Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2023
Observational StudyWorkforce challenges across Victorian Medical Oncology Services.
Cancer incidence is growing, with increasing treatment options and durations. This has led to an increase workload on the current oncology workforce. The global pandemic has increased this pressure further. ⋯ The medical oncology workforce in Victoria is inadequate to meet current and future demands. This needs to be addressed urgently to avoid an adverse impact on cancer measures and quality standards. Better, standardised data collection is needed to allow for ongoing measures of workforce activity. Novel workforce solutions will also need to be implemented in the short and medium term in the face of global workforce shortages.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2023
Predicting length of stay for acute medical admissions in New Zealand: the MALICE score.
Predicting length of stay (LoS) in hospital can help guide patient placement, facilitate rapid discharge and aid identification of patients at risk of prolonged stay, in whom early multidisciplinary intervention is warranted. We aimed to pilot the applicability of a modified decision aid (MALICE score) for predicting LoS for acute medical admissions at a New Zealand hospital. ⋯ A statistically significant increase in LoS was seen with rising MALICE scores (H value 26.85, P < 0.001). MALICE scoring could be employed to guide patient placement and identify patients at risk of prolonged stays, though further study of bedside feasibility and applicability is required.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2023
TB, focussed tools, and the right schools: estimated impact and cost of a targeted student screening program for tuberculosis infection.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends targeted screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among high-risk populations. Recent studies that evaluate targeted school-based programmes in low burden settings are scarce. ⋯ This TB strategy is supported by the high rate of TB infection in the student group, the treatment uptake and completion rates. Cost-benefit is linked with lifetime risk of TB reactivation. Targeted school screening programmes represent an important opportunity for TB control in low-burden settings.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2023
Substance use among vocational trainees in Australia: differences between medical specialties.
There have been few large-scale nationally representative studies on the prevalence of substance use among doctors. In addition, the association of different medical specialties with the use of different substances requires further research. ⋯ While rates of substance use and hazardous alcohol use in VT are similar, if not lower, than the general population, it poses a concern that there are higher rates of alcohol use in certain medical specialties.
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Internal medicine journal · Jun 2023
CommentNovel student roles in health care delivery: An example emerging from the COVID-19 health care crisis in 2021.
In 2021, the rapid rise in COVID-19 infections put overwhelming demand on health care services. It was recognised that patients could be managed in the community if an appropriate monitoring service existed. Medical students were recruited for roles that combined technology, teamwork and clinical skills. This is an example of how novel roles can provide solutions in times of health care crises.