The art and science of selecting appropriate dressings for acute open wounds in general practice.

BACKGROUND: Acute open wounds constitute a significant part of general practice. With an expanding global market of dressing products, selection of wound dressings remains an area of concern among doctors entering general practice. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to describe a practical guide for choosing appropriate dressings when treating acute open wounds in general practice. DISCUSSION: Although dressing is an essential element of standard wound care, it is important to remember that dressing alone does not heal the wound. Judicious selection of dressings based on wound characteristics, physical properties of dressings and their costs, shelf life and availability are important for delivering appropriate care towards timely healing of acute wounds.

Medical student preferences for self-directed study resources in gross anatomy.

Gross anatomy instruction in medical curricula involve a range of resources and activities including dissection, prosected specimens, anatomical models, radiological images, surface anatomy, textbooks, atlases, and computer-assisted learning (CAL). These resources and activities are underpinned by the expectation that students will actively engage in self-directed study (SDS) to enhance their knowledge and understanding of anatomy. To gain insight into preclinical versus clinical medical students' preferences for SDS resources for learning gross anatomy, and whether these vary on demographic characteristics and attitudes toward anatomy, students were surveyed at two Australian medical schools, one undergraduate-entry and the other graduate-entry. Lecture/tutorial/practical notes were ranked first by 33% of 156 respondents (mean rank ± SD, 2.48 ± 1.38), textbooks by 26% (2.62 ± 1.35), atlases 20% (2.80 ± 1.44), videos 10% (4.34 ± 1.68), software 5% (4.78 ± 1.50), and websites 4% (4.24 ± 1.34). Among CAL resources, Wikipedia was ranked highest. The most important factor in selecting CAL resources was cost (ranked first by 46%), followed by self-assessment, ease of use, alignment with curriculum, and excellent graphics (each 6-9%). Compared with preclinical students, clinical students ranked software and Acland's Video Atlas of Human Anatomy higher and felt radiological images were more important in selecting CAL resources. Along with other studies reporting on the quality, features, and impact on learning of CAL resources, the diversity of students' preferences and opinions on usefulness and ease of use reported here can help guide faculty in selecting and recommending a range of CAL and other resources to their students to support their self-directed study.

Interns' Day in Surgery: improving intern performance through a simulation-based course for final year medical students.

BACKGROUND: The transition from final year medical student into the first year of clinical practice is known to be associated with anxiety and stress that ultimately affects job performance. Studies have shown that much of this stress and anxiety results from a junior doctor's lack of confidence in performing a number of basic tasks. We investigated if implementation of a half-day simulation-based course in the final year medical students results in increased confidence in performing these tasks. METHODS: Final year medical students of the University of Tasmania's School of Medicine posted at the Royal Hobart Hospital participated in a half-day simulation course, comprised of multiple simulation stations, which required students to perform the basic tasks a competent surgical intern would be expected to complete. Students completed a survey which investigated their confidence with each task before and after the course. RESULTS: Overall, the majority of students thought that the Interns' Day in Surgery course was useful. The most significant improvements perceived were in case presentation (57.5% to 94.6%; P = 0.02) and communication with patients and other professional colleagues (55.5% to 75.5%; P = 0.01). A follow-up survey of doctors who attended this course reinforced its benefits. CONCLUSION: Simulation-based courses in clinical practice provide good learning opportunities for final year medical students within the curriculum. This study confirms significant gains in all skills categories practised during the course with perceived benefits subsequently identified by interns. This should lead to a less stressful and more successful transition from student to doctor and ultimately, better patient care.