Mentorship program in a private medical college of Eastern India: evaluation, appraisal and recommendations

Background: Mentorship programs are becoming increasingly common in undergraduate medical education all over the world. However, very few medical colleges are running mentorship programs in India. A mentorship program was introduced in I Q City Medical College for the first year MBBS students to help them cope up with the stress of the new environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mentorship program with regard to its efficacy, utility, limitation and potential for improvement after successful completion of one year of the program.Methods: It was a questionnaire based cross sectional study including 143 mentees and 15 mentors conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital for five months from November 2019 to March 2020. The feedback was collected with a pre validated questionnaire containing 10 questions (8 close ended and 2 open ended). Feedback of closed ended questions were obtained by using a 5-point Likert scale (1 to 5) where 5 indicated ‘Strongly Agree’ and 1 indicated ‘Strongly Disagree’.Results: Out of 143 mentees, 124 (86.7%) and out of 15 mentors, 10 (66.7%) mentioned that mentorship program is necessary for the welfare of the students. However, it was also noted that better communication and frequent meetings can improve the outcome of the program.Conclusion: Mentorship program is deemed essential, however, a well-structured framework and dedicated time from both mentors and mentees will make the program more successful. This type of feedback evaluation is however important to validate such program

USE OF ANIMATION IN TEACHING PHYSIOLOGY

Objectives: To evaluate the gain in knowledge of first year MBBS students with the use of animation. Methodology: Prospective Interventional study was conducted in department of physiology. 200 first year MBBS students participated in the study. 100 students (Group-A) were taken as control group to them the topic of physiology was taught by didactic method and another 100 students (Group-B) were taken as intervention group, where the same topic was taught with Power point presentation along with animation. For each lecture preand posttest was taken. Five consecutive lectures were planned with this intervention. At the same time feedback forms were given to intervention group for purpose of analyzing the results qualitatively. After this intervention the crossover of groups were done only for the sake of getting benefit of intervention. Results: Data obtained was analyzed statistically. Pre and posttest mean were taken. Key words: Animation; Chalk and board; Overhead projector; Teaching aids; Visual impact

USE OF ANIMATION IN TEACHING PHYSIOLOGY

Objectives: To evaluate the gain in knowledge of first year MBBS students with the use of animation. Methodology: Prospective Interventional study was conducted in department of physiology. 200 first year MBBS students participated in the study. 100 students (Group-A) were taken as control group to them the topic of physiology was taught by didactic method and another 100 students (Group-B) were taken as intervention group, where the same topic was taught with Power point presentation along with animation. For each lecture preand posttest was taken. Five consecutive lectures were planned with this intervention. At the same time feedback forms were given to intervention group for purpose of analyzing the results qualitatively. After this intervention the crossover of groups were done only for the sake of getting benefit of intervention. Results: Data obtained was analyzed statistically. Pre and posttest mean were taken. Key words: Animation; Chalk and board; Overhead projector; Teaching aids; Visual impact

Cognitive Evoked Potentials in Anaemic Women: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) is a globally prevalent nutritional disorder and an important risk factor for the development of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). A manifestation of IDA is altered electrogenesis in the central nervous system. As women of reproductive age are more susceptible to this form of anaemia, it is important to assess their cognitive function. Auditory cognitive evoked potentials/ P300 are sensitive in detecting MCI which is indicated by prolonged latency and reduced amplitude. Aim: To investigate the effect of IDA on cognitive function using cognitive evoked potentials/P300 in neurologically intact women. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Central Neurophysiology Laboratory, Acharya Vinobha Bhave Rural hospital (AVBRH) attached to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Wardha, Maharashtra, India, from January 2018 to February 2022. A total of 260 women were recruited for the study. Based on their blood haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels, 130 women were grouped as anaemic and 130 as non anaemic. The P300 was used as an objective tool to assess cognitive function. Haematological parameters like blood haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels were compared (‘t’- test) and correlated (Spearman’s correlation) with the latency and amplitude of the P300 wave in the two groups. Results: The mean age (years) and Body Mass Index (BMI) (kg/m2) of anaemic women were 23.88±3.67 and 20.98±1.45, respectively; and that of non anaemic women were 24.09±3.41, and 21.25±1.27 (p>0.05) respectively. The blood haemoglobin (mg/dL) and serum ferritin (ng/mL) were significantly (p<0.001) lower in anaemic group (10.37±0.95, 8.55±3.78) compared to non anaemic group (13.02±0.70, 27.61±10.52). The latency of P300 wave (ms) was significantly prolonged (p<0.001) in anaemic women (317.75±7.34) in comparison to non anaemic women (311.71±9.02), while the P300 amplitude did not differ between the two groups (p>0.05). A highly significant low negative correlation of P300 latency with haemoglobin (r=-0.48, p<0.001) and highly significant moderate negative correlation with serum ferritin (r=-0.55, p<0.001) was observed. And a negligible positive correlation of P300 amplitude with haemoglobin (r=0.26, p<0.05) and serum ferritin (r=0.24, p<0.05) was observed. Conclusion: Cognitive evoked potential is an objective method that aids in the early detection of cognitive impairment. Evaluating the cognitive function in anaemic women and ensuring adequate iron treatment can prevent MCI from progressing to severe forms like dementia and other neuropsychological disorders

P300, a tool for cognitive assessment in women with iron deficiency anemia: A systematic review

Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is a common nutritional disorder and an important risk factor for the development of mild cognitive impairment that may progress to dementia, if untreated. The anemic status due to iron deficiency (ID) alters the electrogenesis in the central nervous system. P300 is a cognitive evoked potential (CEP) used as an objective tool to assess cognitive function. Mild cognitive impairment is indicated by prolonged P300 wave latency and reduced amplitude. IDA is highly prevalent among women particularly in the reproductive phase and data on cognitive assessment using P300 in them are sparse. This review aims to analyze the evidence from recent literature regarding the effect of IDA on evoked potentials like P300 in women. A systematic literature review was conducted and databases, like PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched for studies from the last 20 years. We selected research papers that compared P300 between anemic women and controls of the same age, and evaluated the effects of iron supplementation on P300 in anemic women. Based on the inclusion criteria, three studies were found. The studies demonstrated impaired P300 potentials in anemic women that improved following iron supplementation. Promoting screening of anemic women with P300 aids in the early detection of subclinical cognitive decline. Ensuring adequate iron treatment can prevent mild cognitive impairment from progressing to severe forms like dementia and other neuropsychological disorders. Further studies utilizing P300 as a cognitive tool need to be encouraged to establish definite conclusions regarding its efficacy in detecting cognitive dysfunctions in anemia

Role of Information Communication Technology in Higher Education: Learners Perspective in Rural Medical Schools

ABSTRACTHigher education has undergone profoundtransformation due to recent technological advancements.Resultantly health profession students have a strong base toutilize information technology for their professional development.Studies over recent past reflect a striking change in pattern oftechnology usage amongst medical students expanding prospectsexponentially by e-books, science apps, readymade power-pointpresentations, evidence based medicine, Wikipedia, etc7 Halama