What do medical students read and why? A survey of medical students in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England

Usage, knowledge and perception of the ketogenic diet and associated factors in Saudi adults: A cross-sectional study

The ketogenic diet (KD) is a popular weight management method. However, knowledge, perceptions, and use of KD have not been studied in the Saudi population. This cross-sectional study aims to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and use of the KD in Saudi Arabia, to compare medical and nonmedical students in their awareness of KD, and to determine factors associated with knowledge and perception of KD. A total of 1071 Saudis aged ≥ 18 years old were included. Participants were excluded if they were younger than 18, non-Saudi, pregnant, breastfeeding, had chronic illnesses, were using any medication, or were diagnosed with psychiatric conditions. Knowledge, perception, and use of KD were collected between 2021 and 2022 in Saudi Arabia using a prevalidated tool and its scoring protocol; higher scores indicated higher level of knowledge or perception. Among Saudi adults, 24% (n = 253) and 55% of them (n = 138/253) followed the KD for 1 month or less, respectively. The KD knowledge score was mean ± SD: 7.95 ± 3.97 and half of the participants (49.5%) had a low knowledge level. Students had a significantly lower knowledge score (mean ± SD: 7.69 ± 3.85) compared to nonstudents (mean ± SD: 8.68 ± 4.19). Students in medical majors had a higher knowledge score compared to nonmedical major students (P < .001). The KD perception score was mean ± SD: 28.74 ± 4.83 and 76% of the participants had moderate perception level. Males had a significantly higher perception score compared to females (P < .001). Students in medical majors had a lower perception score compared to nonmedical major students. Age and body mass index had a significantly weak positive correlation with knowledge and perception scores. Half of the sample had low knowledge and moderate level of perception about KD. Students with medical majors had higher knowledge but lower perception scores compared to nonmedical majors. Dieticians may measure the knowledge and perception of the KD diet in outpatient clinics to lose weight. Educational institutions may increase students' knowledge and perception of the KD in all majors. Future experimental studies examining the efficacy of the KD are needed to provide recommendations of the KD as a strategy for weight loss.

Views on Reading and Research Habits of Veterinary Medicine Students in Turkey

Reading and research habits, together with individual and social development, some of the most important criteria of a qualified life in our age, are among the characteristics university students are expected to have. As in every profession, veterinary professional development is possible with individual development by continuous studying and researching professional topics starting in students' graduate years. This research provides perspectives from the veterinary students of six faculties in Turkey on reading and research interests. The researchers developed a 39-item questionnaire-type instrument, which was given to 1,359 students studying at Ankara, Aydın, Burdur, Samsun, Erzurum, and Bursa in Turkey; data were analyzed using statistical tests. The number of books veterinary students read in a year did not exceed five by 34% of respondents. Only 22.3% read more than 11 books. Students were most likely to read novels (26.1%) and least likely to read religious books (0.5%). We also found that more than half the students were willing to join the scientific research community (56.3%) and become research assistants (57.8%). The researchers found a positive increase in students' views on reading and research interests as grade level increased, in favor of female and urban-based participants. In conclusion, the authors recommend that students be encouraged to do research, given assignments for researching various scientific topics, and provided environments to gain lifelong learning skills. Individuals who prefer reading and research will likely contribute to their personal and professional development and to their country in general.

[Leisure among university students in the healthcare area: a review of the literature]

This article set out to analyze studies on leisure activities among university students in the healthcare area. It conducted a search using the following key words: leisure and students, and their corresponding terms in Spanish and English in the Bireme database, which resulted in 32 articles at the end of the review. In the articles analyzed there was a predominance of the following leisure interests: sports, social, intellectual and artistic activities, with a greater number of articles presenting experiences in sports. It was also noted that the intake of alcohol in the leisure context is often mentioned by this population group. There was a predilection for physical exercised/sport during leisure time, compared to other leisure interests and little knowledge about any other possibilities for leisure. This article also discusses the need to develop strategies that promote leisure among these students, seeking to improve their quality of life. It is noteworthy that they are health professionals in the training phase and it is quite possible that their future orientations might be influenced by their personal practices.

Integrated course in psychiatry and literature during preclinical years and medical students' grades in the general psychiatry curriculum

Aims and method

To examine the effect of taking an elective psychiatry and literature course during the first year of medical school on performance in the later mandatory general psychiatry curriculum. Class members were surveyed for baseline characteristics at the time of their admission to medical school. Following completion of their fourth year, average grades in psychiatry were calculated and results compared for those who did and those who did not take the course. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the effects of baseline characteristics that were significantly different between the groups.

Results

Students who took the course had statistically significant (t = −3.34, P <0.001) higher grades in fourth year psychiatry. They had lower admission interview scores (t = −2.15, P <0.05) and reported less academic stress (t = −9.55, P <0.01) before taking the course.

Clinical implications

Literature is an effective medium through which to teach medical students psychiatry as it can lead to a greater understanding of the topic.

