BMC medical education
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BMC medical education · May 2016
Chinese oncologists' knowledge, attitudes and practice towards palliative care and end of life issues.
Oncologists` knowledge and attitudes to palliative care (PC) and end of life (EOF) should be highlighted in order to give them effective education. This study is intended to provide a descriptive analysis of oncologists' knowledge, attitudes and practice toward PC and EOF issues in Mainland China. ⋯ This study indicated the insufficient knowledge toward PC and related issues of the Chinese oncologists. More attention should be paid on the education of PC among Oncologists in Mainland China.
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BMC medical education · May 2016
Supporting near-peer teaching in general practice: a national survey.
Training bodies see teaching by junior doctors and vocational trainees in general practice (family medicine) as integral to a doctor's role. While there is a body of literature on teacher training programs, and on peer and near-peer teaching in hospitals and universities, there has been little examination of near-peer teaching in general practice. Near-peer teaching is teaching to those close to oneself but not at the same level in the training continuum. This study investigated the perceptions of key stakeholders on near-peer teaching in general practice, their current near-peer teaching activities, and methods of recruitment and support. ⋯ Near-peer teaching was supported by the majority of stakeholders, but is underutilised and has poor structural support. Guidelines may be required to help supervisors better support learners in this role and manage quality issues related to teaching.
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BMC medical education · May 2016
Current training provision and training needs in oral health for UK general practice trainees: survey of General Practitioner Training Programme Directors.
In the UK the incidence of oral cancers has risen by a third in the last decade, and there have been minimal improvements in survival rates. Moreover, a significant proportion of the population no longer access dental health services regularly, instead presenting their oral health concerns to their General Medical Practitioner. Therefore, General Practitioners (GP) have an important role in the diagnosis of oral health pathologies and the earlier detection of oral cancers. This study aims to understand the current provision of training in oral health and cancer for GP trainees and to identify how unmet training needs could be met. ⋯ This UK-wide survey has identified important gaps in the training of GP trainees in relation to oral health care and cancer detection. Addressing these knowledge and skill gaps, particularly in the identification of oral cancers, will help to improve oral health and, more importantly, the timely diagnosis of oral cancer.
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BMC medical education · May 2016
Professional learning needs in using video calls identified through workshops.
Most people want to die at home but only half do. Supporting patients in rural locations is challenging. Video calls such as Skype, might help but are not routinely used; we should consider learning needs to increase uptake and ensure effective use. We aimed to identify learning needs of healthcare professionals (HCPs) in using video calls to support patients (and their carers) to die at home. ⋯ Although almost ubiquitous, video call software is not routinely and effectively used in British clinical practice. Supporting patients and families at end-of-life is one example where it could be used to advantage, but clinicians need to plan and practise before using it in real situations. Learning needs were identified that could be developed into learning modules and/or courses.
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BMC medical education · May 2016
Summer undergraduate research: A new pipeline for pain clinical practice and research.
Most medical schools fail to provide adequate training of clinicians in the treatment of pain. Similarly, despite the fact that over 1/3 of Americans suffer from chronic pain, National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for pain represents only ~1% of the NIH budget. These issues may dissuade students from pursing pain in their clinical and research careers. To address these gaps in training and funding, we argue that exposing students to pain science early in their careers, at the undergraduate level, may be an effective method to develop a pipeline for future pain clinicians and scientists. To highlight our argument, we will describe our recent successful implementation of a cross-disciplinary and community-engaged biomedical summer research program. The Pain Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) summer program involved both off-site and on-site experiences to expose undergraduate students to the range of careers in the pain field from basic science to clinical practice. The objective of the 10-week long PURE program was to evaluate whether a combination of basic science research, clinical practice visits, and patient interactions would increase student understanding of and exposure to the underlying science of pain. ⋯ With the PURE program, we wanted to entice top undergraduates to consider pain as a future area of study, practice, and/or research. We present a model that can be easily implemented at research universities throughout the United States.