Are battlefield and prehospital trauma scenarios an effective educational tool to teach leadership and crisis resource management skills to undergraduate medical students?

INTRODUCTION: Leadership and crisis resource management (CRM) skills are important skills for doctors, however there is a recognised lack of undergraduate leadership education. There remains debate over how best to teach leadership and CRM skills, and poor leadership skills among clinicians are associated with adverse patient outcomes. We examined whether high-fidelity battlefield and prehospital scenarios can improve leadership and CRM skills. METHOD: This was a prospective observational study with students self-reporting their leadership and CRM skills using the Ottawa Crisis Resource Management Global Ranking Scale (OCRMGRS) before and after completing the Cambridge University Emergency Medicine Society Battlefield and Pre-Hospital Trauma course. The course involves a mixture of small group tutorials and practical high-fidelity battlefield and prehospital trauma scenarios. Faculty also completed the OCRMGRS for the first and last candidates at the scenarios. The mean precourse versus mean postcourse score of the OCRMGRS was analysed using a two-tailed t-test. RESULTS: 46 students completed paired OCRMGRS before and after the course. The mean precourse scores for each of the domains (leadership, communication skills, resource utilisation, problem solving skills and situational awareness) were calculated. There was a statistically significant (p<0.05) increase in both self-reported and faculty-reported scores across all domains, and the increase remained at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Leadership and CRM skills are important non-clinical skills for doctors, however there is debate over how best to teach them. High-fidelity battlefield and prehospital trauma scenarios are an effective means of teaching leadership and CRM skills to civilian medical students.

Medical physics aspects of cancer care in the Asia Pacific region: 2014 survey results.

It was the aim of this work to assess and track the workload, working conditions and professional recognition of radiation oncology medical physicists (ROMPs) in the Asia Pacific region over time. In this third survey since 2008, a structured questionnaire was mailed in 2014 to 22 senior medical physicists representing 23 countries. As in previous surveys the questionnaire covered seven themes: 1 education, training and professional certification, 2 staffing, 3 typical tasks, 4 professional organisations, 5 resources, 6 research and teaching, and 7 job satisfaction. The response rate of 100% is a result of performing a survey through a network, which allows easy follow-up. The replies cover 4841 ROMPs in 23 countries. Compared to 2008, the number of medical physicists in many countries has doubled. However, the number of experienced ROMPs compared to the overall workforce is still small, especially in low and middle income countries. The increase in staff is matched by a similar increase in the number of treatment units over the years. Furthermore, the number of countries using complex techniques (IMRT, IGRT) or installing high end equipment (tomotherapy, robotic linear accelerators) is increasing. Overall, ROMPs still feel generally overworked and the professional recognition, while varying widely, appears to be improving only slightly. Radiation oncology medical physics practice has not changed significantly over the last 6 years in the Asia Pacific Region even if the number of physicists and the number and complexity of treatment techniques and technologies have increased dramatically.

Medical physics aspects of cancer care in the Asia Pacific region: 2011 survey results.

BACKGROUND: Medical physicists are essential members of the radiation oncology team. Given the increasing complexity of radiotherapy delivery, it is important to ensure adequate training and staffing. The aim of the present study was to update a similar survey from 2008 and assess the situation of medical physicists in the large and diverse Asia Pacific region. METHODS: Between March and July 2011, a survey on profession and practice of radiation oncology medical physicists (ROMPs) in the Asia Pacific region was performed. The survey was sent to senior physicists in 22 countries. Replies were received from countries that collectively represent more than half of the world's population. The survey questions explored five areas: education, staffing, work patterns including research and teaching, resources available, and job satisfaction. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Compared to a data from a similar survey conducted three years ago, the number of medical physicists in participating countries increased by 29% on average. This increase is similar to the increase in the number of linear accelerators, showing that previously identified staff shortages have yet to be substantially addressed. This is also highlighted by the fact that most ROMPs are expected to work overtime often and without adequate compensation. While job satisfaction has stayed similar compared to the previous survey, expectations for education and training have increased somewhat. This is in line with a trend towards certification of ROMPs. CONCLUSION: As organisations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) start to recognise medical physics as a profession, it is evident that despite some encouraging signs there is still a lot of work required towards establishing an adequately trained and resourced medical physics workforce in the Asia Pacific region.