ABSTRACT
This is the third in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors were asked to reflect on developments in their country--viz. Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Future issues will track trends in the Nordic countries, Southern Europe and Latin America. JM.
Subject(s)
Internationality , Libraries, Medical/trends , Library Science/trends , Documentation , Europe , Humans , Information Management/methods , Libraries, Medical/organization & administration , Professional RoleABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Curriculum reforms in medical schools require cultural and conceptual changes from the faculty. AIMS AND METHODS: We assessed attitudes towards curriculum reforms in different academic, economic, and social environments among 776 teachers from 2 Western European medical schools (Belgium and Denmark) and 7 medical schools in 3 countries in post-communist transition (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The survey included a 5-point Likert-type scale on attitudes towards reforms in general and towards reforms of medical curriculum (10 items each). RESULTS: Teaching staff from medical schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina had a more positive attitude towards reforms of medical curriculum (mean score 36.8 out of maximum 50 [95% CI 36.1 to 37.3]) than those from medical schools in Croatia or Slovenia (30.7 [29.8 to 31.6]) or Western Europe (27.7 [27.1 to 28.3]) (P < 0.001, ANOVA). Significant predictors of positive attitudes towards medical curriculum reform in post-communist transition countries, but not in Western European schools, was younger age, as well as female gender in Bosnia and Herzegovina. CONCLUSIONS: Factors influencing faculty attitudes may not be easy to identify and may be specific for different settings. Their identification and management is necessary for producing sustainable curriculum reform.
Subject(s)
Curriculum , Education, Medical/organization & administration , Faculty, Medical/statistics & numerical data , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Organizational Culture , Organizational Innovation , Age Distribution , Cross-Sectional Studies , Europe , Female , Humans , Linear Models , Male , Sex Distribution , Socioeconomic FactorsSubject(s)
Aortic Valve Stenosis/pathology , Aortic Valve Stenosis/physiopathology , Ventricular Outflow Obstruction/pathology , Ventricular Outflow Obstruction/physiopathology , Aortic Valve Stenosis/congenital , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Newborn, Diseases/pathology , Infant, Newborn, Diseases/physiopathology , Ventricular Outflow Obstruction/congenitalABSTRACT
Apparently, in developing and in well-developed societies we are confronted with a crisis of academic medicine in all aspects: health care, teaching, and research. Health care providers in teaching hospitals are under pressure to generate revenues, academic research is pressed to keep pace with institutions devoted solely to research, and teaching is often understood not as privilege and honor but as burden and nuisance. The key problem and the principal cause of the crisis are low interest of the best young graduates to follow an academic career in a world where the benefits and values of the private sector are prevailing. Confronted with these circumstances and the continuous perils of permanent brain-drain, we developed an innovative concept of "shared employment' where two academic institutions (one in a developed and one in a developing country) will collaborate in development and support of fresh talents, building elite academic staff. Most academic exchange programs developed so far have proved to be ineffective and of poor vitality, in spite of loud exclamations, high expectations, and a huge amount of good will involved. In contrast, the suggested cooperation will be based exclusively on mutual interest and clearly defined benefits for all involved parties.
Subject(s)
Academic Medical Centers/organization & administration , Education, Medical/organization & administration , Faculty, Medical , International Educational Exchange , Schools, Medical/organization & administration , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Career Choice , Developing Countries/economics , Emigration and Immigration , Humans , Institutional Practice , Organizational Innovation , PovertyABSTRACT
Primary heart tumors are exceptional in infants and children. Most common is the rhabdomyoma, often associated with tuberous sclerosis (Bourneville's disease). This tumor is generally believed to have no hemodynamic effects in the majority of cases. Recently, severe obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract by a solitary tumor was diagnosed during pregnancy and emergency surgery was needed soon after birth.
Subject(s)
Fetal Diseases , Heart Neoplasms/complications , Rhabdomyoma/complications , Ventricular Outflow Obstruction/etiology , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Pregnancy , Prenatal Diagnosis , Ventricular Outflow Obstruction/diagnosis , Ventricular Outflow Obstruction/surgeryABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: The use of a patient-triggered and automatic event recorder is documented in a 17-month-old girl presenting with paroxysmal episodes of loss of consciousness. After pacemaker implantation, the paroxysmal attacks disappeared. CONCLUSION: we recommend a more frequent use of the event recorder in the investigation of syncope, especially in small children.
