ABSTRACT
To examine the attitudes of undergraduate medical students' towards patients with AIDS vs. patients with Leukemia. A cross sectional survey with a purposive non probability sample on 205 undergraduate medical students was conducted from July 2011 to October 2011. Prejudicial attitudes and willingness to interact were measured based on four case vignettes using the Prejudicial Evaluation Scale [PES] and Social Interaction Scale [SIS]. SPSS 17 was used for the data analysis and independent sample t test was used to calculate the significant difference among the mean scores of the inventories and each item of the inventory. Paired t test was used to analyze the difference in the attitude of the medical students before and after attending the medical school. Highly significant differences were observed in the attitude of medical students determined by the overall mean scores of their responses towards patient with AIDS [44.45 +/- 9.32] and [24.22 +/- 11.69] versus Leukemic patient [49.65 +/- 10.73] and [20.67 +/- 7.84] of PES [p < 0.001] and SIS [p < 0.01] inventories respectively. Comparison of individual item on these scale revealed several items to be significantly different for patient with AIDS vs. Leukemic patient showing negative biasness towards this stigmatized group. Undergraduate medical students revealed negative biases against patients with AIDS and reported much less willingness to interact with these patients than with leukemic patients
ABSTRACT
In this study, perception and preferences of the medical students' studying at Dow International Medical College have been described about the use of different teaching aids. Cross sectional survey was conducted on a stratified random sample of 200 undergraduate medical students during the month of October 2010 at Dow International Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan. 80% of the students responded to the questions asked. Over all 40% of the students chose powerpoint presentations as a reliable mode of teaching and favoured it as interesting and interactive teaching aid over problem based learning [28.8%], audio visual aid [18.6%] and white board [12%]. They believe that powerpoint provides a better learning experience as compared to other teaching tools. Projectors as a teaching tool was rejected by the students. This article serves as a source of valuable information for the faculty members. Students have chosen powerpoint presentations as the best teaching aid and have preferred the integration of different teaching tools for better understanding. Teachers will be able to use this information to develops better understanding about the subject matter among students by considering their learning style preferences. It will also facilitate them in developing interest and active participation of students in the classroom