Effects of Self-Planning and Human-Relations Training for Medical Students / 医学教育

At Tokyo Women's Medical University, our curriculum for first-year students is designed to teach the dynamics and etiquette of human relations. During the third year, medical students are expected to anticipate and plan effective therapeutic communication and interaction with patients. A discussion group of 6 students and a member of the human-relations committee first clarify the purpose and develop the training; students then independently participate in human-relations training during the summer vacation. After training, experiences are discussed during class. Although this curriculum has been used for some 10 years, its benefits have been assumed but not validated. We used student reports and questionnaires to examine the effects of this curriculum. The results clearly show that planning and training give the students an opportunity to learn how to establish an effective physician-patient relationship.

Seasonal Variation of Trace Element Loss to Sweat during Exercise in Males

Objective: To clarify the seasonal differences of the trace element excretion in sweat, the trace element concentrations in sweat and their loss during exercise were compared between summer and winter.Methods: Sweat samples were collected from ten healthy adult males. Bicycle ergometer exercise was conducted by each subject at a heart rate of 140 beats/min for 1 hour, in summer and in winter. Sweat was collected by the arm bag method.Results: Concentrations of major (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) and trace elements (Zn, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mn, and Cr) in sweat tended to be lower in summer than in winter, and significantly lower concentrations of Mg (p<0.01), Na, Cu, and Mn (p<0.05) were found in summer. The sweat volume in summer (0.90 L) was 1.7-fold larger than that in winter (0.52 L) (p<0.01). The amount of loss of each element to sweat calculated from the concentrations in sweat and sweat volume showed no significant difference between summer and winter.Conclusions: It is suggested that there was no significant difference in the amount of loss of trace elements in sweat due to exercise between summer and winter.

Seasonal variation of trace element loss to sweat during exercise in males

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To clarify the seasonal differences of the trace element excretion in sweat, the trace element concentration in sweat and their loss during exercise were compared between summer and winter.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sweat samples were collected from ten healthy adult males. Bicycle ergometer exercise was conducted by each subject at a heart rate of 140 beats/min for 1 hour, in summer and in winter. Sweat was collected by the arm bag method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Concentrations of major (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) and trace elements (Zn, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mn, and Cr) in sweat tended to be lower in summer than in winter, and significantly lower concentrations of Mg (p<0.01), Na, Cu, and Mn (p<0.05) were found in summer. The sweat volume in summer (0.90 L) was 1.7-fold larger than that in winter (0.52 L) (p<0.01). The amount of loss of each element to sweat calculated from the concentrations in sweat and sweat volume showed no significant difference between summer and winter.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>It is suggested that there was no significant difference in the amount of loss of trace elements in sweat due to exercise between summer and winter.</p>

Effects of Bathing on Cerebral Blood Flow in Healthy Volunteers. Using Patlak plot method with Technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer / 日本温泉気候物理医学会雑誌

We studied the effects of bathing in warm water on cerebral blood flow (CBF). Seven healthy male volunteers were subjected to experiments. The subjects were bathed in warm water at 39°C for 20 minutes in a sitting position immersed up to the neck. Each subject received two CBF examinations: one under normal conditions and the other after taking a bath mentioned above. There was an interval of at least seven days between the two examinations. To measure CBF, we used the Patlak plot method with technetium-99m ethyl cysteinate dimer (99m-Tc ECD). To examine CBF after bathing, 99m-Tc ECD was injected within 10 minutes after bathing. Brain perfusion index (BPI) and regional CBF (rCBF) were used as indexes for evaluating CBF. The body temperature, pulse, blood pressure, arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide pressure, and hematocrit were also measured. Wilcoxon's signed rank test was used for statistical analyses. The following were observed:<br>1) BPI increased significantly after bathing (p<0.05).<br>2) rCBF in the cerebral cortex, particularly in the frontal lobe, tended to increase after bathing (p<0.05). No definite changes were observed in the cerebellar cortex, caudate nucleus, or thalamus.<br>3) The body temperature and pulse increased significantly after bathing. No definite changes were observed in blood pressure, arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide pressure, or hematocrit. From the above, we conclude that bathing in warm water causes the cerebral blood flow to increase in healthy subjects.

Report on my Experience during of the Summer Semester of an American Nursing School / 医学教育

I took a summer course at the School of Nursing of the University of Delaware in the United States. The 4-week neurology and neurosurgery course had been organized by a clinical nurse specialist. The curriculum was extremely effective because one clinical topic was taught for a certain period of time. This system has been judged to be useful for teaching clinical nursing. A similar program might also be useful for nursing schools in Japan.

Neurology Teaching in Nursing Education / 医学教育

Integration of instruction and more well-rounded curriculum are needed owing to the increasing specialization of nursing education.<BR>In this study we evaluated the teaching of clinical neurology in nursing education from various viewpoints.<BR>1) The clinical neurology curriculum at the Tokyo Women's Medical College School of Nursing for the past 20 years and the results of examinations given at the school.<BR>2) The frequency of test questions on basic and clinical neurology in the past 15 years on the national nursing license examination.<BR>3) Questionnaires on the teaching of clinical neurology filled out by student nurses. Conclusions:<BR>Most nursing students consider the neuroanatomy and pathophysiology of neurologic disorders to be extremely important subjects, while others feel that clinical neurology is difficult to understand.<BR>In the future, the number of elderly persons will increase more rapidly, and highly specialized neurologic teaching will be required in nursing schools.