Search

Context: The Primary Care--Population Medicine Program at Brown University (PC-PM), the first of its kind, awards both a Medical Degree and a Master of Science in Population Medicine, and seamlessly integrates Health Systems Science (HSS) with the Basic and Clinical Sciences over the 4 years of medical school. As part of the PC-PM program, we developed HSS and population medicine content, a navigator program, as well as a longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC), a leadership course, and thesis research. Objective: To evaluate the short-term impact of a unique primary care educational program. Study Design and Analysis: Mixed-method analysis including longitudinal surveys, focus groups, and academic student data. Setting: The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University (AMS)--a medical school in the Northeast of the United State. Population Studied: Medical students enrolled in PC-PM program. Intervention/Instrument: Dual degree educational program. Outcome Measures: Diversity; Shelf Exams; Completion of MD and ScM requirements; Residency Matching (both primary care v. specialty care and quality of programs matched); and scholarly productivity. Results: The PC-PM Program has drawn a diverse student body with high URM representation who have had a flexible, adaptive approach to their education that encourages self-direction and tolerance of ambiguity. PC-PM students have been leaders, productive scholars, educators, and advocates/activists at AMS and in the community. 95% (71/75) of students in the first 4 years of the program have successfully completed both their Medical and ScM degrees. There have been no differences in Shelf Exam scores between students in the traditional block clerkships and those in the LIC. Over 50% of graduates have gone into primary care residencies in the first 4 years; more than double the overall AMS rate. Seven students have entered Brown primary care residencies through the 'guaranteed track'. Expected Results and Conclusions: The PC-PM program is meeting and exceeding its short-term goals, though further follow-up after residency will be necessary and is planned to determine long-term outcomes. Other medical schools may want to adapt a similar primary care educational model., Presenters Jeffrey Borkan, MD, PhD, Elizabeth Smith, Sarita Warrier, MD, Michael Mello, MD, MPH, Meghan Geary, [...]

A good curriculum vitae (CV) highlights medical educators' academic achievements and supports their professional goals. Many faculty struggle with timely updates and strategic formatting. These twelve tips will help medical educators optimize their CV to best showcase their strengths and accomplishments. The first three tips outline a process: identify a system to collect potential entries and schedule regular time for updates. Tips four and five detail how to tailor traditional CV formatting to best describe the work of medical educators. The next few tips offer concrete strategies and examples of CV entries to consider for inclusion. The remaining tips remind faculty to ask for help from colleagues, who can share a sample CV and identify overlooked activities. Our intention is to transform a task that can be burdensome into a process that seamlessly captures the breadth of our work as medical educators and allows for introspection and growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many U.S. medical schools have developed curricula in geriatric medicine to address the growing older adult population. At our university, the authors have integrated an assisted living facility (ALF) program into a required first-year clinical skills course. During the 2011 to 2012 academic year, an electronic survey was distributed to 109 first-year medical students prior to and after the program. Eighty-eight percent and 85% of students completed the pre- and postintervention survey, respectively. Students reported a positive attitude toward caring for older adults (92.5% post- vs. 80.2% preintervention), an understanding of the medical and social needs of older adults (89.2% post- vs. 38.5% preintervention), an acquisition of the skills to assess the health of older adults (71% post- vs. 14.5% preintervention), and an understanding of ALFs as nonmedical supportive housing (92.5% post- vs. 70.8% preintervention). The authors’ curriculum offers an innovative method to integrate geriatrics education early in medical education and to involve medical students in their community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BACKGROUND: Incorporating opportunities for community engagement into undergraduate medical education (UME) can help learners to identify and address social determinants of health (SDoH). Multiple challenges exist in operationalizing these experiences. METHODS: Using the Assessing Community Engagement (ACE) model, course directors at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University (AMS) mapped community engagement initiatives to the four-year curriculum. FINDINGS: Service-learning, community engagement projects, and clinical rotations at health centers and free clinics aim to equip learners at AMS with the necessary skills to address SDoH. Careful consideration should be given to the time and resources required to facilitate relationships with community-based agencies, learner reflection, program evaluation, and community-level outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Community engagement activities should be aligned with learning objectives during the pre-clerkship and clerkship stages of the existing UME curricula. Embarking on a curriculum redesign can create opportunities to expand partnerships with local agencies and deepen student engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issues concerning the increase of hand-offs, which is a transfer of patient care responsibilities. It mentions that a study of the sign-out method noted that the most significant part of information regarding a patient was not successfully observed 60% of the time. Moreover, it notes that the chances for the recipient of sign-out to inquire and gain clarifications, mainly concerning to-do lists or responses, increases the hand-off process. The author suggests standardizing hand-off information through known and accepted systems such as the Situation Background Assessment Recommendation (SBAR) technique.

The article focuses on the quality improvement and patient safety for medical practices of physicians in Rhode Island. It provides information on the methods of evaluation, technologies, and knowledge that are essential for the improvement of medical care and safety among patients around the state. It examines the requirements in evaluating the three separate structures in medical care which include structure, process, and outcome. It highlights the development of the Professional Standards Review Organizations (PSROs) to help ensure that physicians were adhering to standards of medical care.

Dermatomyositis is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy known to occur as a paraneoplastic syndrome. The course of dermatomyositis is commonly reported to mirror the course of the malignancy. Here, we report a case of dermatomyositis that developed in a patient after lumpectomy and completed chemotherapeutic treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information about the Doctoring program in the preclinical years in Warren Alpert Medical School in Brown University, Rhode Island. It informs that the main goal of the university is to provide all graduating medical students with the fundamental clinical skills to succeed as physicians. It highlights that Doctoring program in preclinical year combines instruction and assessment in medical interviewing, physical examining and oral presentation. It states that Assisted Living Facility (ALF) program has been established to develop proficiency and confidence in performing clinical examinations on older adults.