

An evaluation of a communication skills workshop for dentists: cultural and clinical relevance of the patient-centred interview.

The benefits for both doctors and patients of effective communication skills in medical care have been widely documented and are generally accepted. There has been less research on this topic with respect to dental care. However, based on available studies and the reported success of teaching communication skills at the undergraduate level in dental schools, a workshop was developed to improve the communication skills of dentists working in government clinics in Hong Kong. The patient-centred interview as used in medical care formed the basis for teaching communication skills in this workshop. Objective and subjective measures of dentists' knowledge, attitude and skills related to the patient-centred interview were obtained before, immediately and eight weeks after the workshops. Objective measures showed immediate gains in knowledge. However, attitudes declined during the period of study. Subjective evaluations revealed improved communication skills eight weeks after the workshop and that the patient-centred interview was considered relevant to the practices of these dentists. Participants made specific reference to the concept of empathy as a means of promoting more effective communication between dentists and patients.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1999

Suicide ideation and its relationship to depressed mood in a community sample of adolescents in Hong Kong.

A sample of 996 Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong provided information about their suicide ideation. Their depressive symptoms were measured by the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory (C-BDI), and a broad range of stressors were also assessed as potential predictors to level of suicide ideation. The stressors and C-BDI scores predicted 33% of the variance in suicide ideation. In boys, most of the prediction was attributable to C-BDI scores, suggesting that depression mediated the effects of stressors. In girls, C-BDI scores, perceptions of low parental caring, and high conflict with parents had additive effects in predicting level of suicide ideation. This study contributes needed information about a non-Western population and highlights gender differences.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Predicting stress in first year medical students: a longitudinal study.

While there is ample documentation that medical training is stressful, less is known about predictive variables that might identify students who have the most difficulty in managing stress during medical training. Depression and anxiety in first year medical students were investigated in a longitudinal design. One-hundred and twenty-one medical students (81% of the class) were surveyed. The first survey took place immediately prior to the beginning of medical training (wave 1); the second survey was approximately 8 months after the beginning of classes (wave 2). Medical students who began their first year with relatively low 'A' level grades, high ratings of state anxiety and depression, high trait anxiety and low dispositional optimism, and reliance on avoidant coping strategies were found to be at higher risk for developing depression and anxiety symptoms at wave 2. Students reported increased concern about curriculum and environment, personal competence and endurance, and time to have a life outside medical school at wave 2, compared to their reports at wave 1. Increase in concerns correlated with an increase in depression and anxiety. At both surveys, use of avoidant coping strategies resulted in increased depression and anxiety; at wave 2, active coping and positive reinterpretation resulted in decreased depression and anxiety. These findings suggest characteristics of vulnerable students who might be identified early in their first year and provided with additional support. Educating students to expect an increase in concerns about environment and personal ability to manage the academic load might make these concerns less overwhelming. In addition, information about effective coping strategies (i.e. active coping efforts) and ineffective means of dealing with stress (avoidant coping efforts) might be helpful in preventing distress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1995

Stress and vulnerability in medical students.

One hundred and forty Hong Kong Chinese students were surveyed early in the second year of their medical education (year 2), and compared with 138 students surveyed prior to beginning their first year of medical school and with 74 non-medical university students in their second year. In year 2 students, distress as reflected in their scores on anxiety and depression self-report scales was high, and these students reported greater utilization of health professional services as compared with the other two groups. In year 2 students, concerns related to the medical school environment and curriculum, and whether one has the endurance and ability to be successful were significant correlates with depression and anxiety. Loss of opportunity to maintain social and recreational sources of gratification correlated with anxiety. There was no difference between the sexes with regard to the development of anxiety and depression symptoms. Academically less successful students reported somewhat higher levels of depressive ideation and symptomatology. Trait anxiety correlated with the development of distress, while optimism protected against the development of distress. Active coping styles and positive reinterpretation as a coping strategy correlated negatively with distress, while wishful thinking correlated positively with distress. These findings emphasize the need for greater attention to the psychological well-being of doctors-in-training, in Hong Kong as in the Western world. These findings should be further explored in longitudinal studies, and may be helpful in designing intervention and support programmes for vulnerable students.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Physician managers: a description of their job in hospitals.

There are those who view management as generic and others who argue that the health care system is significantly different from other systems, requiring managers with special knowledge and skills. This study uses a task inventory mailed to members of the American Academy of Medical Directors (AAMD) to describe and analyze the job of physicians who are in hospital management positions. Physician manager responsibility for the tasks was analyzed by calculating the percentage of responsibility and examining the rank tasks within management function categories. This measures the degree of relationship between two sets of rank-ordered items for task responsibility. Findings indicated that tasks dealing with policy management were among those most likely to be performed by physician administrators while the financial aspects of management are those for which physician managers were least responsible. It was also revealed that physician managers were more involved with program management than with resource management tasks.

Health Facility Administrators↗

PubMed1970