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Biomedical subjects

G F Heseltine

Publications and source records attributed to G F Heseltine.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Attitudes and reactions of Arab medical students to the dissecting room.

A questionnaire on the emotional and psychological reactions of Arab medical students to the dissecting room (DR) was distributed to 272 students in four successive pre-clinical and clinical years in the same academic year (1993-1994) at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) Medical College; 205 students responded. Varying degrees of fear on first entering the DR was reported by 46%. The most frequent reactions were recurring visual images of cadavers (total 38%) and temporary loss of appetite (total 22.5%). Students' reactions were most commonly elicited by the smell of the DR (total 91%) and by fear of infection (total 62%). The most frequent method of coping with such fears was by rationalization (total 65%). Significant gender differences (P < 0.05) were found concerning all aspects of the DR experience. Female students showed higher levels of fear, reported stronger physical and behavioral reactions, were more disturbed by certain stimuli in the DR, and used certain coping methods more frequently than their male peers. The need for appropriate psychological preparation of students before studying human cadaveric anatomy is discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Oral health education for medical students.

With a view to improving oral health in Oman, particularly in the interior of the country where dental services are very scarce, medical students have been receiving a grounding in this field since 1988. The results achieved so far have proved encouraging.

Curriculum↗

Overseas electives.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Clinical Clerkship↗

Clinical electives: setting up an overseas programme in a new medical school.

This paper describes the methods used to establish an overseas elective programme in a new medical school, the objectives and the perceived results. The aims and objectives of the programme are listed. The students who participated in the programme were from the charter class and had completed the second year of a 3-year clinical programme. The methods used to establish the programme are described. Destinations were organized through academic staff contacts. Systematic preparation of students was an important feature of the programme. Comparative costs and methods of financing the programme are described in detail. The results of the programme are analysed together with the form of assessment used and feedback from both the host institution and the student. The importance of monitoring progress while students are abroad is described. The discussion focuses on the benefits derived from an overseas elective programme for both students and teachers. The advantages and disadvantages of different destinations are compared. Further refinements to the programme are discussed including alternative methods of obtaining funding. The importance of developing reciprocal arrangements with other medical schools and institutions throughout the world is emphasized.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗

Teaching clinical skills to new medical students: the Oman experience.

The College of Medicine at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Oman took up the challenge of moving away from a didactic emphasis in the teaching of family and community health by actively involving students in health care, requiring some clinical skills, as early as possible. This paper describes the experience of the Department of Family and Community Health at SQU of the feasibility of training first-year medical students in the measurement of blood pressure within a few days. Our experience showed that proper training before starting field-work can teach clinical skills to students who have had no prior exposure to medical subjects. There was a strong correlation between the measurements of blood pressure of 638 individuals by the students and the supervisors. This experience at SQU has encouraged us to implement the idea of family- and community-based clinical exposure for every class. Teaching of clinical skills is feasible in the field for new entrants, provided there is adequate orientation beforehand and skilled supervision of the students in small groups.

Clinical Competence↗

Clinical data from a psychiatric service to a group of native people.

Clinical data are reported from a psychiatric service to Native Canadian patients, mainly Cree Indians. Eighteen out of 41 had a clinical diagnosis of depression, three of mania and only one of schizophrenia. Thirty-seven percent used alcohol to excess but alcoholism was rarely the primary diagnosis. Reasons are given for the belief that schizophrenia has been over-diagnosed in Native populations in the past. Seventy-eight percent spoke Cree/Inuit as their primary language. The patients usually held their parents in high regard despite often reporting that they were alcoholic. In reply to tentative enquiries into feelings about their Native identity, only 5% of the patients indicated a preference for another identity, but this figure is only considered to give a minimum estimate of the possible dissatisfaction with being Native in Canada today.

Adult↗

Modification of prenatal stress effects in rats by adrenalectomy, dexamethasone and chlorpromazine.

This study was designed as a 4 (maternal treatments) by 2 (prenatal stress) factorial. The 4 treatment groups were: chlorpromazine (CPZ) 2.1 mg/kg; dexamethasone (DEX) 38.7 mug/kg; adrenalectomy (ADX); and controls (CON). Half of the females in each group were stressed prior to mating and during gestation. Stress significantly reduced birth and weaning weights of CON offspring but did not affect the weight of CPZ, DEX or ADX offspring. At birth, DEX and ADX offsrping, as well as offspring of partially adrenalectomized females, were significantly lighter than controls; at weaning, only the DEX animals displayed a weight deficit. Stress increased open field activity of ADX offspring but decreased the activity of DEX offspring while the performance of CON and CPZ offspring was not affected. In a food deprivation test at 42 days there were significantly more deaths among male offspring of no stress (32 percent) than of stress (4 percent) females and stress offspring in all groups lost less weight than unstressed offspring in a food deprivation test at 69 days. Avoidance conditioning tests showed effects only in female offspring. Stress significantly decreased avoidances made by CON offspring and increased avoidances made by DEX offspring. Treatment with ADX, CPZ or DEX can prevent the effects of prenatal stress on some characteristics of the offspring, but in other cases the effects are potentiated by these manipulations.

Adrenalectomy↗