[Family and community medicine: The most chosen specialty in the MIR]. / Medicina familiar y comunitaria: la especialidad más elegida en el MIR.

Family and Community Medicine is the most offered and chosen specialty in the MIR (Spanish medical residency examination), however, every year its attractiveness is questioned due to not all offered positions being filled and a certain number of resident doctors deciding not to continue in this specialty once started. In this context, some of the proposals to address the problem focus on increasing the supply when the facts show that the challenge lies in addressing the demand by making the specialty and its professional scope more attractive. The problem and its determinants are analyzed in this context by focusing on four elements that may be influencing it: the vocational aspects of medical graduates who pursue specialization, the characteristics of the specialty program and the teaching units where training is carried out, the presence of family medicine in the university as a key element for knowledge and affinity to this specialty from undergraduate studies, and finally, the situation of primary care as the space where training is materialized and the priority setting for the professional practice of future specialists.

[The new program of the Family and Community Medicine specialty: An opportunity not to be missed]. / El nuevo programa de la especialidad de medicina familiar y comunitaria: una oportunidad que no se debe perder.

The training program for the Family and Community Medicine specialty (MFyC), which has been in effect since 2005, is currently undergoing a review and update process. This article proposes contributions to deepen the specific contents of the specialty in order to guide towards a more significant competency development. To carry out values-oriented training, it is suggested to deploy the values function and promote the creation of care spaces where the daily experience of those values is possible. It is proposed to establish a scale of values where the two essential values of the family physician are, in this order, a commitment to the individual person, and a commitment to the group of people under their care. Additionally, it is proposed to reorganize the competency map around five competency integrators or meta-competencies: patient-centered clinical method, population-based clinical governance, primary care oriented to the community, health promotion or community health based on assets, and research in the family and community field.

Medicine and the metaverse: current applications and future.

Innovative technologies such as the metaverse and chat GPT-4 (based on artificial intelligence) are present in the daily discourse of society; recently, they have been introduced into medical practice and are bringing about important changes. In the case of the metaverse ("beyond the universe"), various medical schools and departments around the world are beginning to use it as an innovative strategy for teaching subjects such as anatomy, histology, ophthalmology, and simulation in parallel (virtual) worlds for learning and supervision of surgeries, as well as for other applications in medical education and in the doctor-patient relationship. Although it should be regarded as an area of opportunity for the transformation of medicine, it is important to consider the various limitations and risks of the metaverse in medical practice, student training, and physicians' relationship with the health problems they have to deal with in their practice.

Las innovadoras tecnologías del metaverso y el chat GPT4 (basado en inteligencia artificial) están presentes en el discurso cotidiano de la sociedad; recientemente se han introducido en la práctica médica y están provocando importantes cambios. En cuanto al metaverso ("después del universo"), diversas escuelas y facultades de medicina del mundo comienzan a utilizarlo como una estrategia innovadora dirigida a la enseñanza de materias como anatomía, histología, oftalmología y simulación en mundos paralelos (virtuales) para el aprendizaje y supervisión de cirugías, así como para otras aplicaciones en educación médica y en la relación médico-paciente. Si bien debe tomarse en cuenta como un área de oportunidad para la transformación de la medicina, es importante considerar las diversas limitaciones y riesgos del metaverso en la práctica médica, la formación de estudiantes y la relación del médico con los problemas de salud a los que se enfrenta en su práctica.

ChatGPT: opportunities and risks in the fields of medical care, teaching, and research.

ChatGPT is a virtual assistant with artificial intelligence (AI) that uses natural language to communicate, i.e., it holds conversations as those that would take place with another human being. It can be applied at all educational levels, including medical education, where it can impact medical training, research, the writing of scientific articles, clinical care, and personalized medicine. It can modify interactions between physicians and patients and thus improve the standards of healthcare quality and safety, for example, by suggesting preventive measures in a patient that sometimes are not considered by the physician for multiple reasons. ChatGPT potential uses in medical education, as a tool to support the writing of scientific articles, as a medical care assistant for patients and doctors for a more personalized medical approach, are some of the applications discussed in this article. Ethical aspects, originality, inappropriate or incorrect content, incorrect citations, cybersecurity, hallucinations, and plagiarism are some examples of situations to be considered when using AI-based tools in medicine.

