Dokita Volume 39 - GeneraL edition

Medicine and Science are evolving and becoming more research driven. It is important that medical students across the world, especially those in sub- Saharan Africa, where there are numerous ideas yet to be tapped, refined and accessed, begin to look more into the field of research. They need to become more inquisitive and aware of their environment. This way, they can harness the unlimited resources available to them to make the practice of Medicine more interesting, meaningful and impactful. Waiting for the outside world to bring solutions to our many challenges may mean that we have to wait ad infinitum. However, when we harness our experiences and results from welltailored research, we can improve the quality of our lives and provide a leverage for ourselves.

The DOKITA Editorial Board continues to encourage student research and writing, as this habit once inculcated can be translated to practice as clinicians and therefore improve patient’s care and outcome. The 39th edition of DOKITA a general edition allowed students brainstorm into a vast array of subjects and it also very importantly encouraged original research amongst the students. Some of the subjects include: Major Depressive episode with Peripartum onset (a review) by Omoniyi O. F. and Oluwasola T. A. which aimed at reviewing the peripartal onset of depression, the need for early detection, prompt intervention and prevention. Bendopnoea: a novel feature of heart failure by Adebayo O. describes this new concept in heart failure that further helps to characterize the disease. Idowu O. M. and Iyoke U. O. in their article ‘Electronic Cigarettes: a therapy for tobacco smoking’ highlighted the various forms of therapy aimed at tobacco cessation and aimed to determine whether electronic cigarettes are a safe and effective method for cessation of smoking. Sado A. I. in the article ‘Irritable Bowel Syndrome: current and future trends in pharmacologic treatment’ highlights treatment modalities for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and elucidates the need for exploring pharmacogenomics in improving patient care.

Ogunleye O.O, et al in their article ‘Prevalence of asymptomatic gallstone on abdominal ultrasound at the University College Hospital, Ibadan’, sought to identify the prevalence of asymptomatic gallstones and risk factors. In Otoki A. O. and Odufuye Z. O.’s article on ‘Awareness of health insurance among adult patients in two health centres in Ibadan metropolis’, they found that more than half of the population knew about health insurance, however, less than ten percent of the population had taken up health insurance. The factors responsible for this have been carefully outlined in this article.

These and other interesting and educative articles are available within this journal for your read. This is just the beginning of exploring grand ideas in the field of Medicine. We believe other students would be encouraged and that in the not too far future, we can indeed translate our findings into policies and protocols.
I sincerely appreciate every author for their effort and our awesome team of peer reviewers for painstakingly going through manuscripts to ensure that it is worth the read. The guidance of the supervisor of this edition- Professor A. Ogunniyi has immensely put shape to this edition and allowed this wonderful outcome; we are very grateful sir. The Board Chairman, Faculty Adviser, Editorial Consultants and Board members have also contributed greatly to make this edition a success; thank you for your continuous unflinching support for the Board.

Joy Oluwaniyi

Editor-in-Chief (2016/2017)