National Institute of Ear, Nose and Throat, Dhaka, Bangladesh

The National Institute of Ear, Nose and Throat situated in Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh is a specialized hospital and training center for Ear, Nose and Throat diseases. Set up by The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare the hospital is built at a cost of Tk620m. 

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the institute in June 19, 2013. Construction of the new 12-storied building began in 2009.

When fully functional the 250-bed specialized institute would have an international standard audio-vestibular lab, sleep lab and voice study lab. It would act as an important center for training professionals in treating ENT disorders. The current director of the hospital is Prof. Dr. Mohammad Abdullah. 

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Research on Digital Divide among Medical Students

The Worldwide internet population is over 1.59 billion with the highest percentage of internet users in Asia (41.2%), followed by Europe (24.6%) and North America (15.7%). The major users in Asia are in populace nations like China (45.3%) and India (12.3%). Despite that internet use still remains to be uneven between nations. Percentage of population using Internet is still much higher in the USA (74.7%) than China (22.4%) and India (7.4%).

"Digital divide" is the division between those who have access to Information and communication technology (ICT) (“haves”) and are using it effectively, and those who do not (“have-nots”). The “have-nots” are deprived of jobs, improved healthcare and enhanced education which is a lost opportunity towards improving their lives.  

People in a particular country are more receptive to internet than people in other countries. It is not only due to computers and internet connections. Factors like gender, ethnicity, age, personal characteristics, socio-cultural status, socio-economic settings, location (national status, urban-rural), prior computing experience and physical disability may exacerbate this disparity. 

ICT is revolutionizing medical science by bringing in new opportunities and challenges. It is having an impact on the way students are learning and teachers are teaching. However some surveys have reported that medical students use computers mainly for non-academic purposes, like writing letters or entertainment (playing games, watching movies). 

In a study carried out on Chinese students studying in China and British students studying in the UK, Graff et al. suggested that individuals differed towards computer-based learning and Internet use. The differences were mainly due to nationality and cognitive learning style. It is thus important to understand the factors that might account for the digital divide across cultures and countries. In our study we have demonstrated that given the same infrastructure and social setting ICT use to some extent is affected by factors like gender, cultural and national status. 

Medical Education & Research: Made in China Doctors

Made in China Doctors: Chinese Medical Institutions are conducting an MBBS program in English exclusively for foreign students. Cheap tuition fees and easy admissi...

Chinese Medical Journal

The Chinese Medical Journal (CMJ) is a peer-reviewed medical journal published biweekly in English by the Chinese Medical Association. It is one of the top Medical Journal in China. Being an Open Access Journal Full Text articles are available.

I am in the Editorial Board of CMJ. Manuscripts can be submitted online. A decision on a manuscript is given promptly.

Impact factor: 0.901 (2012)

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Doctors in Gram Bangla

Presentation at a Seminar organized by the Center for International Rural Medical Education (CIRME), China and China Medical Board (CMB)

Journal Club for Undergraduate Students

Md. Tanveer Raza with Pranav Vaidya & Ravi Chandu

Journal clubs have been used as a teaching format in academic medicine for over a century. The aim is to involve undergraduate medical students in critical appreciation of scientific literature. Students become familiar with research and develop a better understanding of epidemiology and biostatistics.

A Journal club is made of students who meet regularly to discuss critically a published article of common interest. The article is usually written by researchers and clinicians over a defined topic in any field of medicine. Club activities are formalized. Meetings are held at regular intervals which should fit conveniently into the teaching schedule. A student committee is responsible for overseeing club activities and students voluntarily suggest articles relevant to their studies. A group of students would present the selected article and critically discuss its content. Presentation by students is compulsory and students are given time to prepare for their presentation. The article is made known to all in advance. To optimize participation credit is given for attendance.

According to a standard agenda, on the day of meeting the presentation is made orally in English followed by queries which often generate a lively debate. A guest faculty who is an expert on the concerned topic is often invited to stimulate the discussion. A faculty member acts as the mentor and is responsible for assessing and suggesting improvements in club activities.

Students get an opportunity to present scientific papers orally to their peers and develop their debating skills. A well organized Journal Club can generate greater interest toward advanced learning among students.

Ref: Journal club at a Chinese university for international medical students

Pilot Studies

Pilot studies, synonymous with feasibility studies are carried out in smaller scales intended to guide the planning of a large-scale investigation (Thabane et al. 2010). It can provide information about the best research process and pre-test a particular research instrument like a questionnaire. Occasionally they give an idea about likely outcomes (van Teijlingen & Hundley 2001). A pilot study will resemble the main study in many respects and focus on the processes of the main study. In what is referred as an “internal pilot” data from the pilot phase contribute to the final analysis. In an “external pilot” data from the pilot study is not analyzed with the final data set (Lancaster, Dodd & Williamson 2004). Pilot studies are often not well designed without any statistical foundation and reporting of such data may lead to making an inaccurate prediction or assumption. Thus data from a pilot study alone may not be sufficient enough for a conclusion. Furthermore, if there are any problems with the research methodology subsequent modifications in the research process are made for the actual study. This would make the obtained data in the pilot flawed or inaccurate. Therefore such data should be included with the actual data only after careful consideration. Every attempt should be made to publish the results of a pilot study with proper indication that it is from a “pilot” study. Reporting of information obtained from the pilot into the main experiment will help design future experiments and yet rarely are they documented. They are most commonly reported in research publications to justify the overall research design or the validity and reliability of research tools such as a questionnaire. Reporting of the challenges faced in pilot studies might help others avoid similar pitfalls and mistakes, and thus save valuable resources (Lancaster, Dodd & Williamson 2004). A pilot study that shows that the main study is not feasible is not a failed study. In fact as mentioned by Thabane et al. (2010), such a study is successful because wasting valuable resources on a study destined to fail has been avoided. The inclusion of pilot study participants in the main research may create bias. Pilot study participants have already been exposed to the intervention and therefore are more likely to respond differently from those who have not previously experienced it.