Three-Dimensional Multimodality Image Reconstruction as Teaching Tool for Case-based learning among medical postgraduates: a focus on primary pelvic bone Tumour Education

BACKGROUND

Postgraduate medical education in oncology orthopedics confronts obstacles when instructing on pelvic tumors, primarily due to their intricate anatomy and the limitations of conventional teaching techniques. The employment of Three-dimensional multimodality imaging (3DMMI) can be considered a valuable teaching tool, as it gracefully elucidates the intricacies of pelvic anatomical structures and the interactions between tumors and surrounding tissues through three-dimensional imaging, thereby providing a comprehensive and nuanced perspective. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of incorporating 3DMMI in combination with a Case-Based Learning (CBL) approach for postgraduate education.

METHODS

The study encompassed a 10-week course involving 90 surgical postgraduates, focusing on common pelvic tumor diseases. Students were assigned representative clinical cases, and each group created a PowerPoint presentation based on these cases. The core educational content included fundamental knowledge of pelvic anatomy, as well as clinical presentations, radiological features, and treatment principles of common pelvic tumor diseases. The research compared two groups: a traditional CBL group (n = 45) and a 3DMMI-CBL group (n = 45). The 3DMMI-CBL group had access to advanced imaging technology for better visualization. Various evaluations, including image interpretation, theoretical knowledge, and questionnaires, were used to assess the learning outcomes.

RESULTS

The 3DMMI-CBL group outperformed the CBL group not only in the imaging diagnosis of common pelvic diseases but also in their mastery of the related theoretical knowledge. Student questionnaires indicated higher scores for the 3DMMI-CBL group in basic pelvic anatomy knowledge (8.08 vs. 6.62, p < 0.01), image interpretation (8.15 vs. 6.69, p < 0.01), learning efficiency (8.07 vs. 7.00, p < 0.01), clinical reasoning (7.57 vs. 6.77, p < 0.01), and learning interest (8.46 vs. 7.00, p < 0.01). Teacher questionnaires revealed that 3DMMI technology enhanced teachers' clinical knowledge, facilitated instruction, and increased overall satisfaction and interest in teaching.

CONCLUSION

Our study introduced an enhancement to the conventional Case-Based Learning (CBL) model by incorporating 3DMMI technology for visualizing pelvic anatomy. In contrast to pure CBL, this adaptation improved teacher instruction, substantially heightened student engagement, ignited greater interest in learning, and boosted overall efficiency, ultimately leading to positive learning outcomes. Consequently, our study demonstrated the potential feasibility and acceptability of the 3DMMI-CBL teaching method for postgraduates in pelvic bone tumor education.

Relationship between career maturity, psychological separation, and occupational self-efficacy of postgraduates: moderating effect of registered residence type

BACKGROUND

With the slowdown of economic growth and the increasing pressure of employment competition worldwide during the normalized epidemic prevention and control, the job-hunting intention and behavior of college graduates deserve in-depth study. This study explores the relationship between the career maturity, psychological separation and occupational self-efficacy of postgraduates, and provides a theoretical basis for improving their career maturity.

METHODS

A questionnaire survey was carried out on postgraduates with 584 valid data in China by using the Career Maturity Scale, Psychological Separation Scale and the Occupational Self-efficacy Scale. A structural equation model and bias-corrected self-sampling method were adopted to explore their relationship. The moderating effect of registered residence type was tested.

RESULTS

The results show that: (1) The higher the level of psychological separation of postgraduates, the higher their career maturity. (2) Occupational self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the process of psychological separation promoting career maturity. (3) The registered residence type moderates the latter half of the mediating process of psychological separation, occupational self-efficacy, and career maturity. Moreover, occupational self-efficacy plays a more significant role in promoting the career maturity of postgraduates with rural registered residence.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reveals the relationship between the career maturity, psychological separation and occupational self-efficacy of postgraduates. At the same time, it also verifies the mediating role of occupational self-efficacy and the moderating role of registered residence type. The result is helpful for postgraduates to understand the level of their career maturity and improve their career decision-making level and career development ability.

Postgraduates' time management disposition and mental health: mediating role of life satisfaction and moderating role of core self-evaluations

BACKGROUND

The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between postgraduates' time management disposition and mental health. As such, it constructed a moderated mediation model to examine the mediating role of life satisfaction on the relationship between graduate students' time management disposition and mental health and examine whether this role was moderated by core self-evaluations.