Rethinking the medical in the medical humanities

To clinicians there are a number of striking features of the ever-evolving field of the medical humanities. The first is a perception of a predominantly unidirectional relationship between medicine and the humanities, generally in terms of what the arts and humanities have to offer medicine. The second is the portrayal of medical practice in terms of problems and negativities for which the medical humanities are seen to pose the solution rather than viewing medicine as an active and positive contributor to an interdisciplinary project. Paradigms that fail to recognise the contributions of medicine and its practitioners (including students) to the medical humanities, this paper argues, will continue to struggle with definition and acceptance. This paper explores the possibilities for advancing the medical humanities through recognition of the contribution of medicine to the humanities and the importance of engaging with the arts, culture and leisure pursuits of doctors and medical students. Our research shows the richness of cultural engagement of medical students, their broad range of cultural interests and their ability to contribute to research and scholarship in the medical humanities. Mutual recognition of strengths, weaknesses and differences of scholarly approach is critical to successful development of the enterprise. Recognising and building on the interests, sympathies and contributions of medicine and its practitioners to the medical humanities is a fundamental component of this task. Future directions might include introductory courses for humanities scholars in aspects of healthcare and medicine.

Leisure reading collections in academic health sciences and science libraries: results of visits to seven libraries

OBJECTIVE

To visit leisure reading collections in academic science and health sciences libraries to determine how they function and what role they play in their libraries.

METHODS

The author visited seven libraries with leisure reading collections and carried out a semistructured interview with those responsible either for selection of materials or for the establishment of the collection.

RESULTS

These collections contained a variety of materials, with some libraries focusing on health-science-related materials and others on providing recreational reading. The size of the collections also varied, from 186 to 9700 books, with corresponding differences in budget size. All collections were housed apart, with the same loan period as the regular collection. No collections contained electronic materials. Although there was little comparable statistical data on usage, at the six libraries at which active selection was occurring, librarians and library staff felt that the collection was well used and felt that it provided library users with benefits such as stress relief and relaxation and exposure to other perspectives.

CONCLUSION

Librarians and library staff at the libraries that undertook active selection felt that their leisure reading collection was worthwhile. It would be interesting for future work to focus on the user experience of such collections.

Humanities in undergraduate medical education: a literature review

PURPOSE

Humanities form an integral part of undergraduate medical curricula at numerous medical schools all over the world, and medical journals publish a considerable quantity of articles in this field. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the literature on humanities in undergraduate medical education seeks to provide evidence of a long-term impact of this integration of humanities in undergraduate medical education.

METHOD

Medline was searched for publications concerning the humanities in undergraduate medical education appearing from January 2000 to December 2008. All articles were manually sorted by the authors. Two hundred forty-five articles were included in the study. Following a qualitative analysis, the references included were categorized as "pleading the case," "course descriptions and evaluations," "seeking evidence of long-term impact," or "holding the horses."

RESULTS

Two hundred twenty-four articles out of 245 either praised the (potential) effects of humanities on medical education or described existing or planned courses without offering substantial evidence of any long-term impact of these curricular activities on medical proficiency. Only 9 articles provided evidence of attempts to document long-term impacts using diverse test tools, and 10 articles presented relatively reserved attitudes toward humanities in undergraduate medical education.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence on the positive long-term impacts of integrating humanities into undergraduate medical education is sparse. This may pose a threat to the continued development of humanities-related activities in undergraduate medical education in the context of current demands for evidence to demonstrate educational effectiveness.

Reading habits and attitude toward medical humanities of basic science students in a medical college in Western Nepal

BACKGROUND

The Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal, admits students from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and other countries to the undergraduate medical course.

PURPOSES

The present study sought to describe and explore reading habits of medical students during the first three semesters and obtain their views regarding inclusion of medical humanities in the course.

METHODS

The authors introduced a voluntary module in medical humanities to the fifth- and sixth-semester students. Gender, semester, and nationality of respondents were noted. Commonly read noncourse books (fiction and nonfiction) were noted. Student attitudes toward medical humanities were studied using a set of nine statements. A total of 165 of the 220 students (75%) participated. Indians followed by Nepalese were the most common nationalities.

RESULTS

Romantic fiction and biography were most commonly read. The Alchemist and The Da Vinci Code were commonly read books. Students were in favor of inclusion of medical humanities in the curriculum. The median total score was 30 (maximum possible score = 45).

CONCLUSIONS

Students read widely beyond their course. The possibility of introducing medical humanities in the curriculum should be explored.

Literature and medicine: evaluating a special study module using the nominal group technique

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate a special study module in literature and medicine that aimed for clinical relevance.

METHODS

We organised a 4-week course around themes such as empathy, death and dying, disability, madness and creativity, addiction, domestic violence, ethical dilemmas, doctor/patient communication, doctors' emotions and end of life decisions. We used a diversity of texts and genres to address these themes. We explicitly encouraged the students to engage with both content and form when studying literature. To evaluate the course we used a nominal group technique. Students identified a range of items in response to open questions about the content and methods of the course. After clarifying and reducing the items generated, they ranked them in order of importance. To investigate perceived clinical relevance, we grouped the individual items into broader themes using a previously suggested taxonomy of clinical relevance.

RESULTS

The students attached the highest importance to the insights gained into patients and their experience of illness. These encompassed aspects of understanding, knowledge and empathy. They also perceived that they had improved clinically relevant skills including communication, analysis, presentation, writing and ethical reasoning. The remaining items were more broadly concerned with themes of personal growth, development and pleasure.

CONCLUSIONS

There are many objectives in studying literature. We focussed on designing a special study module that explicitly emphasised clinical relevance. Our evaluation shows that students identified clinically relevant improvements in knowledge, skills and attitudes from having taken the course.