PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the medical students' consciousness on volunteer activities. What kinds of volunteer activities they had done, what kinds of volunteer activities they want to participate in, how they think about making volunteer program as school regular curriculum, and how they feel about volunteer activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study subjects are first, second grade premedical students and first, second grade medical students. Self-administered questionnaire was conducted at October, 1999. Finally, 119 questionnaire is collected, which is 74% of all students except 3rd, 4th grade students. RESULTS: Study subjects had participated in several volunteer activities. 44.5% of them had participated in some volunteer activities since they had become to college student, 30.8% of them participated in summer rural volunteer activity, and 39.3% of them had donated their blood. Many students(79.66%) agreed that volunteer activities are required as college students, and if they might have some opportunities to participate in volunteer activities, they would like to(54.17%). However, Only 22.50% of subjects agreed to make volunteer activities as regular medical curriculum. Even though the percentage showed low, they intended to apply to the curriculum (40.83%). Most of them agreed there were in need of participating in hospital volunteer activities(82.50%) and community volunteer activities(78.33%). Among hospital volunteer activities, they wanted to participate in volunteer activities at supporting department(26.05%), emergency room (22.69%), out-patient department(21.01%), and in-patient department(21.01%). They wanted to have volunteer activities at institution(66.39%) rather than to individual person(33.61%). They wanted to participate in friendly supports(40.34%), out-going supports(28.57%), house work supports(22.69%). Factor analysis showed that recognition of volunteer activities had 5 latent dimensions: 'self-achievement'(16.15%), 'social exchange and the pursue of experience(13.93%)', 'social responsibility of college(13.03%)', 'leisure of worth and expert activity(12.40%)', 'passive and meeting other's expectation(9.03%)' CONCLUSION: From above results, We found premedical and medical students had participated in various volunteer activities and they had much more intention to participate in. Before developing and designing volunteer programmes, One should consider they have various aspects on the programmes. The programmes should not be emphasized on altruistic aspect and social responsibility extremely, but rather it should be considered how the programmes could give the opportunities for the social exchange, social relationship, sense of solidarity, and usefulness of acquired medical knowledge and skill.
Consciousness* ; Curriculum ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hospital Volunteers ; Humans ; Intention ; Outpatients ; Schools, Medical* ; Social Responsibility ; Students, Medical ; Students, Premedical ; Volunteers* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Policy-makers are required to know the current patterns of resource use and the costs of stroke. However, the scientific evidence, on which health policy-making can be based, is not sufficient. Our study aimed to investigate resource utilization and costs during the one year after stroke. METHODS: Among patients with acute ischemic stroke (7 days from onset) who were admitted from July of 2001 to July of 2002, 223 were interviewed one year after the onset of stroke through a home visit by an experienced research nurse. Resource utilization and related costs were investigated. RESULTS: The average length of stay was 25 days. The average first inpatients costs was won 2, 230, 000. After discharge, the average outpatient visit was 22 days. The average expenditure per patient during the one year from onset of stroke was won 5, 235, 000. The hospital charge was 59% of the total cost, the cost for hiring a care-giver was 14%, and the fee for the outpatient clinic was 13%. Thirty-nine percent (won 2, 051, 000) of the total expenditure was consumed in the first month, 12% was in the second, 8% was in the third, and around 5% monthly was after 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first one to investigate the resource utilization and the related costs in stroke patients in Korea. The results of this study should not be generalized to all Korean stroke patients, but this study may serve as a reference for inferring the real status in Korea and may be a starting point for further nationwide resource utilization and costs studies.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Fees and Charges ; Health Expenditures ; Hospital Charges ; House Calls ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Outpatients ; Stroke*

To provide the information about overall test reliability and test improvement, we analyzed the first fundamental medical sciences examination at the Kon-Kuk University College of Medicine on August 23, 1997. The results are as follows: 1. The number of the items in the test is 230. The range of the scores is from 32.5 to 61.3(average percentage score: 50.0+/-6.1). Among the 39 students, three(7.7%) passed the examination with percentage scores of higher than 60. 2. The correlation coefficients between the fundamental medical sciences examination and academic records are 0.4682(the first semester in 1st grade), 0.5933(the second semester in 1st grade), and 0.6538(the first semester of 2nd grade), respectively. 3. Among the 230 items, 47(20.4%) are too difficult or too easy. Therefore these items are recommended to be discarded. 4. Among the 230 items, 115(50%) have lower discriminative indices(lower than 0.14) and 55(23.9%) have higher discriminative indices(higher than 0.23). 5. Among the 230 items, overall acceptable items are 101; the range of difficulty is 0.15~0.84 and discriminative indices are higher than 0.15. Good acceptance is shows in pharmacology and microbiology.
Humans ; Pharmacology