METHODS

455 postgraduates were surveyed by the Adolescence Time Management Disposition Inventory, the Adolescent Students' Life Satisfaction Scale, the revised version of the Chinese Core Self-Evaluation Scale, and the revised version of the Chinese General Health Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Time management disposition, life satisfaction, core self-evaluation, and mental health were significantly correlated. Time management disposition indirectly affected mental health through the mediating effect of life satisfaction. Core self-evaluation moderated the second half of the mediating effect of time management disposition on mental health via life satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

The findings reveal the mechanism between time management disposition and mental health, which will help school educators to guide postgraduates in developing good time management disposition and improving life satisfaction and core self-evaluation, and thus improve their mental health.

The mediating roles of coping styles and academic burnout in the relationship between stressors and depressive symptoms among Chinese postgraduates

Background

Since few studies have incorporated factors like stressors, coping styles, and academic burnout into the same model to analyze their impacts on depressive symptoms, this research attempts to establish an optimal structural model to explore the direct and indirect effects of these factors on depressive symptoms.

Methods

A total of 266 postgraduates completed questionnaires regarding coping styles, academic burnout, stressors, and depressive symptoms. The path analysis was applied for investigating the roles of coping styles and academic burnout in mediating the relationship between stressors and depressive symptoms.

Results

The total and direct effects of stressors on depressive symptoms were 0.53 and 0.31, respectively. The proportion of the direct effect of stressors on depressive symptoms to its total effect amounted to 58.50%. The indirect effects of academic burnout, positive coping style, and negative coping style on the association between stressors and depressive symptoms were 0.11, 0.04, and 0.03, taking up 20.75%, 7.55%, and 5.66% of the total effect, respectively. The serial indirect effect of positive coping style and academic burnout was 0.02, accounting for 3.77% of the total effect, while that of negative coping style and academic burnout was 0.02, taking up 3.77% of the total effect.

Conclusions

Coping styles and academic burnout chain jointly mediate the relationship between stressors and depressive symptoms among postgraduates. Thus, encouraging postgraduates to tackle stress positively may reduce the likelihood of the development of academic burnout and further reduce depressive symptoms.

Perceived attitudes and barriers towards medical research: a survey of Jordanian interns, residents, and other postgraduates

PURPOSE

We investigated research barriers among Jordanian medical postgraduates to understand the current context of the local health research landscape and improve scholarly output.

METHODS

Using a validated questionnaire, Jordanian interns, residents, specialists, and consultants were examined for their perceived attitudes and barriers towards research. Participants were conveniently sampled from public, university, military, and private institutions. Differences in responses were examined using the Student t-test and analysis of variance. Binary logistic regression was utilized to examine predictors of being able to publish.

RESULTS

A total of 1,141 Jordanian medical postgraduates were recruited, of which 61.3% were junior postgraduates (i.e., interns and residents in their first 2 years of residency) while 38.7% were senior postgraduates (i.e., senior residents, specialists, and consultants). Around 76.0% of participants had no peer-reviewed publications. Of those with least one publication (n=273), only 31.1% had first authorships. Participants portrayed dominantly positive attitudes towards the importance of research. There were no significant differences between junior and senior postgraduates for overall attitudes (p=0.486) and knowledge barriers scores (p=0.0261). Conversely, senior postgraduates demonstrated higher mean organizational barriers (p<0.001). Seniority (odds ratio [OR], 5.268; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.341-8.307), age (OR, 1.087; 95% CI, 1.019-1.159), academic standing (OR, 1.730; 95% CI, 1.103-2.715), and confidence (OR, 1.086; 95% CI, 1.009-1.169) were positive predictors of publication in peer reviewed journals.

CONCLUSION

The Jordanian medical research landscape is riddled with all forms of different barriers. The reworking of current and integration of new research training programs are of utmost importance.

Cross-disciplinary training of nursing informatics and nursing engineering at the postgraduate level: A feasibility analysis based on the qualitative method

BACKGROUND

The trend of interdisciplinary education is becoming increasingly prominent. Nursing informatics and nursing engineering have received much attention and development at different levels of nursing education in many Western countries. Meanwhile, in China, the cultivation of interdisciplinary nursing talents has either not been initiated or has only entered an initial stage.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to explore experts' opinions from nursing, informatics and engineering on the feasibility of interdisciplinary education at graduate master's level in nursing through interview.

DESIGN

This was a descriptive qualitative study.

SETTING

Interviews were conducted online or face to face.

PARTICIPANTS

Experts in the fields of nursing, informatics, and engineering who met the study qualifications were enrolled.

