scholarly journals Considerations for Selecting Applicants to Rural Medicine Programs

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bramm

The selection of medical students destined for rural practice is important in order to help provide access to care for the 20% of the US population who live in rural America.  Knowing which medical school applicants will go into rural practice is an inexact science, although the objective predictive characteristics of future rural doctors are well known and evident in the literature.  The role of rural program directors is to identify which applicants will likely choose a FM residency, done primarily by identifying which rural predictive characteristics the applicants possess. Admissions committee members are not expected to determine the likely practice locations of rural applicants, and need only have the responsibility of determining which applicants should become physicians.

Author(s):  
Diêgo Andrade de Oliveira ◽  
Rosângela Souza Lessa ◽  
Suzana Cristina Silva Ribeiro ◽  
Pedro Fonseca de Vasconcelos

Abstract: Introduction: In the context of medical school, the development of methodologies that stimulate the students’ search for learning, autonomy and creativity are essential for medical education in Brazil. The study aims to describe the construction of infographics as a pedagogical proposal for the learning of organic human aging processes by medical students. Method: Medical students attending the 4th period at a Higher Education Institution built infographics, as a requirement for the practical content of the Aging Process module. The static-type infographic was adopted, following criteria such as the definition of the target audience; definition of the objective; choice of topic; selection of the most relevant information (focus); direct and accessible language; organized information; choices of color palettes and style and; infographic sketch. The entire creation process was supervised by the teacher in charge of the project, and evaluation criteria were previously established. Results: The class was divided into seven groups, resulting in the production of an infographic with a specific topic per group. The human aging topics were: Degenerative Joint Diseases, Bone Weakness, Pneumonia in the Elderly, Acute Myocardial Infarction, Vascular Dementia, Atherosclerosis and Herpes Zoster. It is worth noting that in addition to the creation, each group presented the final product to the other colleagues, explaining each item included in the static infographic. Conclusions: We observed that the students satisfactorily met the proposed evaluation requirements, demonstrating their involvement in the construction of infographics and, above all, in simple, creative and objective learning, using a powerful visual tool. We also add that the printed material will be used as aid in the histology laboratory and in extramural activities.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S126-S127
Author(s):  
Jack Blake ◽  
George El-Nimr

AimsStigma towards psychiatry feels rife within medical school and this extends from university life into clinical placements. Mental health remains an unattractive area of medicine and is frequently regarded as subpar by other specialists. Against existing literature, this study compares the authors first hand experiences over the last five years within medical school to evaluate how representative their experiences of stigma in psychiatry are for the wider community and published literature. The study aims to inform the wider discussion on this topic and offer areas where intervention may yield a better perception and hence uptake of this specialism.MethodLiterature review relating to the topic was completed. Studies pertaining to medical students and/or educators views and experiences of psychiatric medical education and clinical placement were included for discussion. A reflection on the first author's specific experiences to date of psychiatry and his intent to pursue psychiatric career was conducted, with careful reference to existing literature. This allowed validating personal experiences in light of shared experience within the medical community in various national and international settings.ResultArguably, some non-psychiatric clinicians do inadvertently set the scene early in medical school for the stigma that is to be thrust upon students. This builds upon prospective students ranking psychiatry low for satisfaction, prestige and stating it to be a ‘pseudoscience’ or words to that effect. The lack of understanding from junior medical students of the role of the psychiatrist sees them associating psychosocial education as equivalent to psychiatry. This reinforces the idea of psychiatry being grounded in sciences other than anatomy, biochemistry, physiology and pharmacology. On clinical placement, there is little cross-speciality support for those students who want to be psychiatrists and sometimes even lost opportunities for those publically aspiring towards psychiatry. Placements in psychiatry give students a better understanding of psychiatry but this does not seem to significantly change their career aspirations and this is rather defined from the admission stages.ConclusionAfter comparing experience with literature, stigma towards psychiatry appears to be universal. It may be important to consider the types of students who are being attracted to medical school as currently students seem to have an intrinsic disinterest in psychiatry despite later becoming better informed through psychiatric placement. Culture is notoriously hard to change, particularly within medicine. This stigma exists both in the lay and medical communities with early potentially inaccurate lay views of psychiatry being validated and reinforced throughout medical school.


