Development, implementation, and evaluation of a competency-based didactic and simulation-focused boot camp for incoming urology residents: Report of the first three years.

Introduction: The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's Competence by Design (CBD) initiative presents curricula challenges to ensure residents gain proficiency while progressing through training. To prepare first-year urology residents (R1s), we developed, implemented, and evaluated a didactic and simulation-focused boot camp to implement the CBD curriculum. We report our experiences and findings of the first three years.

Gambling-related harms attributable to lotteries products.

Lotteries products (lottery tickets and scratch tickets) are the most popular forms of gambling worldwide, however little research has investigated whether these products are associated with gambling-related harm. The limited available research suggests these products are linked to problematic gambling behaviors and a range of resulting negative outcomes, with certain sub-groups appearing to be more vulnerable to experiencing harms. The present study examined risk of gambling-related harm (measured by the Problem Gambling Severity Index) from lotteries products use in an Australian sample of lotteries-only gamblers (n = 540).

A Context-Specific Digital Alcohol Brief Intervention in Symptomatic Breast Clinics (Abreast of Health): Development and Usability Study.

Background: Potentially modifiable risk factors account for approximately 23% of breast cancer cases. In the United Kingdom, alcohol consumption alone is held responsible for 8% to 10% of cases diagnosed every year. Symptomatic breast clinics focus on early detection and treatment, but they also offer scope for delivery of low-cost lifestyle interventions to encourage a cancer prevention culture within the cancer care system.

Structured medical electives: a concept whose time has come?

Background: Most international electives in which medical students from high-income countries travel abroad are largely unstructured, and can lead to problematic outcomes for students as well as sending and receiving institutions. We analyse the problems of unstructured medical electives and describe the benefits of an elective experience that includes more organisation and oversight from the sending medical school.

Results: A number of structured elective programmes have been developed, including those at the Medical School for International Health, Israel and the University of Dundee, United Kingdom.

Factors affecting use of unscheduled care for people with advanced cancer: a retrospective cohort study in Scotland.

Background: People with advanced cancer frequently attend unscheduled care, but little is known about the factors influencing presentations. Most research focuses on accident and emergency (A&E) and does not consider GP out-of-hours (GPOOH).

Aim: To describe the frequency and patterns of unscheduled care use by people with cancer in their last year of life and to examine the associations of demographic and clinical factors with unscheduled care attendance.

Evaluating student perceptions and awareness of social prescribing.

The importance of Social Prescribing (SP) has been highlighted in the National Health Service (NHS) Long-Term Plan. SP is enabling healthcare professionals to refer patients to a link worker, to co-design a non-clinical social prescription to improve their health and well-being. Our aim was to explore perceptions, understanding, and awareness of SP amongst United Kingdom (UK) medical students.

Development and impact of a massive open online course (MOOC) for antimicrobial stewardship.

Background: The University of Dundee and the BSAC developed a massive open online course (MOOC) to address the global need for education to support antimicrobial stewardship in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: An interactive course, Antimicrobial Stewardship: Managing Antibiotic Resistance, was developed and delivered via the FutureLearn© platform. The course ran over four 6 week periods during 2015 and 2016 supported by educators and was evaluated via data on uptake and feedback from learners on impact on clinical practice.

Emotions as student feedback.

Background: Student feedback is often sought by educators in order to inform future developments in teaching or curriculum development. A lack of engagement with current feedback tools is thought, partly, to result from students perceiving no gain from the activity. The emotional adjective feedback tool (EAFT) is designed around the concept of emotional intelligence, where students feed back to tutors, after clinical teaching, by selecting and elaborating on emotional adjectives that describe their learning experiences.

Differences in the frequency of macrophage and T cell markers between focal and crescentic classes of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis.

Background: Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis (AAGN) can be classified into; focal, crescentic, mixed and sclerotic classes. Macrophages and T lymphocytes are key players in mediating renal injury. The frequency of macrophage and T lymphocytes in different histological classes is unclear.

