Procedures most frequently performed by South African-trained general surgeons - implications for training and assessment.

Background: Workplace-based assessment (WBA) is being introduced across postgraduate training in South Africa. This study was undertaken to inform the selection of the core procedures for WBA, by determining the most frequently performed procedures in general surgery practice. These findings may also assist academic centres undertaking curriculum review to determine whether or not they are training surgeons who are competent to meet the current local needs of society.

Entrustable Professional Activities in Postgraduate General Surgery Training: A Scoping Review.

Objective: To provide an overview of the current use of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in postgraduate general surgery training internationally.

Background: Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) were introduced to connect clinical competencies and the professional activities to be entrusted to trainees on graduation. The popularity of EPAs as a framework for assessment is growing globally, including in general surgery.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Web-Based Structured Oral Examinations for Postgraduate Certification: Mixed Methods Preliminary Evaluation.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted postgraduate certification examinations globally. The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa continued hosting certification examinations through the pandemic. This was achieved by effecting a rapid transition from in-person to web-based certification examinations.

"We just don't have the resources": Supervisor perspectives on introducing workplace-based assessments into medical specialist training in South Africa.

Background: South Africa (SA) is on the brink of implementing workplace-based assessments (WBA) in all medical specialist training programmes in the country. Despite the fact that competency-based medical education (CBME) has been in place for about two decades, WBA offers new and interesting challenges. The literature indicates that WBA has resource, regulatory, educational and social complexities.

Effects of virtual heights, dual-tasking, and training on static postural stability.

Working at altitudes, dual-tasking (DT), and lack of experience cause falls. This study aimed to investigate the impact of virtual heights, DT, and training on static postural stability. Twenty-eight volunteers' balance at seven virtual environments [VE; ground (G), altitude 1 (A1), edge 1 (E1), altitude 2 (A2), edge 2 (E2), altitude 3 (A3), and edge 3 (E3)] were recorded during single-tasking (ST) and DT over three days.

Competency Assessment of General Surgery Trainees: A Perspective From the Global South, in a CBME-Naive Context.

Objective: Before proceeding with local implementation of competency-based medical education-related assessment practices designed and evaluated in the Global North, we sought to challenge the assumption that this would be perceived as both necessary and acceptable in our context where training and assessment is based on a traditional, knowledge-focused approach. The aim of this study was to determine the perspectives of general surgery trainees and consultants towards the assessment of competence, how this has been achieved previously, and how it should be performed in the future at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa.

Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with consultants and trainees.

FAIMER Global Faculty Development: A Sustainable Partnership Model to Advance Health Professions Education.

The Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), a member of Intealth, offers longitudinal faculty development programs (LFDPs) in health professions education (HPE) and leadership through its International FAIMER Institute (IFI) in the United States and FAIMER Regional Institutes (FRIs) globally. FAIMER fosters mutual collaboration and delineates shared responsibilities for FRI development in partnership with local institutions, using an adapted hub-and-spoke organizational design. This paper describes FAIMER's model, its sustainability, and its impacts at individual, institutional, and national levels.

Comparison of the Capacitance of a Cyclically Fatigued Stretch Sensor to a Non-Fatigued Stretch Sensor When Performing Static and Dynamic Foot-Ankle Motions.

Motion capture is the current gold standard for assessing movement of the human body, but laboratory settings do not always mimic the natural terrains and movements encountered by humans. To overcome such limitations, a smart sock that is equipped with stretch sensors is being developed to record movement data outside of the laboratory. For the smart sock stretch sensors to provide valuable feedback, the sensors should have durability of both materials and signal.

The introduction of competency-based medical education for postgraduate training in South Africa.

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Ovarian status modulates endocrine and neuroinflammatory responses to a murine mammary tumor.

Patients with breast cancer have increased circulating inflammatory markers and mammary tumors increase neuroinflammation in rodent models. Menopausal status is not only important in the context of breast cancer as circulating estrogen influences tumor progression, but also because estrogen is anti-inflammatory and an essential modulator of endocrine function in the brain and body. Here, we manipulated "menopause" status (ovary-intact and ovariectomized) in an estrogen receptor (ER)+ mouse mammary tumor model to determine the extent to which ovarian status modulates: ) tumor effects on estrogen concentrations and signaling in the brain, ) tumor effects on estrogen-associated neurobiology and inflammation, and ) the ability for tumor resection to resolve the effects of a tumor.

Sensory Organization Test Conditions Influence Postural Strategy Rather than Footwear or Workload.

Background: Postural strategies such as ankle, hip, or combined ankle-hip strategies are used to maintain optimal postural stability, which can be influenced by the footwear type and physiological workload.

Purpose: This paper reports previously unreported postural strategy scores during the six conditions of the sensory organization test (SOT).

Methods: Fourteen healthy males (age: 23.

Dual Tasking during Trip Recovery and Obstacle Clearance among Young, Healthy Adults in Human Factors Research.

Trip-induced falls are extremely common in ergonomic settings. Such situations can lead to fatal or non-fatal injuries, affecting the workers' quality of life and earning capacity. Dual tasking (DT) is a leading cause of trips and ineffective obstacle clearance among workers.

