Virtual Reality Cognitive Remediation in Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder: The Effects on Cognitive Performance and Depression in a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Dementia, depression, and cardiovascular disease are major public health concerns for older adults, requiring early intervention. This study investigates whether a virtual reality cognitive remediation program (VR-CR) can improve cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older adults, and determines the necessary sample size for future studies. Integrated VR and CR interventions have shown promising outcomes in older adults with neurodegenerative and mental health disorders.

Female participation or "feminization" of medicine.

More and more women chose medicine as their profession. Female students and graduates outnumber their male colleagues in Austria and the EU. However, the career paths of men and women differ after a certain point, and more and more female talent is lost along the career stages.

'Good' and 'bad' doctors - a qualitative study of the Austrian public on the elements of professional medical identity.

Professional identity formation has become a key focus for medical education, but there is still much to learn about how to help students develop their professional identity. At a time when influential concepts such as public- and patient-centered care have become common values, there is little research on the conceptions of the public that trainees might adopt during their training. Defining characteristics of 'good' and 'bad' physicians can be a starting point when considering how to incorporate aspects of professional behavior into medical curricula.

You are exactly my type! The traits of a good doctor: a factor analysis study on public's perspectives.

Background: A multiplicity of qualities and behaviours are considered essential in a good doctor and are identified in various medical profession frameworks. However, there is no consensus as to their meaning or even agreement on fundamental qualities. The authors wanted to examine the importance placed by the Austrian public on the professional and personal traits of ideal physicians.

The Quality of Life of People with Solid Cancer is Less Worse than Other Diseases with better Prognosis, Except in the Presence of Depression.

Background: Suffering from Solid Cancer (SC) may adversely impact the Health-related Quality of Life (H-QoL). The aims of this study are to measure the H-QoL in a sample of people suffering from SC and to clarify the role of the co-occurrence of depressive episodes. Results were compared with a healthy control group and with groups of other disorders.

Now, I think doctors can be heroes … Medical student's attitudes towards the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on key aspects of medical education and how the image of the medical profession has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic hit the world in early 2020 and influenced medical education worldwide. Distance learning, risk of infection and patient care, telehealth literacy, medical ethics and research in medical education are key factors of medical education challenged by the pandemic. Additionally, the following question arises: "What do medical students think about their future profession in the face of this crisis?"

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among all undergraduate medical students of the Medical University of Vienna.

Pursue today and assess tomorrow - how students' subjective perceptions influence their preference for self- and peer assessments.

Background: Alternative assessments engage students in the assessment process to improve both short- and long-term outcomes by developing their judgments and responsibility about their own learning, and that of their peers. In this study, we investigated students' perception towards self- and peer-assessment, their objectivity and impact on students' learning.

Methods: The study was conducted at the Medical University of Vienna.

Migrant Women-experiences from the Mediterranean Region.

Introduction: The phenomenon of migration is characterized and influenced by a number of different variables; and the different stages of journey are related to different levels and types of psychological distress. Women, in particular, are exposed to further specific risks during migration.

Aim: To determine the factors that affect the psychological health of migrant women during the different stages of the migration journey.

How to assess? Perceptions and preferences of undergraduate medical students concerning traditional assessment methods.

Background: Medical students' perception of traditional assessments have an important impact on their approaches to learning. Even though these assessment formats such as Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ), Short Answer Question (SAQ) or oral examinations, are frequently used in medical curricula, only little is known about student's perceptions of these assessments. The objective of this study was to assess perceptions and preferences of undergraduate medical students concerning traditional assessment formats.

Focus gender - medical students' gender-specific perception and attitudes towards the burdens of everyday student life.

The aim of this study was to investigate if female and male medical students perceive burdens differently and if students of both sexes assess their capability to stand performance pressure differently. In 2017, 2 (n=424, 53% female) and 6 (n=161, 46.6% female) year students at the medical university of Vienna were surveyed using a fully structured questionnaire.

Mental health care in Italy: Basaglia's ashes in the wind of the crisis of the last decade.

Background And Aims: The purpose is to highlight the legal and ethical principles that inspired the reform of mental health care in Italy, the only country to have closed its psychiatric hospitals. The article will also try to verify some macro-indicators of the quality of care and discuss the crisis that the mental health care system in Italy is experiencing.

Methods: Narrative review.

How to Cope with the Challenges of Medical Education? Stress, Depression, and Coping in Undergraduate Medical Students.

