Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · Jan 2025
Interviews to Assess a Peer Health Navigator Service for People Who Are Transgender or Gender Diverse.
People who are transgender or gender diverse (PTGD) often experience difficulties navigating the health care system due to a variety of factors such as lack of knowledgeable and/or culturally competent clinicians, discrimination, and structural and/or socioeconomic barriers. We sought to determine whether a peer health navigator service in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan helped connect transgender and gender-diverse clients and health care practitioners (HCPs) to resources, and how this service changed their health care experiences. ⋯ Clients and HCPs alike emphasized that the navigator's lived experience was invaluable and allowed them to empathize with PTGD and provide support. Furthermore, the navigators acted as a direct connection to health care services, which helped improve access for clients. Our findings underscore the need for navigator positions to become permanent within the provincial health system to improve the health care experiences of PTGD in Saskatchewan.
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Annals of family medicine · Jan 2025
Not Like They Used To: The Decline of Procedural Competency in Medical Training.
As a primary care pediatrician trained before work hour restrictions were enacted, I spent hours mastering procedures that trainees today rarely perform. The changing landscape of health care clinician roles, technology, and work hour restrictions have all contributed to a remarkable decline in trainees' procedural competence which has significant negative effects for patients, health care systems, and physicians themselves. I suggest simulation, live training, mentoring, and scheduled opportunities as ways to reemphasize the importance of learning these technical skills.
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Annals of family medicine · Jan 2025
Impact of Financial Incentives and Department Size on Scholarly Activity Output.
Family medicine research is essential to improving population health. It has the unique ability to answer questions about health care outcomes and use those insights to impact communities. Increasing research capacity continues to be a challenge; however, recent literature has touted the success of incentivization in several academic medicine specialties. We used the 2022 CERA annual Family Medicine Department Chair survey to characterize the amount and type of scholarly activities by institutional financial incentive status (yes or no) and type (flat vs variable amount), to investigate the relationship between financial incentives and scholarly output. ⋯ Institutions aiming to increase their family medicine department scholarly productivity might benefit from focusing resources on increasing their faculty size such as adding consultants, statistical analysts, grant writers, or other research staff.
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The impact of the Supreme Court of the United States ruling against race-conscious admissions extends beyond college admissions to professional schools. Based partially on the idea that enough time had elapsed for achievement of the stated goals of affirmative action, the court ruled race-conscious admissions are unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The ruling left a crack in the door to higher education, however, allowing students to write an essay showing how race or ethnicity affected their lives. ⋯ Admissions committees should complete implicit bias and cultural humility training. Support and allocation of funds must be provided to maintain training. Safeguards must ensure applicant and institutional legal compliance.