Advances in medical education and practice
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Social determinants of health (SDH) are responsible for significant health disparities, morbidity and mortality. It is important to acculturate trainees to identify and document SDH. This can elevate their perceptions related to the importance and relevance of SDH. Documentation can encourage trainees to see SDH as factors which medical providers should address. ⋯ Students' voluntary logging of SDH codes demonstrates they perceived these factors to be important and relevant to patient encounters. Future analyses will examine students' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practice patterns related to SDH.
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Approximately one-third of the US population lives at or near the poverty line; however, this group makes up less than 7% of the incoming medical students. In the United Kingdom, the ratio of those of the highest social stratum is 30 times greater than those of the lowest to receive admission to medical school. In an effort to address health disparities and improve patient care, the authors argue that significant barriers must be overcome for the children of the disadvantaged to gain admission to medical school. ⋯ Structural barriers to admission are reviewed. Given the multi-dimensional and cumulative nature of poverty, we conclude that absent significant and sustained intervention, medical school applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds will remain few and workforce issues affecting the care patients receive will not be resolved. The role of physicians and medical schools and advocating for necessary societal changes to alleviate this dynamic are highlighted.
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Demand for generalist health professional knowledge and skills in pediatric palliative care (PPC) is growing in response to heightened recognition of the benefits of a palliative approach across the neonatal, pediatric, adolescent and young adult lifespan. This study investigates factors that enhanced PPC workforce capability and education outcomes in metropolitan and regional areas through the integration of dedicated educator roles within specialist pediatric palliative care (SPPC) teams through a national education project. ⋯ This study contributes to a growing body of knowledge on innovative and responsive mechanisms for enhancing workforce capability in PPC and provides additional evidence to support funding of dedicated educator roles in specialist PPC services.
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Critical appraisal is an important skill for clinicians of the future which medical students often have limited opportunities to develop. This study aimed to evaluate whether a national journal club session could improve medical students' confidence with critical appraisal. ⋯ This is the first study to demonstrate that a single national journal club session can significantly improve UK medical students' confidence with the critical appraisal process. These opportunities are valued by medical students.
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Introduction: Point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) as a useful bedside tool is growing. Few studies have examined residents' attitude towards POCUS or compared POCUS image interpretation skills between residents with and without POCUS training in medical school. Material and Methods: We distributed an anonymous survey and image interpretation test to assess residents' attitude towards POCUS, confidence, and skills in interpreting POCUS images and videos. ⋯ Conclusion: Our residents seem very interested in POCUS. PGY-1 residents with prior POCUS training in medical school seem to have higher confidence in their POCUS skills than PGY-1 residents without prior training and outperformed them in image interpretation test. The study is very instructive in building our future POCUS curriculum for residents.