Gaming the System? A Qualitative Exploration of Physician Assistant Learner Perceptions of Virtual Patient Education.

Introduction: Virtual patients (VPs) are increasingly used in health professions education. How learners engage with VPs and the relationship between engagement and authenticity is not well understood. We explored learners' perceptions of VP education to gain an understanding of the characteristics promoting meaningful engagement in learning, including perceived authenticity.

Investigating the experiences of medical students quarantined due to COVID-19 exposure.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted medical education systems worldwide. Between March 2020 and December 2021, 111 MD students at the University of Toronto completed two-week quarantines due to hospital or community exposures and experienced disrupted clinical instruction. We explored the experiences, barriers, and supports of these quarantined medical students to identify program development opportunities and improve student supports.

Primary Care Perspectives on Education Scholarship: A Qualitative Synthesis.

Background And Objectives: A significant portion of medical education takes place in primary care settings with family medicine clinician teachers that have variable backgrounds in teaching. Ernest Boyer's concept of education scholarship calls on faculty to systematically study and innovate their teaching practices. This meta-ethnographic review synthesizes the literature on primary care clinician teachers' perspectives and experiences of integrating education scholarship in practice.

Teaching spirituality to Canadian medical students: students' perceptions of a spiritual history taking clinical skills session.

Spirituality involves one's sense of purpose, connection with others, and ability to find meaning in life. We implemented a three-year pilot of a spiritual history taking (SHT) clinical skills session. In small groups, medical students discussed and practiced SHT with clinical scenarios and the FICA framework and received preceptor and peer feedback.

Residency spiral concussion curriculum design.

Background: Resident-focused concussion curricula that measure learner behaviours are currently unavailable. We sought to fill this gap by developing and iteratively implementing a Spiral Integrated Concussion Curriculum (SICC).

Approach: Programme elements of the concussion curriculum include academic half-days (AHDs) and three half-day clinics for first- and second-year family medicine residents.

The Companion Curriculum: medical students' perceptions of the integration of humanities within medical education.

Background: The contributions of arts and humanities to medical education are known in the medical education community, but medical schools' offerings vary. The Companion Curriculum (CC) is a student-curated set of optional humanities content for medical students at the University of Toronto. This study evaluates integration of the CC to identify key enabling conditions for medical humanities engagement.

Exploring the Barriers and Facilitators Experienced by Palliative Health Care Providers Working with Patients Experiencing Homelessness during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Patients experiencing homelessness not only have higher rates of medical complexity, comorbidity, and mortality, but also face barriers to accessing palliative care services. In structurally vulnerable populations with palliative care needs, these barriers are compounded, creating significant challenges for both patients and providers that have important health equity implications.

Objective: The aim is to explore the experiences of palliative care providers working with patients experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic and understand the barriers they faced in providing care, as well as facilitators that aided in the success of their teams.

Towards a Postgraduate Oncology Training Model for Family Medicine: Mixed Methods Evaluation of a Breast Oncology Rotation.

Background: Family physicians have low knowledge and preparedness to manage patients with cancer. A breast oncology clinical rotation was developed for family medicine residents to address this gap in medical education.

Objectives And Methods: A breast oncology rotation for family residents was evaluated using a pre-post knowledge questionnaire and semi-structured interviews comparing rotation (RRs) versus non-rotation (NRRs) residents.

Evaluation of a pilot rural mentorship programme for and by pre-clerkship medical students.

Introduction: While medical school interventions can help address rural physician shortages, many urban Canadian medical students lack exposure to rural medicine. The Rural Mentorship Programme (RMP) is a 4-month pilot initiative designed by medical students to bridge this gap by pairing preclerkship medical students at an urban medical school with rural physician mentors to provide exposure to rural careers.

Methods: A realist-influenced methodology evaluated perceived benefits and challenges of RMP, assessed how RMP influenced mentee perceptions and intentions towards rural careers, and investigated factors leading to success.

Medical student perceptions of research training on patient care during clerkship.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background Health Science Research (HSR) is a pre-clerkship component of the University of Toronto (U of T) MD Program.

A brief psychoeducational intervention improves memory contentment in breast cancer survivors with cognitive concerns: results of a single-arm prospective study.

Purpose: One in three breast cancer survivors experiences persistent cognitive changes that can negatively impact daily functioning and quality of life. In our cancer center, the largest tertiary cancer center in Canada, patients with self-reported cancer-related cognitive dysfunction (CRCD) are offered psychoeducation intended to reduce distress about CRCD symptoms and improve everyday cognitive performance, but evidence regarding this intervention's impact is lacking. Here, we assess whether a 1-hour (h), individual psychoeducational intervention designed to promote self-management of CRCD symptoms can improve attitudes and coping with memory-related difficulties in women with breast cancer.

Investigating student perceptions at an interprofessional student-run free clinic serving marginalised populations.

Many health profession schools have student-run free clinics (SRFCs), but their educational relevance has not been well studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the learning experiences and skills developed among interprofessional healthcare students at an SRFC serving marginalised populations, in order to provide data for ongoing programme improvement and recommendations for other SRFCs based on lessons learned. Under 1:1 supervision with a preceptor, interprofessional students completed three clinical shifts at an SRFC and attended a reflection session.

IMAGINE-ing interprofessional education: program evaluation of a novel inner city health educational experience.

Background: Poverty is a key determinant of health that leads to poor health outcomes. Although most healthcare providers will work with patients experiencing poverty, surveys among healthcare students have reported a curriculum gap in this area. This study aims to introduce and evaluate a novel, student-run interprofessional inner city health educational program that combines both practical and didactic educational components.

Student and Preceptor Experiences at an Inter-Professional Student-Run Clinic: A Physical Therapy Perspective.

Student-run clinics (SRCs) provide a unique opportunity for inter-professional education; they prepare health care students for a collaborative future by enabling them to interact with other such students in a clinical setting focused on inter-professional learning and collaboration. Physical therapy (PT) students are increasingly being included in SRCs; however, most research on student experiences in SRCs has been carried out with medical students. This qualitative study explores the perceived benefits of the PT experience in an SRC through the lens of PT students and their preceptors.

More than just dancing: experiences of people with Parkinson's disease in a therapeutic dance program.

Purpose: To understand why individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) participate in a community-based therapeutic dance program and to explore its influence on perceived physical, social and emotional well-being of participants.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was employed using one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Individuals with PD who participated in the Dancing with Parkinson's program were recruited from two locations.

Information Needs of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgical Oncology Patients.

A marked knowledge gap exists concerning the information needs of hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgical oncology patients. We investigated the comprehensive information needs of this patient population, including the type and amount of information desired, as well as the preferred method of receiving information. A questionnaire was administered to patients being treated surgically for cancers of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, or bile ducts at Toronto General Hospital, part of the University Health Network, in Toronto, Canada.

Support systems of women with epilepsy in pregnancy: A retrospective needs assessment.

Purpose: To explore support systems for women with epilepsy (WWE) during pregnancy.

Methods: Audio-recorded, transcribed, semi-structured telephone interviews with WWE in pregnancy and following childbirth were coded using descriptive thematic analysis.

Results: Twelve women with epilepsy aged 21-37 years who received care during pregnancy in our epilepsy clinic from 2010 to 2013 were interviewed.