The Medical journal of Australia
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To examine the performance in tropical northern Australia of SMART-COP, a simple scoring system developed in temperate Australia to predict the need for intensive respiratory or vasopressor support (IRVS) in pneumonia patients. ⋯ The SMART-COP score underestimates the severity of pneumonia in tropical northern Australia, but can be improved by using locally relevant additions.
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Community-based medical education is growing to meet the increased demand for quality clinical education in expanded settings, and its sustainability relies on patient participation. This study investigated patients' views on being used as an educational resource for teaching medical students. ⋯ Patients in regional and rural settings were willing partners in developing skills of junior medical students, who had greater involvement in patient consultations than previously reported for urban students. Our study extends the findings from urban general practice that patients are underutilised partners in community-based medical training. The support of patients from regional and rural settings could facilitate the expansion of primary care-based medical education in these areas of workforce need.