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.

A first qualitative snapshot: cardiac surgery and recovery in 10 children in the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa (2011-2016).

This article describes our qualitative research on the follow-up of 10 children, 5 years into recovery after cardiac surgery. The research was driven by a multi-disciplinary team of medical anthropologists, cardiologists, and an intensive care specialist and was based at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital where they underwent surgeries. The research sought to answer two questions; first, could we successfully maintain contact with and follow up the children; the second - which will be answered in future papers - asked what life was like for them and their families during surgery and later recovery.

Peer review for social accountability of health sciences education: a model from South Africa.

Background: The Collaboration for Health Equity in Education and Research (CHEER) is unique in the composition of its members who represent all the Faculties of Health Sciences in South Africa. Over the past 10 years, CHEER has conducted 18 peer reviews involving all the institutions. In August 2012, CHEER embarked on its pilot peer review on Social Accountability in Health Sciences in South Africa.

General practitioners' perceptions on management of epilepsy in primary care settings in Cape Town, South Africa: an exploratory pilot study.

In a context where there are few neurologists, excellent management of patients with epilepsy at a primary care level is imperative. In South Africa, most uninsured patients suffering from epilepsy and other chronic illnesses are managed by general practitioners in state-provided primary care settings. We conducted a qualitative pilot study to explore perceptions of doctors working in primary care settings in Cape Town regarding the quality of epilepsy management.

Medical students' experiences of professional lapses and patient rights abuses in a South African health sciences faculty.

Purpose: To elicit South African medical students' experiences of witnessing patient rights abuses and professional lapses during their clinical training in order to inform an appropriate and effective response.

Method: During June and July 2009 at the University of Cape Town Faculty of Health Sciences, the authors surveyed 223 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-year medical students in selected clinical rotations concerning abuses they had observed. Volunteers were later interviewed individually.