PURPOSE: The first year is stressful for new medical students who have to cope with curricular challenges, relocation issues, and separation from family. Mentoring reduces stress and facilitates adaptation. A program for faculty mentoring of first-semester students was initiated by the Medical Education Unit in 2009 at University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi. Feedback after the first year revealed that mentees were reluctant to meet their mentors, some of whom were senior faculty. In the following year, student mentors (near-peers) were recruited to see if that would improve the rate and quality of contact between mentees and mentors. METHODS: Volunteer faculty (n=52), near-peers (n=57), and new entrants (n=148) admitted in 2010 participated in the ratio of 1:1:3. The program aims were explained through an open house meeting, for reinforcement, and another meeting was conducted 5 months later. At year-end, a feedback questionnaire was administered (response rate: faculty, 28 [54%]; mentees, 74 [50%]). RESULTS: Many respondent faculty (27, 96%) and mentees (65, 88%) believed that near-peer mentoring was useful. Compared to the preceding year, the proportion of meetings between faculty mentors and mentees increased from 4.0+/-5.2 to 7.4+/-8.8; mentees who reported benefit increased from 23/78 (33%) to 34/74 (46%). Benefits resulted from mentors' and near-peers' demonstration of concern/support/interaction/counseling (35, 47.3% mentees); 23 mentees (82%) wanted to become near-peers themselves. CONCLUSION: Near-peer mentoring supplements faculty mentoring of first-year medical students by increasing system effectiveness.
Complement System Proteins* ; Counseling ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Education, Medical ; Humans ; India* ; Mentors* ; Program Development ; Students, Medical* ; Volunteers

No abstract available.
Lectures

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess medical students' presence on Facebook and the extent of their visible activity, with particular reference to online professionalism. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study including all medical students enrolled in the University College of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi, India during the period of the study, which was conducted from 2011 to 2012. After approval by the Institutional Ethical Committee, the full names of all students were obtained from our institution. After creating a fictitious profile, Facebook was searched for students' profiles, and those found were examined for visible content and unprofessional behaviour. RESULTS: Of 611 students, 477 (78.1%) had detectable Facebook profiles. Out of 477 profiles, date of birth, address, email, phone number, religion, and political views were rarely shared; sexual orientation and relationship status were displayed on approximately one third of the profiles; and an identifiable profile picture (80.3%), field of study (51.6%), and institution (86.2%) were commonly shared . The visible content included friend lists (88.7%), photo albums (36.1%), and associations with diverse groups and pages (97.1%). Five profiles (1.05%) displayed unprofessional content, including one profile photograph depicting alcohol consumption, one association with groups relating to excessive alcohol consumption, two profiles containing sexually explicit language, and one association with a sexist page. CONCLUSION: Most of our students use Facebook's privacy settings to hide some content from others. Unprofessional content was rarely visible from a stranger's profile. However, even when hidden from strangers, unprofessional behaviour is still unprofessional behaviour. As Facebook is an integral part of life, it is important for medical educators and students to understand the implications and importance of e-professionalism. Professionalism curricula should address e-professionalism.
Alcohol Drinking ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Curriculum ; Electronic Mail ; Friends ; Humans ; India* ; Parturition ; Privacy ; Sexual Behavior ; Students, Medical*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Amblyopia/physiopathology/*therapy ; Evoked Potentials, Visual/*physiology ; Humans ; Monitoring, Physiologic/*methods ; Prognosis ; *Sensory Deprivation ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Acuity

No abstract available.
Amblyopia/physiopathology/*therapy ; Evoked Potentials, Visual/*physiology ; Humans ; Monitoring, Physiologic/*methods ; Prognosis ; *Sensory Deprivation ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Acuity

Resident-as-teacher courses are pretty common in Western medical schools however they are a rarity in Asian and developing countries. The current report is a scholarly analysis of a three day orientation program for senior residents in order to improve their functioning by providing new template either for supplementing basic workshops for faculty or to advocate a change in system. The experience gained by Medical Education Unit of University College of Medical Sciences can be used to conduct training breeding grounds at national or regional levels. Resident as teachers educational interventions need to be designed taking into account their impact on education system.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Breeding ; Developing Countries ; Education, Medical ; Humans ; Internship and Residency ; Orientation ; Schools, Medical ; Transfer (Psychology)

OBJECTIVEA series of 2-benzylideneaminonaphthothiazoles were designed and synthesized incorporating the lipophilic naphthalene ring to render them more capable of penetrating various biomembranes.

METHODSSchiff bases were synthesized by the reaction of naphtha[1,2-d]thiazol-2-amine with various substituted aromatic aldehydes. 2-(2'-Hydroxy)benzylideneaminonaphthothiazole was converted to its Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) metal complexes upon treatment with metal salts in ethanol. All the compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial activities by paper disc diffusion method with Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis and Gram negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of all the Schiff bases and metal complexes were determined by agar streak dilution method.

RESULTSAll the compounds moderately inhibited the growth of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. In the present study among all Schiff bases 2-(2'-hydroxy)benzylideneaminonaphthothiazole showed maximum inhibitory activity and among metal complexes Cu(II) metal complex was found to be most potent.

CONCLUSIONThe results obtained validate the hypothesis that Schiff bases having substitution with halogens, hydroxyl group and nitro group at phenyl ring are required for the antibacterial activity while methoxy group at different positions in the aromatic ring has minimal role in the inhibitory activity. The results also indicated that the metal complexes are better antibacterial agents as compared to the Schiff bases.

Amines ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cobalt ; Copper ; Nickel ; Schiff Bases ; Structure-Activity Relationship ; Thiazoles ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical empathy of a cohort of medical students spanning 4 years of undergraduate study and to identify factors associated with empathy. METHODS: A cross-sectional study to assess the empathy of undergraduate medical students at the University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital in Delhi, India, was conducted using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy–Student Version. Demographic data were obtained using a pre-tested, semi-open-ended questionnaire. RESULTS: Of the 600 students, 418 participated in the survey (69.7%). The mean empathy score was 96.01 (of a maximum of 140), with a standard deviation of 14.56. The empathy scores decreased from the first to the third semester, plateaued at the fifth semester, and rose again in the seventh semester. Empathy was found to be significantly associated with the gender of the participant, with females having higher scores (P<0.001). The age of the participant, place of residence, whose decision it was for the student to enroll in an MBBS (bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery) program, and the choice of future specialty were not significantly associated with students' empathy scores. CONCLUSION: The study found significant gender differences in empathy among the participants. The empathy scores tended to decline initially and then rebound over time. The mean empathy levels found in this study are lower than those reported in most similar studies around the world; therefore, further studies are needed to analyze and address the underlying factors associated with this discrepancy.
Cohort Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Empathy* ; Female ; Humans ; India* ; Observational Study ; Students, Medical* ; Surveys and Questionnaires