Using Natural Language Processing to Automatically Assess Feedback Quality: Findings From 3 Surgical Residencies.

PURPOSE: Learning is markedly improved with high-quality feedback, yet assuring the quality of feedback is difficult to achieve at scale. Natural language processing (NLP) algorithms may be useful in this context as they can automatically classify large volumes of narrative data. However, it is unknown if NLP models can accurately evaluate surgical trainee feedback. This study evaluated which NLP techniques best classify the quality of surgical trainee formative feedback recorded as part of a workplace assessment. METHOD: During the 2016-2017 academic year, the SIMPL (Society for Improving Medical Professional Learning) app was used to record operative performance narrative feedback for residents at 3 university-based general surgery residency training programs. Feedback comments were collected for a sample of residents representing all 5 postgraduate year levels and coded for quality. In May 2019, the coded comments were then used to train NLP models to automatically classify the quality of feedback across 4 categories (effective, mediocre, ineffective, or other). Models included support vector machines (SVM), logistic regression, gradient boosted trees, naive Bayes, and random forests. The primary outcome was mean classification accuracy. RESULTS: The authors manually coded the quality of 600 recorded feedback comments. Those data were used to train NLP models to automatically classify the quality of feedback across 4 categories. The NLP model using an SVM algorithm yielded a maximum mean accuracy of 0.64 (standard deviation, 0.01). When the classification task was modified to distinguish only high-quality vs low-quality feedback, maximum mean accuracy was 0.83, again with SVM. CONCLUSIONS: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to examine the use of NLP for classifying feedback quality. SVM NLP models demonstrated the ability to automatically classify the quality of surgical trainee evaluations. Larger training datasets would likely further increase accuracy.

Creating a Program to Support Registering and Reporting Clinical Trials at Johns Hopkins University.

PROBLEM: The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) require that many clinical trials register and report results on ClinicalTrials.gov. Noncompliance with these policies denies research participants and scientists access to potentially relevant findings and could lead to monetary penalties or loss of funding. After discovering hundreds of potentially noncompliant trials affiliated with the institution, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) sought to develop a program to support research teams with registration and reporting requirements. APPROACH: JHUSOM conducted a baseline assessment of institutional compliance in 2015, launched the ClinicalTrials.gov Program in June 2016, and expanded the program to the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in April 2018. The program is innovative in its comprehensive approach, and it was among the first to bring a large number of trials into compliance. OUTCOMES: From September 2015 to September 2020, JHUSOM brought completed and ongoing trials into compliance with FDAAA and NIH policies and maintained almost perfect compliance for new trials. During this period, the proportion of trials potentially noncompliant with the FDAAA decreased from 44% (339/774) to 2% (32/1,304). NEXT STEPS: JHUSOM continues to develop and evaluate tools and procedures that facilitate trial registration and results reporting. In collaboration with other academic medical centers, JHUSOM plans to share resources and to identify and disseminate best practices. This report identifies practical lessons for institutions that might develop similar programs.

Repercussões das diretrizes curriculares nacionais de 2014 nos projetos pedagógicos das novas escolas médicas / Repercusiones de las directrices curriculares nacionales de 2014 en los Proyectos Pedagógicos de las nuevas escuelas médicas / Repercussions of the 2014 national curricular guidelines on the pedagogical projects of new medical schools

As Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais orientam a constituição dos currículos para ordenamento da formação profissional em saúde e os projetos pedagógicos dos cursos as articulam às práticas pedagógicas. Esta pesquisa analisou as repercussões das Diretrizes Curriculares de 2014 nos projetos pedagógicos das escolas médicas criadas após sua publicação. De abordagem qualitativa, faz análise documental dos referidos projetos orientada pela hermenêutica crítica. Os achados revelam forte alinhamento dos projetos analisados às diretrizes curriculares. Identificou-se deslocamento do paradigma flexneriano para a integralidade, tendendo para formação de profissionais voltada às reais necessidades da população. Outros achados são as diferenças na concepção do médico de formação geral e na utilização das metodologias ativas de ensino-aprendizagem. Evidenciou-se ainda matrizes curriculares com concepções cuja proposta de integração ensino-serviço-comunidade não pareceu estar garantida, sugerindo a manutenção de propostas baseadas em disciplinas. (AU)

