Exploring the perceptions of senior medical students on gender and pain: a qualitative study of the interplay between formal and hidden curricula.

Objective: Explore the perceptions of senior medical students on the relationship between gender and pain and examine how formal and hidden curricula in medical education shape their experiences.

Design: We conducted a cross-sectional qualitative interview study, using individual semistructured interviews and adhering to interpretative description methodology. We used Braun and Clarke's reflexive approach to thematic analysis to analyse our data.

Reframing pain: the power of individual and societal factors to enhance pain treatment.

The effectiveness of analgesics can be increased if synergistic behavioural, psychological, and pharmacological interventions are provided within a supportive environment.

The interprofessional education of medical students and physician associate students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Due to the potential for improved team working and patient care, interprofessional education (IPE) is increasingly recognized as a core competency within the education of health-care professionals.

Methods: In response to cancellation of the physician associate (PA) acute medicine clinical placement at our institution following COVID-19, a technology-focused, case-based IPE course between medical and PA students was implemented. The course consisted of 6 weekly seminars involving an average of 16 PA students, two medical students, and two supervising general practitioners.

Educational impact of COVID-19 on foundation doctors and the decision to take a break from structured approved training programmes in the United Kingdom.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the Foundation Programme for doctors in the United Kingdom. Foundation doctors were working under increased pressure and significant changes were made to their training.

Aims: The aim of this study is to explore the educational impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on foundation doctors and to understand how this resulted in doctors choosing to take time away from structured training programmes within the United Kingdom to make up for lost educational opportunities.

Ibuprofen, other NSAIDs and COVID-19: a narrative review.

At the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (March 2020), there was speculation that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, used to manage some of the symptoms of COVID-19, could increase the susceptibility to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and negatively impact clinical outcomes. In the absence of any robust mechanistic and clinical evidence, this speculation led to confusion about the safety of ibuprofen, contributing to the so-called 'infodemic' surrounding COVID-19. A wealth of evidence has been generated in subsequent years, and this narrative review aims to consider the body of in vitro and in vivo research, observational studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the use of NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, in COVID-19.

Simulation for Teaching on Racial Microaggressions and Bystander Intervention - A Theory-Based Guide for Health Profession Education.

Microaggressions are words or behaviour that "subtly and unconsciously express a prejudiced attitude", and racial microaggressions express these attitudes towards people from racial minority groups. The "Bystander Effect" is when the presence of other people means that an individual is less likely to offer assistance or get involved in a situation - bystander intervention training aims to inform about the best ways to avoid this, equipping students with the necessary strategies. In health profession education, teaching on microaggressions and bystander intervention can be done with the use of simulation.

Can stoic training develop medical student empathy and resilience? A mixed-methods study.

Background: Empathic erosion and burnout represent crises within medicine. Psychological training has been used to promote empathy and personal resilience, yet some training useful within adjacent fields remain unexplored, e.g.

Ibuprofen, Flurbiprofen, Etoricoxib or Paracetamol Do Not Influence ACE2 Expression and Activity In Vitro or in Mice and Do Not Exacerbate In-Vitro SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

SARS-CoV-2 uses the human cell surface protein angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as the receptor by which it gains access into lung and other tissue. Early in the pandemic, there was speculation that a number of commonly used medications-including ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)-have the potential to upregulate ACE2, thereby possibly facilitating viral entry and increasing the severity of COVID-19. We investigated the influence of the NSAIDS with a range of cyclooxygenase (COX)1 and COX2 selectivity (ibuprofen, flurbiprofen, etoricoxib) and paracetamol on the level of ACE2 mRNA/protein expression and activity as well as their influence on SARS-CoV-2 infection levels in a Caco-2 cell model.

Empathy in Medical Education: Its Nature and Nurture - a Qualitative Study of the Views of Students and Tutors.

