Family medicine
-
Innovations in medical school training are essential for family physicians to enter practice confident in addressing the opioid epidemic and substance use disorders. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a distance-learning addiction medicine curriculum led by family medicine physicians for third-year medical students. ⋯ Data from our LIC showed promise that the model can be effective in building confidence in students' abilities to practice addiction medicine. Because of its broad reach and low cost, this form of medical education may be a key model for medical schools to respond to the opioid epidemic and better serve our patients.
-
Workforce diversity is associated with improved health outcomes. Currently, primary care physicians who are underrepresented in medicine (URiM) disproportionately work in underserved areas. Increasingly, URiM faculty describe experiencing imposter syndrome (IS), including a sense of not belonging in their work environment and a lack of recognition. Studies of IS among family medicine faculty are not prevalent nor are the factors most associated with IS among URiMs and non-URiMs. The objectives of our study were to (1) determine prevalence of IS among URiM faculty compared to non-URiM faculty; (2) determine factors associated with IS among both URiM and non-URiM faculty. ⋯ While URiMs are not more likely than non-URiMS to experience frequent/intense IS, they are more likely to report racial/ethnic discrimination, inadequate mentorship, and low professional integration and belonging. These factors are associated with IS and may be reflective of how institutionalized racism impedes mentorship and optimal professional integration, which may be internalized and perceived as IS among URiM faculty. Yet, URiM career success in academic medicine is crucial for achieving health equity.
-
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) education has become a mainstay in resident education in multiple specialties, including family medicine (FM), but literature regarding the use of POCUS during clinical medical student education is lacking. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether and how POCUS education is conducted in FM clerkships in the United States and Canada and how it compares to more traditional FM clinical procedural instruction. ⋯ Structured POCUS education is a rare component of FM clerkship education; while more than half of clerkship directors felt that POCUS was important for FM, few used it personally or included it in clerkship education. As POCUS continues to be integrated into medical education in FM, the clerkship may represent an opportunity to expand POCUS exposure for students.
-
Improving diversity in the physician workforce continues to be a challenge and a priority for medical schools. Establishing a school-wide mission statement that addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion can help support efforts to increase the number of underrepresented in medicine (URM) graduates. ⋯ Changing medical schools' mission statements to reflect values of diversity, equity, and inclusion was associated with an increase of less than a 1% per year in URM representation. More research is needed to explore relationships between URM representation and medical school mission statements.