Evaluation of a final year work-shadowing attachment.

The transition from medical student to junior doctor is well recognised to be a difficult and stressful period. To ease this transition, most UK universities have a work-shadowing period (WSP), during which students can learn practical skills needed for forthcoming employment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the WSP at Queen's University Belfast, and gain the views of both students and Foundation Programme Supervisors and Directors (FPSDs).

Factors influencing performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by Foundation Year 1 hospital doctors.

Background: Foundation Year One (FY1) doctors are often the first medical staff responders at in-hospital cardiac arrests. The study objectives were to assess the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills of FY1 doctors at a Belfast teaching hospital and to highlight factors that influence their performance.

Methods: A group of FY1 doctors working in a Belfast teaching hospital were asked to participate in this study.

Pilot study of transesophageal endoscopic surgery: NOTES esophagomyotomy, vagotomy, lymphadenectomy.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the technical feasibility of endosonographically-assisted transesophageal access for vagotomy, esophagomyotomy, and lymphadenectomy in a nonsurvival study with six porcine models in an animal laboratory with general anesthesia.

Methods: Saline/hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) was injected into the submucosa with a subsequent biliary balloon dissection, creating a substantial submucosal space for a cap-fitted endoscope. A distal esophageal myotomy was performed after access into the thoracic cavity.