Physician stress in the era of COVID-19 vaccine disparity: a multi-institutional survey.

CONTEXT: Healthcare workers are at a high risk of infection during infectious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the availability of several vaccines against COVID-19, the absence of vaccination in patients and colleagues remains a continuous source of stress in healthcare workers. We conducted a survey of physician preceptors, both MDs and DOs, to explore the impact of differences in the patients' and colleagues' vaccination status on their well-being, stress, and burnout. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to determine whether exposure to unvaccinated patients and/or colleagues increases stress and burnout in physician preceptors by utilizing a self-reported survey. METHODS: This multi-institutional study was carried out in the United States in 2022. An online survey questionnaire was utilized to collect data from physicians working as preceptors for multiple academic institutions. The anonymous Qualtrics® survey utilized a modified version of the questionnaire from the expanded Physician Well-being Index (ePWBI) designed by MedEd Web Solutions (MEWS). Statistical analysis on both descriptive and qualitative data were performed. Utilizing a threshold of p≤0.05, data analysis revealed many statistically significant relationships between the variables. RESULTS: A total of 218 physician preceptors completed the survey. The survey results showed that physicians overwhelmingly (p < 0.001) felt that all patients (and healthcare workers) should be vaccinated. The results also indicated that physicians experienced more stress when working with unvaccinated patients (p<0.001), and these stressors were often associated with the physician's gender and age. Furthermore, physicians stated that both their assessment and treatment plans were significantly different for vaccinated vs unvaccinated patients (p=0.039 and p=0.0167, respectively). Most importantly, stress levels (p<0.001) and burnout characteristics (p=0.024) were noted by physicians, both in themselves and in their colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that physician stress and burnout is a common theme due to the differences in vaccination status of patients admitted to COVID-19 clinics. Due to a more rapid progression of COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients, treatment plans for vaccinated vs unvaccinated patients were also considerably different.

Integration of virtual microscopy podcasts in the histology discipline in osteopathic medical school: Learning outcomes.

Virtual microscopy podcasts (VMPs) are narrative recordings of digital histology images. This study evaluated the outcomes of integrating the VMPs into teaching histology to osteopathic medical students. The hypothesis was that incorporating virtual microscopy podcasts as supplementary histology resources to the curriculum would have a positive impact on student performance and satisfaction. Sixty-one podcasts of dynamic microscopic images were created using screen recordings of the digital slides. The VMPs were integrated as supplementary histology resources in multiple courses during the first and second years of the medical curriculum for three classes, a total of 477 osteopathic medical students. A voluntary and anonymous survey was obtained from the students using a questionnaire that included two open-ended questions. The overall performance of the three classes on the histology content of the preclinical course examinations was compared to historical controls of the previous two classes that did not have access to the VMPs. Most students indicated that the podcasts enabled more efficient study time and improved their confidence in the histology content on examinations. The findings indicated a positive association between podcast viewing and efficient study time utilization and class performance. The class average scores of the three consecutive cohorts that used the VMPs progressively increased by 7.69%, 14.88%, and 14.91% compared to the controls. A summary of students' feedback and academic performance supported that integration of the VMPs into Histology teaching improved the learning experience. The findings align with previous studies on the effectiveness of multimedia-based teaching in histology laboratory modules.

Assessment of the Research Interests and Perceptions of First-Year Medical Students at 4 Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

CONTEXT: There are limited data regarding the experiences of and attitudes toward research participation among osteopathic medical students despite rapidly increasing enrollment and expansion of the number of osteopathic medical schools. OBJECTIVE: To assess first-year osteopathic medical students' experience with research, their interest in it, their perceptions of its value, and barriers to participation. METHODS: An anonymous, online survey was sent to 868 medical students in the class of 2021 at 4 colleges of osteopathic medicine. The survey consisted of 14 multiple-choice items (7 of which offered the option of a written response) and 1 open-ended item that asked them to report their age. The survey remained open for 2 weeks, with 1 reminder email sent on the last day of the survey. Incomplete responses were excluded from the analysis. RESULTS: A total of 328 participants were included, for a response rate of 38%. A majority of respondents reported previous research experience (261 [79.6%]), consistent with a strong perception that research participation is important (315 [96.0%]). Fewer students (177 [54.0%]) were either currently participating in research or affirmed interest in performing research during medical school, with the highest level of interest in clinical research (259 [79.0%]) followed by basic science (166 [50.6%]). Regarding incentives that might encourage participation in research, students preferred monetary compensation (213 [64.9%]) or extra credit in courses (195 [59.5%]). A commonly reported barrier to performing research during medical school was the possibility of a negative impact on performance in coursework (289 [88.1%]). CONCLUSION: First-year osteopathic medical students are interested in research, view research experience as valuable, and consider research experience as beneficial to future career development. This study's findings highlight opportunities for increasing student participation in research through incentives or removal of perceived barriers.

A Decision-Directed Cardiac Exam in Medical School.

What most physicians need when performing a physical examination is the ability to be able to recognize normal from abnormal and, if abnormal findings are present, to be able to diagnose or categorize disease in a useful fashion. This manuscript describes a technique that is feasible and acceptable in accomplishing this by changing the learning objectives for teaching cardiac auscultation to focus on recognizing audible decision-making findings and ensuring competency by requiring passing an auscultation-only examination that is limited to such findings. Medical students indicated the program was helpful and increased their confidence in performing cardiac auscultation.