Academic Motivation and Quality of Life of Polish Medical Students

BACKGROUND

The skills and attitudes of medical staff affect the quality of the healthcare system, hence the study of academic motivation and quality of life of medical students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study involved 203 students of the Jagiellonian University Medical College. Academic motivation was assessed using the Academic Motivation Scale and quality of life using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF questionnaire. Academic Motivation Scale is based on the Self-Determination Theory, which distinguishes several dimensions of motivation arranged along self-determination continuum from amotivation, through extrinsic, controllable motivation, to intrinsic, autonomous motivation.

RESULTS

For our students, the main reason for taking up studies was identified regulation, it means that they perceive studying as something important for them, giving more opportunities in the future. Next was intrinsic motivations to know, where gaining knowledge is a value in itself. The third was external regulation, which indicate that the choice of studies was regulated by the dictates of the environment or the desire to obtain a reward. Female students showed a more intrinsically motivational profile than male students. Motivation became less autonomous as the years of study progressed. Most students rated their quality of life as good or very good. There was weak correlation between students' good quality of life and more self-determined academic motivation.

CONCLUSIONS

Our students are mainly intrinsically motivated, most of them positively assess the quality of life. A more autonomous approach to learning coexisted with a positive assessment of quality of life.

A comparison of curricula at various medical schools across the world

B a c k g r o u n d: Medical education has changed in response to scientific advances and social needs. A i m: The aim of the study was to examine curricula of medical schools around the world and to observe the trends that currently dominate in medical education. M e t h o d: We have collected information on the current curricula of various medical schools using their official websites. When necessary, we supplemented the information using published articles describing the curriculum of a given medical school. R e s u l t s: Our findings reveal that medical schools demonstrate the need for constant reforms and adaptation to changing conditions worldwide. Generally, there is a tendency to integrate basic and clinical fields, to sooner establish bedside teaching, to provide less theoretical and more practical approaches to teaching, to implement more communication skills, and provide students with research training. C o n c l u s i o n s: Medical education has evolved and will continue to change with time. Medical schools introduce modifications to their curricula and share their experiences.

Evaluation of a Polish Version of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure

INTRODUCTION

The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is an instrument that assesses the educational environment.

AIM

The aim of this study was to psychometrically evaluate a Polish version of the DREEM instrument.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

203 medical students who fully completed the DREEM questionnaire were included in the study. Validity was evaluated through the analysis of construct validity and reliability.

RESULTS

After language validation the internal consistency was assessed. Cronbach's alpha for the overall score was 0.93 and the five subscales were: perceptions of learning 0.86, perceptions of teachers 0.82, perceptions of atmosphere 0.75, academic self-perceptions 0.61, and social-self perceptions 0.61. The exploratory factor analyses, however, yielded dimensions that did not fully correspond to the original DREEM subscales.

CONCLUSIONS

Internal consistency of the Polish version of the DREEM scale as a whole was excellent, however for each of five originally developed subscales it was lower and vary a lot; construct validity of Polish version was not compatible with the original structure of the DREEM scale but was reasonable. A new five-factor solution obtained in this study could be a reliable tool for assessing the medical education environment in the Polish circumstances, but it will require confirmation in future study.

The C(-1562)T polymorphism of the MMP-9 gene and the risk of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of multiple and poorly understood aetiopathogenesis. Genetic factors involved in the pathogenesis of sporadic ALS still remain unknown. A candidate gene might be matrix metalloproteinase-9 gene (MMP-9) - a member of the matrix metalloproteinase family capable of degrading elements of the extracellular matrix. Recent data suggest that MMP-9 may be involved in the pathophysiology of ALS. MMP-9 levels and activity are influenced by the -1562 C/T polymorphism of the MMP-9 gene. We have studied the association between the -1562 C/T polymorphism of the MMP-9 gene and the risk of sporadic ALS.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We included 228 patients with a definite or probable diagnosis of sporadic ALS and 428 healthy controls matched for age and sex. The diagnosis of sporadic ALS was established according to El Escorial criteria. The polymorphism was studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restricted enzyme digestion.

RESULTS

Distribution of genotypes and alleles of the MMP-9 gene between sporadic ALS cases and controls did not differ significantly: C/C - 168 (73.7%) vs. 304 (71.0%), C/T - 53 (23.2%) vs. 118 (27.6%), T/T - 7 (3.1%) vs. 6 (1.4%), respectively and alleles: C - 389 (85.3%) vs. 726 (84.8%), T - 67 (14.7 %) vs. 130 (15.2%), respectively.

CONCLUSION

The polymorphism -1562 C/T of the MMP-9 gene is not associated with the risk of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the studied population of Polish patients.