Online medical education: A student survey.

BACKGROUND: During COVID-19, medical schools transitioned to online learning as an emergency response to deliver their education programmes. This multi-country study compared the methods by which medical schools worldwide restructured the delivery of medical education during the pandemic. METHODS: This multi-country, cross-sectional study was performed using an internet-based survey distributed to medical students in multiple languages in November 2020. RESULTS: A total of 1,746 responses were received from 79 countries. Most respondents reported that their institution stopped in-person lectures, ranging from 74% in low-income countries (LICs) to 93% in upper-middle-income countries. While only 36% of respondents reported that their medical school used online learning before the pandemic, 93% reported using online learning after the pandemic started. Of students enrolled in clinical rotations, 89% reported that their rotations were paused during the pandemic. Online learning replaced in-person clinical rotations for 32% of respondents from LICs versus 55% from high-income countries (HICs). Forty-three per cent of students from LICs reported that their internet connection was insufficient for online learning, compared to 11% in HICs. CONCLUSIONS: The transition to online learning due to COVID-19 impacted medical education worldwide. However, this impact varied among countries of different income levels, with students from LICs and lower middle income countries facing greater challenges in accessing online medical education opportunities while in-person learning was halted. Specific policies and resources are needed to ensure equitable access to online learning for medical students in all countries, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Gender-Based Discrimination Among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Gender-based discrimination (GBD) creates a hostile environment during medical school, affecting students' personal life and academic performance. Little is known about how GBD affects the over 204,000 medical students in Brazil. This study aims to explore the patterns of GBD experienced by medical students in Brazil. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study using an anonymous, Portuguese survey disseminated in June 2021 among Brazilian medical students. The survey was composed of 24 questions to collect data on GBD during medical school, formal methods for reporting GBD, and possible solutions for GBD. RESULTS: Of 953 responses, 748 (78%) were cisgender women, 194 (20%) were cisgender men, and 11 (1%) were from gender minorities. 65% (616/942) of respondents reported experiencing GBD during medical school. Women students experienced GBD more than men (77% versus 22%; P < 0.001). On comparing GBD perpetrator roles, both women (82%, 470/574) and men (64%, 27/42) reported the highest rate of GBD by faculty members. The occurrence of GBD by location differed between women and men. Only 12% (115/953) of respondents reported knowing their institution had a reporting mechanism for GBD. CONCLUSIONS: Most respondents experienced GBD during medical school. Cisgender women experienced GBD more than cisgender men. Perpetrators and location of GBD differed for men and women. Finally, an alarming majority of students did not know how to formally report GBD in their schools. It is imperative to adopt broad policy changes to diminish the rate of GBD and its a consequential burden on medical students.

Gender Discrimination, Career Aspirations, and Access to Mentorship Among Medical Students in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Gender-based discrimination (GBD) creates a hostile environment that can affect medical students. Mentorship has been recognized as a mitigating factor for GBD. We aimed to investigate the impacts of GBD on career selection and well-being of medical students in Brazil and to explore access to mentorship among these students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed using an anonymous survey in Portuguese. The survey was distributed in June 2021 to students enrolled in Brazilian medical schools. It contained 24 questions, including demographics, episodes of GBD experienced by responders and their impact on professional and personal life, and mentorship access. RESULTS: Of 953 respondents, 748 (78%) were cisgender women, 194 (20%) cisgender men, and 11 nonbinary (1%). Sixty-six percent (625/953) of students reported experiencing GBD, with cisgender women and nonbinary being more likely to experience it than cisgender men (P < 0.001). Responders who experiences GBD report moderate to severe impact on career satisfaction (40%, 250/624), safety (68%, 427/624), self-confidence (68%, 426/624), well-being (57%, 357/625), and burnout (62%, 389/625). Cisgender women were more likely to report these effects than men counterparts (P < 0.01). Only 21% of respondents (201/953) had mentors in their medical schools. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that GBD is widespread among Brazilian medical students affecting their personal and professional lives, and most of them do not have access to a mentor. There is an urgent need to increase access to mentors who could mitigate the adverse effects of GBD and help develop a diverse and inclusive medical workforce.

Is authorship by women in Brazilian academic surgery increasing? A five-year retrospective analysis.

