Knowledge, attitude, and perception of pregnant women toward anesthesia for cesarean section at Aminu ano Teaching hospital

Background: Anesthesia is regarded as an integral part of cesarean section due to its elimination of pain and discomfort. Pregnant women need to have awareness of anesthesia for cesarean section. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude, and perception of pregnant women toward anesthesia for cesarean section. Materials and Methods: This was a cross­sectional study among consenting pregnant women at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. A structured pretested questionnaire was used to obtain information from the participants. Ethical approval was obtained from the hospital ethics committee. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 18 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 2012, US). Fischer's exact test was used for categorical data and P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age ± standard deviation was 28.71 ± 5.635 years. Two hundred and thirty­two (68.8%) had knowledge of anesthesia for surgical procedures, and in up to 221 (65.5%), the anesthesia known to them was for cesarean section. Main sources of knowledge were from the clinic (195, 44.5%) and previous experience/exposure (180, 41.1%). The main anesthetic side effects were headache (24, 64.9%) and delayed recovery (11, 29.7%). Regional anesthesia was preferred (246, 73.0%) over general anesthesia (91, 27.0%) because of safety (258, 44.3%), fear of death (240, 41.2%), and the desire for being awake during the procedure (85, 14.5%). Knowledge of anesthesia was statistically associated with the age groups of the respondents (P = 0.027) and their occupation (P = 0.003). Conclusion: The study revealed high knowledge and awareness of anesthesia for cesarean section among pregnant women and regional anesthesia was preferred over general anesthesia

Choice of Specialization among Female Clinical Medical Students of Bayero University Kano, Nigeria

Background: The field of medicine is very wide; female medical students also have their choice of specialization which many develop in medical schools due to different factors.Methodology: It was a cross sectional study that was conducted among female clinical medical students of Bayero University Kano. Ethical approval was obtained from the hospital Ethical Committee. Questionnaire was administered to all consenting female students. Data were analysed by SPSS Electronic Software Version 18 (SPSS Inc, IL, Chicago, USA). A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Eighty five female medical students participated in the study. Mean (SD) age was 23.09 ± 1.8 years. Seventy two (84.70%) chose clinical medicine to be their future career while 13 (15.30%) were undecided. Only 15 (22.70%) decided to specialize in their career of choice. Obstetrics and Gynaecology was the most interested speciality of choice (30.80%). Most students were interested in the reward in working in the speciality 54 (68.40%) followed by interest in the clinical work 52 (65.80%). Many of the respondents 41 (49.4%) considered their career development as a priority in future career plans in practice location, and educational environment for children 40 (51.90%). Only 15 (18.00%) were keenly motivated to work in rural areas regardless of the duration of time.Conclusion: Female medical students preferred to be clinicians in their future career with obstetrics and gynaecology as the most interested speciality of choice. Their career development and educational environment for children were the priority in future career plans in practice location