METHODS

This study used a purposive sampling method and collected data via semi-structured interviews. A total of 14 experts were involved based on data saturation, which eight were interviewed face-to-face and six were interviewed online. A content analysis method was used to summarize and analyze the attitudes, opinions, and suggestions of experts.

RESULTS

A total of 579 min of interviews with 66,387 words were transcribed and analyzed after 30-50 min time range of each interview, and 4 themes were established. A consensus was obtained on the necessity and importance of interdisciplinary education. Policy guidance, financial support, and mutual recognition were the prerequisites for the cultivation. Moreover, feasibility of interdisciplinary education depends on multi-cooperation, including society, university, and hospital. Finally, a linkage mechanism among relevant stakeholders was required.

CONCLUSION

The necessity and feasibility of such integrated training was concluded. Learning from the experience of relevant countries, China should launch an interdisciplinary training model suitable for its national condition.

The motivators and barriers to a career in cardiothoracic surgery: a cross-sectional study among surgical residents in India

Introduction

A consistent decline in the number of applicants to cardiothoracic and vascular surgery (CTVS) training programs has been observed across the country over the last few years. This disenchantment with the speciality will lead to a shortage of trained CTVS surgeons at a time when incidence of cardiovascular diseases is continuously rising in India.

Aims/Objectives

The aim of the study was to reflect on the reasons that averted applicants from pursuing a career in CTVS and measures that would make CTVS a more attractive option to future applicants.

Methods

An online nationwide prospective cross-sectional survey was conducted. The participants were from a pool of general surgery residents/residents who had just completed the training. A 5-point Likert scale was utilized to rate and evaluate the factors influencing CTVS as the primary choice, factors influencing any super-speciality, and factors that would aid in decision-making and encourage an interest in CTVS.

Results

A total of 618 responses were obtained, 25.6% (N = 158) of the responses were from female residents. Only 10.7% (N = 66) of the respondents wanted to pursue CTVS as their primary choice. While interest in CTVS among the 1st year residents was 26%, it was further observed to decline to 18.72% after completion of training. The main disincentives for pursuing CTVS were the need for a hospital with required infrastructure and the dependence on a multi-disciplinary team. The perception of the participants that the cardiologist will take over CTVS procedures was another misguided but important factor. Those residents interested in pursuing CTVS identified the dynamic nature of the speciality as well as the thrills of being a cardiac surgeon as important motivators. Participants felt that adding catheter-based technology to the CTVS curriculum, mandatory CTVS rotation during surgical training, and closer interaction with CTVS residents will generate more interest in CTVS.

Conclusion

Although surgical residents report early interest in CTVS, a lack of adequate exposure to the speciality leads to a decline in interest in CTVS. An overhaul of the surgical training that mandates rotating to CTVS, increased interactions with medical students and surgical trainees by CTVS faculty, and incorporation of catheter-based training in the CTVS syllabus is urgently required to increase the number of applicants to CTVS.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12055-022-01406-2.

Depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behaviors among dental students of Neo-state capital region in India

BACKGROUND

The challenges of dental education place students at high risk of stress. Because dental education is a highly demanding and challenging course, placing heavy demands on the mental resources of the students, making them vulnerable to high levels of stress, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behaviors in dental students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study was done on a convenience sample of 388 dental students in a teaching dental institution. Data were collected using standard, prevalidated, self-administered questionnaires (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Suicidal Behaviours Questionnaire-Revised [SBQ-R]). Analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and logistic regression were performed.

RESULTS

At least half of the students were in major depression with different levels of severity. When students from different years were analyzed, majority from each year fell under II and III categories (P < 0.001). Most of the students reported that they do not have any suicidal ideation or behavior (SBQ-R). Nearly 16% of the students either presented the threat of suicidal attempt or likelihood of suicidal behavior in future. Almost 13% of the dental students thought of killing themselves in the past year for at least two times. Around 16% of them expressed to someone about their thought of committing suicide.

CONCLUSION

Even though depression and suicidal tendencies were not prominent in dental students, there is a need to shed light on those who responded positively and take necessary reforms to relieve academic stress.

Overlap of burnout-depression symptoms among Chinese neurology graduate students in a national cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The overlap of burnout and depression is a phenomenon that can effectively reflect the psychological state of a group. However, whether burnout is a type of depression is still debated in current research. The high incidence of burnout and depressive symptoms among medical students indicates that it is urgent to provide appropriate health services for them. However, the proportion of burnout and depression in the overlapping symptoms experienced by medical students, and the characteristics of the relative influencing factors, remain unclear. Therefore, we addressed these issues for neurology graduate students in China.