2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 336-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah M. Gramlich ◽  
Dana Lee Olstad ◽  
Roseanne Nasser ◽  
Laki Goonewardene ◽  
Maitreyi Raman ◽  
...  

Patients routinely seek physicians’ guidance about diet and the relation between nutrition and the prevention and treatment of disease. However, the adequacy of nutrition instruction in undergraduate medical education is questionable. The purpose of this study was to investigate Canadian medical students’ perceptions of and satisfaction with their education in nutrition. At 9 universities across Canada, a 23-item survey questionnaire was distributed in English and French to undergraduate medical students after at least 8 months of medical school. Overall, 9 of 17 universities participated in the survey, and 933 of the 3267 medical students approached completed the survey (response rate, 28.6%). Mean satisfaction with nutrition instruction received during medical school was 4.7 (±0.06) on a scale of 1–10, where 1 is very dissatisfied and 10 is very satisfied, and there were significant differences among schools (p < 0.0001). Students were comfortable in their ability to counsel patients regarding basic nutrition concepts and the role of nutrition in prevention of disease, but were much less comfortable discussing the role of nutrition in the treatment of disease and nutrient requirements across the lifecycle, and in identifying credible sources of nutrition information. Of the 933 respondents, 87.2% believe that their undergraduate program should dedicate more time to nutrition education. The amount of nutrition instruction correlated with student satisfaction (p < 0.0001), but varied among schools. A significant number of students are dissatisfied with the nutrition education they receive and their ability to provide relevant and appropriate nutrition counselling. This study paves the way for further discussions and development of strategies to improve nutrition education in medical schools in Canada.


2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina Waight, MD ◽  
Abeba Berhane, MD ◽  
Lorenzo Orton, MD ◽  
Sandro Cinti, MD ◽  
John E. Billi, MD ◽  
...  

Objectives: To better define the role of the medical students in the event of a disaster requiring a surge response in healthcare systems.Setting: The University of Michigan Medical School and Health System, where staffing plans for a pandemic flu were actively taking place.Subjects: All medical students at the University of Michigan.Interventions: The authors surveyed medical students to evaluate how they felt they could contribute during a pandemic flu.Results: Of the students who completed the survey, 88 percent of the respondents felt that students should formally be incorporated into the health system’s staffing plan during a pandemic. This survey further identified the specific patient care tasks that students felt comfortable performing, which may be of value to medical school and hospital administration that are considering inclusion of medical students into their pandemic planning.Conclusions: There should be formal inclusion of medical students into health systems’ staffing plans in the case of pandemic flu, as they are valuable first responders who are both willing and able to participate in the pandemic response.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-31
Author(s):  
Michael Tyler Pratte

How is medicine practiced on the other side of the world? As medical students in Canada, we learn much about pathophysiology and the North American healthcare system. Yet important observations can be made about how other cultures deliver care that can be used to help us address shortcomings of our own. In this opinion piece, I use my experience studying cardiac surgery in Shanghai, China to explore how each country confronts a similar problem: access to care in rural medicine. Despite their differences, both China and Canada come to creative solutions, reflecting the incredible diversity of their patients.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Grace Crowley ◽  
Sube Banerjee ◽  
Lisa Page ◽  
Stephanie Daley

Aims and method This study aimed to explore factors that positively influence UK medical students’ interest in psychiatry. Delegates and committee members of the National Student Psychiatry Conference 2018 were invited to participate in individual semi-structured interviews. Nine interviews were conducted. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four core themes emerged: psychiatry education and exposure, role of a psychiatrist, fitting in, and factors external to medical school. All students had some degree of interest in mental health before medical school, but placement and extra-curricular factors were strongly influential. Implications Interest in psychiatry may be promoted by facilitating student exposure to enthusiastic psychiatrists and psychiatry subspecialties, encouraging extra-curricular activities and identifying early those with pre-existing interest in mental health on admission to medical school. Aspects of psychiatry that should be promoted include the potential to make a positive difference to patients’ lives and the teamworking elements of the specialty.


