J Natl Med Assoc
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Maternal mortality and morbidity are major causes of death in low-resource countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Healthcare workforce scarcities present in these locations result in poor perioperative care access and quality. These scarcities also limit the capacity for progressive development and enhancement of workforce training, and skills through continuing medical education. Newly available low-cost, in-situ simulation systems make it possible for a small cadre of trainers to use simulation to identify areas needing improvement and to rehearse best practice approaches, relevant to the context of target environments. ⋯ This study identified substantial risks to patient care and provides evidence to support the feasibility and value of in-situ simulation-based performance assessment for identifying critical gaps in safe anesthesia care in the low-resource settings. Further investigations may validate the impact and sustainability of simulation based training on skills transfer and retention among anesthesia providers low resource environments.
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Social and cultural outcomes are critically important in medical education. A large medical school located in the United States implemented a learning community model intended to promote social and cultural growth among its medical students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree to which medical students from the same peer cohort were socially connected across racial and sex groups. ⋯ Possible explanations for this are discussed. Future research should continue to investigate the experiences of Black females in medical schools so as to better understand the needs of this important and valuable subpopulation of students.