Las Directrices Curriculares Nacionales orientan la constitución de los currículos para ordenamiento de la formación profesional en salud y los Proyectos Pedagógicos de los Cursos las articulan con las prácticas pedagógicas. Esta investigación analizó las repercusiones de las Directrices Curriculares de 2014 en los Proyectos Pedagógicos de las escuelas médicas creadas después de su publicación. De abordaje cualitativo, hace análisis documental de los referidos proyectos orientados por la hermenéutica crítica. Los hallazgos revelan un fuerte alineamiento de los proyectos analizados con las directrices curriculares. Se identificó un desplazamiento del paradigma flexneriano para la integralidad, tendiendo a la formación de profesionales enfocada en las necesidades reales de la población. Otros hallazgos son las diferencias en la concepción del médico de formación general y en la utilización de las metodologías activas de enseñanza aprendizaje. Se evidenciaron también matrices curriculares con concepciones cuya propuesta de integración enseñanza-servicio-comunidad no parecía estar garantizada, sugiriendo el mantenimiento de propuestas con base en asignaturas. (AU)

The Brazilian national curricular guidelines on health education steer curriculum composition so as to organize professional training in this field. Pedagogical projects for courses connect these guidelines to pedagogical practices. This study assessed the repercussions of the 2014 curricular guidelines for the pedagogical projects of medical schools that were created after publication of the guidelines. A qualitative approach was taken, with analysis on documents of these projects guided by critical hermeneutics. Strong alignment between these projects and the curricular guidelines was found. A shift from the Flexner paradigm to comprehensiveness was identified, such that the professional training tended towards the real needs of the population. Differences in the conception of general medical practitioners and in the use of active teaching-learning methodologies were found. Curricular conceptions in which the proposed teaching-service-community integration did not seem to be guaranteed were evident, thus suggesting that proposals based on disciplines had remained present. (AU)

Impact of COVID-19 on Away Rotations in Surgical Fields.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a variety of challenges in the medical education curriculum, one of which is the possible loss of summer and fall away rotations for fourth year students applying into surgical subspecialties. Subsequently, a lack of in-person evaluations may have a major impact on an applicant's perception of the residency and the program's ability to assess the individual applicant. This is especially crucial for applicants without a home program in their specialty of interest, as away rotations are an important opportunity to confirm interest in pursuit of a subspecialty, obtain letters of recommendation, and make positive impressions at programs of interest. The objective of this article is to assess the current COVID-19 pandemic situation in light of away rotations and to provide recommendations for surgical subspecialty programs and applicants to have the best outcome during this upcoming application cycle. In particular, we emphasize the importance of implementing universal processes within each individual subspecialty. This will provide equitable opportunities for all applicants, minimizing potential biases or disadvantages based on geographic location or availability of a program at an applicant's home institution.

Exploring UK medical school differences: the MedDifs study of selection, teaching, student and F1 perceptions, postgraduate outcomes and fitness to practise.