ChatGPT es un asistente virtual con inteligencia artificial que utiliza lenguaje natural para comunicarse, es decir, mantiene conversaciones como las que se tendrían con otro humano. Puede aplicarse en educación a todos los niveles, que incluye la educación médica, en donde puede impactar en la formación, la investigación, la escritura de artículos científicos, la atención clínica y la medicina personalizada. Puede modificar la interacción entre médicos y pacientes para mejorar los estándares de calidad de la atención médica y la seguridad, por ejemplo, al sugerir medidas preventivas en un paciente que en ocasiones no son consideradas por el médico por múltiples causas. Los usos potenciales del ChatGPT en la educación médica, como una herramienta de ayuda en la redacción de artículos científicos, un asistente en la atención para pacientes y médicos para una práctica más personalizada, son algunas de las aplicaciones que se analizan en este artículo. Los aspectos éticos, originalidad, contenido inapropiado o incorrecto, citas incorrectas, ciberseguridad, alucinaciones y plagio son ejemplos de las situaciones a tomar en cuenta al usar las herramientas basadas en inteligencia artificial en medicina.

Analysis of Undergraduate Dermatology Syllabi at Spanish Universities: Does the Weight of Theoretical Content Match the Skin Conditions Seen in Primary Care and General Dermatology Practices? / Análisis de las características de la docencia de pregrado de Dermatología en las universidades españolas. ¿Los contenidos teóricos se aproximan a la casuística de los médicos de Atención Primaria y dermatólogos generales?

INTRODUCTION: Undergraduate dermatology courses vary in the nearly 50 Spanish medical faculties that teach the subject. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of these courses and to analyze whether the weight assigned to dermatology topics reflect the caseloads of primary care physicians and general dermatologists in the Spanish national health system. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study of syllabi used in Spanish medical faculties during the 2021-2022 academic year. We determined the number of teaching hours in public and private university curricula and compared the weight of dermatology topics covered to the dermatology caseloads of primary care physicians and general dermatologists as reported in published studies. RESULTS: Most medical faculties taught dermatology for one semester. The median number of credits offered was 4.5. On average, lectures covered 24 theoretical topics, and seminars and workshops covered 9 topics. We identified a clear disparity between the percentage of time devoted to dermatology topics in course lectures and the skin conditions usually managed in primary care and general dermatology practices. DISCUSSION: The skin diseases most commonly treated by primary care physicians and general dermatologists are underrepresented in the curricula of Spanish medical faculties. The topics that should be given more weight in syllabi, or recovered for inclusion in dermatology courses, should be re-examined. Our findings show that the topics that ideally should be emphasized more are types of dermatitis, infectious skin diseases, acne, psoriasis, rashes, and the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant neoplasms. There should be additional support for the theoretical teaching of these topics.

[Determinants of the choice of the first level of care in medicine as a field of training and work: A qualitative study]. / Determinantes de la elección del primer nivel de atención en medicina como ámbito de formación y laboral: un estudio cualitativo.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the determinants of eligibility and the choice of the first level of care as a workplace and training environment for health professionals. DESIGN: Qualitative study. SETTING: Four universities in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. PARTICIPANTS: Recently graduated doctors and medical students. METHOD: Based on the grounded constructivist theory, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted for data collection and subsequent analysis. RESULTS: 31 interviews and three focus groups were conducted during 2019-2020. Emerging concepts were organized in main axes for analysis. Positive and negative experiences were identified in relation to primary health care (PHC) in curricular spaces and practical rotations, and a significant lack of knowledge of its scope. For the choice of medical specialties, personal interests, future projections, social prestige, economic income and knowledge of a specific area of medicine are important. There is a devaluation in terms of the role and resolution capacity of PHC, and it is also associated with the assistance of populations with low socioeconomic resources. CONCLUSIONS: Little knowledge of PHC, its lack of prestige, and insufficient remuneration for first-level care professionals were identified as the main barriers to choosing PHC as a place of work and training. In contrast, social commitment, the possibility of having a better lifestyle, and the type of doctor-patient relationship appear as the main facilitators.

