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PubMed2002

Associations between health risk behaviors and opposite-, same-, and both-sex sexual partners in representative samples of vermont and massachusetts high school students.

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between health risk behaviors and sexual experience with opposite-, same-, or both-sex partners in representative samples of high school students. DESIGN: We used 1995 and 1997 data from the Vermont and Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. Logistic regression and multiple regression analyses were used to compare health risk behaviors among students who reported sex with opposite-sex partners only (opposite-sex students), with same-sex partners only (same-sex students), and with both male and female sexual partners (both-sex students). SETTING: Public high schools in Vermont and Massachusetts. PARTICIPANTS: Representative, population-based samples of high school students. The combined samples had 14 623 Vermont students and 8141 Massachusetts students. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Violence, harassment, suicidal behavior, alcohol and other drug use, and unhealthy weight control practices. RESULTS: In both states, both-sex students were significantly more likely to report health risk behaviors than were opposite-sex students. For example, both-sex students had odds 3 to 6 times greater than opposite-sex students of being threatened or injured with a weapon at school, making a suicide attempt requiring medical attention, using cocaine, or vomiting or using laxatives to control their weight. In both states, same-sex students were as likely as opposite-sex students to report most health risk behaviors. CONCLUSION: Relative to opposite- and same-sex students, both-sex students may be at elevated risk of injury, disease, and death by experiencing serious harassment and engaging in violence, suicidal behavior, alcohol and other drug use, and unhealthy weight control practices.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Retention of nursing students with English as a second language.

The purposes of this study were to: (a) determine nursing students' perceptions of the learning activities which contribute the most to their knowledge and skills; (b) determine students' perceptions of their learning difficulties; (c) compare the perceptions of English as a second language (ESL) and non-ESL students; (d) determine nursing faculty perceptions of ESL students' learning difficulties; (e) compare the perceptions of ESL students and faculty; and (f) identify needs for educational and/or supportive programmes for faculty and students. Differences in perceptions of faculty and students regarding areas of difficulty and students' needs may influence the services provided to students and therefore contribute to their lack of success and attrition. A questionnaire was given to students in the first and second years of the University of British Columbia (UBC)/Vancouver Hospital (VH) Nursing Programme to collect data regarding their high school and post-secondary education, date of arrival in Canada, first language, and their perceptions of helpfulness and difficulty of learning activities. A similar questionnaire was given to faculty members working with these students to collect data about their perceptions of areas of difficulty and activities that contribute the most to the learning of ESL students. Data analysis consisted of t-tests for statistical comparison of the responses of ESL and non-ESL students, and ESL students and faculty. The results indicated statistically significant differences between the perceptions of faculty and ESL students, particularly in the areas of difficulty. The need for educational programmes for both faculty and students was identified.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Health science learning academy: a successful "pipeline" educational program for high school students.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the Health Professions Partnership Initiative is to increase the number of underrepresented minority Georgia residents who become health care professionals by (1) creating a pipeline of well-qualified high school and college students interested in health care careers, (2) increasing the number of well-qualified applicants to medical and other health professions schools, and (3) increasing the number of underrepresented minority students at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). DESCRIPTION: The Health Professions Partnership Initiative at MCG was created in 1996 by collaboration among the MCG Schools of Medicine and Nursing, two Augusta high schools attended primarily by underrepresented minority students, three historically black colleges and universities, the Fort Discovery National Science Center of Augusta, community service organizations, and MCG student organizations. The project was funded by the Association of American Medical Colleges and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The high school component, the Health Science Learning Academy (HSLA), was designed to strengthen the students' educational backgrounds and interest in professional careers as evidenced by increased standardized test scores and numbers of students entering college and health professions schools. Additional goals included a system to track students' progress throughout the pipeline as well as professional development sessions to enrich faculty members' knowledge and enhance their teaching expertise. The HSLA began with ninth-grade students from the two high schools. During its second year, funding from the Health 1st Foundation allowed inclusion of another high school and expansion to ninth grade through twelfth grade. The HSLA's enrichment classes meet for three hours on 18 Saturday mornings during the academic year and include computer-interactive SAT preparation and English composition (tenth grade); biology, algebra, calculus, and English composition (eleventh grade); and advanced mathematics and biology (twelfth grade). DISCUSSION: The ultimate solution to the paucity of underrepresented minority physicians resides largely in successful pipeline programs that expand the pool of well-qualified applicants, matriculants, and graduates from medical schools. Intermediate results of the HSLA support the success of the program. Since its creation in the 1996-1997 academic year, 203 students have participated in the HSLA and all 38 (from the original two schools) who completed the four-year program have enrolled in college. The mean SAT score for students who completed the HSLA program was 1,066, compared with a mean of 923 for all college-bound students in the participating schools. The mean increases in SAT scores for students who completed the four-year program were.5% (1,100 to 1,105) for students attending a magnet high school and 18% (929 to 1,130) for students attending the comprehensive high school. The mean overall increases in SAT scores for students in the two high schools were 1% (1,044 to 1,048) and 9.1% (765 to 834), respectively. The HSLA is accomplishing its goals and, while it is too early to know if these students will participate in MCAT preparatory programs and apply to medical and other health professions schools, their sustained commitment and enthusiasm bode well for continued success.

