An internal medicine residency preparatory curriculum for fourth-year medical students.

Background: Intern preparation courses are often broad in scope; there are few published specialty-specific programs outside of General Surgery and Obstetrics. We designed an internal medicine (IM) residency preparatory course at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which aimed to prepare graduating medical students for the rigours of IM residency training, mapped to Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs).

Methods: Fourteen fourth-year medical students who were matriculating into IM residency programs enrolled in a 4-week long residency preparation course.

Antibiotic Use and Respiratory Viral PCR Testing Among Pediatric Patients With Nosocomial Fever.

Objective Pediatric patients admitted to the hospital often develop fevers during their inpatient stay, and many children are empirically started on antibiotics. The utility of respiratory viral panel (RVP) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing in the evaluation of nosocomial fevers in admitted patients is unclear. We sought to evaluate whether RVP testing is associated with the use of antibiotics among inpatient pediatric patients.

A Multi-Modal Curriculum Teaching Opioid Use Disorder Management in Young Adult Populations.

Background: The use of both prescription and illicit opioids among adolescents and young adults (AYA) is increasing. Barriers to effective treatment of opioid use disorders among AYA range from patients leaving against medical advice to decreased knowledge and experience of providers caring for those with opioid dependence. No formal curricula for residents on AYA opioid use disorder and management have been implemented despite rapidly increasing use in this population.

Quality Improvement Amid a Global Pandemic: A Virtual Curriculum for Medical Students in the Time of COVID-19.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020 necessitated the removal of medical students from direct patient care activities to prevent disease spread and to conserve personal protective equipment. In order for medical student education to continue, virtual and online electives were designed and implemented expeditiously. We created a virtual curriculum that taught quality improvement (QI) skills within the context of the global pandemic.

No regional gray matter atrophy differences between pediatric- and adult-onset relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To investigate differences in region-specific gray matter (GM) damage between adults with pediatric-onset (PO) multiple sclerosis (MS) and adult-onset (AO) MS.

Methods: Twenty-four relapsing-remitting (RR) adults with POMS (mean age = 35 years, mean disease duration = 18.4 years) were compared to 23 age-matched (AOA, mean age = 33.

Tract-based spatial statistics analysis of diffusion-tensor imaging data in pediatric- and adult-onset multiple sclerosis.

Background: White matter (WM) microstructure may vary significantly in pediatric-onset (PO) and adult-onset (AO) patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a difference that could be explained by the effects of an inherent plasticity in the affected pediatric brains early in the disease, and a phenomenon that does not occur later in life. This hypothesis would support the observation that disease progression is much slower in POMS compared to AOMS patients.

Objectives: To examine WM microstructure in the brain of adults with POMS and AOMS, using tract based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis of diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI).