RESUMEN
Introduction@#During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical schools shifted to blended learning. This study aimed to determine the demographic and level of confidence of a private medical school’s clinical clerks of School Year 2021-2022 on general competencies and skills. @*Methods@#The study aimed to identify the skills that exhibited the highest and lowest levels of confidence among a group of 139 clinical clerks. Additionally, it sought to examine whether there were significant differences in confidence levels based on sex and prior clinical experience. An analytical cross-sectional study design was employed using a Google Form as the data collection tool.@*Results@#The clerks were most confident in handwashing, and least in NGT insertion, performing digital rectal examination (DRE), and suturing. Females were more confident in history taking of obstetric and gynecologic, surgical, and medical patients, physical examination of pediatric patients, and preparing a discharge summary, while males were more confident in performing digital rectal examination. Clerks with prior medical experience were significantly more confident in foley catheter insertion, intravenous insertion, blood extraction, suturing, and performing essential intrapartum and newborn care (EINC) than those without. The results aligned with previous studies since clerks with prior experience were able to practice the skills in a psychomotor sense.@*Conclusion@#The study revealed significant differences in the confidence level on the competencies and skills for medical practice between sex and prior medical experience.
Asunto(s)
Competencia ClínicaRESUMEN
Introduction@#This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of basil tea as an adjunct to antihypertensive medications in decreasing the blood pressure of hypertensive subjects.@*Methods@#Hypertensive patients were randomly allocated into either experimental (antihypertensive medications + basil tea) or control (antihypertensive medications alone) group. Experimental subjects drank basil tea twice daily for 28 days, with blood pressure readings done at baseline and on a weekly basis for four weeks.@*Results @#A significant difference in systolic blood pressure was elicited for both treatment (p=0.005) and control (p=0.034) groups. There is a significant difference in the mean systolic (p=0.021) and diastolic blood pressure P (p=0.023) between the two groups at the fourth week in the basil tea group. There was a significant difference (p=0.046) in the mean difference in diastolic blood pressure from baseline to Week 4 in the basil tea group. There was a statistically significant decrease in systolic blood pressure between baseline and Week 4 (p=0.05).@*Conclusion@#Basil tea, used as an adjunct to anti-hypertensive medications, elicited a statistically significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and a statistically significant difference in change of diastolic blood pressure after four weeks of treatment.