Academies and Institutes↗
PubMed2003

[Regional differences in relationships between depressive symptoms and psychosocial factors among high school students: a comparison of Okinawa and Saga prefectures].

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine regional differences in relationships between depressive symptoms and psychosocial factors among Japanese high school students in Okinawa and Saga prefectures in Japan. METHODS: The study sample was 3,234 students from 14 public high schools in Okinawa and 2,503 students from 12 public high schools in Saga. The students completed a self-administered questionnaire between September and November 2000. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The psychosocial factors examined were participation in community events, life stress, self-esteem, perceived social support, and life environment. RESULTS: There was no difference in depressive symptoms by region. Students in Saga had higher levels of stress in the academic, teachers' and friends' domains compared to students in Okinawa. Students in Saga also evaluated their natural environment better than their counterparts in Okinawa. On the other hand, students in Okinawa were more likely to participate in community events than those in Saga. After controlling for sociodemographic variables, depressive symptoms were found to be significantly associated with life stress, self-esteem, and social support among students in both Okinawa and Saga. Only among students in Okinawa, however, were depressive symptoms significantly related to participation in community events. The psychosocial factors accounted for the same amount of variance in depressive symptoms for Okinawa and Saga students. Additionally, life stress in the teachers' domain had stronger associations with depressive symptoms among students in Saga than among those in Okinawa. The depressive symptom levels of Okinawa students seemed to be more strongly associated with self-esteem than those affecting their counterparts in the Saga prefecture. CONCLUSION: These findings show that there is similar pattern of associations between depressive symptoms and psychosocial factors among high school students in Okinawa and Saga, except for participation in community events. Life stress, self-esteem, and social support may be common factors associated with depressive symptoms among high school students regardless of region. Overall, the magnitude of the relationship between depressive symptoms and psychosocial factors was similar across Okinawa and Saga students.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Students' acquisition and use of school condoms in a high school condom availability program.

OBJECTIVES: To determine what students know about a condom availability program in their high school, how they react to the program, whether they obtain condoms from it, and what they do with these condoms. DESIGN: Self-administered anonymous survey conducted 1 year after the program began. SETTING: An urban California school district. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1112 students, 9th through 12th grade, 59% of eligible students present on the survey day. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: History of obtaining condoms from the program, use of these condoms, knowledge about the program, and attitudes toward the program. RESULTS: Forty-eight percent of students had personally taken school condoms, and another 5% had gotten them from someone else, for a total of 53% who had obtained school condoms. Seventy percent of nonvirgins and 38% of virgins obtained condoms. Males were more likely than females to have obtained condoms (60% vs 45%). Fifty-four percent of students who had obtained school condoms had used them for sexual activity: 52% had used them for vaginal intercourse, 7% for anal intercourse, and 4% for fellatio. Students also explored school condoms without having sex, eg, removing them from the packet, putting them on fingers, or putting them on their penis or a partner's penis. Thirty-four percent of students who had used a condom for vaginal intercourse during the previous year had obtained the condom they last used from school, with more males than females reporting the school as their source (41% vs 26%). Eighty-eight percent of students knew that all students were allowed to obtain condoms, and 74% knew that parental permission was not required. Students generally supported the condom program: 88% thought the school should give out condoms, and 79% thought that if the school were to require parental permission for students to get condoms, students would get them less often than with the present system (which does not require permission). Thirteen percent agreed and 71% disagreed that "having condoms available at school makes it harder for someone who doesn't want to have sex to say no." CONCLUSIONS: Providing high school students with direct access to condoms leads to widespread use of school condoms, both for sexual activity and for exploratory activities that familiarize students with condoms. Condoms are of interest to both students who have and students who have not engaged in sexual activities for which condoms are recommended.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

The recruitment of occupational therapy students: a national survey.

