Implementing Wilderness Medicine Training for Undergraduate Medical Students in the UK

ObjectiveThis systematic review aimed to explore consultant attitudes towards teaching undergraduate medical students in the UK.DesignSystematic review.MethodologyStandard systematic review methodology was followed. MEDLINE, EMBASE and OpenGrey were searched from inception to August 2019 to identify studies exploring senior doctors’ attitudes towards teaching undergraduate medical students. Two reviewers independently carried out key methodological steps including study screening/selection, quality assessment and data extraction. A narrative synthesis was undertaken.ResultsFive studies were included in the review dating 2003–2015. Two studies used questionnaires, and three used focus groups/semistructured interviews. Key findings identified across all studies were consultants generally found teaching undergraduate medical students enjoyable, and consultants identified time constraints as a barrier to teaching. Other findings were consultants feeling there was a lack of recognition for time spent teaching, and a lack of training/guidance regarding teaching students.ConclusionsThis is the first systematic review to explore senior hospital doctors’ attitudes towards teaching undergraduate medical students. Despite these five studies spanning 12 years, the same attitudes and issues regarding teaching are identified by all, suggesting lack of time particularly is a persistent problem regarding consultant-based teaching. An anecdotal impression is that consultants are no longer as enthusiastic about teaching as they once were, but it is evident over the 12 years of these studies that enjoyment levels, and presumably enthusiasm, have not changed significantly.

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The NHS reforms: good, bad or neutral? Medical students debate at the College

Bulletin of The Royal College of Surgeons of England ◽

10.1308/147363512x13189526440113 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 94 (3) ◽

pp. 88-89

Author(s):

Fiona McClenaghan ◽

Finn Stevenson

Keyword(s):

Medical Student ◽

Medical Students ◽

Medical Schools ◽

Positive Change ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

The Future ◽

Surgical Career ◽

The Uk

The Professor Harold Ellis Medical Student Prize for Surgery, held at the close of 2011, threw open to debate the question of whether the reforms currently under way in the NHS are 'good, bad or neutral'. Sixteen undergraduate medical students with hopes of a surgical career were invited to the College from medical schools all across the UK to present their case either for or against Andrew Lansley's proposed reforms. After giving a five-minute presentation to fellow students, participants were questioned by fellows of the College and Professor Ellis himself. The conclusions reached represented a complete range of opinion from great anticipation of positive change to great concern over the future of the NHS. Both authors were highly commended for their presentations and here we aim briefly to set out our differing opinions on the reforms of the NHS.

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Clinical Educator-Facilitated Schwartz Centre Rounds in Second-Year Medical Students: “A Facilitated Whinge”?

10.21203/rs.3.rs-21637/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Joshua Smith ◽

Molly Stewart ◽

Emily Foggin ◽

Stuart Matthews ◽

Joanne Harris ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Role Model ◽

Effective Means ◽

Junior Doctors ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Clinical Exposure ◽