Rectal perforation secondary to transanal haemorrhoidal dearterialisation.

Haemorrhoidal artery ligation has now been established as a treatment modality for symptomatic haemorrhoids. We report a case of a fit 44-year-old male who underwent the procedure as a day case, who subsequently developed pelvic sepsis due to rectal perforation. This case is the first report of a potentially life-threatening complication resulting from this procedure, which has a previously excellent safety profile.

Public health matters: Innovative approaches for engaging medical students.

Background: Public health faces the paradox of being increasingly emphasized by the key health and social care regulators and stakeholders, while remaining a largely under-represented discipline in the context of medical curricula. Enhancing medical student engagement in public health teaching is one way to address this concern.

Methods: We discuss four key solutions to the challenges faced by public health educators in medical schools, and present five case studies which demonstrate innovative approaches to engaging medical students in our discipline.

Functional and patient-reported outcomes of the Swanson metacarpo-phalangeal arthroplasty in the rheumatoid hand.

Introduction: Replacement of the metacarpo-phalangeal joints (MCPJ) with silastic Swanson's implants can help decrease pain, stiffness and allow for improved function in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There is a lack of patient reported outcome measure (PROM) studies assessing the efficacy of this procedure in RA. The aim of this study was to report any change in function, pain, stiffness and satisfaction following the Swanson MCPJ replacement using patient reported outcomes in a rheumatoid population.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 as a potential target for smoking cessation.

Rationale: Most habitual smokers find it difficult to quit smoking because they are dependent upon the nicotine present in tobacco smoke. Tobacco dependence is commonly treated pharmacologically using nicotine replacement therapy or drugs, such as varenicline, that target the nicotinic receptor. Relapse rates, however, remain high, and there remains a need to develop novel non-nicotinic pharmacotherapies for the dependence that are more effective than existing treatments.

Identifying key areas for active interprofessional learning partnerships: A facilitated dialogue.

Student and service user involvement is recognised as an important factor in creating interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities. We used a team-based learning approach to bring together undergraduate health professional students, early career professionals (ECPs), public partners, volunteers, and carers to explore learning partnerships. Influenced by evaluative inquiry, this qualitative study used a free text response to allow participants to give their own opinion.

Do personality traits assessed on medical school admission predict exit performance? A UK-wide longitudinal cohort study.

Traditional methods of assessing personality traits in medical school selection have been heavily criticised. To address this at the point of selection, "non-cognitive" tests were included in the UK Clinical Aptitude Test, the most widely-used aptitude test in UK medical education (UKCAT: http://www.ukcat.

Management of paediatric periorbital cellulitis: Our experience of 243 children managed according to a standardised protocol 2012-2015.

Introduction: Paediatric periorbital cellulitis is a common condition. Accurate assessment can be challenging and appropriate use of CT imaging is essential. We audited admissions to our unit over a four year period, with reference to CT scanning and adherence to our protocol.

Outcome of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantion in eyes with pseudoexfoliation and weak zonules.

Purpose: To evaluate the results of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in eyes with pseudoexfoliation (PEX) and zonular weakness.

Methods: Two hundred and ninety-five patients (295 eyes) were recruited. This study is a retrospective case review of 143 PEX eyes with preoperative (Group 1) and intraoperative (Group 2) signs of zonular weakness, 76 PEX eyes (Group 3) and 76 non-PEX eyes without zonular weakness (Group 4) undergoing phacoemulsification and IOL implantation performed by single surgeon from year 1988 to 2010.

Paediatric burns in LMICs: An evaluation of the barriers and facilitators faced by staff involved in burns education training programmes in Blantyre, Malawi.

Background: A burn prevention and education programme - the Reduction of Burn and Scald Mortality and Morbidity in Children in Malawi project - was implemented from January 2010-2013 in Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi. This study aimed to investigate the barriers and facilitators of implementing education-training programmes.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 14 Scottish and Malawian staff delivering and receiving teaching at training education programmes were conducted.