Mentoring Medical Students Towards Oncology: Results from a Pilot Multi-institutional Mentorship Programme.

The mounting global cancer burden has generated an increasing demand for oncologists to join the workforce. Yet, students report limited oncology exposure in undergraduate medical curricula, while undergraduate oncology mentorships remain underutilised. We established an undergraduate oncology society-led mentorship programme aimed at medical students across several UK universities to increase medical student oncology exposure. We electronically recruited and paired oncologist mentors and medical student mentees and distributed a dedicated questionnaire (pre- and post-mentorship) to compare mentees' self-reported cancer specialty knowledge and oncology career motivation after undertaking a 6-week mentorship. We also determined students' interest across specialties and subspecialties and measured mentor availability via percentage programme uptake. Statistical analysis included univariate inferential tests on SPSS software. Twentynine (23.4%) of 124 oncology specialists agreed to become mentors. The mentorship was completed by 30 students across three medical schools: 16 (53.3%) Barts, 10 (33.3%) Birmingham, and 4 (13.3%) King's; 11 (36.7%) mentored by medical oncologists, 10 (33.3%) by clinical/radiation oncologists, and 9 (30%) by surgical oncologists. The mentorship generated a statically significant increase in students' knowledge of the multidisciplinary team and all oncology-related specialties including academia/research but not interest towards a career in oncology. Undergraduate oncology mentoring is an effective educational, networking and motivational tool for medical students. Student societies are a valuable asset in cultivating medical student oncology interest by connecting students to faculty and increasing mentor accessibility. Further research should focus on developing an optimal mentorship structure and evaluating long-term outcomes of such educational initiatives.

Glenoid Fracture Fixation Using an Acu-Loc Distal Radius Plate.

Displaced fractures of the glenoid require surgical fixation. This poses multiple problems, including a difficult approach and achieving adequate reduction with current implants. We provide a surgical technical tip for fixing scapula neck and glenoid rim fractures with an Acu-Loc distal radius plate (Acumed, Weyhill, UK), illustrated with two recent case reports. Here, we present two cases of a 58-year-old female and a 51-year-old male presenting to a hospital following a fall, both sustaining an isolated right glenoid intra-articular fracture evident on plain radiographs. CT scans revealed a displaced and fragmented glenoid surface. A reverse Judet posterior approach facilitated exposure to enable the reduction of the glenoid, an uncommon approach. Current plate designs provide surgeons with limited options to fix complex fractures of the scapula and were not suitable here. The lateral scapula border and inferior glenoid have a similar anatomical shape to the distal radius. An Acu-Loc locking distal radius plate with a radial styloid plate was trialled and provided a good reduction to the fragmented glenoid. A distal radius plate can be a useful option to consider in complex scapula neck and glenoid rim fractures. A better understanding of glenoid shape will facilitate the further development of orthopaedic implants. Familiarity with various surgical approaches is needed to operate on these complex fractures.