The oral health status of patients with peripheral vascular disorders: A systematic review.

Objectives: Periodontal disease and tooth loss were found to be associated with several peripheral vascular disorders. Nonetheless, an evaluation of the literature on the broader domains of oral health in individuals with peripheral vascular disorders is lacking. This systematic review aims to collate the current evidence on the oral health status of individuals with peripheral vascular disorders.

Supporting transitions in medical career pathways: the role of simulation-based education.

Transitions, or periods of change, in medical career pathways can be challenging episodes, requiring the transitioning clinician to take on new roles and responsibilities, adapt to new cultural dynamics, change behaviour patterns, and successfully manage uncertainty. These intensive learning periods present risks to patient safety. Simulation-based education (SBE) is a pedagogic approach that allows clinicians to practise their technical and non-technical skills in a safe environment to increase preparedness for practice.

Team communication during patient handover from the operating room: more than facts and figures.

Objective: This study was aimed at examining team communication during postoperative handover and its relationship to clinicians' self-ratings of handover quality.

Background: Adverse events can often be traced back to inadequate communication during patient handover. Research and improvement efforts have mostly focused on the information transfer function of patient handover.

Non-technical skills for anaesthetists: developing and applying ANTS.

This article examines the non-technical skills approach to enhancing operational safety, with particular reference to anaesthesia. Training and assessing the non-technical skills of staff in safety-critical occupations is accepted by high-risk industries, most notably aviation, but has only recently been adopted in health care. These authors explain the background to the concept of non-technical skills that was first adopted in relation to the behaviours of airline pilots and could enhance or jeopardise safety.

Year 1 medical undergraduates' knowledge of and attitudes to medical error.

Context: To improve patient safety, medical students should be taught about human error and the factors influencing adverse events. The optimal evaluation of new curricula for patient safety requires tools for baseline measurement of medical students' attitudes and knowledge.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to design and evaluate a questionnaire for measuring the attitudes of Year 1 medical students to patient safety and medical error.

Patient safety: helping medical students understand error in healthcare.

Objective: To change the culture of healthcare organisations and improve patient safety, new professionals need to be taught about adverse events and how to trap and mitigate against errors. A literature review did not reveal any patient safety courses in the core undergraduate medical curriculum. Therefore a new module was designed and piloted.