External Validation of a Clinical Score to Differentiate Takotsubo Syndrome From Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Women.

Background And Aims: Clinical presentation of Takotsubo Syndrome (TS) mimics acute coronary syndrome (ACS). A score to differentiate TS from ACS would be helpful to facilitate appropriate investigation and management. We have previously developed a clinical score (NSTE-Takotsubo Score) to distinguish women with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) from TS with non-ST-segment elevation (NSTE-TS).

Clinically Acquired High Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T is a Poor Predictor of Reduced Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction After ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction: A National Cohort Study-ANZACS-QI 65.

Objective: Cardiac troponins (cTn) have been used historically to estimate infarct size in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Within a resource constrained health care environment, cTn could therefore be used for prioritisation of patients for cardiac imaging, in particular echocardiography. We aimed to determine how useful routinely collected cTn would be in predicting significant left ventricular (LV) impairment.

Update on echocardiography: do we still need a stethoscope?

The focus of this article is to review point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the chest as an adjunct to use of the stethoscope and physical examination. We consider selected evidence supporting POCUS for evaluation of acute dyspnoea and focussed cardiac assessment, explore current and the future directions in POCUS for the generalist physician and review some historical notes on auscultation of the chest and parallels to the evolution of POCUS.

Type of Stressor and Medium-Term Outcomes After Takotsubo Syndrome: What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (ANZACS-QI 59).

Background: Takotsubo syndrome (TS) is often triggered by an acute physical or emotional stressor. We hypothesised that medium-term prognosis may be better for TS patients with an associated emotional stressor than for those with an acute physical illness.

Methods: We identified consecutive TS patients presenting in New Zealand (2006-2018).

A comparison of the clinical features and outcomes of Takotsubo syndrome across five metropolitan hospitals in New Zealand.

Aim: Takotsubo syndrome (TS) mimics acute coronary syndrome but has a distinct pathophysiology. This study aimed to compare and contrast the clinical presentation, management and outcomes of patients with TS in five large New Zealand hospitals.

Methods: We identified 632 consecutive patients presenting to the five major tertiary hospitals in New Zealand (Middlemore Hospital, Auckland City Hospital, North Shore Hospital, Christchurch Hospital and Dunedin Hospital) between January 2006 and June 2018 and obtained clinical, laboratory, electrocardiography, echocardiography, coronary angiography and long-term follow-up data.

Acute and Chronic Complications of Rheumatic Heart Disease.

• Acute rheumatic fever. • Long-term complications of treated rheumatic heart disease. • A rare complication: thrombosed mechanical tricuspid valve.

Echocardiography training for cardiac surgery residents: results of a Canadian needs assessment.

Background: In assessing an unstable patient post cardiac surgery, echocardiography can be an essential tool as part of this assessment. However, it may be under-utilized for several reasons. We conducted this study to  determine the perceived needs and training objectives for echocardiography training for cardiac surgery residents.

Does Preendoscopy Rockall Score Safely Identify Low Risk Patients following Upper Gastrointestinal Haemorrhage?

Objective. To determine if preendoscopy Rockall score (PERS) enables safe outpatient management of New Zealanders with upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage (UGIH). Methods.

Determining content for a simulation-based curriculum in pediatric emergency medicine: results from a national Delphi process.

Objectives: By the end of residency training, pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) residents are expected to have developed the confidence and abilities required to manage acutely ill children. Acquisition of competence requires exposure and/or supplemental formal education for critical and noncritical medical clinical presentations. Simulation can provide experiential learning and can improve trainees' knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Twelve tips for curriculum renewal.

Background: Curriculum development in the health sciences usually entails a lengthy, in-depth review of most or all aspects of the curriculum. The review usually leads to the generation of a detailed report that is submitted to the Dean or executive committee of the faculty. Much has been written about the process of curriculum development but very little has been written about the important processes of curriculum renewal and revision.

Demonstrations of subconscious processing with the binary exclusion task.

The binary exclusion task involves "subtle priming effects" and a measure of awareness that is reliable, relevant, immediate, and sensitive. This task, which meets the criteria outlined in the target article, has been used to demonstrate subconscious processing.

Peer review: an effective approach to cultivating lecturing virtuosity.

Background: Most university faculty members are expected to teach. Many would benefit from instruction designed to improve lecturing.

Aims: To explore the impact of a program in which video-recorded lectures were critiqued by peers.

Development and impact evaluation of an e-learning radiation oncology module.

Purpose: Radiation oncologists are faced with the challenge of irradiating tumors to a curative dose while limiting toxicity to healthy surrounding tissues. This can be achieved only with superior knowledge of radiologic anatomy and treatment planning. Educational resources designed to meet these specific needs are lacking.

Faculty development: if you build it, they will come.

Objectives: The goals of this study were three-fold: to explore the reasons why some clinical teachers regularly attend centralised faculty development activities; to compare their responses with those of colleagues who do not attend, and to learn how we can make faculty development programmes more pertinent to teachers' needs.

Methods: In 2008-2009, we conducted focus groups with 23 clinical teachers who had participated in faculty development activities on a regular basis in order to ascertain their perceptions of faculty development, reasons for participation, and perceived barriers against involvement. Thematic analysis and research team consensus guided the data interpretation.

Twelve tips for conducting a medical education journal club.

Background: Journal clubs are active at many universities and they involve many specialties and subspecialties. There is a surprising dearth of journal clubs which deal with articles related to the science of medical education.

Aims: In an effort to expose medical educators to the outstanding benefits of medical education journal clubs we have devised a set of twelve tips to success for such clubs.

Implicit knowledge and motor skill: what people who know how to catch don't know.

People are unable to report how they decide whether to move backwards or forwards to catch a ball. When asked to imagine how their angle of elevation of gaze would change when they caught a ball, most people are unable to describe what happens although their interception strategy is based on controlling changes in this angle. Just after catching a ball, many people are unable to recognise a description of how their angle of gaze changed during the catch.

Specialization effect and its influence on memory and problem solving in expert chess players.

Expert chess players, specialized in different openings, recalled positions and solved problems within and outside their area of specialization. While their general expertise was at a similar level, players performed better with stimuli from their area of specialization. The effect of specialization on both recall and problem solving was strong enough to override general expertise-players remembering positions and solving problems from their area of specialization performed at around the level of players 1 standard deviation (SD) above them in general skill.

Lost in translation: the challenges of global communication in medical education publishing.

Context: An academic journal serves its purpose by being read and understood. International medical education journals that want to reach a wider readership must be accessible to a multitude of cultures and contexts. It is therefore important that authors and editors consider how their use of language will be interpreted by health care education colleagues who work in different settings.

Which pedagogical principles should clinical teachers know? Teachers and education experts disagree. Disagreement on important pedagogical principles.

Background: In a previous study, a group of non-clinician medical education experts identified 30 pedagogical principles, knowledge of which might enhance clinical teaching effectiveness.

Aims: To assess expert teachers? perceptions of which basic pedagogical principles, if known and understood, would enhance their teaching effectiveness.

Method: We conducted an on-line Delphi consensus-building study with 25 expert clinical teachers who rated the importance to teaching effectiveness of each of the 30 principles.