Journal of Global Medical Education and Research

Background:To evaluate functional efficacy of subconjunctival bevacizumab in cases of corneal neovascularization Design: Prospective comparative study Material & Methods: Fifty cases of corneal NV who are relatively resistant to all conventional modes of medical and surgical management were included in this prospective study conducted in our OPD. The conventional modes of medical treatment was more than 6 weeks of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and low potency steroids. A standard clinical proforma was filled in all cases for analytical study which included visual acuity recording, pre-injection digital photograph, recording of corneal vessel extent and diameter. All patients underwent subconjunctival bevacizumab 1.25mg (0.05 ml) under topical medication close to the corneal limbus near the corneal NV. The patients were followed up after 2 weeks and then again after 6 weeks. Results: The study of vessel extent showed that the vessels had regressed completely in 3 cases, while only marginal reduction in grades of vessel extent was seen in other categories (statistically significant p=0.000).The analysis of the vessel diameter and inflammation revealed that there was complete reduction of vessel in 3 cases, however only marginal reduction in grades of vessel diameter and inflammation was seen in other categories (statistically significant p=0.000). Analysis of visual acuity showed only marginal improvement in 7 cases out of 50(statistically significant p=0.000). Conclusions: This study concludes that subconjunctival bevacizumab (anti-VEGF agent) is a new and effective modality of reducing the corneal vascularization

Aim: The College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS), Fiji National University (FNU) implemented the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for the final year MBBS in 2019. This study was set out to explore student acceptance of the OSCE as an assessment. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey using a 33-item self-administered questionnaire that was completed by 74 medical interns. Main outcome measures were student perception of examination attributes including the quality of instructions and organization, the quality of performance, authenticity and transparency of the process and the usefulness of OSCE as an assessment instrument compared to the Traditional Clinical Examination (TCE). Results: There was overwhelming dissent of the OSCE with respect to the comprehensiveness (33%), fairness (44%) and authenticity of the required tasks (51%). Majority felt that it was an intimidating (58%) and strong anxiety producing experience (85%). Concerns were raised regarding the inadequacy of time for expected tasks. Conclusion: The OSCE was perceived negatively by the students. Concerns and challenges regarding an assessment that is overwhelmingly complex, resource and time intensive can be overcome with better preparation of both the students and examiners.

Unnecessary rampant usage of antibiotics by people is becoming an alarming issue in India and surrounding Asian countries. Antibiotics are easily available to common population in India. Many people because of lack of awareness about usage of antibiotics, use antibiotics without any proper prescription and even if prescribed for a particular bacterial infection do not complete the prescribed course of antibacterial drug and this is creating a big issue in the medical health sector, as microbes are becoming drug resistant and stop responding to the existing drugs. Common cold is a harmless viral disease of nose and upper respiratory tract and it cures on its own within a week. But to speeding up the recovery, many people who are quite unaware of usage of medicines, start antibiotics even without the prescription of authorized health care official. Situation is alarming in rural areas specially. Drug resistance is creating a huge hindrance in the proper treatment of major diseases. Awareness of usage of antimicrobial medicinal drugs among young population specially from rural areas is very important to deal with the issue of antibiotic resistance. Aim: Aim of the present study was to check the awareness of drug/ antibiotics usage in random youngsters. They were asked to answer a questionnaire regarding the use of drugs and antibiotics for the treatment of common cold. Results: Total 100 students were enrolled for the study. A written consent was taken from all the participants. Students in the age group of 18-30 years were included in the study. It was observed that only 22 % of thestudents were actually aware of antibiotics usage. 20% of the students enrolled had no awareness about antibiotic usage. 56 % of the enrolled students were not sure about their awareness on the antibiotic usage. 2% of the enrolled students did not disclose their information. Conclusion: So it was concluded that there is a huge need of public awareness about antibiotic usage. It was observed that every student prefer different field of medicine when they catch common cold, homeopathy 7 %, Allopathic 26%, Natural Healing 36 %, Home Remedy 25% and Ayurveda 6%. 40% students confirmed treatment for common cold using different remediesspeeding up their recovery. Natural healing was also adopted by most the students followed by Allopathic, Home remedy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda.

Selecting the best assessment method for students in terms of validity and reliability is still a matter of debate among instructors. The written assessments are crucial in modern academic curricula and include multiple-choice questions and short answer questions that are currently important devices to measure students’ learning and achievement. Notably, multiple-choice question-based testing has an association with the assessment of lower order cognition in students, including the discrete facts’ recall and, therefore, many instructors are questioning their use in the university education. Both multiple-choice questions and short answer questions’ testing formats are widely used in the undergraduate education. However, the debate between researches continues as to which of these two different assessments is more effective and reliable, and whether there is a correlation between them. In this article, we will describe the features and limitations of multiple-choice questions and short answer questions’ testing formats and their positive and negative effects, and compare these two common assessment methods among biomedical/medical students.

One of the essential aspect in medical education is feedback, which helps in enhancing teaching and training in the right direction by directly observing the trainee/student by the teacher. A good feedback is known to bring about the desired change in the trainee; while at the same time a poorly given feedback may do the opposite. Interactions with students calls for sensitivity, observations, calibrations, and choosing the appropriate words. Medical teachers must know the basic principles of giving effective feedback. It requires preparation in terms of timings and words and should be supportive and sequential process. Many methods have been described for giving feedback, each having its own merits and de-merits. We describe here some principles of feedback, merits and demerits. Any of these can be adopted depending on the needs of learner and teacher. A constructive and effective feedback can help the learner in achieving the required skills and enhance learning and the learning process.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) or Benign intracranial hypertension (BIH) is an uncommon disorder characterized by signs and symptoms of raised intracranial pressure of unknown cause and usually without any evidence of intracranial pathology. This condition typically affects obese women. The incidence of IIH is increasing with the rising prevalence of obesity. The most common symptoms are headache, nausea, vomiting, pulsatile tinnitus, transient episodes of visual loss, diplopia and other visual symptoms. Papilledema is a major clinical sign. Visual impairment is a serious complication that may not be recognized by the patients. As its presenting symptoms mimic those of a brain tumour, it’s also called pseudotumor cerebri (PTC). This paper in brief reviews epidemiology, clinical manifestations, etiopathogenetic hypothesis, diagnostic challenges, and current treatments of IIH including medical, surgical, and interventional management of this condition. The efficacy and complications of surgical interventions like cerebrospinal fluid diversion, optic nerve sheath fenestration, and endovascular venous stenting reported in recent two to three decades have been summarized in brief

Trauma is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity, especially in the young population during their productive years. It has been rightly termed as the scourge of the modern industrialised world. The continuously increasing number of trauma victims has resulted in the urgent need of physicians trained in providing emergency and trauma care. The anaesthesiologists; because of their expertise in airway management, vascular access, shock resuscitation, haemodynamic monitoring, and mechanical ventilation; are frequently entrusted with the care of these patients.The care of trauma patient involves teamwork, coordination, and multidisciplinary approach.