Publications by authors named "H M Sweetland"
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates international medical students' perceptions of the financial cost and value of obtaining a medical degree in the UK, highlighting the significant differences in tuition fees compared to domestic students.
- - A questionnaire survey of 352 responses revealed that factors like clinical and academic opportunities (96%) and quality of life (88%) are key motivations for studying medicine in the UK, while family reasons were less influential.
- - Results indicated that 54% of international students considered a UK degree to be value for money, with premedical students expressing a higher belief in its value compared to current students and graduates, suggesting varying perceptions based on education stages.
Objectives: To examine how observer and self-report measures of shared decision-making (SDM) evaluate the decision-making activities that patients and clinicians undertake in routine consultations.
Design: Multi-method study using observational and self-reported measures of SDM and qualitative analysis.
Setting: Breast care and predialysis teams who had already implemented SDM.
Objective: Research is needed to understand how Shared Decision-Making (SDM) is enacted in routine clinical settings. We aimed to 1) describe the process of SDM between clinicians and patients; 2) examine how well the SDM process compares to a prescriptive model of SDM, and 3) propose a descriptive model based on observed SDM in routine practice.
Methods: Patients with chronic kidney disease and early stage breast cancer were recruited consecutively via Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UK) teams.
Background: Proven benefits of Shared Decision Making (SDM) include improved patient knowledge, involvement and confidence in making decisions. Although widely advocated in policy, SDM is still not widely implemented in practice. A common patient-reported barrier is feeling that "doctor knows best"; thus, patients often defer decisions to the clinician.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Surgical site infection (SSI) is the fourth commonest healthcare-associated infection and complicates at least 5% of open operations. In a randomized clinical trial, antimicrobial-coated sutures were compared with their conventional counterparts, polyglactin and poliglecaprone, for skin closure after breast cancer surgery to assess their role in reducing the rate of SSI.
Methods: Between November 2008 and February 2011, 150 female patients presenting with breast cancer to a single center were randomized to skin closure with antimicrobial-coated or plain sutures.