External Load and Muscle Activation Monitoring of NCAA Division I Basketball Team Using Smart Compression Shorts.

There is scarce research into the use of Strive Sense3 smart compression shorts to measure external load with accelerometry and muscle load (i.e., muscle activations) with surface electromyography in basketball.

Fatigue Testing of Wearable Sensing Technologies: Issues and Opportunities.

Standards for the fatigue testing of wearable sensing technologies are lacking. The majority of published fatigue tests for wearable sensors are performed on proof-of-concept stretch sensors fabricated from a variety of materials. Due to their flexibility and stretchability, polymers are often used in the fabrication of wearable sensors.

Clinically contextualised ECG interpretation: the impact of prior clinical exposure and case vignettes on ECG diagnostic accuracy.

Background: ECGs are often taught without clinical context. However, in the clinical setting, ECGs are rarely interpreted without knowing the clinical presentation. We aimed to determine whether ECG diagnostic accuracy was influenced by knowledge of the clinical context and/or prior clinical exposure to the ECG diagnosis.

Utility of mobile learning in Electrocardiography.

Aims: Mobile learning is attributed to the acquisition of knowledge derived from accessing information on a mobile device. Although increasingly implemented in medical education, research on its utility in Electrocardiography remains sparse. In this study, we explored the effect of mobile learning on the accuracy of electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis and interpretation.

Effectiveness of blended learning versus lectures alone on ECG analysis and interpretation by medical students.

Background: Most medical students lack confidence and are unable to accurately interpret ECGs. Thus, better methods of ECG instruction are being sought. Current literature indicates that the use of e-learning for ECG analysis and interpretation skills (ECG competence) is not superior to lecture-based teaching.

Determining electrocardiography training priorities for medical students using a modified Delphi method.

Background: Although electrocardiography is considered a core learning outcome for medical students, there is currently little curricular guidance for undergraduate ECG training. Owing to the absence of expert consensus on undergraduate ECG teaching, curricular content is subject to individual opinion. The aim of this modified Delphi study was to establish expert consensus amongst content and context experts on an ECG curriculum for medical students.

Development of a CanMEDS-based instrument for evaluating medical students' perceptions of the key competencies of a socially accountable healthcare practitioner.

Introduction: Numerous frameworks and tools have been developed to assist medical schools striving to achieve their social accountability mandate. The purpose of this study was to design an instrument to evaluate medical students' perceptions of the key competencies of a 'socially accountable' healthcare practitioner using widely accepted frameworks which contain clear measurable outcomes.

Methods: The instrument was designed in three phases: selection of a competency-based framework, development of items, and validation of the instrument through exploratory factor analysis.

Closing the Wearable Gap-Part V: Development of a Pressure-Sensitive Sock Utilizing Soft Sensors.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of compressible soft robotic sensors (C-SRS) in determining plantar pressure to infer vertical and shear forces in wearable technology: A ground reaction pressure sock (GRPS). To assess pressure relationships between C-SRS, pressure cells on a BodiTrak Vector Plate, and Kistler Force Plates, thirteen volunteers performed three repetitions of three different movements: squats, shifting center-of-pressure right to left foot, and shifting toes to heels with C-SRS in both anterior-posterior (A/P) and medial-lateral (M/L) sensor orientations. Pearson correlation coefficient of C-SRS to BodiTrak Vector Plate resulted in an average R-value greater than 0.

Is computer-assisted instruction more effective than other educational methods in achieving ECG competence amongst medical students and residents? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: It remains unclear whether computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is more effective than other teaching methods in acquiring and retaining ECG competence among medical students and residents.

Design: This systematic review and meta-analysis followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Data Sources: Electronic literature searches of PubMed, databases via EBSCOhost, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and grey literature were conducted on 28 November 2017.

2018 Consensus framework for good assessment.

In 2010, the Ottawa Conference produced a set of consensus criteria for good assessment. These were well received and since then the working group monitored their use. As part of the 2010 report, it was recommended that consideration be given in the future to preparing similar criteria for systems of assessment.

Pre-University education curriculum reform and the generic learning skills of medical school entrants: Lessons learned from South Africa.

Background: Pre-university education curriculum changes may increase the skills and knowledge gap between secondary (high school) and tertiary (university) education that have been identified as having a major impact on the success of students from underresourced educational backgrounds. This study investigated the impact of extensive pre-university curriculum revision on the generic learning skills of entrants to South African medical schools, which admit students directly from high school.

Methods: In this prospective study, students entering four medical schools during 2008-2011 were surveyed to determine their practice of and confidence in information handling, managing own learning, technical and numeracy skills, and computer, organizational, and presentation skills in the 12-month preceding entry.

Is computer-assisted instruction more effective than other educational methods in achieving ECG competence among medical students and residents? Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Although ECG interpretation is an essential skill in clinical medicine, medical students and residents often lack ECG competence. Novel teaching methods are increasingly being implemented and investigated to improve ECG training. Computer-assisted instruction is one such method under investigation; however, its efficacy in achieving better ECG competence among medical students and residents remains uncertain.