BACKGROUND: Medical schools differ, particularly in their teaching, but it is unclear whether such differences matter, although influential claims are often made. The Medical School Differences (MedDifs) study brings together a wide range of measures of UK medical schools, including postgraduate performance, fitness to practise issues, specialty choice, preparedness, satisfaction, teaching styles, entry criteria and institutional factors. METHOD: Aggregated data were collected for 50 measures across 29 UK medical schools. Data include institutional history (e.g. rate of production of hospital and GP specialists in the past), curricular influences (e.g. PBL schools, spend per student, staff-student ratio), selection measures (e.g. entry grades), teaching and assessment (e.g. traditional vs PBL, specialty teaching, self-regulated learning), student satisfaction, Foundation selection scores, Foundation satisfaction, postgraduate examination performance and fitness to practise (postgraduate progression, GMC sanctions). Six specialties (General Practice, Psychiatry, Anaesthetics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery) were examined in more detail. RESULTS: Medical school differences are stable across time (median alpha = 0.835). The 50 measures were highly correlated, 395 (32.2%) of 1225 correlations being significant with p < 0.05, and 201 (16.4%) reached a Tukey-adjusted criterion of p < 0.0025. Problem-based learning (PBL) schools differ on many measures, including lower performance on postgraduate assessments. While these are in part explained by lower entry grades, a surprising finding is that schools such as PBL schools which reported greater student satisfaction with feedback also showed lower performance at postgraduate examinations. More medical school teaching of psychiatry, surgery and anaesthetics did not result in more specialist trainees. Schools that taught more general practice did have more graduates entering GP training, but those graduates performed less well in MRCGP examinations, the negative correlation resulting from numbers of GP trainees and exam outcomes being affected both by non-traditional teaching and by greater historical production of GPs. Postgraduate exam outcomes were also higher in schools with more self-regulated learning, but lower in larger medical schools. A path model for 29 measures found a complex causal nexus, most measures causing or being caused by other measures. Postgraduate exam performance was influenced by earlier attainment, at entry to Foundation and entry to medical school (the so-called academic backbone), and by self-regulated learning. Foundation measures of satisfaction, including preparedness, had no subsequent influence on outcomes. Fitness to practise issues were more frequent in schools producing more male graduates and more GPs. CONCLUSIONS: Medical schools differ in large numbers of ways that are causally interconnected. Differences between schools in postgraduate examination performance, training problems and GMC sanctions have important implications for the quality of patient care and patient safety.

The Current Status of Medical School Clerkship Grades in Residency Applicants.

BACKGROUND: Two criteria that have been investigated for evaluating orthopedic surgery residency candidates are achieving an "honors" grade during a surgery clerkship and the total number of honors grades received in all clerkships. Unfortunately, the rate of honors grades given and the criteria for earning an honors grade differ between medical schools, making comparison of applicants from different medical schools difficult. OBJECTIVE: We measured the rate of honors grades in clerkships at different medical schools in the United States to examine the utility of clerkship grades in evaluating orthopedic surgery residency applicants. METHODS: Adequate data via the Electronic Residency Application Service were available for 86 of 142 Association of American Medical Colleges medical schools from the 2017 Match cycle. Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were performed to identify differences in grade distributions within each clerkship and in school ranking for research by U.S. News & World Report. RESULTS: For the surgery clerkship, the median rate of honors grades given was 32.5% (range 5%-67%). There was a high rate of interinstitutional variability in all clerkships. We were unable to demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between research ranking and percentage honors grades given for individual clerkships. CONCLUSIONS: A standardized method for grading medical students during clinical clerkships does not exist, resulting in a high degree of interinstitutional variability. Surgery clerkship grades are an unreliable measure for comparing orthopedic surgery residency applicants from different medical schools. Standardized measures of applicant evaluation might be helpful in the future.

[General characteristics of medical education in Mexico. A look from medical schools]. / Características generales de la educación médica en México. Una mirada desde las escuelas de medicina.

OBJECTIVE: To know the characteristics of medical education and identify its strengths and weaknesses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A transversal and quantitative study of the characteristics of medical education in 29 medical schools in Mexico was carried out, between April and September 2017. Questionnaire with Likert scale was applied to explore context, regulation, structure, process, results and impact of medical education. Bivariate analysis was performed with a Chi square test and the significance level was equal to or less than 0.05. RESULTS: The political context obtained 64%, economical context 10% and mechanisms of regulation 31%. The educational structure was 61% and the social impact was 93%. CONCLUSIONS: Public policies, regulatory mechanisms and public investment must be strengthened to improve the quality of medical education.