General practitioners' knowledge about pregnancy complications associated with long-term cardiovascular risk.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in women; preeclampsia (PE) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are associated with an increased risk of CVD. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate general practitioners (GP) knowledge about complicated pregnancies and their association with CVD. METHODS: An anonymous case-based electronic questionnaire designed to assess the level of understanding on the influence of a history of pregnancy complications on long-term cardiovascular risk and general knowledge about CVD risk was sent to GPs. RESULTS: The response rate was 35 % (161/465). The participants recognized that PE and GDM are risk factors for CVD (98 and 83 %, respectively), and reported the following CVD screening strategies in women with a history of PE and GDM: blood pressure monitoring (PE 100 %, GDM 46 %), body mass index calculation (PE 68 %, GDM 57 %), lipid profile evaluation (PE 71 %, GDM 57 %), glycated hemoglobin (PE 26 %, GDM 92 %), and fasting glucose (PE 28 %, GDM 91 %). CONCLUSION: GP-reported screening strategies to identify CVD in women with a history of PE and GDM were variable.

INTRODUCCIÓN: La enfermedad cardiovascular (ECV) constituye la principal causa de mortalidad en mujeres; la preeclampsia (PE) y la diabetes mellitus gestacional (DMG) están asociadas a incremento en el riesgo de ECV. OBJETIVO: Evaluar el conocimiento de los médicos generales (MG) sobre complicaciones obstétricas asociadas a ECV. MÉTODOS: Se envió a los MG un cuestionario electrónico anónimo basado en casos, diseñado para evaluar el entendimiento de la influencia de la historia obstétrica en el riesgo cardiovascular a largo plazo y el conocimiento general sobre riesgo de ECV. RESULTADOS: La tasa de respuesta fue de 35 % (161/465). Los participantes reconocieron que la PE y la DMG son factores de riesgo para ECV (98 y 83 %, respectivamente) y reportaron las siguientes estrategias de tamizaje de ECV en mujeres con historial de PE y DMG: monitoreo de presión arterial (PE 100 %, DMG 46 %), cálculo de índice de masa corporal (PE 68 %, DMG 57 %), evaluación del perfil de lípidos (PE 71 %, DMG 57 %), hemoglobina glucosilada (PE 26 %, DMG 92 %) y glucosa en ayuno (PE 28 %, DMG 91 %). CONCLUSIÓN: Las estrategias de tamizaje para identificar ECV en mujeres con antecedentes de PE y DMG reportadas por los MG fueron variables.

Opportunities in the teaching of medical specialties, regarding influenza and COVID-19.

Medical specialties' teaching is an area of health systems that deserves special consideration in light of the lessons learned from influenza and COVID-19; educational programs and implementation of the training strategies that are used must be reevaluated, since the level of training of most specialty students does not allow to consider them as personnel who can face these global problems. The number of specialization courses has exponentially grown, and their main threat is the cancellation or partial execution of their academic programs as a consequence of not implementing functional operational strategies during a contingency.

La enseñanza en las especialidades médicas es un rubro de los sistemas de salud que merece consideraciones especiales de acuerdo con las lecciones aprendidas de la influenza y COVID-19. Deben reevaluarse los programas educativos y las estrategias de capacitación implementadas, ya que la preparación escolar de la mayoría de los alumnos no les permite ser considerados como personal que pueda enfrentar esos problemas globales. Los cursos de especialización han crecido en número, pero su principal amenaza es la suspensión de los programas académicos o que sean parcialmente cubiertos como consecuencia de no implementar estrategias operativas funcionales durante una contingencia.

[Assessing bioethics education: Teaching to be virtuous doctors or just doctors with practical ethical skills]. / Evaluando la enseñanza de la bioética: formando «médicos virtuosos¼ o solamente médicos con habilidades éticas prácticas.

OBJECTIVE: In the last decades, bioethics has been incorporated into the academic training of the Medical Schools. Some studies analyze the ethical-moral development of medical students and the effect of ethical education in other countries. This evaluation is done by measuring Kohlberg's moral reasoning (virtuous doctors), or ethical sensitivity to resolve clinical cases (physicians with ethical skills). The following study is proposed to assess the impact of bioethics training on these two variables, in Spanish medical students. DESIGN: Observational cross-sectional study. SITE: Faculty of Medicine, University of Lleida. PARTICIPANTS: 175 students from third year of medicine (78 before bioethics and 97 after bioethics, in different courses) were conducted. INTERVENTION: Bioethics course. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: A socio-demographic questionnaire, the Rest Defining Issue test scale, and Problem Identification Test with clinical vignettes were administered. RESULTS: A consistent and significant correlation has been found between moral reasoning and ethical sensitivity. Women presented greater post-conventional reasoning. There were no changes in Kohlberg's stage of global moral reasoning with ethical training. There were changes in ethical sensitivity with bioethical training, with a significantly and globally improvement. CONCLUSION: In our study, training in bioethics does not improve moral development but rather the ethical problem solving skills. It is asked if this improvement is enough to train doctors prepared for the new challenges.