This national survey was designed to study selected characteristics of entry level occupational therapy students and to compare recruitment variables in technical and professional students. The survey encompassed 116 programs with 1,843 students responding. Major findings include the following: the median age of professional students was 1 to 2 years older than that of technical students; the technical students had the larger percentage of older students; professional level students chose occupational therapy at an earlier age than did technical students; the majority of minority students were enrolled in technical programs; and students' initial exposure to occupational therapy differed between the technical and professional students: Technical students reported that their earliest contacts with the profession most often came from family friends, college and junior college contacts, high school counselors, and occupational therapy students, in that order. Professional level students reported that their most common initial contact came from occupational therapy students, family friends, parents, a volunteer or employment experience in the field, or health personnel in the field, in that order. Survey data form the basis for a discussion of potential expansion of recruitment strategies.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Differences in ambulatory teaching and learning by gender match of preceptors and students.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Important differences exist in traditional medical education by gender of the teachers and learners. Much less is known about how gender influences educational experiences in community-based ambulatory settings. In this study, we explored how community-based teaching and learning varies by gender of the students and preceptors. METHODS: This prospective study used both paper- and computer-based documentation systems to collect information on student-patient-preceptor encounters. A consecutive sample of third-year medical students contributed data on one full clinical day each week as they rotated through a required 8-week family medicine clerkship. The main measures of interest included patient age and gender, health care visit type (acute, acute exacerbation of chronic, chronic, and health maintenance), method of learning in history taking and physical examinations (observing preceptor, being observed by preceptor, performing unobserved, or working jointly with preceptor), content of physical examinations, amount of preceptor feedback, preceptor teaching content, and gender of the students and their preceptors. RESULTS: Ninety-three students contributed data on 5,017 patient encounters. The distribution of encounters by student-preceptor dyad included: 1,926 (38%) female students with male preceptors. 1,716 (34%) male students with male preceptors, 841 (17%) female students with female preceptors, and 534 (11%) male students with female preceptors. We found that female preceptors conduct more complete physical exams with students than do male preceptors (28% versus 23%). Female students with male preceptors devoted more encounters to observation only than any other dyad (20% versus 12%), and female preceptors are more likely than male preceptors to allow students to perform unobserved (70% versus 59%). Patient gender played little if any role in how students and their preceptors worked together. CONCLUSIONS: Differences of potential importance were found in teaching and learning by gender of the student-preceptor dyad. This factor can and should be considered when determining how students can best meet educational objectives in community-based ambulatory settings.

Clinical Clerkship↗
PubMed2006

Medical and nursing students' attitudes toward cardiopulmonary resuscitation and current practice guidelines.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Every member of a healthcare organisation should be able to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation (CPR-D). The purpose of this cohort study was to examine medical and nursing student's beliefs and attitudes toward CPR-D and current practice guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A pilot questionnaire concerning beliefs and attitudes toward CPR-D was distributed to 120 fourth year medical students. After statistical analyses (Cronbach's alpha), the questionnaire was modified to increase its reliability. The second version was distributed via e-mail to 100 final sixth year medical students and to 120 final fourth year nursing students. The students had 2 weeks to answer the questionnaire. A reminder was sent via e-mail after 1 week. RESULTS: The questionnaire was answered by 71 of 120 fourth year students (59.1%), 56 of 100 (56.0%) sixth year medical students and 76 of 120 (63.3%) nursing students. Seventy percent of the fourth year, 85.8% of the final (sixth) year medical students and 70.0% of the final (fourth) year nursing students felt confident about their ability to perform basic life support (p<0.01) and 24.0% of the fourth year, 84.0% of the final year medical students and 22.7% of the nursing students about defibrillation (p<0.001). The perceived ability to defibrillate correlated significantly with a positive attitude toward nurse-performed defibrillation (p<0.01) and negatively with fear of damaging the patient's heart by defibrillation (p<0.01). Negative attitude toward defibrillation correlated with perceived organisational attitudes toward practise guidelines (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Medical students' attitudes mature as hoped for, but the nursing students need encouragement. More information is needed to diminish anxiety concerning defibrillation. Negative beliefs and attitudes toward defibrillation affect the students' attitudes toward practice guidelines.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

