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Biomedical subjects

P Burra

Publications and source records attributed to P Burra.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Symposium on the teaching of psychiatry. Canada: Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.

The medical school at Queen's University offers a 4-year M.D. degree course. Because the majority of graduating students consistently choose family medicine as a career, it was decided that the overall objective of the undergraduate course should be to provide the students with the skills and knowledge required to deal with the psychiatric disorders commonly found in general medical practice. The teaching of psychiatry is limited to the second, third and fourth medical years, and teachers are clinicians rather than nonpractising experts in particular fields related to medicine.

Clinical Clerkship↗
PubMed1982

The ATP 30-a scale for measuring medical students' attitudes to psychiatry.

The development and validation of a thirty item, Likert-type scale designed to measure medical students' attitudes to psychiatry-the ATP-30 (Attitudes Toward Psychiatry-30 items)-are described. We had hoped to demonstrate that 'attitude to psychiatry' was not a unitary matter but an amalgam of attitudes to a number of things to do with psychiatric practice. This hope was not fulfilled, as a unitary dimension was obtained. A positive change in the attitudes of students toward psychiatry was demonstrated in third and fourth medical year students in relation to exposure to psychiatry. Such a change was not demonstrable in two classes of occupational therapy students exposed to a course in psychiatry. The reasons for this difference between medical students and occupational therapy students are discussed-there possibly being important implications here for psychiatric curriculum planning in medical school. Lastly, we have demonstrated that the positive change in attitudes amongst medical students was transient rather than lasting-a matter which most studies of attitude change do not address. In spite of the apparent impermanence of the positive change in attitudes among medical students, there are a number of possible used to a scale such as the ATP-30, and these are discussed.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1980

Mental competence and consent to treatment.

The issue of mental competence in relation to consent to treatment has been highlighted in the recently amended Mental Health Act in Ontario. The definition of mental competence in this context, how it is to be determined, and some practical implications of the Section of the Act pertaining to this matter, are discussed. The case history of a young woman is used to illustrate some of the points made.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Teaching interviewing skills by encountering patients.

First-year psychiatric residents were observed to lack many interviewing skills considered to be necessary for both physicians and psychiatrists. A method of teaching the skills in a group setting with live patients was constructed. The essential feature of the method is the total direction of attention to the process of interviewing as opposed to the content of the interview. Segments of videotaped interviews of the residents taken before and after the seminar series were rated by examiners who did not know the residents. In addition, participants reported a number of features about this seminar which helped them to improve their interviewing skills. The research results supported the self-report changes, demonstrating that each resident improved on the qualities measured as empathy, congruence, and level of regard.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1979

The Helping Professions Group: interpersonal dimensions in health sciences education.

At Queen's University an extramural interprofessional discussion group, involving students and faculty members from medicine, nursing, theology, education, and law, has been meeting since February 1977. The discussions center on actual persons and problems with implications for a number of professional groups. This format provides an alternative opportunity for learning and may enhance personal growth and the development of interpersonal skills. It seems to meet certain needs which are not fulfilled by the more traditional university programs.

Communication↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Zinc, iron, and peroxidation in liver tissue. Cumulative effects of alcohol consumption and virus-mediated damage--a preliminary report.

In an attempt to elucidate further the mechanisms involved in alcohol-mediated liver damage and the correlation between alcohol and viruses in chronic liver lesions, we determined the levels of liver glutathione (GSH), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) in 31 patients with chronic viral hepatitis (CAH), 6 with alcohol-related chronic hepatitis (CALD), 6 with alcoholic cirrhosis (AC), 8 with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), and 10 healthy controls (C). Liver GSH was significantly lower in CALD and AC patients (p < 0.005). TBARS levels were significantly higher in CAH, CALD, and PBC patients (p < 0.001, < 0.02, and < 0.001, respectively). In CAH patients, alcohol consumption correlated inversely with GSH and directly with TBARS (p < 0.05). Patients with both CAH and alcohol abuse had a further reduction in liver GSH levels (p < 0.005). Tissue levels of Fe were significantly increased in CALD and AC patients with respect to controls and CAH patients, whereas no significant difference was observed in Zn. These data confirm that patients with chronic ethanol exposure reveal a depletion in liver GSH content clearly correlated with an increase in lipid peroxidation and Fe liver storage. On the other hand, these findings appear to suggest no significant change in Zn levels in chronic hepatitis.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Warm hepatic ischemia in pigs: effects of L-arginine and oligotide treatment.

Reperfusion injury represents a key event leading to graft nonfunction. Maintaining adequate nitric oxide levels and stimulating vasodilator synthesis can probably minimize endothelial damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of L-arginine, a substrate of nitric oxide synthesis, and oligotide, a promoter of prostacyclin synthesis, on liver function and morphology after warm ischemia-reperfusion injury. After constructing a side-to-side portacaval shunt, ischemia was induced by clamping the hepatic hilum for 2 h above the shunt, in 19 female pigs divided into a control group (n = 7), an L-arginine treatment group (n = 6), and an oligotide treatment group (n = 6). Liver function tests and measurements of serum and red blood cell malondialdehyde and plasma nitric oxide levels were performed before reperfusion and at 1, 10, 60, and 120 min after reperfusion. Liver biopsies, taken before reperfusion and at 30 min and 7 days after reperfusion, were analyzed for tissue malondialdehyde, histological-ultrastructural features, and apoptosis evaluation. Thirty minutes after reperfusion, liver malondialdehyde, sinusoidal congestion, necrosis, and apoptosis were significantly lower in the L-arginine group than in the controls (p < .05). On postoperative day 7, tissue malondialdehyde decreased, while plasma nitric oxide and hepatocyte glycogen content were increased in the L-arginine group compared to controls (p < .05). This study demonstrates the protective effect of L-arginine on hepatic lipoperoxidation and liver morphology in a pig model of warm ischemia-reperfusion injury. The increased plasma levels of nitric oxide a week after ischemia-reperfusion injury support the hypothesis that it has a role in preventing liver damage. The same beneficial effect was not confirmed for oligotide.

Animals↗