Background and Objective : Academic achievement is associated with the knowledge and application of effective study skills. The aim of the current study was to investigate the study skills of nursing and midwifery students of Golestan University of Medical Sciences.

  Material and Methods : In this descriptive study, 211 students were recruited through census in 2008-2009 academic years. The data was collected by using Cangas Study Skills Inventory (CSSI).Reading ability, note-taking, memory enhancement, readiness to exam , concentration and time managements were the subscales surveyed.­ the data derived from the instrument was analyzed by statistical tests, using SPSS software.

  Results: The mean standard deviation is 2.47±0.40 of four. The reported study skills are weak (43.6%), moderate­ (53.6%) ­and sufficient­ (2.8%).­The study skills of female students is significantly higher than males (p=0.017) and freshmen’s Study skills is better than that others (p<0.0001).

  Conclusion: The study skills of the majority of students are not sufficient. It seems that studying in university could not improve study skills and it is a necessity for the students to pass study skills workshop or even a course as a part of university curriculum.

  Keywords: Study skills, Students, Medical sciences

 Background and Objective : ­ Teachers’ evaluation is considered one of the important strategies for education quality enhancement in universities. The objective of the current study was to investigate the students’ viewpoints about the evaluation criteria of teacher’s performance in theoretical courses in Golestan University of Medical Sciences.

  Material and Methods: This cross- sectional study was conducted, in 2008, on 330 students of various disciplines. They were recruited via stratified random sampling and asked to fill out a valid and reliable questionnaire including 63 closed questions, which are related to individual, scientific and professional fields. ­Using SPSS software, we analyzed the data by descriptive statistics, independent t­-test, and Anova and Pearson correlation.

 Results: Seventy-three-point-three (n=242) are females and 26.7% (n=88) males. ­The most important factors in teacher's evaluation are Professional characteristics (4.22±0.42).­­Their scientific ability (4.14) and individual characteristics (3.86%), respectively, are the other factors. In professional characteristics, ­“The verbal skills and teaching methods " with the mean of 4.64 in scientific ability, "the knowledge and scientific power" with the mean of 4.65 and in individual issue, “patience and good humor" with the mean of 4.61 are the most important issues. Sixty-two-point-four percent of students believe that they are honest about their evaluation and 59.4% of them claim that their evaluation is reliable.

  Conclusion : In spite of the importance of the scientific abilities, the verbal skills and teaching methods are considered the most prominent ones. ­The Students’ viewpoints can be used as an important part of teachers' evaluation for recognizing and eliminating the shortcomings.

Background and Objective:  Transtheoretical model (TTM) is one of the models applied to  assess the regular physical activity. The aim of the current study was to investigate the regular physical activity based on transtheoretical model constructs among Golestan University of Medical Sciences’ students.

Material and Methods: ­In this cross-sectional study, 295 students were recruited through convenience sampling. The instruments were Marcos et al. Stages of change and Nigg et al. Decisional balance questionnaires. Their validity was approved by content and face validity andtheir reliability by test re test method.­­ Data analysis was conducted by Chi-­square ,Logestic regression, and ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc tests.

Results:­ The mean age of the participants is 21.89±3.05.­Eighty nine point five percent are unmarried and 67.5% females .The results show that they are in precontemplation (60.3%) contemplation(8.8%), preparation(11.9%), action(9.5%)­ and maintanenec (9.5%)stages. There is a significant relationship between stage of change with cons and pros of physicalactivity(p<0.05) .Male gender, Bsc and lower educational levels along with cons are the best predictors of regular physical activity(p<0.05).

Conclusion: Since the majority of the students(81%) have a  sedentary life, It is a necessity to conduct some  planned interventions for their progress on maintenance stage. Increasing of pros and decreasing of cons could be useful.

 Background and Objective: Substance abuse is a worldwide problem and converted to a big challenge for human society. The trend of this phenomenon is rapidly increasing in the world and our country . Because of quick change of substance abuse profile, a comprehensive assessment for exact identification of this phenomenon is needed. The present study was designed to evaluate the association between substance abuse route and age related factors in substance abuser.

 Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study (2008), 120 subjects referred to the addiction clinic of Panje-Azar Hospital in Gorgan, Golestan University and medical sciences were selected via systemic random sampling. The data was gathered by a questionnaire and interview and analyzed by, using SPSS software, ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test (P<0.05).

 Results: The mean age of the subjects is 34.2±10.96, with the range of 16-66 years. The subjects are males (107 89.2%) and married (78 65%). The first Substance abuse of 87 (72.5%) is opium, which is the most commonly abused substance before withdrawal for 64.2% of the subjects. The main causes of the first use are having pleasure (38.8%), getting rid of psychological problem (23.3%) and being curios (23.3%). Sixty (50%) of them report that they first experienced it at home. The relation between age and route of substance abuse is statistically significant (P=0.025).

 Conclusion: According to rapid change in substance abuse profile and the characteristics of addicted people, periodically assessments are necessary for identifying this phenomenon and planning evidence based preventive plans.

  Background and Objective: surgery is a stressful experience and in open heart surgery, the patients are greatly faced with anxiety, which has been reduced by different approaches. This study aimed to investigate the effects of aromatherapy on anxiety level.

  Material and Methods: This blinded- randomized- controlled clinical trial was carried out on 90 patients divided into two groups of intervention and control. the patients of intervention group were asked to inhale two drops of lavender essential oil and those of control group two drops of distilled water poured on a gauze , for 20 minutes. In addition to measuring patients’ anxiety level by Spielberger questionnaire, we recorded their vital signs. Using SPSS 16 software, the data was described via mean, standard deviation and percent, and analyzed by using independent t-test, paired t-test, Chi Square and Covariance (0.05).

  Results: The mean age of intervention group was 50.49 ± 10.92 and control group was 50.13 ± 9.20. Anxiety score in intervention group was significantly decreased from 56.37±5.6 to 54.73±5.42 and in control group meaningfully reduced from 55.18±7.35 to 54.0±7.22 (p<0.05). The mean anxiety score in the intervention group was significantly higher than that of control group (p<0.05).

  Conclusion: Because anxiety reduction in aromatherapy group was more than control group it can be concluded that aromatherapy with lavender essential oil have significant effect in reducing anxiety and therefore can be used in clinical situations.

 Background and objective : ­ Adolescence is a significant stage of social and psychosocial development. This particular period of crisis involves some problems, one of the most important ones is the loss of self-esteem . Hence, this study aimed at investigating the effect of group cognitive behavioral hypnotherapy on increasing adolescents' self-esteem .

 Material and Methods: The research population ( n= 250) of the current study is the ­adolescents living in a boarding school of Taibad city, Iran, in 2012 academic year. Using convenience sampling, the subjects were selected and asked to fill out Copper Smite self-esteem Inventory, and considering the cut-off point of 23, 30 adolescences with the lowest self-esteem were randomly placed in two groups of control and experimental .The subjects of experimental group were taken part in 8 two- hour- long sessions of cognitive behavioral hypnotherapy while the ones of control group did not receive any training . At the end of this period, the subjects’ self-esteem was measured again and compared with pre-test by Ancova test, using SPSS soft ware (version 19).

 Results: Ancova test analysis indicates that the self-esteem score in group cognitive behavioral hypnotherapy compared with the control group is significantly increased (p<0.01).

  Conclusion :­­ Group cognitive behavioral hypnotherapy can lead to increased self-esteem in teenagers. Further researches accompanying by periods of follow-up are recommended.

Background and Objective: Attitude toward the use of drug has an effective role in tendency to the use and withdrawal of the drug.  This study aimed to determine the predictive role of demographic factors and personality attitudes towards the impacts, risks and Substance Abuse in the students of Azad University, Damghan Branch.

Material and Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 200 students via convenience sampling. The  data  was collected  by Delavar Addiction  Questionnaire and NEO personality inventory , and analyzed by  Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple  regression analysis.

Results: Accordance with regression analysis, eight factors of conscientiousness, openness to experiences, neuroticism, Agreeableness, gender, household income, parental education, and age can significantly predict 41% of the variance related to the attitude toward the effects of drug. Furthermore, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism can predict 35% of the variance referring to the attitudes about the dangers of drug.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that personality characteristics, marital status and income can play  a decisive role in people's attitudes towards drugs.