Objectives: Up to 90% of medical students experience stress. Studies have observed a relationship between stress and depression. Coping strategies to deal with stress and depression are of great interest.

Knowledge, application and how about competence? Qualitative assessment of multiple-choice questions for dental students.

: Many medical schools train their faculty members to construct high cognitive level multiple choice questions (MCQs) that demand a great deal of analytical and critical thinking, application, and competence. The purpose of this study is to determine the cognitive levels of MCQs by using Moore's Expanded Outcomes Framework and to understand whether the quality of MCQs has an effect on students' assessment performance.: Four trained faculty members analysed 100 randomly selected questions developed at the University Clinic of Dentistry (UCD) and 100 questions developed by the National Board of Dental Examinations (NBDE).

Attitudes of dental students towards patients with special healthcare needs: Can they be improved?

Introduction: Lack of knowledge and skills as well as negative attitudes towards patients with special healthcare needs may adversely affect the services available to this group. In 2010, a line on the treatment of patients with special healthcare needs has been implemented in the dental curriculum at the Medical University of Vienna, including five seminars and a practical course. In this study, we examine to what extent the programme helps improve attitudes towards persons with special healthcare needs and positively impacts the readiness to engage in treating this clientele.

Practice makes perfect! Patient safety starts in medical school: Do instructional videos improve clinical skills and hygiene procedures in undergraduate medical students?

In 2012 safety strategies were defined in five intervention areas to improve patient safety in Austria. Regarding policy development, patient safety should be mandatory part of education of all healthcare sectors, and measures to improve hygiene standards are to be included in organizational development. The aim of this project was to achieve sustained improvement in routine procedures and anchor patient safety in the undergraduate medical curriculum by making online instructional videos on clinical skills and hygiene procedures permanently available as preparation for the first clinical clerkship.

[Doctor-Patient Communication Training in Simulated Situations: Emotions and Perceptions of Simulated Patients during Patient-Centered Conversations].

Introduction: The use of simulated patients (SPs) for doctor-patient communication training has been established in medical curricula as an important didactic method. The study addresses the question, if patients' emotions and perceptions are represented adequately in patient-centered communication.

Materials And Methods: 22 of 37 SPs of the Medical University of Vienna (12 women, 10 men) were asked openly about their feelings after having acted as an SP in a semi-structured interview, which employed the Critical Incident Technique.

The diffusion of the diagnostic term bipolar disorder among the German public.

In 2005, 15 years after the introduction of the diagnosis in DSM-III, a telephone survey in Germany revealed that the public was still unfamiliar with the term bipolar disorder. Only 5.3% of those questioned knew at the time that it denotes a mental illness.

What is a good doctor?

Changes in medical curricula have led to a shift of focus in medical education. The goal was to implement a more practical approach to teaching and thereby create better doctors. However, the question of what makes a good doctor is not easy to answer.

Long-term outcome of accessory nerve to suprascapular nerve transfer in obstetric brachial plexus lesion: functional, morphological, and electrophysiological results.

Purpose: An accessory to suprascapular nerve (XIN-SSN) transfer is considered in patients with obstetric brachial plexus lesion who fail to recover active shoulder external rotation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of extraplexal suprascapular nerve neurotization and to perform a detailed analysis of the infraspinatus muscle (IM) and shoulder external rotation.

Methods: A XIN-SSN transfer was performed in 14 patients between 2000 and 2007.

Integrating children with psychiatric disorders in the classroom: a systematic review.

Background: The school setting may be the optimal context for early screening of and intervention on child mental health problems, because of its large reach and intertwinement with various participants (child, teacher, parent, other community services). But this setting also exposes children to the risk of stigma, peer rejection and social exclusion. This systematic literature review investigates the efficacy of mental health interventions addressed to children and adolescents in school settings, and it evaluates which programs explicitly take into account social inclusion indicators.

Whom to Ask for Professional Help in Case of Major Depression? Help-Seeking Recommendations of the Sardinian Public.

Purpose of the study is to investigate help-seeking preferences of the Sardinian public in case of depression. A telephone survey was conducted among the adult population, using quota sampling (N = 1,200). Respondents were presented with a vignette depicting a person with symptoms of major depressive disorder, followed by a fully structured interview.

Recommendations of the Sardinian public for the treatment of depression.

Background: Public beliefs about appropriate treatment impact, help-seeking and treatment adherence.

Aim: To determine the recommendations of the Sardinian public for the treatment of depression.

Methods: In 2012, a population-based survey was conducted by phone in Sardinia (N = 1,200).