Medical students’ perception of their educational environment during foundation course

Background: Learning environment is how students perceive the climate of an institution. The strength and weakness of learning environment should be identified to help change, adjust and manage training programs with objectives for improving learning quality. Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is a validated tool designed to measure educational environment specifically for medical schools and other health profession institutions. This tool has been used in 20 countries, including Nepal. The aim of this study was to determine the perception of medical students of Foundation Course toward their learning environment using this tool.Methods: The study was conducted among the medical students attending Foundation Course in School of Medicine at Patan Academy of Health Sciences in Nepal using the DREEM tool.Results: Total mean of DREEM score was 150.51 and that of subscales for Students' Perception of Learning (SPL), Students' Perception of Teachers (SPT), Students' Academic Self-Perception (SASP), Students' Perception of Atmosphere (SPOA) and Students' Social Self-Perception (SSSP) were 36.96/48, 34.01/44, 23.96/32, 36.03/48 and 19.55/28 respectively. In item scores, students scored more than 3 for 29 items, between 2 and 3 for 20 items and only 1 item received less than 2 score indicating an issue requiring attention on overemphasis of factual learning during the course.Conclusions: Students have a positive perception about their educational environment. Their perception is a valuable resource for institutional curriculum planners to make appropriate changes to enhance student learning. It is important to get feedbacks from students on how they are experiencing their learning environment

Adverse events following Pfizer-BioNTec vaccine against COVID-19 in population more than 12 years of age, Nepal: Adverse events following Pfizer-BioNTec vaccine

Introduction: Pfizer-BioNTec vaccine was started in Nepal for the age group of more than 12 years. This study was conducted to find out the adverse event following immunization with Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 at Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS). Method: This is a descriptive study conducted at PAHS from November to December 2021. The vaccine recipients were called over the phone after 72 hours of receiving the vaccine to find out adverse events following immunization (AEFI). They were inquired about the list of pre-defined AEFI. Result: A total of 1377(27.4%) individuals among 5014receivingthe first dose and 983(71.4%) of 1377 receiving the second dose were enrolled in the study. Vaccine recipients who had minor AEFI in the first dose were 462(33.6%) and in the second dose were 205(20.9%). The most commonly reported AEFI in both first and second dose was pain which was reported by 377(27.4%) and 97(9.9%) respectively, while fever was the second most common AEFI in both first and second dose reported by 65(4.8%) and 91(9.3%) respectively. There were no severe AEFI reported in both doses of vaccination. Most of the AEFI started within 24 h and subsided within 72 h. Conclusion: Minor AEFI was reported with the first and second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. There were no severe and serious AEFI reported in this study population

Adverse events following Immunization with Sinopharm (Vero Cell) inactivated COVID-19 vaccine: Adverse events of Vero Cell vaccine

Introduction: Various types of COVID 19 vaccines are being used globally to control the current pandemic. Post-licensure surveillance of vaccines is essential to ensure safety. This study aimed to determine Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFIs) of Sinopharm (Vero cell), the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine from China.   Method: This is a cross-sectional observational study conducted at Patan hospital, Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS). Vaccine recipients between April and May were contacted through a phone call after 72 h of vaccination to record the AEFIs. Pattern and distribution of AEFIs were analyzed. Ethical approval was taken from PAHS IRC.   Result: A total of 6142 individuals got the first dose of the vaccine and out of them we were able to contact 4574 through phone calls. Of the 4574, only 941 were included for the follow-up phone call after the second dose of the vaccine. A total of 1336 AEFIs were reported in 868(19%) first dose vaccine recipients while 147 AFEIs were reported in 105(11.2%) second dose vaccine recipients.  The frequently reported AEFIs were pain at the injection site, lethargy, headache, muscle ache, and fever. All the AEFIs were mild to moderate in severity. Most of the AEFIs started within 24 h and resolved within 72 h.   Conclusion: The Sinopharm (Vero cell) vaccine was found to have mild to moderate AEFIs in our study cohort and no case of severe AEFI was identified.