ABSTRACT
Many people experience high burden by the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its consequences for health and everyday life. The present cross-national study investigated potential factors that can reduce the burden by COVID-19 in China and Germany. Cross-sectional and longitudinal (China: N = 474, baseline, BL: 2015, follow-up, FU: 2020; Germany: N = 359, BL: 2019, FU: 2020) data on physical activity (e.g., jogging) (BL/FU), positive mental health (PMH) (BL/FU), and burden by COVID-19 (FU) were collected via online surveys. In both countries, physical activity was positively associated with PMH, and both variables were negatively related to burden by COVID-19. Furthermore, PMH mediated the link between physical activity and burden. The mediation model was significant when physical activity and PMH were assessed at the BL, while burden was measured at the FU; and it was also significant when all variables were assessed at the FU. The present findings reveal that physical activity in combination with PMH can reduce the experience of burden by COVID-19. Conscious fostering of physical activity and PMH is supported as an effective strategy to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic outbreak on mental and physical health. Additional benefits such as increased adherence to governmental measures around COVID-19 are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Students worldwide are at marked risk of suicidal ideation/behavior, depression, and low positive mental health (PMH). Medical students are suspected to be a particularly burdened group. On this background, the aim of the present study was to determine prevalence rates of suicidal ideation/behavior, depression and PMH, among Chinese medical students compared to students from other disciplines. Methods: A total of 2,695 Chinese students (41.2% women;age: M = 18.86, SD = .60, range: 18–21), including 461 medical students, filled out self-report measures on suicidal ideation/behavior, depression, and PMH. Results: Twelve-month suicidal ideation was reported by 10.2% of the medical students and by 11.5% of the other students. Medical students had significantly lower levels of depression symptoms and significantly higher levels of PMH than students from other disciplines. Complete mental health – according to the dual-factor model of mental health – was reported by more than 84% of the total sample. Limitations: Data were assessed by a self-report survey that is prone to social desirability. Conclusions: Students in the present study displayed high rates of complete mental health – although the survey was conducted in the midst of the Corona pandemic. No evidence was found that medical students are particularly stressed. © 2022
ABSTRACT
Learning Objectives: Demonstrate the ability of commercially available simulation software as an effective student assessment tool in lieu of live simulation during the COVID-19 pandemic. : Background: In-person simulation is often used as a tool for instruction and assessment in Emergency Medicine (EM). The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has necessitated shifting simulation online. It is unknown if online simulation software, such as Full Code, represents an appropriate tool for simulation-based training. Objective: We aim to assess Full Code, a commercial virtual simulation program, as an objective assessment of medical student performance in an EM Clerkship and Sub-Internship (Sub-I). Design: Third-year (MS-3s) and fourth-year medical students (MS-4s) completed Full Code assessments during their EM clerkships and Sub-I during the pandemic. Full Code is a virtual simulation offered by Minerva Medical (https://full-code.com/). Our institution purchased a 1-year software license. Students had access to >100 virtual cases and participated in faculty-facilitated practice session, in lieu of in-person simulation. Students completed 3 Full Code cases as part of their clerkship grade, each of which aligned with course objectives. The grade the for cases was calculated using Full Code's internal scoring system and counted for 15% of the overall course grade. Impact: On review of 120 MS-3 and 24 MS-4 students, the average final scores were 81.99% and 81.37%, respectively. For MS-4 students, there was no statistical difference between average score on the Full Code assessment and other assessments (departmental clerkship exam, shift evaluations). For MS-3 students, average score on the Full Code assessment was statistically higher than other forms of assessment (EM NBME Subject Exam, shift evaluations). Full Code represents a feasible alternative to simulation experiences in EM student courses. Next steps will evaluate the Full Code scoring system to determine if assessing for only critical actions represents a reliable proxy for student knowledge and performance, and evaluating whether the number of practice cases completed correlates with exam performance.
ABSTRACT
Learning Objectives: To survey EM clerkship directors (CDs) on their experience adapting an EM virtual rotation (VR) curriculum during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Background: The recent outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) altered the traditional paradigm of clinical medical education by necessitating distance learning, employing new educational platforms such as video conferencing and virtual simulation in order to reduce disease transmission, and to minimize the loss of student learning in lieu of reduced clinical exposure. While individual clerkships have shared their curricular adaptations via social and academic networking media, there is currently no organizational standard in establishing a non-clinical, EM virtual rotation (VR). Methods: A 21-item survey with quantitative and qualitative questions was disseminated between June and August 2020 to EM clerkship directors (CDs) via CDEM Listserv to describe their experience and perspectives in adopting a virtual EM rotation during the spring of 2020. Results: 59 out of 77 EM clerkship survey responses were analyzed. 52.5% adopted a VR while 47.5% did not. Of those who adopted a VR, 71% of CDs had 2 weeks or less with 84% reporting usual or increased clinical load while creating a new curriculum. Clerkships significantly diversified their asynchronous educational content and utilized several instructional models to substitute the loss of clinical experience. 71% of CDs did not feel comfortable writing a standardized letter of evaluation for students during the VR, with the majority citing inability to evaluate students' competencies in a clinical context. See Table 1 and Figure 1 for details. Conclusion: A crisis, such as COVID-19 necessitates change in all facets of medical education. While EM educators demonstrated the ability to create emergency remote learning with limited time, this was not equivalent to formal development of pre-planned virtual rotation experiences. Future faculty development and curriculum innovation are required to fully transition an in-person immersive experience to a noninferior virtual experience.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of imported COVID-19 cases after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and to provide evidence for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Methods: The imported COVID-19 cases in Chengdu as of April 15, 2021 were divided into the vaccinated group and unvaccinated group according to the history of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. The epidemiological and clinical data of the cases were collected retrospectively, and the differences in epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared. Laboratory tests consisted of nucleic acid test, clinical index test, serum antibody test and lymphocyte test. Software WPS2019 was used for data management and software R 4.0.3 was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 75 COVID-19 cases were included in the analysis, in which 20 had received SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and only 4 with clinical symptoms, 55 patients did not receive SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, and 16 had clinical symptoms. In vaccinated group, the first injection time of vaccination ranged from July to November 2020, and 10 cases received two doses of vaccine simultaneously and 10 cases received two doses of vaccine at intervals of 14-57 days. The intervals between the completion of vaccination and the onset ranged from 87 days to 224 days. The differences in classification and clinical type between the two groups were significant. Significant differences were observed in case classification and clinical type between vaccinated group and unvaccinated group (P<0.05). The vaccinated group had a relatively high proportion of asymptomatic infections (40.00%, 8/20), while mild infections were mainly observed in the unvaccinated group(76.36%,42/55). The differences in Ct values (ORF1ab gene and N gene) at the diagnosis were not significant between vaccinated group and unvaccinated group (P>0.05), similar results were also observed in lymphocyte subtypes, procalcitonin and C-reactive protein level comparisons. Serum amyloid A level was higher in unvaccinated group than in vaccinated group (P<0.05). However, the SARS-CoV-2 related serum antibody of IgM, IgG and total antibody levels were significantly higher in vaccinated group (P<0.05). Conclusions: Risk of infection still exists with SARS-CoV-2 after vaccination, which can facilitate the production of specific serum antibody of IgM and IgG when people are exposed to the virus. It has a certain protective effect on SARS-CoV-2 infected persons. Vaccination can reduce the clinical symptoms and mitigate disease severity.