Context: Medical education is committed to teaching patient centred communication and empathy. However, quantitative research suggests empathy scores tend to decline as students progress through medical school. In qualitative terms, there is a need to better understand how students and tutors view the practice and teaching of clinical empathy and the phenomenon of empathic erosion.

Love and breakup letter methodology: A new research technique for medical education.

In everyday life, feelings are important to us, influencing our decision-making and motivating our actions. This is equally true within medicine and medical education, where feelings influence key aspects such as clinical decision-making, empathy, resilience, professional identity, reflection, team dynamics, career choices and questions of prejudice and bias. Feelings are therefore legitimate targets in medical education research, but asking research participants to talk openly about feelings can be challenging for participants and researchers alike.

Teaching Professionalism to Medical Students Using Dissection-Based Anatomy Education: a Practical Guide.

Professionalism is a core competency for all healthcare professionals and is a subject of great interest within the academic community due to its vital importance in delivering the highest quality patient care. Despite this, professionalism remains difficult to define, teach and assess. The potential use of anatomy education in teaching professionalism has been increasingly highlighted within the literature, but still remains an underutilised tool in medical education.

How medical school alters empathy: Student love and break up letters to empathy for patients.

Introduction: Medical education is committed to promoting empathic communication. Despite this, much research indicates that empathy actually decreases as students progress through medical school. In qualitative terms, relatively little is known about this changing student relationship with the concept of empathy for patients and how teaching affects it.

Holding a mirror up to nature: the role of medical humanities in postgraduate primary care training.

The humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society, experience and culture. Typically, the humanities, including philosophy, literature, art, music, history and language have been used to interpret and record our understanding of the world. In recent decades, the humanities have seen somewhat of a renaissance within medicine, particularly within undergraduate medical education.

Physician Associate students and primary care paradigmatic trajectories: perceptions, positioning and the process of pursuit.

As the role of the Physician Associate (PA) establishes within the UK, there is increasing interest in the recruitment of PAs to primary care. Yet, currently 72% of all UK PAs work in secondary care. Recruitment to primary care is wanting, for reasons that remain unclear.

'I'm sorry to hear that'-Empathy and Empathic Dissonance: the Perspectives of PA Students.

Context: Our understanding of clinical empathy could be enhanced through qualitative research-research currently under-represented in the field. Physician associates within the UK undergo an intensive 2-year postgraduate medical education. As a new group of health professionals, they represent a fresh pair of eyes through which to examine clinical empathy, its nature and teaching.

Forging a new identity: a qualitative study exploring the experiences of UK-based physician associate students.

Objective: To explore student physician associates' (PAs) experiences of clinical training to ascertain the process of their occupational identity formation.

Setting: The role of the PA is relatively new within the UK. There has been a rapid expansion in training places driven by National Health Service (NHS) workforce shortages, with the Department of Health recently announcing plans for the General Medical Council to statutorily regulate PAs.

The impact of lung function case-finding tests on smoking behaviour: A nested randomised trial within a case-finding cohort.

Rationale Aims And Objectives: Increasing awareness of people's lung health through the use of lung function tests or symptom-based questionnaires is a potential method to aid smoking cessation. We investigated the impact of case-finding lung function tests for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on smoking behaviour.

Methods: Our trial used a novel waiting list randomised controlled trial design, nested within a case-finding cohort study.

Twelve tips for teaching empathy using simulated patients.

Empathy is a key component of humane, patient-centered consulting. Physician empathy increases patient satisfaction and enablement; it may even lead to better health outcomes. Despite this, empathy in clinical encounters is often lacking and empathy in medical students decreases as they progress from the early to the senior undergraduate years.

Medical communication: the views of simulated patients.

Context: Simulated patients (SPs) are extensively used in the teaching of medical communication, both for students and doctors. They occupy a unique middle ground between patients and physicians: although free from the prejudices that medical training brings, they work closely with clinical tutors to promote the principles of patient-centred consulting. Despite this, there is relatively little research around their views on what makes for good communication practice.