RESUMEN
The motivation for and concerns about studying medicine and future career plans of students at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI), were studied using a cross-sectional survey that included Year 1 medical students at both the Mona (Jamaica) and St Augustine (Trinidad and Tobago) medical schools of the UWI. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire containing structured questions on demographics and family background, motivation for and concerns about studying medicine and future career preferences. A total of 193 students took part in the study, 103 from Mona and 90 from St Augustine (88 response rate). Seventy per cent of the students were between 18 to 22 years of age with 59 being females. The highest rated motives for studying medicine were the 'opportunity for working with people' and an 'interest in human biology'. Female students scored significantly higher for the motive of an 'opportunity for working with people', while males rated the 'social prestige/status' significantly higher. The greatest concerns of the students were 'fear of failure' and 'contracting diseases'. The female students had a greater concern for dealing with the long hours involved in medical training than their male counterparts. Surgical specialties (43), family medicine (38) and paediatrics (34) were the top choices of the students for future specialty and more women than men chose obstetrics. Although the motives that students have reported are varied, there was a reasonable spread of desirable motives. This study provides a baseline for observing possible changes as students advance through medical training. A programme of study that strives to maintain these well-placed motives while providing opportunities for dealing with the concerns of the students will assist in creating caring, empathetic physicians for the Caribbean
Asunto(s)
Humanos , Masculino , Femenino , Adolescente , Adulto , Facultades de Medicina , Motivación , Educación de Pregrado en Medicina , Competencia Profesional , Selección de Profesión , Medicina , Estadística , Estudiantes de Medicina/psicología , Estudios Transversales , Factores de Edad , Factores Sexuales , Jamaica/epidemiología , Toma de Decisiones , Trinidad y Tobago/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To determine the factors that may predispose and contribute to the development of Pre-eclampsia (P-E) in Jamaican women. METHOD: Women diagnosed with P-E (hypertension with proteinuria and/or oedema after 20 weeks of gestation) were recruited from the prenatal ward at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). Controls (women without chronic illnesses that would affect blood pressure, abruptio placentae, placenta praevia or gestational diabetes) were matched for age and gestational age. Fasting blood samples were collected. Clinical data were obtained from the dockets. Differences were estimated by the Students' t-test and ANOVA using the SPSS statistical package. RESULTS: To date, 43 women with P-E and 18 controls have been recruited. Data from the dockets showed that there were significant differences between cases and controls in weight (p=0.003), body mass index (BMI) (p=0.001), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p=0.001), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) (p=0.010) at booking. The systolic blood pressure was not significantly different. DBP, SBP and MAP in the second trimester were also significantly different between cases and controls (p=0.000). In the third trimester, women who developed P-E had significantly higher levels of serum gammaglutamyl transferase (GGT) (p=0.001), alkaline phosphate (p=0.02) and urea (p=0.04). Levels of uric acid were the same in controls and cases. There was no difference in levels of cholesterol and tryglicerides. However, high-density lipoproteins (HDL) were lower in cases than in control (1.26ñ0.36 vs 1.80ñ0.56 mmol/l) (p=0.000), while levels of low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) were the same in both groups. When P-E was classified into mild, moderate and severe, there were significant differences in booking and second trimester MAP (p=0.004), 0.027, respectively) and DBP (p=0.012, 0.030, respectivley). LDL was significantly different (p=0.003 between the women with mild PE (2.63 mmol/lñ0.91) and those with severe PE (3.93 mmol/lñ1.01). CONCLUSION: Booking weight, BMI, DBP and MAP could help to identify women who may be at risk of developing P-E. Differences in HDL between cases and controls and differences in LDL among the pre-eclamptic women indicate that P-E is associated with alterations in lipid status. (AU)
Asunto(s)
Femenino , Humanos , Embarazo , Preeclampsia/epidemiología , Lípidos/análisis , Jamaica , Índice de Masa Corporal , Lipoproteínas HDL/sangre , Lipoproteínas LDL/sangreRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To determine the motivation for and concerns about studying medicine, and future career plans of students of Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies (UWI). DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey that included year 1 medical students at both the Mona and St. Augustine medical schools of the UWI was conducted. A self-administered questionaire containing structured questions on demographics and family background, motivation for and concerns about studying medicine and future career preferences held by students at entrance into the course of study, was used to collect the data. RESULTS: A total of 228 students took part in the study, 103 from Mona and 125 from St. Augustine. Seventy-three percent of the students were between 18 and 22 years of age with 61 percent being females and 39 percent males. The students gave the highest rating to those motives best described as people-oriented. These included interest in relations between health, well-being and society and caring for and working with people. The female students scored significantly higher than the males for most of those motives. However, males rate the social prestige/status motive significantly higher than females. The greatest concern of the students was fear of failure. Surgical specialities (43 percent), family medicine (38 percent) and paediatrics (34 percent) were the top choices of the students for future specialty. However, significantly more males chose surgery while more females chose obstetrics.(AU)
Asunto(s)
Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Adolescente , Motivación , Selección de Profesión , Educación de Pregrado en Medicina , Estudios Transversales , Recolección de DatosRESUMEN
In planning for the training of medical personnel in a well ordered health service, it is important to determine the profile of those persons who enter the course of training and what effect, if any, this programme has on their subsequent choice of speciality. Work on this issue elsewhere indicates that the best time to begin gathering information about these factors is at the time of entry to medical school and before students are swayed by the course and by the opinions of their peers and teachers. This study was designed to explore why persons seek to become doctors and what factors influence different sub groups to select different specialities. It sets out to answer the following questions: 1) What are the motivational factors influencing the students to study medicine? 2) What demographic and family background factors are related to these motivational factors? 3) What influence do these motivational factors have on future choice of speciality? A longitudinal study of all medical students from their first year in a 5-year curriculum was begun on the Mona and St. Augustine campuses by administration of a questionnaire at the start of the first year of study. This included structured questions on demographics, the motivation for making the decision to study medicine and the present choice of speciality. Confidentiality of the information collected will be assured by using student's identification numbers. This paper reports the preliminary data from one of the campuses. It focuses on motivational factors, speciality choices and concerns of the students about pursuing the medical programme at the UWI. It is hoped that this information and the results of longitudinal follow-up will help the Faculty to shape decisions about selection criteria for entrants and for designing and implementing the new curriculum (AU)