OBJETIVO: Conocer las características de la educación médica e identificar sus fortalezas y debilidades. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se realizó un estudio transversal y cuantitativo para conocer las características de la educación médica en 29 escuelas de medicina en México, entre abril y septiembre de 2017. Se utilizó un cuestionario con escala tipo Likert para explorar el contexto, la regulación, la estructura, el proceso, los resultados y el impacto de la educación médica. Se realizó un análisis bivariado con ji cuadrada y una significancia estadística de p igual o menor a 0.05. RESULTADOS: El contexto político obtuvo 64%, el contexto económico 10%, los mecanismos de regulación 31%, la estructura educativa 61% y el impacto social 93%. CONCLUSIONES: Se requiere fortalecer las políticas públicas, la regulación y la inversión pública, para mejorar la calidad de la educación médica.

Características generales de la educación médica en México. Una mirada desde las escuelas de medicina / General characteristics of medical education in Mexico. A look from medical schools

Resumen: Objetivo: Conocer las características de la educación médica e identificar sus fortalezas y debilidades. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal y cuantitativo para conocer las características de la educación médica en 29 escuelas de medicina en México, entre abril y septiembre de 2017. Se utilizó un cuestionario con escala tipo Likert para explorar el contexto, la regulación, la estructura, el proceso, los resultados y el impacto de la educación médica. Se realizó un análisis bivariado con ji cuadrada y una significancia estadística depigual o menor a 0.05. Resultados: El contexto político obtuvo 64%, el contexto económico 10%, los mecanismos de regulación 31%, la estructura educativa 61% y el impacto social 93%. Conclusiones: Se requiere fortalecer las políticas públicas, la regulación y la inversión pública, para mejorar la calidad de la educación médica.

Abstract: Objective: To know the characteristics of medical education and identify its strengths and weaknesses. Materials and methods: A transversal and quantitative study of the characteristics of medical education in 29 medical schools in Mexico was carried out, between April and September 2017. Questionnaire with Likert scale was applied to explore context, regulation, structure, process, results and impact of medical education. Bivariate analysis was performed with a Chi square test and the significance level was equal to or less than 0.05. Results: The political context obtained 64%, economical context 10% and mechanisms of regulation 31%. The educational structure was 61% and the social impact was 93%. Conclusions: Public policies, regulatory mechanisms and public investment must be strengthened to improve the quality of medical education.

Acquisition of Surgical Skills by Final-Year Medical Students in State-Owned Medical Schools of Cameroon: Are We Doing Any Good?

INTRODUCTION: World Health Organization recommends that basic surgical care be administered at the district level. In the absence of qualified surgeons, general practitioners are sometimes proposed to bridge the gap. Medical curricula in low- and middle-income countries must be designed accordingly. The aim of this study was to assess the achievements of training of undergraduate medical students in Cameroon towards meeting this objective. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in the four state-owned medical schools in Cameroon. All students who had completed all clinical rotations were assessed with a self-administered questionnaire for their exposure and self-perceived comfort in conducting some selected basic surgical skills and procedures. RESULTS: A total of 304 (87.6%) students returned filled questionnaires. Their self-perceived comfort in surgical skills ranged from 25% (manual node tying) to 86% (surgical scrubbing). Adequate exposure to selected surgical procedures was 87% for repair of perineal tear complicating vaginal delivery, above 80% for caesarean section and incision and drainage of abscess, 73% for cast immobilization of extremity fracture and just above 50% for hernia repair and appendectomy. It was as low as 3% for bowel resection and anastomosis. The choice to perform extra-curricular activity for skills improvement was significantly associated with adequate exposure (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Overall, the mastery of practical surgical skills and basic surgical interventions by final-year medical students in Cameroon is insufficient. There is need to reinforce the training and assessment by creating the conditions for an appropriate exposure of medical students during surgical rotations.