2019 ◽  
pp. 58-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Urnov

As a self-proclaimed “Global Leader” the United States have made “the assertion, advancement, support and defense of democracy” throughout the world one of the pillars of their foreign policy. This aim invariably figures in all Washington’s program documents pertaining to Africa. A major component of these efforts is an assistance to regular, free and fair elections. The selection of arguments cited to justify such activities has been done skilfully. In each specific case it is emphasized that the United States do not side with any competing party, stand “above the battle”, work for the perfection of electoral process, defend the rights of opposition and rank and file votes, render material and technical help to national electoral committees. Sounds irreproachable. However, the real situation is different. The study of the US practical activities in this field allows to conclude that Washington has one-sidedly awarded itself a role of a judge and supervisor of developments related to elections in the sovereign countries of Africa, tries to control the ways they are prepared and conducted. These activities signify an interference into the internal affairs of African states. The scale and forms of such interference differ and is subjected to tasks the USA try to resolve in this or that country on the national, regional or global levels. However, everywhere it serves as an instrument of penetration and strengthening of the US influence, enhancing the US political presence in African countries. The right of the US to perform this role is presented as indisputable. Sceptics are branded as opponents of democracy. The author explores the US positions and activities connected with elections in Africa during the last years of B.Obama and first two years of D.Trump presidencies. He shows how their policy have been implemented on the continental level and in regard to several countries – South Sudan, Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Nigeria, Somali, Kenya, Uganda.


2020 ◽  
pp. 39-70
Author(s):  
Luigi Benfratello ◽  
Giuseppe Sorrenti ◽  
Gilberto Turati

We study whether, alongside with an explicit tracking system separating students in general versus vocational curricula typical in European countries, the Italian highly centralised public schooling is also characterised by another implicit tracking system, typical of the US, separating students mostly by ability and income within the same track. We pursue this aim by considering the municipality of Turin, a post-industrialised urban context in Northern Italy. We proxy students' ability and skills with the score obtained at the standardised admission test at the School of Economics and Business of the local university. We find evidence of heterogeneity across tracks and schools within the same track, which suggests that the inequality patterns common in the Italian schooling system are affected by both types of tracking. We then discuss the potential sources of this US-style tracking, namely self-selection of better students in better schools, observed and unobserved school characteristics and income stratification. As for the role of income, we find limited evidence of residential segregation, but students from better socio-economic backgrounds travel more, exploiting information on school quality.


Hematology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hillmen

AbstractParoxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare, chronic, debilitating, acquired disorder that most frequently presents in early adulthood and usually continues throughout the life of a patient. PNH results in the death of approximately half of affected individuals, mainly through thrombotic complications, and until recently had no specific therapy. In 2007 eculizumab, an anti-complement antibody targeting the C5 complement component was approved for PNH by both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). Eculizumab is very effective in the treatment of intravascular hemolysis and all its sequelae, which include most of the symptoms and complications of PNH. Eculizumab has revolutionized our approach to hemolytic PNH and as it markedly reduces the principal complications of PNH, namely thrombosis and renal failure, should have a significant impact on survival. However, the development of eculizumab presents new challenges in PNH, such as how to avoid complications of therapy, how to overcome some of the problems associated with treatment and who to select for treatment, as only a proportion of patients with a PNH clone will benefit. This article will review the evidence behind the use of eculizumab in PNH, the effect it will have on the complications of the disease, the most appropriate selection of patients for therapy, the optimal management and the potential complications of the therapy.


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