Social And Emotional ◽

Clinical Educator ◽

Clinical Educators ◽

The Uk

Abstract Background Medical students are increasingly being exposed to the clinic at early stages in their education, with the benefits becoming widely realised. This early exposure to such a highly pressurized environment can result in increased levels of stress and emotional unrest. Schwartz Center Rounds, reflective forums primed to aid social and emotional issues healthcare professionals’ experience, are now a relatively common and effective means to combat these effects in hospitals in the UK and USA. Recent studies show that the Schwartz Center Round format may also provide positive benefits for medical students. It has been suggested that students may be able to develop good coping strategies from discussions with “real” professionals.Methods This study investigated whether the guidance of Schwartz Center Rounds in year 2 of an MBChB by junior doctors enriches students’ appreciation and benefits of the Schwartz Center Round.Results The results reinforce the concept that Schwartz Center Rounds are an effective way of fostering empathy and understanding towards both patients and colleagues. Moreover, the facilitation of the Round by Clinical Educators, who also act as an imperfect role model, provides a pertinence to the exercise. The results show that early-year undergraduate medical students generally engage positively with SRs and demonstrate an ability to empathise with each other and share feelings regarding early clinical exposure without inhibition. However, correlation analyses suggest that engagement with the Schwartz Center Round is fundamental to gaining an understanding of its purpose and concurrently gain the most awareness of the emotional needs of themselves, their colleagues and patients.Conclusion Schwartz Center Rounds are an effective way of fostering empathy and understanding towards patients and colleagues in the healthcare environment. There is some evidence that the inclusion of Clinical Educators made the Round feel more pertinent to the students with the junior doctors’ clinical experiences being described as a useful addition to the discussion. Moreover, the students that benefitted most from the Round were the ones who engaged with and understood the process best and therefore it is important to help students realise that Schwartz Rounds are not merely a “facilitated whinge”.

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Medical students’ attitudes toward people with dementia: an international investigation

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610213001737 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 165-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ellen StClair Tullo ◽

Tony Johnstone Young

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Cultural Norms ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Entry Level ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Medical Undergraduates ◽

Students Attitudes ◽

The Uk ◽

Changing Demographics

ABSTRACTBackground:The changing demographics of societies mean that medical students worldwide must be sufficiently prepared to care competently for patients with dementia through development of appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes. No previous research had explored undergraduate medical students’ attitudes toward people with dementia.Methods:An adapted version of the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ) was completed by 501 medical undergraduates in years 1, 3, and 5 of their degree programs in the UK and Malaysia. Non-parametric statistical analysis focused on any differences between year groups and geographical locations.Results:The mean ADQ response indicated a generally positive attitude across the sample, comparable with other healthcare professionals previously surveyed. Year 3 and year 5 students expressed significantly more positive attitudes than year 1 students. Year 1 students based in the UK expressed significantly more positive attitudes than year 1 student based in Malaysia, but there were no significant differences between year 3 students based in different locations.Conclusion:The more positive attitudes found amongst year 3 and year 5 students compared to year 1 may be a result of teaching emphasizing a person-centered approach. The differences between entry-level students from Malaysia and the UK may reflect variance in cultural norms and expectations, or the ADQ's “Western” origin. Medical schools aiming to equip students with dementia-specific skills and knowledge can draw on the generally positive attitudes found in this study.

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Medical students’ experience of the hidden curriculum around primary care careers: a qualitative exploration of reflective diaries

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049825 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. e049825

Author(s):

Ravi Parekh ◽

Melvyn Mark Jones ◽

Surinder Singh ◽

Jack Shi Jie Yuan ◽

See Chai Carol Chan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Role Models ◽

Career Choices ◽

Hidden Curriculum ◽

Student Perception ◽

Phenomenological Approach ◽

Medical Schools ◽

Junior Doctors ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

The Uk

ObjectivesPrimary healthcare internationally is facing a workforce crisis with fewer junior doctors choosing general practice (GP) as a career. In the UK, a national report on GP careers highlighted adverse influences during medical school on students’ career choices. The authors explored these influences in two urban UK medical schools, both with relatively low numbers of students entering GP training.DesignUsing a phenomenological approach, the authors thematically analysed the reflective diaries of four medical students who were recruited as ‘participant researchers’ over a period of 10 months. These students made regular reflexive notes about their experiences related to GP career perceptions in their academic and personal environments, aiming to capture both positive and negative perceptions of GP careers. The research team discussed emerging data and iteratively explored and developed themes.SettingTwo UK medical schoolsParticipantsUndergraduate medical studentsResultsSeven key themes were identified: the lack of visibility and physicality of GP work, the lack of aspirational GP role models, students’ perceptions of a GP career as default, the performativity of student career choice with the perceptions of success linked to specialism, societal perceptions of GP careers, gender stereotyping of career choices and the student perception of life as a GP.ConclusionsStudents overwhelmingly reflected on negative cues to GP careers, particularly through their experience of the hidden curriculum. Three recommendations are made: the need for increased representation of GP role models in clinical curricula content delivery and senior leadership; ensuring GP clerkships involve an active and authentic student role with patients, enabling students to experience GP’s ‘work’ including managing complexity, uncertainty and risk. Finally, institutions need to consider students’ experiences of the hidden curriculum and the effect this can have on students’ perception of careers, alongside the challenges of rankings and perceived hierarchical positioning of disciplines.