A comparison of smoking habits among medical and nursing students.

OBJECTIVE: The approach and credibility of future physicians and nurses as treatment providers for smoking- and tobacco-related diseases may be influenced by their smoking habits. We compared smoking habits among medical and nursing students, and examined whether these habits changed during the course of education for each cohort. METHOD: Over 1,100 medical and nursing students from a university were surveyed in year 2000 using a questionnaire that included the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence (FTND). RESULTS: A total of 397 medical students and 126 nursing students completed the survey. Significantly fewer medical students (3.3%) smoked compared to nursing students (13.5%). Also, significantly more nursing students were former smokers (17.8%) than medical students (9.8%). The severity of nicotine dependence, as indicated by the total FTND score as well as scores on five of the six items on the FTND, was significantly lower among medical students compared to nursing students. Smoking or quit rates did not differ across class years in both groups; however, unlike nursing students, time since quitting significantly differed across class years for medical students. Although smoking habits appear to change little during the course of education for both medical and nursing students, many smokers may have quit just prior to entering medical school but not nursing school. CONCLUSIONS: The findings confirm the continuing decline in smoking among medical students in the United States; however, increased efforts to promote tobacco education and intervention among nursing students seem necessary. Nevertheless, both groups appear to have the potential to be credible advisors to patients and public regarding smoking cessation.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Organ donation: a pilot study of knowledge among medical and other university students.

BACKGROUND: Physicians' knowledge of and attitudes towards organ donation may be a factor in organ procurement rates. There is a lack of information about how Canadian medical students perceive organ donation, and what they know about it. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study assesses the knowledge and attitudes of university students toward organ donation. METHODS: Medical students completed a self-administered questionnaire after a lecture. Non-medical students completed the same questionnaire at the university student center. The questionnaire included a test that was used to assess knowledge about organ donation. Attitudes were assessed by determining whether the student carried a signed organ donor card, and their reasons if they did not. RESULTS: Of the 76 students in the first-year medical class, 39 responded. A sample of the first 40 non-medical students to visit a booth at the student centre was selected for comparative analysis. The mean age of medical students was 23.5 years; 23 for non-medical students. Of those surveyed, 56.6 per cent were women. Of medical students, 30.8 per cent reported carrying a signed card compared with 50 per cent of non-medical students. The most common reason for not carrying a card in both groups was apathy. Median test scores were 2.4/6 for both groups. Students carrying a signed card had a median test score of 2.7/6, with the median score for those not carrying signed cards being 2.2/6. CONCLUSION: More investigation of the knowledge and attitudes of medical students regarding organ donation is warranted.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2006

Overnight activities of medical students on call: is it really educational?

BACKGROUND: To validate self-report of activities and to assess time allocation of medical students taking in-house call during their third-year surgery clerkship. METHODS: Informed consent was obtained from students who agreed to participate while rotating on the third-year surgery clerkship. Students were randomized to 1 of 2 groups, either the self-report group or the shadow group. All students kept a log of their activities during weekdays. Students randomized to the self-report group kept a log of their activities on nights (6 pm to 7 am weeknights) and weekends (7 am to 7 am Saturday and Sunday) when they were assigned to in-house call. Students randomized to the shadow group kept a log of their activities and also were shadowed while on call by a research assistant (observer) who recorded their activities. All students categorized each activity as patient-care activities related to educational objectives (educational), patient-care activities unrelated to educational objectives (noneducational), and personal care (personal). To validate self-report, student and observer logs were compared. Percentages of time engaged in educational versus other activities were compared between the shadowed and nonshadowed groups and among weekdays (WD), weeknights (WN), weekend days (WED), and weekend nights (WEN). RESULTS: A total of 34 students (16 shadow, 18 self-report) agreed to participate. Five (15%) students, all in the self-report group, did not turn in their logs. Data were available for the remaining 29 students for 138 shifts (WD, 44; WN, 46; WED, 24; WEN, 24). Observer and self-report were correlated highly for educational and personal activities, but not for noneducational activities. On WD, students averaged 76.1% of their time in educational activities, compared with 46.7%, 63.3%, and 50.2% of their time while on WN, WED, and WEN, respectively (P <.05 for WD vs. all others). Students spent between 9% and 14% of their time in noneducational activities, and between 9% and 49% of their time in personal activities during call shifts. CONCLUSIONS: This study validates student self-report of activities while on surgery call. Students spend significantly more time engaged in educational activities during weekdays than any call shifts (weeknights, weekend days, weekend nights). This information can be used for curricular planning.

