Professionalism among medical students at two public sector universities - a comparative study

To determine the level of professionalism among undergraduate medical students at two public sector medical colleges of Karachi, Pakistan. This cross sectional study was conducted from August to November 2013 in two medical Universities of Karachi [Dow University of Health Sciences [DUHS] and Jinnah Sindh Medical University [JSMU]]. The validated Professionalism Instrument used in survey forms measured 6 tenets of professionalism [i.e. altruism, accountability, excellence, duty, honor and integrity, respect for others] and exhibited satisfactory reliability measures. The survey forms were pretested and a pilot data collection was performed to check the response and make sure the ease of participants. The study sample comprised of first through final year students of each medical school. The students were asked to fill a structured survey form after verbal information and consent. Only those students were included who were enrolled in the respective medical school and present on the day of survey. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 and Independent sample T-test was applied to compare mean scores of each tenet between the groups. Among 494 respondents [302 from DUHS, 192 from JSMU] the mean score of all six tenets of professionalism turned out to 11.43. There was a slight variation found in each tenet score in first and final year students, most marked being in 'honor and integrity' [Pre-clinical=11.91, Clinical=11.38]. Al-truism [11.44], honor and integrity [11.91] were higher in pre-clinical group whereas students from third to final year were more devoted [11.21], accountable [11.48], and excellent [11.73]. The current level of professionalism among medical students is sub-optimal. To achieve an optimum state, professionalism should be included formally in undergraduate medical curriculum

Primary isolated renal hydatid cyst simulating renal malignancy

Renal hydatid disease occurs in only 2 to 3 percent of cases. Primary isolated renal hydatid cyst is an extremely rare manifestation. A case of 20 year old male is reported who presented with left lumbar pain and weight loss. Preoperative diagnosis was renal malignancy. During surgery renal hydatid cyst was found

Gossypiboma- manifesting as a diagnostic puzzle

The term gossypiboma indicates a mass of cotton that is missed accidently in the body after surgery. Accidental retention of any foreign body usually requires another surgery and increases the morbidity and mortality. We here report a 20 year old female who presented with lower abdominal pain, vomiting and constipation. She had a history of previous two cesarean sections; last one was performed one year back in another country. On the basis of history and examination the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction was made. Exploratory laparotomy was done and resection anastomosis of terminal ileum was performed. When resected part was opened, a gauze piece was found and diagnosis of gossypiboma made. Although the intraluminal migration of retained surgical gauze has been reported but complete intraluminal migration without leaving any scar is very rare. In spite the fact that gossypiboma is rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intestinal obstruction in patients who has previous history of laparotomy

Biliary ascariasis- atypical infestation of ascaris lumbricoides

Ascaris lumbricoides is the most frequent parasitic infestation in developing countries. Its usual habitat is small intestine. The less frequent sites are biliary tree, gall bladder, appendix and pancreas. This is a report of 36 year old woman who presented with the symptoms of acute cholangitis in whom at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, worm was removed from bile duct through duodenal papilla