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Consensus-based antimicrobial resistance and stewardship competencies for UK undergraduate medical students

JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

10.1093/jacamr/dlaa096 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

Author(s):

David McMaster ◽

Molly Courtenay ◽

Catherine Santucci ◽

Angharad P Davies ◽

Andrew Kirby ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

Undergraduate Medical Education ◽

Antimicrobial Stewardship ◽

Online Survey ◽

Undergraduate Curriculum ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

The Uk

Abstract Background In the UK there is limited coverage of antimicrobial stewardship across postgraduate curricula and evidence that final year medical students have insufficient and inconsistent antimicrobial stewardship teaching. A national undergraduate curriculum for antimicrobial resistance and stewardship is required to standardize an adequate level of understanding for all future doctors. Objectives To provide a UK national consensus on competencies for antimicrobial resistance and stewardship for undergraduate medical education. Methods Using the modified Delphi method over two online survey rounds, an expert panel comprising leads for infection teaching from 25 UK medical schools reviewed competency descriptors for antimicrobial resistance and stewardship education. Results There was a response rate of 100% with all 28 experts who agreed to take part completing both survey rounds. Following the first-round survey, of the initial 55 descriptors, 43 reached consensus (78%). The second-round survey included the 12 descriptors from the first round in which agreement had not been reached, four amended descriptors and 12 new descriptors following qualitative feedback from the panel members. Following the second-round survey, a total of 58 consensus-based competency descriptors within six overarching domains were identified. Conclusions The consensus-based competency descriptors defined here can be used to inform standards, design curricula, develop assessment tools and direct UK undergraduate medical education.

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Assessing the development of communication skills in undergraduate medical students

Medical Education ◽

10.1046/j.1365-2923.2001.00869.x ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 225-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

G M Humphris ◽

S Kaney

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students

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Using SurveyMonkey® to teach safe social media strategies to medical students in their clinical years

Communication & Medicine ◽

10.1558/cam.v11i2.27556 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 117-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Katrina A. Bramstedt ◽

Ben Ierna ◽

Victoria Woodcroft-Brown

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Medical Students ◽

Media Ethics ◽

Ethical Awareness ◽

Media Technology ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Clinical Rotations ◽

Medical Apps ◽

Practice Of Medicine ◽

Medical Photography

Social media is a valuable tool in the practice of medicine, but it can also be an area of ‘treacherous waters’ for medical students. Those in their upper years of study are off-site and scattered broadly, undertaking clinical rotations; thus, in-house (university lecture) sessions are impractical. Nonetheless, during these clinical years students are generally high users of social media technology, putting them at risk of harm if they lack appropriate ethical awareness. We created a compulsory session in social media ethics (Doctoring and Social Media) offered in two online modes (narrated PowerPoint file or YouTube video) to fourth- and fifth-year undergraduate medical students. The novelty of our work was the use of SurveyMonkey® to deliver the file links, as well as to take attendance and deliver a post-session performance assessment. All 167 students completed the course and provided feedback. Overall, 73% Agreed or Strongly Agreed the course session would aid their professionalism skills and behaviours, and 95% supported delivery of the curriculum online. The most frequent areas of learning occurred in the following topics: email correspondence with patients, medical photography, and awareness of medical apps. SurveyMonkey® is a valuable and efficient tool for curriculum delivery, attendance taking, and assessment activities.

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