‘Different approach to learning is the way forward’

Dr S Agharkhedkar,the new president of the Pune unit of Indian Medical Association,who is studying the increasing cases of suicides among students,believes that a different approach to learning that allows de-stressing may be the way forward.

He said the first year in a medical college is tough as students take time to adjust to new surroundings along with the self-learning process. There are no guides and subjects like anatomy,physiology,biochemistry have words that are really tongue twisters. To remember them is next to impossible,hence we use the mnemonic techniques to recall the names of bones.

Agharkhedkar,also the head of the Department of Paediatrics at D Y Patil Medical College,initiated an annual physiological assessment of first year medical students in the college. “We found that despite studying for 18 hours at a stretch,most of the students were worried about failure and lacked confidence in appearing for exams,” said Agharkhedkar.

In one of our exams (submission of dissection part) twelve of us were failed in a row because our teacher asked us the weight of vagus nerve (vagus is X cranial nerve supplying vital organs). Our books had mention of length of vagus nerve and not the weight,said a first year MBBS student at D Y Patil medical college.

They studied 97 students who appeared for the first year MBBS examination and found that a majority of them complained of high blood pressure — at least 130 systolic among girls — while several had high pulse rates and other somatic complaints like headache,abdominal cramps and nausea. Considering the increasing number of suicides of students,the college has initiated a yearly assessment of students in the medical college and started group therapy sessions with aspiring medicos.

SCAT — Sinha’s comprehensive anxiety test — was conducted with a list of 92 questions. One of the questions was like what would students do if they were not well prepared for the examination. Trainee doctors are under the scanner as they require to belt out a good academic score. Poor work performance can hamper their self esteem,said Agharkhedkar. This can also result in psychiatric morbidity for 1/3 of medical students and suicide attempts. Counsellors have been appointed to conduct group therapy sessions at the college,said the IMA chief.