METHOD: This cross-sectional study used a questionnaire to survey final-year medical students at one school in 1999. It tested students' patient-centeredness, "patient-care" values, and degree of comfort in performing certain intimate physical examinations.
RESULTS: Women students were more patient-centered than were men students. Both genders were more attuned to the concerns of patients of their own gender, were more comfortable with personal rather than sexual issues, and were more uncomfortable with performing more intimate examinations upon the opposite gender. Using comparable case studies, it was also shown that the female student-female patient dyad had significantly greater "patient-care" values than did the male student-male patient dyad.
CONCLUSION: Medical students did not behave in a gender-neutral way in the consultation. There is a powerful interaction between a student's gender and a patient's gender. This warrants further investigation in the real clinical situation because it has implications on the outcomes of the consultation.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study which involved medical students in their final two years of study at a public university in Malaysia. Self-administered Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and World Health Organisation QOL questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) were used to assess their psychological symptoms and QOL.
RESULTS: A total 149 students participated. The prevalence rates of anxiety and depression were 33% and 11% respectively. Malay students had significantly more anxiety compared to the other ethnic groups, P<0.05. Female students had significantly lower psychological score compared to male; 70.73 vs 66.32(P<0.05). Anxiety and depression were associated with significantly poorer QOL. Students with depression symptoms were associated with lower physical, psychological and environmental domain score whereas those with anxiety had lower psychological, social and environmental scores, P<0.05. Overall QOL score was significantly lower in Chinese students (P<0.05) and those with depression (P<0.001).
CONCLUSION: QOL of medical students are significantly affected by the presence of anxiety and depression. It is recommended that medical schools implement measures which can identify students at risk and to offer comprehensive intervention and preventive programmes to improve the students' wellbeing.
METHODS: Data collection included two strategies. First, previous systematic reviews were searched for studies that met the inclusion criteria of the current review. Second, a new search was done, covering the time since the previous reviews, i.e. January 2013 to May 2017. Five search concepts were combined in order to capture relevant literature: stigma, mental health, intervention, professional students in medicine and nursing, and LMICs. A qualitative analysis of all included full texts was done with the software MAXQDA. Full texts were analysed with regard to the content of interventions, didactic methods, mental disorders, cultural adaptation, type of outcome measure and primary outcomes. Furthermore, a methodological quality assessment was undertaken.
RESULTS: A total of nine studies from six countries (Brazil, China, Malaysia, Nigeria, Somaliland and Turkey) were included. All studies reported significant results in at least one outcome measure. However, from the available literature, it is difficult to draw conclusions on the most effective interventions. No meta-analysis could be calculated due to the large heterogeneity of intervention content, evaluation design and outcome measures. Studies with contact interventions (either face-to-face or video) demonstrated attitudinal change. There was a clear lack of studies focusing on discriminatory behaviours. Accordingly, training of specific communication and clinical skills was lacking in most studies, with the exception of one study that showed a positive effect of training interview skills on attitudes. Methods for cultural adaptation of interventions were rarely documented. The methodological quality of most studies was relatively low, with the exception of two studies.
CONCLUSIONS: There is an increase in studies on anti-stigma interventions among professional students in LMICs. Some of these studies used contact interventions and showed positive effects. A stronger focus on clinical and communication skills and behaviour-related outcomes is needed in future studies.
METHODS: A mixed method design was used. Fourth-year medical students participated in a consultation/liaison psychiatry service to two government-operated primary care clinics. Each student attended two half-day consultations to the clinics during the psychiatry clinical clerkship. Students joined in discussions with primary care clinicians, performed supervised clinical assessments, and administered a depression screening instrument. The learning experience was evaluated through four focus groups, each with 9-10 participants, held throughout the academic year. An end-of-year, anonymous, online questionnaire survey was administered to the entire class. Thematic analysis of focus group transcripts was performed and quantitative statistics were calculated (Stata version 13).
RESULTS: Focus group themes included the following: (a) active learning opportunities in primary care psychiatry consultation had perceived added educational value, (b) students benefited from contact with patients with previously undiagnosed common mental disorders, and (c) students' primary care experience raised their awareness of societal and professional responsibilities. Of the class of 113 students, 93 (82%) responded to the questionnaire. The survey responses reflected the qualitative themes, with 79 respondents (85%) stating that the learning experience met or exceeded their expectations.
CONCLUSIONS: Academic psychiatry has been criticized for its overreliance on secondary care settings in undergraduate clinical teaching. Our findings suggest that supervised clinical placements in primary care are feasible and provide added educational value as a routine component of the undergraduate psychiatry clinical clerkship.