Medical education
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To investigate junior doctors' views about careers in academic medicine. ⋯ The job content of academic posts should be kept under regular review to ensure that clinical service pressures do not inappropriately erode research time while also ensuring that postholders have adequate clinical training. Training programmes need flexibility to accommodate the needs of clinical academics in their progress through higher specialist training.
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To assess whether organizers of continuing medical education for general practitioners used principles of adult learning when designing their meetings. ⋯ Given concern about the quality of educational meetings as assessed by their educational impact, formal approval is not an indicator of quality. Postgraduate bodies should use explicit criteria both in the development and approval of continuing educational meetings.
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In multiple-choice tests using a 'don't-know' option the number of correct minus incorrect answers was used as the test score (formula scoring) in order to reduce the measurement error resulting from random guessing. In the literature diverging results are reported when comparing formula scoring and number-right scoring, the scoring method without the don't-know option. ⋯ In deciding what scoring method to use, less bias (number-right scoring) has to be weighed against higher reliability (formula scoring). Apart from these psychometric reasons educational factors must be considered.
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Whilst most patients are happy to participate in medical examinations, previous studies have shown that some are dissatisfied with the information that they receive beforehand. ⋯ Written information led to a (near significant) improvement in patients satisfaction when compared to a previous cohort. We recommend that all patients attending for medical examinations should be provided with written information.
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For several months 1 and a team of fellow performers were involved, as simulated bereaved relatives, with a research project based in hospitals in the north-west of England. The project, the European Donor Hospital Education Programme, EDHEP (UK), was set up in order to provide a research input into the already established EDHEP in Europe. ⋯ The associated research was initiated by an international grouping of clinical psychologists with the purpose of assessing the efficacy of the training schedule Results are expected soon from the main body of research, some aspects of which provide analytical data drawn from encounters between health care professionals and actors as simulated relatives. Here, however, the experiences and feelings of the 'relatives' themselves are described, discussed and reflected upon.