ObjectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on university students, including those in medical schools, with disruption in routine education causing significant psychological distress. The objective of this study was to evaluate the factors associated with psychological distress among medical students during the period of enforced home quarantine from March through May 2020.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingOne Japanese medical school.Participants571 medical students.Primary and secondary outcome measuresSelf-administered electronic questionnaires including the K-6 scale for psychological distress, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) for self-esteem and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) for self-efficacy were distributed. To assess the determinant factor for psychological distress, variables such as sex, grade in school, living conditions, and RSES and GSES scores were evaluated in regression analysis.Results163 respondents (28.5%) scored ≥5 on the K-6 scale, indicating a significant degree of psychological distress. Logistic regression revealed that a higher score on RSES (p<0.001) and GSES (p<0.01) was an independent factor associated with lower levels of psychological distress. Multiple regression analysis focusing on students with a K-6 score ≥5 revealed that higher scores on RSES correlated with lower levels of psychological distress. By contrast, those with higher GSES scores also scored higher for indicators of psychological distress.ConclusionsThis study identified that self-efficacy and self-esteem were both influential factors for predicting psychological distress during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Medical schools should provide support for mental health and educational initiatives directed at enhancing self-esteem and self-efficacy, with a focus on improving personal resilience. In emergency situations, such as that faced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, initial programmes might target students with higher levels of self-efficacy. By contrast, under routine situations, these efforts should be directed towards students with lower self-esteem as primary means to prevent depression.

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Teaching about resilience is one of the biggest challenges in medical education. One of the problems of currently accepted definitions is that they attribute individualistic notions mainly originating in North American society, such as “endure ongoing hardship,” “thrive on challenges,” “be healthy,” and “be stronger.” In response to this situation, Tsuchiya et al (2017) proposed a description of a broader model of a resilient physician in healthcare that incorporates concepts of self-definition as described in both North American and the East Asian societies; that is, “a person’s capacity to be aware of the aspects of the self differently identified in each context, and to consciously value oneself and others in the context”. However, the concept is still theoretical, and more empirical understanding is needed.This presentation will examine the findings from our exploratory study on physician resilience using semi-structured interviews with 20 palliative care physicians (10 each in Canada and Japan) to answer the following questions:(1) Are there any differences in the way Canadian and Japanese palliative care physician perceive resilience? (2) What factors might affect the similarities or differences of their perceptions of resilience? (3) Are these findings consistent with Tsuchiya’s description? Following qualitative analysis using a grounded theory approach, a schematic representation of resilience in physicians will be offered, to inform a coherent educational program for resilient healthcare professionals. 

: The preventive effects of troglitazone on diabetic nephropathy in the early stage and hypercoagulation were studied using an inbred mouse strain established in Japan as a model for human type II diabetes. The KK mouse (with a mild degree of diabetes) and the KK-AY mouse (produced by transferring the yellow obese gene (Ay) into the KK mouse) were fed a cholesterol-free high fructose diet. Troglitazone was given to the high fructose diet fed mice as a 0.2% food admixture for 3 weeks. Plasma glucose and triglyceride levels were significantly decreased in troglitazone-treated KK and KK-AY mice compared with non-treated mice. The urinary micro-albumin (mAlb) and albumin to creatinine (A/C) ratio tended to be decreased in KK-AY mice but not in KK mice. The plasma fibrinogen level was decreased significantly in KK mice treated with troglitazone. Troglitazone improved the pathophysiological condition of diabetic mice suggesting that it may be effective in preventing diabetic nephropathy in the early stage and hypercoagulation.