BACKGROUND: Liver failure due to ischemia-reperfusion injury is a serious problem in liver transplantation and radical wide resection of the liver. This injury is believed to be closely related to the generation of oxygen free radicals. Gabexate mesilate, a synthetic protease inhibitor, has an effect on the suppression of extracellular release of oxygen free radicals in the microvascular endothelium, as well as on protease inhibition. In order to understand the effects of gabexate mesilate on ischemia-reperfusion injury to the liver, we performed animal experiment with rats. METHODS: We divided the rats into two ischemia-reperfusion groups:the experimental group which received a 30 minutes ischemic injury along with the infusion of gabexate mesilate and a control group which received only the injury. Each group was subdivided into 4 sub-groups:ischemic injury only and ischemic injury plus 60, 120 or 180 minutes reperfusion injury. The test parameters were TNF-a and IL-6 in the serum, and superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase, and malondialdehyde(MDA) in liver and lung tissues. RESULTS: The group receiving gabexate mesilate had a significantly higher level of liver SOD and liver catalase and a significantly lower level of liver MDA and lung MDA than the control groups. The TNF-a levels in the gabexate mesilate groups were significantly lower in the early phase, and a comparison of the IL-6 levels between two main groups yielded no significant results. The levels of lung catalase and SOD showed no significant difference between the two main groups. CONCLUSIONS: Protease inhibitor has the beneficial effect of liver ischemia-reperfusion injury suppression due to an increase in antioxidants or oxygen-free-radical suppression. The roles of TNF-a and IL-6 in liver reperfusion injury was not clear in our investigation. However, TNF-a might have an effect in the early phase. The mechanism of reperfusion injury to the lung in liver ischemia-reperfusion injury might be different from that to the liver.
Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; Catalase ; Endothelium ; Free Radicals ; Gabexate ; Interleukin-6 ; Liver Failure ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver* ; Lung ; Oxygen ; Protease Inhibitors* ; Rats* ; Reperfusion Injury* ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Superoxides

A 62-year-old female patient was scheduled for emergent explo-laparotomy under general anesthesia because of traffic accident. Preoperative checked chest x-ray showed multiple fractures of the ribs but didn't show the sign of pneumothorax or hemothorax. she had no dyspnea. Compared with previous value(PaO2; 210.5 mmHg), Arterial PO2 value(PaO2; 143.0 mmHg) was reduced significantly two hours after starting general anesthesia. Chest x-ray was taken in the operating room, which showed pneumothorax in the right side lung. The patient was treated with immediate closed thoracostomy. She recovered uneventfully three days later with complete resorption of the pneumothorax.
Accidents, Traffic ; Anesthesia, General* ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Hemothorax ; Humans ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Operating Rooms ; Pneumothorax* ; Ribs ; Thoracic Injuries* ; Thoracostomy ; Thorax*

The purpose of this study is to review the validity of quantitative indices on the Evaluation of Korean Medical Schools in 1996. The data required for the indices were obtained from the 1996's edition of the Directory of Korea Medical Education and compared to the results of the evaluation. Among the quantitative indices of the evaluation the number of professors and assistants of basic medical science was the most valuable index to differentiate the better group from lesser groups of medical schools in Korea.
Education, Medical ; Korea ; Schools, Medical*