Clinical Clerkship↗
PubMed2001

Rural training and the state of rural health services: effect of rural background on the perception and attitude of first-year medical students at the university of melbourne.

The aim of this project is to investigate the relationship between medical students' background and their perception of the state of rural health services; willingness to undertake internship training or work as a doctor in a rural hospital; expected benefits and disadvantages of training or working as a doctor in a rural hospital; and factors interfering with acceptance of a job as a doctor in rural areas. A questionnaire-based survey was distributed to 100 first-year medical students attending the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne at the end of semester 1. The response rate was 97%, including 44 males and 53 females. A strong relationship was found between rural background and an intention to undertake internship training in a rural hospital (86% of students from a rural background expressed this desire vs 30% of students from an urban background). Furthermore, all students from a rural background expressed a desire to work as a doctor in a rural hospital after completing postgraduate training. Compared to urban students, students from a rural background showed a more positive attitude towards health services in rural areas including public hospitals ( P = 0.02), private general practice ( P = 0.004), ambulance service ( P = 0.0002) and baby health centres ( P = 0.005). Citizenship or gender was not significantly related to the perception of any of these services. The ranking of factors interfering with acceptance of a job as a doctor in rural areas were different for rural and urban students. Students from rural backgrounds reported spouse/partner needs (76% vs 49%, P = 0.038) and school availability for children (59% vs 30%, P = 0.023) as barriers more frequently than urban students, respectively). On the other hand, urban students rated the following factors higher: personal factors (76% vs 53%, respectively), education opportunities (56% vs 24%), social/cultural facilities (50% vs 41%) and the need for frequent travel (29% vs 12%). None of these interfering factors were significantly different. Urban students were more likely than rural students to report that their views were a result of adverse media reports. In conclusion, students from a rural background were more willing to be trained or to work as doctors in rural areas. This was associated with a greater adverse influence by the media upon students.

Asia, Southeastern↗
PubMed2002

Student--teacher connection in clinical nursing education.

