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Objective: To assess the undergraduate educational environment in a large UK medical school. Method: Prospective study using the already validated Dundee Ready Education Environment (DREEM) questionnaire ("Appendix 1"). Setting: A large UK medical school. Participants: All medical students enrolled in the academic year 2002/2003. Main outcome measures: Perception of the overall educational environment. In addition the impact of year of study and gender were examined. Results: The DREEM questionnaire consisting of 50 items scored on a 0-4 Likert scale was completed by 749 medical students (55 per cent) in the academic year 2002/2003. The mean total score was 124 (out of a maximum of 200) indicating relative satisfaction with the perceived environment. There were no individual areas of excellence (that is no item scored greater than 3.5). Some items scored consistently badly indicating cause for concern, for example lack of a support system for stressed students, school time-tabling, feedback from teachers and memorisation of facts. Clinical students perceived the environment to be significantly more positive than preclinical students (127 v 119, p less than 0.05). Female students perceived the environment to be significantly more positive compared to male students (126 v 123, p less than 0.05). Conclusions: This tool identified areas of concern within a large UK medical school. Further use of the DREEM as a monitoring tool would be useful to re-evaluate the environment following appropriate intervention. (Contains 5 tables.)

The article presents the roadmap for research in diabetes in pregnancy for the coming decade. Topics include the most accurate estimates for the global burden of diabetes in pregnancy (DiP) comes from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the women with established pregestational diabetes (PGDM) and in women with gestational diabetes (GDM), and the women with PGDM attending antenatal clinics have type 2 diabetes.

Examines the role of beta blockers on the treatment of hypertension in diabetes mellitus in Great Britain. Rate of heart attack in patients treated with beta blockers; Incidence of coronary artery disease in patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus; Effects of antihypertensive therapy on coronary heart diseases treatment.

Background: The incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)--hyperglycemia with onset or first recognition during pregnancy--is increasing and will have a significant impact on diabetes services. This study aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using telemedicine in the diabetes care of women with GDM and the possibility of replacing alternate (one in every two) diabetes review appointments with telemedicine.Subjects and Methods: A feasibility study for a randomized controlled trial was conducted across two sites. Fifty women with GDM were randomized to usual care (n = 26) or usual care plus telemedicine (n = 24). Telemedicine entailed weekly blood pressure and weight measurements and transmission of these data, along with blood glucose readings, for review by the healthcare team. Patients were contacted about these results as necessary. Patients completed questionnaires to measure their satisfaction with telemedicine or blood glucose monitoring. The intervention group and healthcare providers also took part in qualitative interviews. Analysis involved descriptive statistics for the satisfaction questionnaires and framework analysis for the qualitative interviews.Results: Eighty-nine percent of patients were satisfied with telemedicine and would use it again. Both HCPs and patients found the equipment easy to use and were positive about using it to replace alternate diabetes review appointments in the future. If used in this way, healthcare providers felt that protected time in which to perform the telemedicine review would be necessary.Conclusions: Telemedicine may help meet the growing demand on diabetes services due to increasing numbers of women being diagnosed with GDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]