On being a doctor

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the demographic and academic characteristics of current neurosurgery residents may provide prospective students with insight into factors that affect research output. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the research output among neurosurgery residents. METHODS: US neurosurgery residency programs were abstracted from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons website. Demographic data on 1690 current residents across 119 programs were collected using publicly available institutional websites, Doximity, and LinkedIn...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the views of the general practice training sector about responding to recruitment challenges, with the aim of identifying effective initiatives and other solutions. STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative study; focus group discussion of recommendations from a medical educator workshop. SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: An initial online appreciative enquiry workshop for medical educators followed by focus group discussions by a broader selection of people involved in general practitioner training (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners fellows, supervisors, practice managers, medical educators, registrars)...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to understand the job burnout of village doctors during the COVID-19 epidemic and its influencing factors, and to provide a reference for effectively alleviating the job burnout of village doctors. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among village doctors in S province in December 2021. The survey included a general information questionnaire and the CMBI Burnout Scale. Epidata was used for dual input, and descriptive analysis, t -test, chi-square test, and binary Logistic regression for statistical analysis were used...

Background Ankle fractures are very common injuries seen in an emergency setting. Initial management involves the application of below-knee plaster casts. At our local trauma meetings, we have observed that below-knee casts are often applied incorrectly which can result in suboptimal outcomes for patients and increase the burden on plaster room services if re-application is required. This quality improvement project aimed to assess the quality of below-knee cast applications for ankle fractures in two local district general hospitals (DGHs)...

OBJECTIVE: Despite the increasing use of AI applications as a clinical decision support tool in healthcare, patients are often unaware of their use in the physician's decision-making process. This study aims to determine whether doctors should disclose the use of AI tools in diagnosis and what kind of information should be provided. METHODS: A survey experiment with 1000 respondents in South Korea was conducted to estimate the patients' perceived importance of information regarding the use of an AI tool in diagnosis in deciding whether to receive the treatment...

BACKGROUND: Effective doctor-patient relationships hinge on robust communication skills, with non-verbal communication techniques (NVC) often overlooked, particularly in online synchronous interactions. This study delves into the exploration of NVC types during online feedback sessions for communication skill activities in a medical education module. METHODS: A cohort of 100 first-year medical students and 10 lecturers at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), engaged in communication skills activities via Microsoft Teams...

BACKGROUND: Risk-reducing gynecological surgery (RRGS) is a prophylactic procedure that may be offered to BRCA1, BRCA2, and Lynch syndrome (LS) mutation carriers to reduce the risk of developing gynecological cancer. This study was conducted to better understand patients' information needs and evaluate how patients weigh different sources of information in their decision-making process surrounding RRGS. METHODS: This study used a qualitative approach to understanding women's perspectives towards RRGS...

OBJECTIVE: Psychiatric care in general hospitals depends on collaboration with non-psychiatrist doctors. The Doctors' Attitudes toward Collaborative Care for Mental Health (DACC-MH) is a two-factor scale designed to address this issue and validated in the UK in 2010. However, its applicability in contemporary, culturally diverse settings is unknown and therefore this study was aimed at determining its validity and consistency using data from our 2021 international study. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used, comparing results from our 2021 study (n = 889) with those from the 2010 UK study (n = 225)...

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a pressing global health concern driven by inappropriate antibiotic use, which is in turn influenced by various social, systemic, and individual factors. This study, nested within FIND's AMR Diagnostic Use Accelerator clinical trial in Nepal, aimed to (i) explore the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and healthcare workers (HCWs) on antibiotic prescription adherence and (ii) assess the impact of a training and communication (T&C) intervention on adherence to antibiotic prescriptions...

AIM: Risk behaviour is typical of adolescence and young adulthood, but the consequences can persist for the rest of life - in all domains - physical, psychological, and social. Challenging situations, stress, as well as feelings of a lack of stimulation in an individual's life are considered to be triggers for risky behaviours. Prevention therefore plays a crucial role. The aim of the study was to analyse the current situation in addictive and risky sexual behaviours in a group of university students...