Desempeño de las escuelas de medicina en México: resultados del Examen Nacional para Aspirantes a Residencias Médicas / Performance of medical schools in Mexico: Results from the Examen Nacional para Aspirantes a Residencias Médicas

Resumen: Objetivo: Evaluar el desempeño de las facultades y escuelas de medicina (FEM) utilizando como subrogado los resultados del Examen Nacional para Aspirantes a Residencias Médicas (ENARM). Material y métodos: Se analizaron las bases de datos oficiales del ENARM 2016 y 2017, empleando cinco criterios de desempeño (CD) por cada FEM: dos oficiales y tres creados exprofeso. Resultados. En 2016 y 2017 se registraron sustentantes de 112 y 115 FEM, respectivamente. Dependiendo del CD, la FEM que quedó clasificada en el primer lugar obtuvo entre 5 y 20 puntos más que la del segundo lugar, y entre 23 y 98 puntos más que la FEM ubicada en el último lugar. Aproximadamente 25% de los sustentantes fueron calificados como "deficientes en conocimientos" y aproximadamente 80% de éstos provenían de menos de un tercio de las FEM. Conclusiones: El ENARM arroja información sobre el desempeño de las FEM. Aproximadamente uno de cada cuatro sustentantes obtuvo puntajes menores al aprobatorio en cualquier especialidad.

Abstract: Objective: To assess the performance of medical schools (FEM) by analyzing the results of their applicants in the Examen Nacional para Aspirantes a Residencias Médicas (ENARM). Materials and methods: Five performance criteria, two official and three created on purpose, were calculated from the ENARM-2016 and -2017 official databases to assess FEM performance. Results: In 2016 and 2017, applicants registered from 112 and 115 FEM, respectively. Depending on the performance criteria, the FEM in the first place obtained 5 to 20 points more than the one placed second, and 23 to 98 points more than the FEM in the last place. Approximately 25% applicants were classified as "knowledge-deficient," and about 80% of these originated from less than one third of the FEM. Conclusion: The ENARM results provide information on the performance of the FEM. Approximately one of every four applicants obtained scores lower than the approval threshold of any specialty.

Nutrition education in medical schools (NEMS). An ESPEN position paper.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Nutrition education is necessary in the training of healthcare professionals, including medical students. However, recent surveys showed that there is a high variability within Medical Schools in different countries. The aim of this ESPEN position paper is to identify a minimum curriculum knowledge in nutrition that serves to improve the training of the future doctors and how to solve the main barriers of its implementation in university centres. METHODS: In 2017, the ESPEN Executive Committee launched the Nutrition Education in Medical Schools (NEMS) Project and formed a core working group including members of the ESPEN Nutrition Education Study Group (NESG) and representatives of several European Medical Schools. This group met in Brussels, on 19th July 2018 and decided to prepare a position paper on this topic. RESULTS: Five main learning objectives and twenty-one topics on human nutrition, within its three domains (basic, applied and clinical nutrition) were identified to be fulfilled at the end of training in all Medical Schools. The experts showed the following key factors for its implementation: establish a nutrition curriculum committee, use different models of integration of the contents in the curriculum (vertical and horizontal), have a multidisciplinary and experienced faculty, incorporate a variety of teaching models, and evaluate the programme periodically. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition Education is necessary and should be mandatory in all Medical Schools. This position paper aims at improving this gap knowledge and gives some clues for a successful implementation of the changes in the medical curriculum at university centres.

Student Perspectives on Oncology Curricula at United States Medical Schools.

Delivering a cohesive oncology curriculum to medical students is challenging due to oncology's multidisciplinary nature, predominantly outpatient clinical setting, and lack of data describing effective approaches to teaching it. We sought to better characterize approaches to oncology education at US medical schools by surveying third and fourth year medical students who serve on their institution's curriculum committee. We received responses from students at 19 schools (15.2% response rate). Key findings included the following: (1) an under-emphasis of cancer in the curriculum relative to other common diseases; (2) imbalanced involvement of different clinical subspecialists as educators; (3) infrequent requirements for students to rotate through non-surgical oncologic clerkships; and (4) students are less confident in their knowledge of cancer treatment compared to basic science/natural history or workup/diagnosis. Based on these findings, we provide several recommendations to achieve robust multidisciplinary curriculum design and implementation that better balances the clinical and classroom aspects of oncology education.

