The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey: an analysis of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in 25 UK medical schools relating to timing, duration, teaching formats, teaching content, and problem-based learning.

Background: What subjects UK medical schools teach, what ways they teach subjects, and how much they teach those subjects is unclear. Whether teaching differences matter is a separate, important question. This study provides a detailed picture of timetabled undergraduate teaching activity at 25 UK medical schools, particularly in relation to problem-based learning (PBL).

Pineal cyst surveillance in adults - a review of 10 years' experience.

Pineal cysts are common benign incidental findings in adults. There are no commonly accepted criteria for follow up or indications for intervention. We looked at our outcomes for this condition to explore their natural history and review our surveillance criteria.

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.