Commentary on robust, defensible, and fair: The AMEE guide to selection into medical school: AMEE Guide No. 153.

The AMEE Guide to Selection for medical school is a welcome addition that provides much sound advice and guidance. It employs a comprehensive framework and a number of innovations, international case studies, for instance. There are also some omissions that a future revision could usefully address.

"I'm a Medic" - a web-based, social capital approach to health careers.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Widening access to medicine in U.

Impact of accelerated, graduate-entry medicine courses: a comparison of profile, success, and specialty destination between graduate entrants to accelerated or standard medicine courses in UK.

Background: Little research has compared the profile, success, or specialty destinations of graduates entering UK medical schools via accelerated, 4-yr, standard 5-yr and 6-yr programmes. Four research questions directed this investigation:- What are the success rates for graduates entering graduate-entry vs. undergraduate medicine courses? How does the sociodemographic and educational profile differ between these two groups? Is success - in medical school and foundation training - dependent on prior degree, demographic factors, or aptitude test performance at selection? What specialty do graduate entry medicine students subsequently enter?

Methods: The data from two cohorts of graduates entering medical school in 2007 and 2008 (n = 2761) in the UKMED (UK Medical Education Database) database were studied: 1445 taking 4-yr and 1150 taking 5-yr medicine courses, with smaller numbers following other programmes.

Profiling strugglers in a graduate-entry medicine course at Nottingham: a retrospective case study.

Background: 10-15% of students struggle at some point in their medicine course. Risk factors include weaker academic qualifications, male gender, mental illness, UK ethnic minority status, and poor study skills. Recent research on an undergraduate medicine course provided a toolkit to aid early identification of students likely to struggle, who can be targeted by established support and study interventions.

Who applies and who gets admitted to UK graduate entry medicine? - An analysis of UK admission statistics.

Background: Graduate-entry medicine is a recent development in the UK, intended to expand and broaden access to medical training. After eight years, it is time to evaluate its success in recruitment.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the applications and admissions profiles of graduate-entry programmes in the UK to traditional 5 and 6-year courses.

Adaptation after facial surgery: using the diary as a research tool.

We conducted a small-scale qualitative diary study to gather accounts from five facial cancer surgery patients. Participants were asked to record their experiences, thoughts, and feelings for up to 1 year, as they underwent and recovered from their surgery and adapted to living with alterations in their appearance. In this article, we consider evidence relating to the diary as a research tool and discuss our experiences of issues arising with the qualitative diary method employed in this study.

Comparative attainment of 5-year undergraduate and 4-year graduate entry medical students moving into foundation training.

Background: Graduate entry medicine is a recent innovation in UK medical training. Evidence is sparse at present as to progress and attainment on these programmes. Shared clinical rotations, between an established 5-year and a new graduate entry course, provide the opportunity to compare achievement on clinical assessments.

Coming to terms: a grounded theory of adaptation to facial surgery in adulthood.

Facial surgery is associated with both functional difficulties and disfigurement, and there is evidence to show that psychosocial outcomes vary widely between individuals. This article reports the findings of a grounded theory study of the predictors and process of adaptation to facial surgery in adulthood. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 29 facial surgery survivors.

Impact of a multimedia intervention "Skinsafe" on patients' knowledge and protective behaviors.

Background: Rates of malignant melanoma are rising, with those people with sun-sensitive skin most at risk. Health education interventions are needed to help people protect themselves by detecting early signs of melanoma and by protecting their skin from sunburn. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an interactive multimedia intervention "Skinsafe" on patients' knowledge about melanoma and on their skin protective behaviors.

Evaluation of generic patient information: effects on health outcomes, knowledge and satisfaction.

Objective: To establish whether the provision of commercially produced written information in addition to routine hospital information can improve patients' knowledge and satisfaction and affect their health-related quality of life.

Methods: Elective surgical patients were randomised into an experimental group (N = 54) who received three commercially produced information booklets at pre-assessment, before surgery and at discharge, and a control group (N = 55) who received standard hospital information only.

Results: The experimental group were significantly less anxious immediately before their operation, and reported greater perceived control compared to controls post-operatively.