Building Health System Capacity through Medical Education: A Targeted Needs Assessment to Guide Development of a Structured Internal Medicine Curriculum for Medical Interns in Botswana.

BACKGROUND: Medical internship is the final year of training before independent practice for most doctors in Botswana. Internship training in Botswana faces challenges including variability in participants' level of knowledge and skill related to their completion of medical school in a variety of settings (both foreign and domestic), lack of planned curricular content, and limited time for structured educational activities. Data on trainees' opinions regarding the content and delivery of graduate medical education in settings like Botswana are limited, which makes it difficult to revise programs in a learner-centered way. OBJECTIVE: To understand the perceptions and experiences of a group of medical interns in Botswana, in order to inform a large curriculum initiative. METHODS: We conducted a targeted needs assessment using structured interviews at one district hospital. The interview script included demographic, quantitative, and free- response questions. Fourteen interns were asked their opinions about the content and format of structured educational activities, and provided feedback on the preferred characteristics of a new curriculum. Descriptive statistics were calculated. FINDINGS: In the current curriculum, training workshops were the highest-scored teaching format, although most interns preferred lectures overall. Specialists were rated as the most useful teachers, and other interns and medical officers were rated as average. Interns felt they had adequate exposure to content such as HIV and tuberculosis, but inadequate exposure to areas including medical emergencies, non-communicable diseases, pain management, procedural skills, X-ray and EKG interpretation, disclosing medical information, and identifying career goals. For the new curriculum, interns preferred a structured case discussion format, and a focus on clinical reasoning and procedural skills. CONCLUSIONS: This needs assessment identified several foci for development, including a shift toward interactive sessions focused on skill development, the need to empower interns and medical officers to improve teaching skills, and the value of shifting curricular content to mirror the epidemiologic transition occurring in Botswana. Interns' input is being used to initiate a large curriculum intervention that will be piloted and scaled nationally over the next several years. Our results underscore the value of seeking the opinion of trainees, both to aid educators in building programs that serve them and in empowering them to direct their education toward their needs and goals.

A Comparison of the Expectations and Experiences of Medical Students From High-, Middle-, and Low-Income Countries Participating in Global Health Clinical Electives.

Phenomenon: Global health education (GHE) is expanding to include socioculturally and resource-different settings, with the goal of developing a workforce with members who can promote health equity locally and globally. GHE is also no longer limited to students from high-income countries (HICs). However, it is unknown whether the motivations and experiences of medical students from HICs and from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) participating in GHE clinical electives through institutional partnerships are similar or different. Such an understanding is needed to design programs that meet the needs of participants and effectively train them in the principles and practice of global health. APPROACH: This was a cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey of LMIC students from partner sites rotating at one U.S. medical school, and U.S. students from one medical school rotating at partner sites, between 2010 and 2015. Variables included demographic characteristics of participants, components of the curriculum at the home institution, and components of the away rotation, including perceptions of its content and impact. Content analysis was used to identify themes in the responses provided to open-ended questions. FINDINGS: In all, 63 of 84 (75%) LMIC and 61 of 152 (40%) U.S. students participated. Recall of predeparture training was low for both LMIC and U.S. students (44% and 55%, respectively). Opportunities to experience different healthcare systems, resource-different settings, and cultural exposure emerged as motivators for both groups. Both groups noted differences in doctor-patient relationships, interactions between colleagues, and use of diagnostic testing. U.S. respondents were more likely to perceive differences in the impact of social determinants of health and ethical issues. Both groups felt that their experience affected their interactions with patients and perspectives on education, but U.S. students were more likely to mention perspectives on healthcare delivery and social determinants of health, whereas LMIC respondents noted impacts on career goals. Insights: These results argue that GHE is not restricted to resource-constrained settings and that students from LMICs have similar reasons for participation as those from HICs. LMIC students also identified a lack of emphasis on GHE topics like social determinants of health during GH electives, which could diminish the effectiveness of these experiences. Both U.S. and LMIC students emphasized the cultural component of their GHE experience but had different perceptions regarding core tenets of GHE, such as the social determinants of health and health equity, during these experiences.

An inter-professional 'advocacy and activism in global health': module for the training of physician-advocates.

Medical students typically learn about the role of physicians as health advocates through a component of the health professionalism curriculum. Recently, there has been a call for increased exposure to health advocacy in undergraduate medical education so that students can develop the interest, knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they will utilize throughout their careers as physician-advocates. We developed a four-session Advocacy and Activism training module that consisted of formal didactic teaching, training in basic skills, debate and discussion, and the development and presentation of advocacy projects. There were several uniquely innovative aspects of this module, including its structure, content, and inter-professional approach that included students of medicine, nursing, and public health. However, this approach also resulted in some important and unexpected limitations. We were encouraged by the quality of student participation during the module, as well as specific feedback regarding the format and content. The module was a low-cost, easy-to-implement, and academically rigorous model that can be implemented by interested students and faculty at other schools. We plan to continue to develop this program in the future, and we believe that other medical institutions should consider a similar model for introducing students to their future role as health advocates.

Non-neurological and metabolic side effects in the Cost Utility of the Latest Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia Randomised Controlled Trial (CUtLASS-1).

The impact of non-neurological and metabolic side effects (NNSEs) on the prescription of antipsychotics in real clinical practice remains unclear. We conducted an intention-to-treat, secondary analysis of data from a randomised, controlled trial (CUtLASS-1; n=227) to examine NNSEs emergent at 12 weeks and 52 weeks. A clinically significant difference was defined as double or half the symptoms in groups prescribed first- versus second-generation antipsychotics, represented by odds ratios greater than 2.0 (indicating advantage for first-generation drugs) or less than 0.5 (indicating advantage for the newer drugs). There were no differences between the treatment groups at baseline. At both 12 and 52 weeks follow-up, patients on second-generation drugs were more likely than their first-generation counterparts to experience cardiovascular problems and anticholinergic side effects, as well as increased sexual side effects in men. Objective weight gain was equivalent between the two groups at 12 weeks, but by one year fewer patients in the second-generation arm experienced weight gain and there was no significant difference with regard to percent change in BMI. These results suggest that there may be clinically significant increases in anticholinergic, cardiovascular, and sexual side effects for patients on second-generation drugs. The expected increased weight gain in the second-generation arm did not occur. This study provides evidence that clinicians should take a more nuanced approach toward expert antipsychotic prescription, rather than viewing the drugs as distinct classes.