METHODS

Using data from a cross-sectional survey of Chinese neurology graduate students, a diagnostic model was established according to their burnout and/or depression symptoms. Burnout was assessed by using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Depression symptoms were assessed with a two-item depression screening tool for primary care evaluation of mental disorders. Univariate analyses with chi-squared tests were conducted to assess associations between variables. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to analyze the effects of multiple factors on dependent variables. The factors included demographic information and three medical-study related problems.

RESULTS

In total, 32.2% of surveyed students evidenced overlapping burnout and depression symptoms. Students with depressive symptoms tended to be included in the burnout students' category. In the regression model, being unmarried, having children, and career choice regret were related to students who had only burnout, while the students with overlapping symptoms were affected by more factors such as family income, the consideration of dropping out once.

CONCLUSIONS

The symptoms and related factors of burnout and depression among Chinese neurology postgraduates have obvious overlap and show a significant trend. The occurrence of depressive symptoms among medical students is closely related to whether they are burned out. Students with only burnout were common, but students with only depressive symptoms were uncommon. Finally, burnout may be a pre-depression state.

Life Satisfaction and mobility: Their associations with career attitudes, and health-related factors among postgraduates having studied in universities intra EU and outside EU

Background

University postgraduates’ mobility towards, and outside the EU is continuously increasing, creating a competitive context in which maintaining a high life satisfaction (LS) is a public health challenge. However, the relationship between LS and its determinants among this population are under-documented. Our aims were to measure LS indicators of mobile postgraduates (Intra EU: Who pursue part of their studies in Europe; Outside EU: Who study outside of Europe) versus non-mobile (pursue their studies in Luxembourg), and to analyze the associations between LS and career attitudes, socioeconomic characteristics, and health-related factors for each group.

Method

Six hundred and sixty-four (644) students obtained financial aid from the Luxembourgish government independent of their family’s socioeconomic situation. Contacted by post, they completed an online questionnaire. Analyses included a multiple linear regression model in which only significant relationships (p < 0.05) were used.

Results

Three groups were created: Mobile intra EU (n = 381), mobile outside EU (n = 43) and non-mobile (n = 66) postgraduates. Health satisfaction was positively linked to LS, in all groups. Among the mobile outside EU group, majority (63.2%) were men and 57.9% did not live alone - health was the only determinant which contributed to their LS. Among the mobile intra EU, majority (57.8%) were women, and 64.3% not living alone. Autonomy and career adaptability attitudes were positively associated with their LS (b: 0.210 and 0.119, respectively), whereas the worry factor was negatively (b: − 0.153 and -0.159) associated. The non-mobile, were the oldest of the three groups. Majority (51.6%) were women, and 93.7% did not live alone. Career optimism and planning attitudes were positively correlated to their LS (regression parameter estimates (b: 0.400 and 0.212, respectively).

Conclusions

Attention should be devoted to the LS of local and cosmopolitan students, as it seems to be a relevant health indicator. Overall, the farther the mobility was, the higher the postgraduates’ general LS (8.5/10) was; this indicator was higher than the LS indicator for the age group 25–34 years 7.53/10 (EU-28, in 2013). University’ services could promote the development of career projects and the promotion of health to enhance postgraduates’ LS. University policy makers need to ensure this for all students.

Evaluation of factors influencing the guide to read biomedical English literature course for Chinese new medical postgraduates-a multiple regression analysis

BACKGROUND

There is a dearth of published literature that demonstrates the impact of a Guide to Reading Biomedical English Literature course on new Chinese medical postgraduates. Keeping this gap in mind, the objectives of this study were to assess the factors associated with course effectiveness using the teacher, postgraduate and organizational factors.

METHODS

This study was conducted at Nanjing Medical University from December 2014 to December 2015. The participants were 440 new graduate students from different medical specialties. At baseline, each student was assessed for teacher factors, individual factors and organizational factors using a self-administered structured scored anonymous questionnaire. After that, Pearson chi-square analysis was conducted to evaluate the factors that impact teacher factors (knowledge level, teaching style, individualized teaching, logical teaching, heuristic teaching, literature difficulty, bilingual teaching), individual factors (gender, attitude toward studying, previewing literature, English literacy level) and course management (such as teaching objectives and assessment system) on this course. Furthermore, multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the impact of the above factors on our outcome variables (knowledge level, teaching style, individualized teaching, heuristic teaching, study attitude, previewing literature, management).