BACKGROUND: The trend toward humanistic nursing education has called for a transformed student-teacher relationship that fosters learning and growth of students and teachers. Although such a relationship has been claimed to form the basis for student-teacher connection and to be a positive influence on students' learning outcomes, there is a paucity of research exploring these claims. Neither the nature of student-teacher connection nor the processes by which it occurs have been described. AIMS: A research study was undertaken to explore and describe undergraduate nursing students' experiences of connection within the student-teacher relationship and the effects of student-teacher connection on students' learning experiences in clinical nursing education. RESEARCH DESIGN: The qualitative research approach of interpretive description was chosen for this study. Unstructured interviews and a focus group were used to collect data from eight undergraduate nursing students. Data were analysed using the process of constant comparative analysis, and revealed four interrelated major categories that formed a description of the students' experience of student-teacher connection. FINDINGS: This article presents part of the findings of this study. After describing the nature of student-teacher connection, the discussion focuses on the influence of teachers and other factors on the formation of student-teacher connection. Relevance is given to this discussion by describing the outcomes of connection for students' clinical learning experiences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Medical faculty as humanistic physicians and teachers: the perceptions of students at innovative and traditional medical schools.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The training of caring physicians represents an important goal of medical education. Little is known however, on whether medical faculty constitute good role models for teaching humanistic skills to medical students. In this study, we examined to what extent medical students at innovative and traditional schools perceived their teachers as humanistic physicians and teachers. We also explored whether pre-clinical and clinical students shared the same perceptions. METHODS: A mail survey was conducted in Canada of all second-year students and senior clerks at one innovative medical school (problem-based learning (PBL), patient-centred, community-oriented) and three traditional medical schools. Students were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed that the majority of their teachers behaved as humanistic physicians and teachers; 10 statements were used. Overall, 65% of the 1039 students returned the questionnaire. RESULTS: Over 25% of second-year students and 40% of senior clerks did not agree that their teachers behaved as humanistic caregivers with patients or were good role models in teaching the doctor-patient relationship. More than half of second-year students and senior clerks did not agree that their teachers valued human contact with them or were supportive of students who had difficulties. There were few differences in the way medical students at innovative and traditional schools perceived their teachers' humanistic qualities. At the pre-clinical level however, there were more students from the innovative school than from the traditional schools (around 60% vs. 40%, P < 0.005) who agreed that their teachers valued human contact with them and were supportive of students. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the PBL curriculum fosters better teacher-student relationships during the pre-clinical years. They also suggest that an unacceptably large number of medical students are taught by physicians who seem to lack compassion and caring in their interactions with patients. This study questions the adequacy of medical faculty as role models for the acquisition of caring competence by medical students.

Attitude↗
PubMed2006

A comparison of medical students' perceptions of their initial basic clinical training placements in 'new' and established teaching hospitals.

This study has examined students' perceptions of the factors influencing learning during initial hospital placements and whether differences in perceived experiences were evident between students attending new and established teaching hospitals. Five focus groups were conducted with Year III students at the University of Birmingham Medical School (UBMS): three with students attending three established teaching hospitals and two with students attached to a new teaching hospital (designated as part of the UBMS expansion programme). Extensive variation in student perception of hospital experiences was evident at the level of teaching hospital, teaching firm and individual teacher. Emergent themes were split into two main categories: 'students' perceptions of teaching and the teaching environment' and 'the new hospital learner'. Themes emerging that related to variation in student experience included the amount of structured teaching, enthusiasm of teachers, grade of teachers, specialty of designated firms and the number of students. The new teaching hospital was generally looked upon favourably by students in comparison to established teaching hospitals. Many of the factors influencing student experience relate to themes grouped under the 'new hospital learner', describing the period of adjustment experienced by students during their first encounter with this new learning environment. Interventions to improve student experience might be aimed at organisations and individuals delivering teaching. However, factors contributing to the student experience, such as the competing demand to teaching of heavy clinical workloads, are outside the scope of medical school intervention. In the absence of fundamental change, mechanisms to equip students with 'survival skills' as self-directed hospital learners should also be considered.

Clinical Clerkship↗
PubMed1997

A longitudinal study of substance use and abuse in a single class of medical students.

