ABSTRACT
Purpose: This paper aims to explore medical student experiences of creating a peer-to-peer psychiatry educational podcast. Methods: During psychiatry placement, ten year-4 University of Bristol medical students created peer-educational multi-episode podcasts on psychiatric topics. Following completion, they submitted reflective essays on their experiences. Qualitative thematic analysis of these essays was completed by two independent authors. Following data familiarisation, authors independently generated codes that were collated into relevant themes. Upon reaching thematic saturation, findings were collated, and member checking was carried out to confirm the validity of findings. Results: Themes included effective preparation, choosing content, podcast production, enhancing learning, the weight of responsibility and creating educational support networks. All students found podcast creation to be beneficial for personal learning. Conclusion: Exploration of students' experiences creating podcasts can support clearer guidance for medical podcast production, providing opportunities for educators to optimise podcast creation efficiency and educational effectiveness.
ABSTRACT
Clinical coding, the method by which departments are reimbursed for providing services to patients, is widely mispractised within the NHS. Improving clinical coding accuracy therefore offers an opportunity to increase departmental income, guide efficient resource allocation and enable staff development. The authors audited the clinical coding in outpatient hysteroscopy clinics at their institution and found that coding errors were both prevalent and correctable. By implementing simple changes in coding procedure, and without any additional administrative cost, they significantly improved coding accuracy and achieved an increase in total annual tariffs. Although not applicable in a block contract, this will become highly relevant in a restoration of the Payment by Results tariff system. Nurse development is a key objective of the NHS Long Term Plan but can be hindered by staff costs, which require departmental funding. In the authors' institution, improved clinical coding accuracy directly led to a departmental restructuring, funded the development of a new hysteroscopy nurse development and improved care delivery. Coding errors are not unique to the authors' trust, yet simple amendments led to meaningful changes. Therefore, careful auditing and implemented change are needed to raise national clinical coding standards, to enable clinical restructuring, staff development, and provide more efficient, patient-centred care.
