Medical School Interview Preference in the Post-COVID-19 Era: A Single Institution Experience.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presented unforeseen obstacles to prospective medical students such as Medical College of Admission Test (MCAT) scheduling postponements and technical challenges during virtual interviews. Students were also faced with difficult decisions post-submission such as having to choose a program without ever visiting a school in person. The primary objective of the present study is to assess the changes in medical school interview preferences and experiences in the post-COVID-19 era. METHODS: A retrospective survey of the class of 2024 (in-person interview group) and class of 2025 (virtual interview group) at an allopathic medical school was conducted in the Fall of 2021 via the Qualtrics XM online survey software (Qualtrics, Provo, UT, USA). RESULTS: There were 195 survey respondents: 77 students from the in-person interview group and 89 students from the virtual group. More students in the virtual cohort had to reschedule their MCAT compared to the in-person cohort (56.1% versus 14.3%; p<0.001). The in-person group had higher travel-related expenses (>$500) compared to the group who interviewed virtually (65.1% versus 2.4%; p<0.001). More students from the in-person cohort preferred the in-person interview format compared to the virtual cohort (85.7% versus 22.5%; p<0.001). Lastly, 87% of the in-person group and 24.7% of the virtual group felt they were able to gather a clear impression of the atmosphere and culture of a school from the interview trail alone (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Matriculated medical students at an allopathic medical school who applied during the COVID-19 pandemic had more pre-application hurdles when compared to the cohort who applied just prior to the pandemic. Students who primarily had virtual interviews during the pandemic had less travel-related costs but felt more limited in their experience of a school's culture and ability to establish rapport with interviewers. Despite this, however, the virtual group still expressed a preference for virtual interviews.

Novel Use of Ultrasound to Teach Reproductive System Physical Examination Skills and Pelvic Anatomy.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether integration of ultrasound (US) into a reproductive system examination clinical skills lab can increase confidence in palpating key reproductive structures during testicular and bimanual pelvic examinations, reduce anxiety about conducting testicular and bimanual pelvic examinations, and improve performance on multiple-choice questions based on structure identification using US images. METHODS: Second-year medical students enrolled in the Life Cycle preclinical course participated in this cross-sectional study. A single learning activity was developed to pair the teaching of the reproductive system physical examination with the use of US in the clinical skills lab. The evaluation of the teaching session consisted of a pre-post analysis of student self-reported knowledge, confidence, and anxiety. RESULTS: The response rate for the pre survey was 82% (n = 96), and the rate for the post survey was 79% (n = 93). Students' confidence in their ability to identify reproductive system structures on US images increased from pre to post survey. Their confidence in their ability to palpate the epididymis, uterus, and ovary during a physical examination improved, and their anxiety about conducting testicular and bimanual pelvic examinations decreased. Student satisfaction with the session was high. Students' performance on multiple-choice questions based on structure identification using US images was at 96% or higher. CONCLUSIONS: Our study findings support the integration of US into a reproductive system examination clinical skills lab. Medical students acquire competency and confidence in reproductive system physical examination skills with US integration.

Corrections for mRNA extraction and sample normalization errors find increased mRNA levels may compensate for cancer haplo-insufficiency.

The relative mRNA levels of differentially expressed (DE) and housekeeping (HK) genes of six aneuploid cancer lines with large-scale genomic changes identified by SNP/SKY analysis were compared with similar genes in diploid cells. The aneuploid cancer lines had heterogeneous genomic landscapes with subdiploid, diploid, and supradiploid regions and higher overall gene copy numbers compared with diploid cells. The mRNA levels of the haploid, diploid, and triploid HK genes were found to be higher after correction of easily identifiable mRNA measurement errors. Surprisingly, diploid and aneuploid HK gene mRNA levels were the same by standard expression array analyses, despite the higher copy numbers of the cancer cell HK genes. This paradoxical result proved to be due to inaccurate inputs of true intra-cellular mRNAs for analysis. These errors were corrected by analyzing the expression intensities of DE and HK genes in mRNAs extracted from equal cell numbers (50:50) of intact cancer cell and lymphocyte mixtures. Correction for both mRNA extraction/sample normalization errors and total gene copy numbers found the SUIT-2 and PC-3 cell lines' cancer genes both had ~50% higher mRNA levels per single allele than lymphocyte gene alleles. These increased mRNA levels for single transcribed cancer alleles may restore functional mRNA levels to cancer genes rendered haplo-insufficient by the genetic instability of cancer. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.