Women remain underrepresented in 80% of Brazilian surgical specialties, however, women representation within the Brazilian academic surgical literature remains unknown. This study aims to evaluate the gender distribution of first and last authors in Brazilian surgical journals. All publications between 2015 and 2019 from the five Brazilian surgical journals with the highest impact factor were reviewed. The first and last authors' names were extracted from each article and a predictive algorithm was used to classify the gender of each author. Authors were further classified by surgical field and geographic region to investigate patterns of female authorship among journals, specialties, and region over the study period. Multivariable logistic regression was then used to identify factors independently associated with female authorship. 1844 articles were analyzed; 23% (426/1844) articles had female first authors, and 20% (348/1748) had female last authors. Acta Cirúrgica Brasileira was observed to have the highest rates for both first and last female authors (37%, 138/371; 26%, 95/370)) and Revista Brasileira de Ortopedia (9%, 48/542; 10%, 54/522) had the lowest rates. Papers with a woman senior author were twice as likely to have a woman first author (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.51-2.58, p≤0.01). Women's representation in medicine is increasing in Brazil, yet women remain underrepresented as the first and last authors in the Brazilian surgical literature. Our results highlight the importance of senior women mentorship in academic surgery and demonstrate that promoting female surgeon senior authorship through academic and financial support will positively impact the number of female first authors.

Perfil de pacientes pediátricos de um centro de trauma no Brasil: um estudo transversa / Profile of pediatric patients from a trauma center in Brazil: a cross-sectional study

Objetivos: Descrever a epidemiologia dos pacientes pediátricos internados em um centro de trauma em Minas Gerais, Brasil; caracterizar os dados desde admissão hospitalar até a propedêutica. Métodos: Trata-se de estudo retrospectivo cuja coleta de dados aconteceu entre outubro de 2017 e março de 2018 no Hospital João XXIII. Foram incluídas crianças menores de 14 anos que foram classificadas como vítimas de trauma de "muito urgência" ou "emergência" pelo protocolo de Manchester. Foi realizada análise descritiva, que incluiu as seguintes variáveis: idade, sexo, mecanismo de trauma, especialidade médica do provedor de primeira avaliação, necessidade de procedimentos cirúrgicos, propedêutica e óbito. Resultados: A média de idade dos pacientes foi 6,9 anos. O principal mecanismo de trauma identificado foi a lesão por queda mecânica (104; 37,9%). O traumatismo cranioencefálico foi o tipo de trauma mais frequente observado, acometendo 174 (65,4% dos pacientes). No total, 44 (16,1%) crianças foram operadas. Cinco crianças (1,8%) morreram durante o período desta avaliação epidemiológica. Conclusão: O mecanismo de trauma pediátrico mais frequente foi a queda mecânica, a lesão mais comum foi o traumatismo cranioencefálico, as crianças do sexo masculino foram mais afetadas do que as do sexo feminino. A avaliação focada com ultrassonografia no trauma demonstrou ser um exame seguro para triagem de lesão traumática. Este estudo revelou informações importantes para futuras atualizações em protocolos de trauma pediátrico.

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of pediatric patients admitted to a trauma center in Minas Gerais, Brazil, as well as to characterize the care received since; characterize the data from hospital admission to the propaedeutics. Methods: This is a retrospective study whose data collection took place between October 2017 and March 2018 at Hospital João XXIII. Data were collected in all children under 14 years of age who were classified as victims of trauma of "very urgent" or "emergency" according to the Manchester protocol. Descriptive analysis was performed, including the following variables: age, gender, trauma mechanism, medical specialty of the first assessment provider, need for surgical procedures, propaedeutics and death. Results: The mean age of patients was 6.9 years. The main trauma mechanism identified was mechanical fall injury (104; 37.9%). Head trauma was the most frequent type of trauma observed, affecting 174 (65.4% of patients). In total, 44 (16.1%) children were operated. Five children (1.8%) died during the period of this epidemiological assessment. Conclusion: The most frequent pediatric trauma mechanism was mechanical fall, the most common injury was traumatic brain injury, male children were more affected than females. And the physician who performed the first assessment most frequently was general surgeons. The focused evaluation with ultrasonography in trauma proved to be a safe exam for the screening of traumatic injuries. This study revealed important information to inform future updates on pediatric trauma primary assessment protocols.