Implementation of a Novel Medical School Multidisciplinary and Interprofessional Oncology Curriculum: a Mixed Method Study.

As the population of patients with cancer and survivors grows, physician knowledge of oncology clinical care and research is increasingly important. Despite this patient population growth, medical students and non-oncology physicians report insufficient oncologic and survivorship care training. First-year students at a single US medical school completing a summer research experience were invited to participate in integrated Scholars in Oncology-Associated Research (SOAR) program. SOAR seeks to broaden students' understanding of multidisciplinary and interprofessional oncology clinical care and research. SOAR consists of three components: structured didactics, multidisciplinary tumor board attendance, and interprofessional shadowing. A mixed-methods approach investigated whether student knowledge improved after SOAR. Thirty-three students enrolled in SOAR (20 in 2015, 13 in 2016) and completed pre-assessments. Twenty-five (75.8%) students completed SOAR and post-assessments. Self-reported understanding of clinical (2[2, 3] vs. 4[4], p < 0.01) and research oncology (2[2, 3] vs. 4[4], p < 0.01) improved after SOAR. Understanding of individual disciplines also significantly improved. When describing clinical oncology, responses written post-SOAR were more comprehensive, averaging 3.7 themes per response vs. 2.8 on pre-assessments (p = 0.03). There were more references to "survivorship" as a component of oncology on post-assessments (0[0.0%] vs. 7[28.0%], p < 0.01) and "screening/prevention" (2[6.1%] vs. 7[28.0%], p = 0.03). Additionally, students more often described cancer care as a continuum on post-assessments (4[12.1%] vs. 11[44.0%], p = 0.01). A structured didactic and experiential introduction to oncology, SOAR, was successfully piloted. SOAR improved participant understanding of oncology and its distinct clinical and research disciplines. Future work will focus on expanding SOAR into a longitudinal oncology curriculum.

Mapping the scientific research on the negative aspects of the medical school learning environment

SUMMARY Objective: We sought to understand the landscape of published articles regarding medical schools' learning environments (LE) worldwide, with an explicit focus on potentially negative aspects of the LE as an effort to identify areas specifically in need of remediation or intervention that could prevent future unprofessional behaviours, burnout, violence and mistreatment among students and physicians. Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted in six electronic databases (PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, ERIC-ProQuest and PsycINFO) through December 31, 2016, including 12 themes: learning environment - general, hidden curriculum (negative), unethical behaviours, bullying/hazing, violence, sexual discrimination, homophobia, racism, social discrimination, minorities' discrimination, professional misconduct, and "other" negative aspects. Results: Of 9,338 articles found, 710 met the inclusion criteria. The most common themes were general LE (233 articles), unprofessional behaviours (91 articles), and sexual discrimination (80 articles). Approximately 80% of articles were published in the 21st century. Conclusion: There is a clear increase in scientific articles on negative aspects of the medical school LE in high-quality journals, especially in the 21st century. However, more studies are needed to investigate negative LE aspects with greater attention paid to experimental, longitudinal, and cross-cultural study designs.

