Can all roads lead to competency? School levels effects in Licensing examinations scores.

At the foundation of research concerned with professional training is the idea of an assumed causal chain between the policies and practices of education and the eventual behaviours of those that graduate these programs. In medicine, given the social accountability to ensure that teaching and learning gives way to a health human resource that is willing and able to provide the healthcare that patients and communities need, it is of critical importance to generate evidence regarding this causal relationship. One question that medical education scholars ask regularly is the degree to which the unique features of training programs and learning environments impact trainee achievement of the intended learning outcomes.

The relationship between democracy and corruption and the global physician workforce.

Background: Understanding how governance factors such as democracy and corruption impact the healthcare workforce is crucial for achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Effective health workforce planning and resource allocation are influenced by these political constructs. This study examines the relationship between democracy and corruption and key healthcare workforce metrics.

Increased Emergency Department Medical Imaging: Association with Short-Term Exposures to Ambient Heat and Particulate Air Pollution.

Background Climate change adversely affects human health, resulting in higher demand for health care services. However, the impact of climate-related environmental exposures on medical imaging utilization is currently unknown. Purpose To determine associations of short-term exposures to ambient heat and particulate air pollution with utilization of emergency department medical imaging.

"None of us asked to be in this community." Understanding nephrotic syndrome through TikTok: patient and caregiver perspectives.

Background: TikTok, a popular social media platform, is increasingly used for health information dissemination; however, the accuracy and quality of medical content remain uncertain, including in the context of nephrotic syndrome (NS). This study aims to identify prominent patient and caregiver experiences with NS on TikTok and demonstrate how they may vary.

Methods: A convenience sample of TikTok videos containing the hashtag "nephrotic syndrome" posted between July 1, 2020, and February 29, 2024, was analyzed.

The impact of climate variation on the spread of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.

Background: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is influenced by seasonality, but there is limited understanding of how specific climatic variables contribute to disease spread. This information aids in understanding disease transmission dynamics and could potentially inform public health modeling.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed public health data from Ontario, Canada, between 2012 and 2021, along with historical climate data from Environment Canada.

Evaluation of ChatGPT as a diagnostic tool for medical learners and clinicians.

Background: ChatGPT is a large language model (LLM) trained on over 400 billion words from books, articles, and websites. Its extensive training draws from a large database of information, making it valuable as a diagnostic aid. Moreover, its capacity to comprehend and generate human language allows medical trainees to interact with it, enhancing its appeal as an educational resource.

Consensus Statement from India on the Renal Benefits of ARNi, SGLT-2i, and Bisoprolol in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in India. CKD often coexists with heart failure (HF), diabetes, and hypertension. All these comorbidities are risk factors for renal impairment.

Shaping Social Media: Is Twitter an Equitable tool for Professional Development?

Purpose: Twitter has become a powerful tool for professional development in academia. However, studies from the general population suggest that racialized and gender biases disproportionately empower male and white users. We characterized the demographics of Twitter influencers in Canadian healthcare.

Medical Students as Educators: Addressing Teaching Skills Through a Pre-clerkship Development Group.

In medicine, effective teaching is requisite for both successful patient care and trainee development. However, opportunities for medical students to gain exposure to pedagogical principles and hone teaching skills are currently limited. Our initiative provides avenues for medical students to intentionally develop their teaching skill set from an early stage.

Analysis of trends in retinopathy of prematurity over 5 years in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit.

Aim: The aim of the study was to look at the incidence and trend of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) between 2017 and 2021 in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Australia and to compare potential modifiable risk factors of ROP between preterm infants who required treatment for ROP and who did not need treatment.

Methods: This retrospective study used the data of newborn infants who were <31 weeks gestational age (GA) or birth weight (BW) of <1250 g born between 2017 and 2021 at a tertiary NICU in Australia (n = 261). Univariate analysis using t test for continuous data, Fischer exact test for categorical data and multiple logistic regression analysis were undertaken to identify any significant differences between two groups.

Multicenter Validation of Deep Learning Algorithm ROP.AI for the Automated Diagnosis of Plus Disease in ROP.

Purpose: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a sight-threatening vasoproliferative retinal disease affecting premature infants. The detection of plus disease, a severe form of ROP requiring treatment, remains challenging owing to subjectivity, frequency, and time intensity of retinal examinations. Recent artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms developed to detect plus disease aims to alleviate these challenges; however, they have not been tested against a diverse neonatal population.

Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Medical School Admissions in Canada.

Importance: Medical schools promote admission pathways as well as diversity and inclusivity to prospective students who are underrepresented in medicine (UIM) primarily via their websites. Research from organizational structures supports the use of instrumental values (which focus on behavior and core beliefs), rather than terminal values (which focus on the end goal), to promote diversity.

Objective: To characterize the use of instrumental and terminal values to promote institutional diversity and inclusivity on Canadian medical school websites.

Pride & prejudice: A scoping review of LGBTQ + medical trainee experiences.

Purpose: LGBTQ + medical trainees experience significant discrimination. These individuals are stigmatized within a hetero- and cis-normative system, resulting in poorer outcomes in mental health and increased stress regarding career trajectory compared with their hetero- and cis-identifying counterparts. However, literature on the barriers experienced during medical training in this marginalized group is limited to small heterogeneous studies.

Prognostic Value of Different Thresholds for Myocardial Scar Quantification on Cardiac MRI Late Gadolinium Enhancement Images in Patients Receiving Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators.

Purpose: To compare the predictive value of different myocardial scar quantification thresholds using cardiac MRI for appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shock and mortality.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective, two-center observational cohort study, patients with ischemic or nonischemic cardiomyopathy underwent cardiac MRI prior to ICD implantation. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) was first determined visually and then quantified by blinded cardiac MRI readers using different SDs above the mean signal of normal myocardium, full-width half-maximum, and manual thresholding.

Outcomes of inquiry-based learning in health professions education: a scoping review.

Background: Open inquiry-based learning (IBL) that aims to foster higher-level thinking, is defined by students formulating their own questions and learning through exploration. The present study aimed to summarize the breadth of metrics used to evaluate health professions trainees in open IBL curricula.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review to identify publications detailing trainee outcomes in open IBL initiatives in health professions education.

Exploring Perceptions of Competency-Based Medical Education in Undergraduate Medical Students and Faculty: A Program Evaluation.

Background: There is limited work exploring competency-based medical education (CBME) in undergraduate medical education. We aimed to assess medical students' and faculty's perception of CBME in the undergraduate medicine setting after its implementation at our institution through a Content, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) program evaluation model.

Methods: We explored the rationale for the transition to a CBME curriculum (Content), the changes to the curriculum and the teams involved in the transition (Input), medical students' and faculty's perception of the current CBME curriculum (Process), and benefits and challenges of implementing undergraduate CBME (Product).