[Conflicts of interest in the medical profession]. / Conflictos de interés en la profesión médica.

In the last decades the world of medicine has become familiar with the disclosure of conflicts of interest (CDI). The requirement for authors to declare their CDIs concerning their publications is a common issue. Another topic for CDI is related to the medical decision making on prescription. Finally, professionals being in positions of responsibility in professional societies or associations and healthcare institutions are asked to show their disclosure of CDI. These debates show up the interest of democratic societies for justice and social ethics that demand fair play in making decisions that may affect third parties, particularly patients. In the present work, the concept and types of CDIs are analyzed, and authors make proposals for the management of CDI in the medical profession.

Objective Structured Clinical Examination as an Assessment Tool for Clinical Skills in Dermatology.

BACKGROUND: Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE) is an excellent method to evaluate student's abilities, but there are no previous reports implementing it in dermatology. OBJECTIVES: To determine the feasibility of implementation of a dermatology OSCE in the medical school. METHODS: Five stations with standardized patients and image-based assessment were designed. A specific checklist was elaborated in each station with different items which evaluated one competency and were classified into five groups (medical history, physical examination, technical skills, case management and prevention). RESULTS: A total of 28 students were tested. Twenty-five of them (83.3%) passed the exam globally. Concerning each group of items tested: medical interrogation had a mean score of 71.0; physical examination had a mean score of 63.0; management had a mean score of 58.0; and prevention had a mean score of 58.0 points. The highest results were obtained in interpersonal skills items with 91.8 points. LIMITATIONS: Testing a small sample of voluntary students may hinder generalization of our study. CONCLUSIONS: OSCE is an useful tool for assessing clinical skills in dermatology and it is possible to carry it out. Our experience enhances that medical school curriculum needs to establish OSCE as an assessment tool in dermatology.

Entry characteristics and performance in a Masters module in Tropical Medicine: a 5-year analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Postgraduate courses can contribute to better-qualified personnel in resource-limited settings. We aimed to identify how entry characteristics of applicants predict performance in order to provide support measures early. METHODS: We describe demographic data and end-of-module examination marks of medical doctors who enrolled in a first semester module of two one-year MSc programmes between 2010 and 2014. We used t-tests and one-way anova to compare, and post hoc tests to locate differences of mean marks between categories of entry characteristics in univariate analysis. After exclusion of collinear variables, multiple regression examined the effect of several characteristics in multivariable analysis. RESULTS: Eighty-nine students (47% male) with a mean age of 32 (SD 6.4) years who received their medical degree in the UK (19%), other European (22%), African (35%) or other countries (24%) attended the 3-months module. Their mean mark was 69.1% (SD 10.9). Medical graduates from UK universities achieved significantly higher mean marks than graduates from other countries. Students' age was significantly negatively correlated with the module mark. In multiple linear regression, place of medical degree (ß = -0.44, P < 0.001) and time since graduation (ß = -0.28, P = 0.007) were strongest predictors of performance, explaining 32% of the variation of mean marks. CONCLUSION: Students' performance substantially differs based on their entry criteria in this 1st semester module. Non-UK graduates and mature students might benefit from early support.

[The medical empathy, is it born or is it made? Evolution of the empathy in medical students]. / La empatía médica, ¿nace o se hace? Evolución de la empatía en estudiantes de medicina.

OBJECTIVE: Empathy is one of the basic skills in medicine that promotes better doctor-patient relationship, best professional competition and less professional stress. We don't found studies in our area. This study aims to measure the degree of empathy in medical students in our area and associated factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. LOCATION: Faculty of Medicine, University of Lleida (Spain). PARTICIPANTS: Pass in class of 1st, 3rd and second cycle of Medicine, at 191 students. 173 students (90%) completed the questionnaire. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: TECA questionnaire to measure general empathy with 4 subscales (empathic understanding, perspective taking, empathic happiness and empathic stress), and a sociodemographic questionnaire. RESULTS: We found a progression in empathy during medical courses. Women have greater empathy but also increased empathic stress. Men have less general empathy, less progression of empathy and less emphatic stress. Students that show a preference to House TV movie have less empathy and those with family doctors. Voluntary students have greater empathy and those who have had a sick friend. We don't have found relationship between empathy and preferred specialty. CONCLUSIONS: There are several variables that are related to empathy in medical students: Women, advanced courses, experiences close to serious illnesses and those involved in voluntary activities.

Do primary health centres and hospitals contribute equally towards achievement of the transversal clinical competencies of medical students? Performance on the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in competency acquisition.

OBJECTIVES: The adaptation of the educational programmes of European faculties of medicine to the European Higher Education Area guidelines has focused curricula design on competence acquisition. Competencies are defined as the achievements of a predetermined level of efficacy in real-world scenarios. Our objective was to assess whether performance on a common competence evaluation test, the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), resulted in different scores for second-year students after a practical medical training course took place in a primary health centre (PHC) or in a hospital. DESIGN: A descriptive study was conducted during the 2010-2014 academic year of the OSCE test scores obtained by all second-year students. LOCATION: Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lleida (Catalonia, Spain). MAIN MEASUREMENTS: We performed a correlation analysis between students who completed their practical medical training at the PHC and hospitals utilising Student's t-test for comparison of means. RESULTS: 423 students who completed internships at the PHC and at hospitals obtained OSCE mean scores of 7.32 (SD; IC) (0.82; 7.18-7.47) points and 7.17 (0.83; 6.07-7.26) points, respectively (p=0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Second-year medical students acquired similar competency levels in the two analysed training scenarios. The two areas both serve their teaching purpose.

Effect of hospital caseload on long-term outcome after standardization of rectal cancer surgery in the Spanish Rectal Cancer Project. / Influencia del volumen quirúrgico en los resultados oncológicos después de estandarizar la cirugía en el Proyecto Español del Cáncer de Recto.

UNLABELLED: INTRODUCCIóN: The purpose of this prospective multicentre multilevel study was to investigate the influence of hospital caseload on long-term outcomes following standardization of rectal cancer surgery in the Rectal Cancer Project of the Spanish Society of Surgeons. METHODS: Data relating to 2910 consecutive patients with rectal cancer treated for cure between March 2006 and March 2010 were recorded in a prospective database. Hospitals were classified according to number of patients treated per year as low-volume, intermediate-volume, or high volume hospitals (12-23, 24-35, or ≥36 procedures per year). RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 5 years, cumulative rates of local recurrence, metastatic recurrence and overall survival were 6.6 (CI95% 5.6-7.6), 20.3 (CI95% 18.8-21.9) and 73.0 (CI95% 74.7 - 71.3) respectively. In the multilevel regression analysis overall survival was higher for patients treated at hospitals with an annual caseload of 36 or more patients (HR 0,727 [CI95% 0,556-0,951]; P=.02). The risk of local recurrence and metastases were not related to the caseload. Moreover, there was a statistically significant variation in overall survival (median hazard ratio [MHR] 1.184 [CI95% 1.071-1,333]), local recurrence (MHR 1.308 [CI95% 1.010-1.668]) and metastases (MHR 1.300 [CI95% 1.181; 1.476]) between all hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Overall survival was higher for patients treated at hospitals with an annual caseload of 36 or more patients. However, local recurrence was not influenced by caseload.

[Hospital variation in anastomotic leakage after rectal cancer surgery in the Spanish Association of Surgeons project: The contribution of hospital volume]. / Variabilidad interhospitalaria de la dehiscencia anastomótica en el Proyecto del Cáncer de Recto de la Asociación Española de Cirujanos: La influencia del volumen quirúrgico.