RESUMO OBJETIVO: Buscou-se entender o panorama dos artigos publicados sobre os ambientes de aprendizagem (AA) das escolas médicas em todo o mundo, com um foco explícito nos aspectos potencialmente negativos do AA como um esforço para identificar áreas específicamente necessitadas de remediação ou intervenção que poderiam evitar futuros comportamentos não profissionais, violência e maus-tratos entre estudantes e médicos. Métodos: Foi realizada uma análise bibliométrica em seis bases de dados eletrônicas (PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Biblioteca Cochrane, Scopus, Eric-ProQuest e PsycInfo) até 31 de dezembro de 2016, incluindo 12 temas: ambiente de aprendizagem - geral, currículo oculto (negativo), comportamentos antiéticos, bullying/trote, violência, discriminação sexual, homofobia, racismo, discriminação social, discriminação de minorias, má conduta profissional e "outros" aspectos negativos. Resultados: Dos 9.338 artigos encontrados, 710 preencheram os critérios de inclusão. Os temas mais comuns foram LE geral (233 artigos), comportamentos não profissionais (91 artigos) e discriminação sexual (80 artigos). Aproximadamente 80% dos artigos foram publicados no século XXI. Conclusão: Há um claro aumento em artigos científicos sobre aspectos negativos da escola de medicina LE em periódicos de alta qualidade, especialmente no século XXI. No entanto, mais estudos são necessários para investigar aspectos negativos do LE com maior atenção aos desenhos de estudos experimentais, longitudinais e transculturais.

Danish medical schools do not meet international recommendations for teaching palliative medicine.

INTRODUCTION: Denmark has been ranked low regarding the extent of teaching in palliative care (PC) at medical schools although the Danish Health Authority recommends that all doctors have basic knowledge of PC. The aim of this study was to investigate the contents of and time spent on teaching in PC at the four Danish medical schools and to compare results with recommendations from the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC). METHODS: Data were collected by examining university curricula, course catalogues, etc., using search words based on recommendations from the Palliative Education Assessment Tool and by a questionnaire survey among the university employees responsible for semesters or courses in Danish medical schools. RESULTS: Teaching in palliative medicine at Danish medical schools is generally sparse and mainly deals with pain management and general aspects of PC. Compared to European recommendations, teaching in, e.g., ethics, spirituality, teamwork and self-reflection is lacking. Furthermore, PC training does not reach the recommended minimum of 40 hours, and examinations in PC are not held. As from the autumn of 2017, the University of Southern Denmark has offered a course that expands teaching in PC and thereby improves compliance with EAPC recommendations; the remaining three medical schools do not, to our knowledge, have any specific plans to increase the extent of teaching activities in palliative medicine. CONCLUSIONS: Teaching in palliative medicine is sparse at all four medical schools in Denmark and should be strengthened to meet Danish as well as European recommendations. FUNDING: No funding was used for this study. TRIAL REGISTRATION: not relevant.

The Revised 2017 MSPE: Better, But Not "Outstanding".

AIM: The medical student performance evaluation (MSPE) is relied on as an objective summary evaluation by surgical program directors. In 2017, an MSPE task force released recommendations for best practice for their format and content. The purpose of this study was to analyze US medical schools' adherence to these guidelines. METHODS: MSPEs from 113 of 147 Liaison committee on Medical Education (LCME)-accredited medical schools were analyzed for measurable attributes such as word counts, transparent clerkship grading, comparative performance data, and statements of professionalism. 2017 MSPEs were compared to a baseline group of 45 MSPEs from 2016 to measure change over time. Measurable attributes were compared using the Fisher exact and Mann Whitney-U tests. A p value < 0.05 was deemed statistically significant. RESULTS: We analyzed 113 MSPEs from 2017. The median page count decreased by one from the prior year, with a narrower range of variation. 96% of schools reported a discreet grade in surgery. We observed substantial compliance with the recommendation for a statement of professionalism, noteworthy characteristics, and comparative clerkship data. More schools were observed to report school-wide rankings. There were significant variations in the graphical depiction of student achievement. CONCLUSIONS: In response to the 2017 task force guidelines, MSPEs have become more standardized and transparent with regard to medical student evaluation. There is increased (but not ubiquitous) adherence with the recommendation for three noteworthy characteristics and statements of professionalism. Of particular importance to surgical program directors, 95.6% of 2017 MSPEs report a grade in the surgical clerkship and 85.8% include school-wide comparative clerkship performance data. Still, only 69.9% currently report school-wide summative performance data.