INTRODUCTION: General practitioners (GPs) are mostly the first point of contact for patients with health problems in Germany. There is only a limited epidemiological overview data that describe the GP consultation hours based on other than billing data. Therefore, the aim of Saxon Epidemiological Study in General Practice-6 (SESAM-6) is to examine the frequency of reasons for encounter, prevalence of long-term diagnosed diseases and diagnostic and therapeutic decisions in general practice...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to provide a comprehensive assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of different activities and to evaluate the correlation between clinical activity measures and HRQoL instruments. This research also analysed the extent to which different aspects of HRQoL (physical, psychological and social) were affected. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, observational, non-interventional study. SETTING: The study was conducted at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University...

OBJECTIVE: The aim is to examine whether the addition of Virtual Reality (VR) meditation training to a standard 8-week Mindfulness-Based Health Care Program (MBHC-VR) results in a significantly increased improvement in occupational, mental health, and psychological functioning versus MBHC-only in university students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized controlled clinical trial with three arms (MBHC, MBHC-VR, Control Group), four assessment time points (pre-intervention, inter-session, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up), and mixed methodology will be proposed...

AIM: To determine the professional values of graduates of master's and doctoral programs in nursing and their views on the contribution of postgraduate education to their professional values. BACKGROUND: In postgraduate education, which is an important catalyst of professional identity development, a professional is expected to specialize in a field, get into more depth professionally, internalize professional values, and reflect and strengthen these values. To shed light on this expectation, more information is needed to assess the impact of postgraduate education on professional values...

Reflecting on the inappropriateness (medical overuse) and on defensive medicine, the Authors wonder whether the new Italian reform of professional guilt, desired at all institutional levels, will actually contain the high economic costs produced by these large and widespread phenomena. After having characterized the medical overuse and the defensive medicine indicating the common traits and main differences, the reflection is conducted by exploring the many scientific evidence that does not document any causal link between the decriminalization of professional conduct and the containment of the costs produced by the prescriptive inappropriateness...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to find out the level of awareness and acceptance of artificial intelligence (AI) in Pakistan's medical community so as to comment on its future in our healthcare system. METHODS: A survey consisting of 15 close-ended questions was conducted. The questions inquired about awareness about AI and discovered the opinions of healthcare professionals regarding its benefits and expected problems. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, and descriptive statistics for percentage and frequency were computed...

Background Queen Christina of Sweden, a prominent Early Modern European character, died in Rome on April 19, 1689. The scarce literature published about her illness and death agrees about the cause of the death in the diagnosis of erysipelas, that did not appear externally with an ulcer, but became manifest in her blood, causing an inflammation of heart and lungs. The article underlines the essential contribution of the learned surgeons to the development of practical anatomy in the late Seventeenth century as illustrated by the specific case of the Queen's autopsy report by the court surgeon Alessio Spalla...

BACKGROUND: Health equity is a common theme discussed in health professions education, yet only some researchers have addressed it in entry-level education. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to serve as an educational intervention pilot to 1) evaluate students' perception of the effectiveness of the DPT program in providing a foundation for health equity education, with or without the benefit of a supplemental resource and 2) establishing priorities for the program related to educating students on health inequities in physical therapy clinical practice...

OBJECTIVE: Aim: is to find out the peculiarities of informed consent of the patient for medical intervention during biomedical research. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and Methods: The dialectical method was used as a universal and general scientific method, which made it possible to consider the peculiarities of the content of the patient's informed consent. Using the logico-semantic method, the essence and features of biomedical research with the patient's participation were determined...

STUDY QUESTION: Is exposure to environmental chemicals associated with modifications of placental morphology and function? SUMMARY ANSWER: Phthalates, a class of ubiquitous chemicals, showed an association with altered placental weight, placental vascular resistance (PVR), and placental efficiency. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Only a few epidemiological studies have assessed the effects of phenols and phthalates on placental health. Their results were affected by exposure measurement errors linked to the rapid excretion of these compounds and the reliance on a limited number of spot urine samples to assess exposure...