Impact of an in-person small group surgical skills course for preclinical medical students in an era of increased e-learning.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a dramatic decrease in face-to-face teaching. This can particularly impact medical students' skills development. This prompted development of an in-person surgical skills course as guided by the General Medical Council "Outcomes for Graduates" facilitated by tutors with surgical experience. This study aimed to primarily assess participant confidence in surgical skills following the course. Design: This was an interventional study assessing both qualitative and quantitative data collected prior to, during, and post course completion. Data were collected from students via online forms, which included a mixture of "Yes/No" responses, self-assessed confidence levels via Likert scales, and free type questions. Setting: The study assessed feedback for a 5-session surgical skills course delivered at the authors' institution. This is a newly designed course using low-cost materials which was free for all attendees. Participants: Participants were all in the first or second year of medical school. There was capacity for 60 students, and all attendees provided informed consent to participate. Results: A total of 446 students applied for the course with 58 participants in the final study, 31% of whom had prior surgical skills experience. There was a statistically significant increase in student confidence levels following the course for all taught surgical skills (P = .0001). Participants were also more confident that they possessed the skills required for clinical placements (P = .0001) and to work as a junior doctor (P = .01). Thematic qualitative analysis revealed a reliance on third parties for previous surgical experience; this course improved knowledge and skills for future practice. Limitations included session duration and equipment choice. Conclusion: This study demonstrates high demand and student satisfaction from this course, offering a potential framework to improve undergraduate surgical skills teaching. The results presented here have the potential to inform wider curricula development across medical schools in the future. Competencies: Medical knowledge; practice-based learning and Improvement.

Cryptocurrencies, Diversification and the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper features an analysis of cryptocurrencies and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their effectiveness as a portfolio diversification tool and explores the correlations between the continuously compounded returns on Bitcoin, Ethereum and the S&P500 Index using a variety of parametric and non-parametric techniques. These methods include linear standard metrics such as the application of ordinary least squares regression (OLS) and the Pearson, Spearman and Kendall’s tau measures of association. In addition, non-linear, non-parametric measures such as the Generalised Measure of Correlation (GMC) and non-parametric copula estimates are applied. The results across this range of measures are consistent. The metrics suggest that, whilst the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic does not appear to have increased the correlations between the cryptocurrency series, it appears to have increased the correlations between the returns on cryptocurrencies and those on the S&P500 Index. This suggests that investments in cryptocurrencies are not likely to offer key diversification strategies in times of crisis, on the basis of evidence provided by this crisis.

Sensationalist social media usage by doctors and dentists during Covid-19.

INTRODUCTION: Many doctors and dentists took to social media to raise alarm and/or express professional opinion, dissatisfaction, anger and/or incredulity associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. Although most of these social media posts involved practitioners from abroad, this article explores whether they would attract fitness to practise investigations had they been posted by UK-based medical and dental practitioners. In particular, it asks whether such conduct comes into conflict with the existing professional standards issued by the General Medical Council (GMC) and the General Dental Council (GDC). It questions also whether those guidelines should be updated and/or further clarified in view of the extraordinary circumstances posed by the pandemic. METHOD: An exploratory study was conducted using sensationalist pandemic-related social media posts by doctors and dentists discovered during the first half of 2020 (n = 11). The contents were analysed qualitatively using documentary analysis using coding terms based on the professional standards on social media published by both the GMC and the GDC. The codes generated common and recurring themes that were used to structure discussion. FINDINGS: This study provides a partial insight as to the likely motivations of doctors and dentists to use social media in a manner that may not necessarily lend well to the professional standards expected. In a majority of instances, doctors and dentists who posted social media material with a sensationalist outlook tended to focus on single-issue campaigns pertaining to specific aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic. These issues included controversial commentary on acute shortages of personal protective equipment and attendant occupational risks to clinical staff to Covid-19 infection; criticisms directed towards regulatory bodies in the handling of the pandemic; and professional advice to the general public which was later found to be inaccurate. CONCLUSIONS: Social media offer opportunities for healthcare professionals to play a constructive role in raising awareness, disseminating information, and promoting solidarity in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, doctors and dentists must carefully consider the ethical and professional pitfalls involved in sensationalist social media posts. The GMC and the GDC should, at the same time, regularly update and clarify their social media guidance in response to major global events like a pandemic as well as advances in social media technology.

Medical School Education on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

Background and objectives: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex multi-system disease with a significant impact on the quality of life of patients and their families, yet the majority of ME/CFS patients go unrecognised or undiagnosed. For two decades, the medical education establishment in the UK has been challenged to remedy these failings, but little has changed. Meanwhile, there has been an exponential increase in biomedical research and an international paradigm shift in the literature, which defines ME/CFS as a multisystem disease, replacing the psychogenic narrative. This study was designed to explore the current UK medical school education on ME/CFS and to identify challenges and opportunities relating to future ME/CFS medical education. Materials and methods: A questionnaire, developed under the guidance of the Medical Schools Council, was sent to all 34 UK medical schools to collect data for the academic year 2018-2019. Results: Responses were provided by 22 out of a total of 34 medical schools (65%); of these 13/22 (59%) taught ME/CFS, and teaching was led by lecturers from ten medical specialties. Teaching delivery was usually by lecture; discussion, case studies and e-learning were also used. Questions on ME/CFS were included by seven schools in their examinations and three schools reported likely clinical exposure to ME/CFS patients. Two-thirds of respondents were interested in receiving further teaching aids in ME/CFS. None of the schools shared details of their teaching syllabus, so it was not possible to ascertain what the students were being taught. Conclusions: This exploratory study reveals inadequacies in medical school teaching on ME/CFS. Many medical schools (64% of respondents) acknowledge the need to update ME/CFS education by expressing an appetite for further educational materials. The General Medical Council (GMC) and Medical Schools Council (MSC) are called upon to use their considerable influence to bring about the appropriate changes to medical school curricula so future doctors can recognise, diagnose and treat ME/CFS. The GMC is urged to consider creating a registered specialty encompassing ME/CFS, post-viral fatigue and long Covid.