PURPOSE: A longitudinal study to ascertain the attitudes toward, and habits of, substance use among a single class of medical students. METHOD: A single class from a northeastern medical school was surveyed in both its first year (February 1991, 176 students) and its third year (May 1993, 170 students). The students were asked to report how frequently during the prior year they had used drugs or alcohol, and whether their use of each substance had increased, decreased, or remained the same since entering medical school; to identify any family members with histories of alcohol or drug problems; and to report any incidence during the prior year of ten behaviors associated with substance dependence. The students were also asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with 11 attitudinal statements. Additional attitudinal items asked the students to identify three major deterrents to the abuse of drugs and alcohol, and what they had done if they had become aware of a classmate with a drug or alcohol problem. Chi-square analysis and two-tailed t-tests were used to compare data from the two surveys. RESULTS: The response rates in the first and second surveys were 96.9% and 81.8%, respectively. Use of licit and illicit substances was comparable to that of chronological peers and prior national studies of medical trainees. Most of the students admitted to using alcohol at least once in the prior year (91.8% and 95%, respectively). In both years marijuana was the illicit drug used most often. Although there was a slight increase over time in the use of benzodiazepines (2.4% to 5.8%) and a decrease in the use of marijuana (29.4% to 21.7%), these changes were not significant. Few of the students in their third year reported using any substance other than alcohol more than once a month. In general, a greater percentage of the students reported a decrease rather than an increase in the use of a substance since entering medical school; the primary exception was for wine. As they progressed in their training, the students became less concerned about the effect of substance use on their performance and more likely to be embarrassed about admitting to an addiction. Although in each year a few of the students appeared to be at risk for substance dependence (8.9% and 3.5%, respectively), no student came to the attention of the administration because of problems related to substance use. While most of the students were unaware of any classmate who had a problem, half of those who were aware had done nothing, and the balance had rarely sought assistance from the faculty or administration. CONCLUSION: Although there was no evidence that substance use was a major problem, a few of the students appeared to be at risk for drug or alcohol dependence. Appropriate intervention, support, and referral systems should be identified for the few who may be at risk, and increased educational efforts are needed to help all students address this issue with their peers and, ultimately, with their patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Profile of the graduate student population in U.S. medical schools.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) sponsored surveys of accredited U.S. medical schools in 1994-95 and in 1995-96 to gather enough data to determine an accurate profile of the population of students enrolled in and/or graduated from biomedical PhD and MD-PhD programs at these institutions. Previously collected data on the graduate student population at medical schools often did not distinguish between PhD students at the medical school and graduate students in other parts of the university. The AAMC surveys defined a medical school PhD- or MD-PhD-trained student as one whose major professor holds his or her primary appointment in a department of the medical school. The data were the result of census-taking by the responding schools on October 1, 1994, and October 1, 1995. There were 81 responses to each of the two surveys. Overall, 104 medical schools supplied data in either one or both of the survey years. When the data are extrapolated from the sample to the total population of 122 medical schools that award graduate degrees, a number of interesting estimates emerge. (1) When compared with the 1995 data for 18 biomedically-related biological science disciplines from the National Research Council's Survey of Earned Doctorates, the AAMC survey indicates that approximately 60% of the 4,000 PhDs awarded were earned by students studying at U.S. medical schools. (2) The total enrollment of PhD students in U.S. medical schools is approximately 18,600, a number that is about 25-30% of the number of medical students currently enrolled at all accredited U.S. medical schools. In some institutions, the number of graduate students rivals the number of medical students. (3) PhD students are enrolled in a wide variety of programs bearing titles reflective of a trend toward "interdisciplinary" rather than "departmental" degrees. (4) At a given time, the number of students supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants is nearly twice that provided for by NIH traineeships. In addition, all forms of institutional support provide for more than one-third of the PhD students in U.S. medical schools. (5) Approximately 24% of enrolled students are international students on temporary or permanent visas. (6) The data obtained from the two surveys of graduate programs within medical schools are relatively consistent, enabling more confidence in the reliability and accuracy of findings presented in this report.

Education, Medical, Graduate↗
PubMed2000

Patients' attitudes and comfort levels regarding medical students' involvement in obstetrics-gynecology outpatient clinics.

PURPOSE: To identify patients' attitudes toward the role of medical students, their preferences regarding medical student involvement, and their comfort level with a medical student's presence during common clinical situations in obstetrics-gynecology. METHOD: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to patients waiting for an office visit with the obstetricians or gynecologists who served as preceptors for both male and female medical students. The questionnaire asked patients about their comfort levels with having medical students present during commonly encountered clinical situations. A random subsample of these patients were also asked whether they would allow a medical student to be present during future visits, and why or why not. RESULTS: A total of 229 patients completed the survey and 124 responded to the supplemental survey. Sixteen respondents were excluded due to missing data or a lack of an adequate comparison group. A majority responded they would feel comfortable having a medical student present during most clinical situations. Almost half of the patients preferred to see the doctor and medical student together, while less than a quarter wanted to see just the physician. Patients with more experience with medical students were more likely to favor medical student involvement and would feel more comfortable having a medical student present during obstetrics or gynecology clinical situations. CONCLUSION: Patients are willing to involve and feel comfortable with medical students in the obstetrics-gynecology clinic. However, physicians and clinics need to take steps to ensure that patient willingness and comfort are maintained by asking patients about their comfort with medical student involvement, clearly outlining the roles and responsibilities of participating medical students, and gradually increasing medical students' responsibilities as patients gain more experience with them.

Adult↗