OBJECTIVES: To construct basic data to develop strategies for achieving higher Pap test coverage rate by evaluating factors associated with the use of Pap test through population-based survey. METHODS: 16.4%(671) of the 4,090 women, who were eligible population for this study, in 3 Myens of Chung-ju City participated in this study voluntarily from July 21 to 26, 1997. After basic physical examination by trained doctors, they were interviewed with structured questionnaire by well-educated interviewers. RESULTS: It shows that only 54.3% of study participants experienced Pap test. The strongest factor which is related with the use of Pap test was the history of having breast screening tests(aOR=8.71, 95% CI=4.25-17.84). Probability of ever having Pap test was also higher in married women(aOR of single=0.46, 95% CI=0.29-0.72), younger(Ptrend<0.05), more educated (Ptrend<0.001), non-smoker (aOR of smoker=0.26, 95% CI=0.12-0.55), women of ever having hepatitis test(aOR=2.60, 95% CI=1.73-3.88) in multiple linear logistic analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that several factors significantly associated with the use of Pap test, and especially, high-risk population for cervical cancer such as women of older ages, less educated, living alone are less likely to have the Pap test. We should concentrate on encouraging high-risk women in the use of Pap test to improve Pap test coverage rate.
Breast ; Chungcheongbuk-do ; Female ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Physical Examination ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: To decrease the risk of pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents, patients are routinely asked not to eat or drink anything for at least 6 to 8 hours before surgery. We studied to evaluate whether the volume and pH of gastric fluid immediately after induction of anesthesia is correlated with water ingestion. METHODS: Fifty patients, scheduled for elective surgery, were randomly divided into two groups. Control group(n=25) were fasted overnight and received no water. Experimental group(n=25) were fasted overnight and received 150 ml water approximately 2 hours before the induction of anesthesia. Gastric fluid was obtained via multiorifice gastric tube with the patient in three different positions. The volume of gastric fluid was recorded and its pH was measured. RESULTS: The gastric volumes were no differences between the two groups. The gastric pH values were significant differences. The incidence of patients with the high risk factors of gastric volume greater than 25 ml and pH less than 2.5 was decreased in experimental group. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that surgical patients could be permitted to ingest 150 ml water approximately 2 hours before the induction of anesthesia.
Adult* ; Anesthesia ; Eating* ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration* ; Incidence ; Risk Factors ; Water*

We reviewed the educational goals and objectives of the 32 medical schools in Korea, which is based on the 1992's, 1994's, and 1996's edition of the Directory of Korea Medical Education. The purpose of this study is to find trend of their changes and to help revise them. Among the 32 medical schools in Korea, 31(96.9%) described goals and objectives separately on 1996's edition, while 26(81.3%), 19(59.4%) on 1994's, 1992's, respectively. The medical ethics and morality was becoming more important; 30(93.8%) medical schools on 1996's and 1994's edition, while 26(81.3%) on 1992's. There were more emphases on the promotion of the ability of community services in health and of self study. For the promotion of the ability of community services in health; 26(81.3%) medical schools on 1996's edition, while 23(71.9%), 19(59.4%) on 1994's, 1992's, respectively. For the promotion of the ability of self study; 25(78.1%) medical schools on 1996's edition, while 21(65.6%), 15(46.9%) on 1994's, 1992's, respectively. The cultivation of primary care physician was becoming the primary goal of medical schools; 23(71.9%) medical schools on 1996's edition, while 12(37.5%), 9(28.1%) on 1994's, 1992's respectively. Teaching medical knowledge and clinical skills were still regarded as important; 21(65.6%) medical schools on 1996's edition, while 20(62.5%), 23(71.9%) on 1994's, 1992's, respectively. The inclusion of medical scientists in the possible job lists was also eminent; 14(43.8%) medical schools on 1996's edition, while 11(34.4%), 6(18.8%) on 1994's, 1992's, respectively. The ultimate educational goal of university was becoming prominent; 21(65.6%) medical schools on 1996's edition, while 15(46.9%), 11(34.4%) on 1994's, 1992's, respectively.
Clinical Competence ; Education, Medical ; Ethics, Medical ; Humans ; Korea* ; Morals ; Physicians, Primary Care ; Schools, Medical* ; Social Welfare

PURPOSE: To determine patient's use of alternative cancer therapies, as well as the characteristics of the patients who used these therapies, descriptive study was conducted at the one college hospital in Seoul. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of 950 eligible patients who discharged from October 1, 1996 to Febrary 28, 1997, 283 patients were completed semistructured questionnaire telephone survey finally(response rate is 29.8%). RESULTS: Alternative therapies were used by 53.0% of patients. The preferred was dietary therapies and oriental(herbs, acupucture) therapies, folk therapies, drug therapies were other popular methods. Any patient characteristics except time prolongation after diagnosis were not associated with use of alternative therapies. The patients were seeking for alternative therapy because they thought conventional medical treatments were not enough to expect to improve their health, The major source of information was relatives and friends, not the mass media. 46.6% of the patients used althenative therapy said that it were not effective but 30.4% of them said it would help to slow the progression of their disease or strengthen their resistance. 45.0% of them were satisfied with it. CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of cancer patients use one or more forms of alternative therapy. The physicians should recognize and give due consideration to the patients underlying desire for better control of his disease, and should be able to advise his patients on the use of alternative therapy.
Complementary Therapies* ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Friends ; Humans ; Mass Media ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Seoul ; Telephone