RESULTS

Nearly all of the participants (420 of 440, 95.5%) thought this course was helpful for learning to read scientific literature and understanding scientific research design. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the participants perception of the course as effective was associated with teachers' high knowledge level (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR = 49.673; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI = 4.28, 575.90). In addition, heuristic teaching was found to be significantly associated with a positive teaching effect of teaching (AOR = 12.76; 95% CI = 1.78, 91.64). Furthermore, the participants perception of the course as effective was associated with positive attitude toward studying (AOR = 25.004; 95% CI = 2.51, 249.09). Previewing literature was also associated with course effectiveness (AOR = 0.02; 95% CI = 0.04, 0.11).

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicated that the course effectiveness of the Guide for Reading Biomedical English Literature was associated with i) teachers' knowledge, ii) heuristic teaching, iii) students' positive attitude, and iv) students' previewing literature.

Effectiveness of SNAPPS for improving clinical reasoning in postgraduates: randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

In-patient postgraduate teaching suffers with issues like long and unstructured presentations inclusive of a lot of historical information and time constraints due to increasing workload. A six-step pneumonic SNAPPS a learner-centered model modifies the learning encounter by condensing the reporting of facts while encouraging clinical reasoning. This study was planned with the aim to evaluate the effectiveness of SNAPPS as compared to traditional case presentation for facilitating clinical reasoning in inpatient setting. We also wanted to understand perceptions of postgraduates and teachers about this new method of case presentation.

METHODS

This open labeled randomized controlled trial was carried amongst the 18 residents of department of Medicine, MGIMS. The teachers and residents in the SNAPPS were sensitized to SNAPPS technique by using videos, role plays and handouts over 2 sessions of 30 min each. Twenty-seven case presentations (3/resident) were carried out in each group (total 54 case presentations). Data was recorded into validated data recording sheet after each presentation and feedback was taken from the teacher as well as residents regarding their perception.

RESULTS

The SNAPPS model heralds a change in the preceptor training, pairing faulty development and learner development as companions in education. Guided by the SNAPPS technique, students summarized patient findings concisely (7 vs. 2.7 vs. 5.22vs. 2.33, p = 0.0057) while maintaining the same degree of thoroughness as in traditional case presentations. The students in the SNAPPS group were clearer about their diagnostic hypothesis and compared and contrasted their different diagnosis well (2.56 vs. 1.74, p value =0.002). The students in the SNAPPS group initiated patient management discussion almost 20% more times as compared to the control group.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that SNAPPS a learner centered technique for case presentations facilitated the expression of clinical diagnostic reasoning and case based uncertainties in the inpatient setting without extending the unusual length of the student case presentations. It also paved way for enhanced self-directed learning.

Relationship between burnout and career choice regret among Chinese neurology postgraduates

BACKGROUND

In China, the shortage of doctors leads to stressful clinical work and increasing turnover. Medical students undergoing postgraduate specialty training will be the country's medical workforce in the coming decades, but are also subject to high workloads and academic pressure. This may have significant implications for burnout and career choice regret. Despite the importance of burnout and career choice regret, the status and relationship of these aspects in Chinese neurology postgraduates are largely unexplored, and associated factors remain unknown.

METHODS

This study investigated the prevalence of and factors influencing burnout and career choice regret among neurology postgraduates in China. We conducted a national cross-sectional study of Chinese neurology postgraduates. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that covered demographic information, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and additional item to assess career choice regret.

RESULTS

Of 4902 neurology postgraduates, 2008 returned completed questionnaires (response rate 41%). After excluding incomplete questionnaires, data for 1814 participants were analyzed. In total, 83.6% of participants had experienced symptoms of burnout, and 46.6% reported career choice regret. Binary logistic regression analysis showed postgraduate entrance examination scores, marital status, and having children were associated with burnout (all P <  0.05). Career choice regret was the strongest risk factor for burnout (odds ratio [OR] = 3.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.33-4.32). Multiple logistic regression showed postgraduates with shorter work or study hours per week (OR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.47-0.88) had a low risk for career choice regret, whereas married participants (OR = 1.54, 95% CI 1.07-2.20) had a high risk for career choice regret. No symptoms of burnout (OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.24-0.45) was also associated with a low risk for career choice regret.

CONCLUSIONS

Burnout symptoms and career choice regret are prevalent among neurology postgraduates in China. Career choice regret is an important predictor of burnout. Further research on reducing burnout and career choice regret among neurology postgraduates is needed.

Scientific papers: Which type would you prefer?

It's very important to enhance the quality of scientific papers produced by postgraduates and scholars from academic institutions. To encourage their academic and professional development, these young scientists should be encouraged to compose nonresearch articles, in addition to original research articles, including short essays, perspectives and reviews.