Identity change and the human dissection experience over the first year of medical training

The aim of this study is to explore identity change in medical students over their first year of medical training, particularly in relation to their experience of human dissection. Each of our four participants completed two repertory grids at the end of term one and, again, towards the end of term three. One grid tapped their identity construction, and the other, their experience of human dissection. Our participants were optimistic about becoming similar to a doctor they admired and, towards the end of term three, began to develop a stable identity as a medical student. Their identity constructs involved three common themes: dedication, competence, and responsibility. However, the data also revealed negative reactions to the demands of training, such as feeling driven and stressed. Three major themes were apparent in their experience of human dissection: involvement, emotional coping, and ability. Our participants’ dedication to their studies was reflected in their appreciation of the need to become involved actively in the process of dissection but some experienced an erosion of their self-confidence and perceived some of their colleagues to have lost much of their enthusiasm for learning. Emotional coping could be an additional challenge within this context and their reaction tended to reflect distancing processes previously identified in the literature. In all, we see a development of a vulnerable sense of professionalism alongside a frustration of losing out potentially on wider aspects of personal development due to the high work demands

The impact of sleep disruption on neurocognitive functioning in children with epilepsy

Background: Disruptions in sleep patterns, sleep hygiene, and sleep architecture can trigger seizures and in turn, seizure activity can disrupt sleep. Despite this, little is known regarding how this relationship impacts neurocognitive functioning in childhood epilepsy. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between reported sleep disruption behaviors and neurocognitive performance in a sample of children with epilepsy. Methods: This study included an archival sample of 70 children and adolescents with epilepsy, consecutively referred for clinical neurocognitive evaluation at the Comprehensive Epilepsy and Neurology Center (CENC) at New York University Langone Medical Center. Children underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation and parents completed the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) along with mood and behavioral inventories. Results: CSHQ Sleep Anxiety (r = .25, p = .04) was significantly associated with behavioral ratings of executive functioning. CSHQ Parasomnias and Sleep Disordered Breathing was significantly negatively associated with Digit Span Backwards (r = -.27, p = .03; r = -.30, p = .01, respectively). CSHQ Sleep Disordered Breathing was also significantly associated with TOL-DX Total Time (r = -.30, p = .01). CSHQ Total served as a significant predictor for Trails B (β = -.78, z = -2.13, p = .03) and behavioral ratings of executive functioning. Conclusion: Regarding seizure severity characteristics, it was found that seizure type and seizure frequency were not significantly related to neurocognitive or behavioral outcomes. However, age of seizure onset was predictive of sustained attentional abilities. There emerged a clear pattern of frontally-mediated deficits associated with sleep disruption and seizure severity. Age of onset and sleep disruptions independently contributed to poorer neurocognitive outcomes

Multidimensional effects of acculturation on English-language neuropsychological test performance among HIV+ Caribbean Latinas/os

Acculturation has been linked to neuropsychological performance in several ethnic groups. However, research among Latina/o samples has examined primarily Mexicans/Mexican Americans and has not examined Latina/o clinical populations of Caribbean descent. This study examined associations between a multidimensional acculturation measure and neuropsychological performance among 82 HIV+ Caribbean Latina/o adults. Multivariate results showed that US acculturation significantly predicted 11–14% of the variance in global neuropsychological functioning, verbal fluency, and processing speed, whereas Latina/o acculturation predicted 6-8% of the variance in motor and executive function (trend level associations). Both linguistic and nonlinguistic cultural factors had distinct effects on neuropsychological performance