OBJECTIVE: This multicentre observational study aimed to determine the anastomotic leak rate in the hospitals included in the Rectal Cancer Project of the Spanish Society of Surgeons and examine whether hospital volume may contribute to any variation between hospitals. METHODS: Hospital variation was quantified using a multilevel approach on prospective data derived from the multicentre database of all adenocarcinomas of the rectum operated by an anterior resection at 84 surgical departments from 2006 to 2013. The following variables were included in the analysis; demographics, American Society of Anaesthesiologists classification, use of defunctioning stoma, tumour location and stage, administration of neoadjuvant treatment, and annual volume of elective surgical procedures. RESULTS: A total of 7231 consecutive patients were included. The rate of anastomotic leak was 10.0%. Stratified by annual surgical volume hospitals varied from 9.9 to 11.3%. In multilevel regression analysis, the risk of anastomotic leak increased in male patients, in patients with tumours located below 12 cm from the anal verge, and advanced tumour stages. However, a defunctioning stoma seemed to prevent this complication. Hospital surgical volume was not associated with anastomotic leak (OR: 0.852, [0.487-1.518]; P=.577). Furthermore, there was a statistically significant variation in anastomotic leak between all departments (MOR: 1.475; [1.321-1.681]; P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Anastomotic leak varies significantly among hospitals included in the project and this difference cannot be attributed to the annual surgical volume.

Core Content for Undergraduate Medical Education in Spain: Recommendations of the Instructors' Group of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV).

BACKGROUND: Skin problems are among the most frequent reasons for seeking medical attention in primary care. In recent years, as a result of the process of adapting medical curricula to the requirements of the European Higher Education Area, the amount of time students spend learning the concepts of dermatology has been reduced in many universities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In order to reach a consensus on core content for undergraduate education in dermatology, we sent a survey to the 57 members of the instructors' group of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (AEDV), asking their opinions on what objectives should be set for a dermatology course in Spain. A total of 131 previously selected objectives were listed. We then applied the Delphi method to achieve consensus on which ones the respondents considered important or very important (score≥4 on a Likert scale). RESULTS: Nineteen responses (33%) were received. On the second round of the Delphi process, 68 objectives achieved average scores of at least 4. The respondents emphasized that graduates should understand the structure and functions of the skin and know about bacterial, viral, and fungal skin infections, the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and the 4 main inflammatory dermatoses. Students should also learn about common complaints, such as itching and bald patches; the management of dermatologic emergencies; purpura and erythema nodosum as signs of internal disease; and the prevention of STDs and skin cancer. During clinical clerkships students should acquire the communication skills they will need to interview patients, write up a patient's medical history, and refer the patient to a specialist. CONCLUSIONS: The AEDV's group of instructors have defined their recommendations on the core content that medical faculties should adopt for the undergraduate subject of dermatology in Spain.

Early career retention of Malawian medical graduates: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: There have been longstanding concerns over Malawian doctors migrating to high-income countries. Early career is a particularly vulnerable period. After significant policy changes, we examined the retention of recent medical graduates within Malawi and the public sector. METHODS: We obtained data on graduates between 2006 and 2012 from the University of Malawi College of Medicine and Malawi Ministry of Health. We utilised the alumni network to triangulate official data and contacted graduates directly for missing or uncertain data. Odds ratios and chi-squared tests were employed to investigate relationships by graduation year and gender. RESULTS: We traced 256 graduates, with complete information for more than 90%. Nearly 80% of registered doctors were in Malawi (141/178, 79.2%), although the odds of emigration doubled with each year after graduation (odds ratio = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.54-2.56, P < 0.0001). Of the 37 graduates outside Malawi (14.5%), 23 (62.2%) were training in South Africa under a College of Medicine sandwich programme. More than 80% of graduates were working in the public sector (185/218, 82.6%), with the odds declining by 27% for each year after graduation (odds ratio = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.61-0.86, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: While most doctors remain in Malawi and the public sector during their early careers, the odds of leaving both increase with time. The majority of graduates outside Malawi are training in South Africa under visa restrictions, reflecting the positive impact of postgraduate training in Malawi. Concerns over attrition from the public sector are valid and require further exploratory work.

[Learning concepts of diagnosis in family medicine: the "mark robinson sign" - the traces that should not be there]. / Aprendiendo conceptos del diagnóstico en medicina de familia: a propósito del «signo de Robinson¼ - las huellas que no deberían estar allí.

We review the mechanisms of the mental operation to identify the disease in family medicine, using five cases where the diagnosis process began in "the trace that should not be there" or "Robinson sign" as happened to Robinson Crusoe when he saw a human footprint on the beach of the "desert island". How could it be there?; It was a mystery, and based on metaphors, we framed the mechanism of "the trace that should not be there" mainly in the first phase of clinical or intuitive reasoning, but this intuition of the doctor should be accompanied by the diagnostic process, like the "basso continuo" of Baroque music, allowing improvisation and personal style, and in this way, eventually observing the footprint "that should not have been there" that may arise in the analytical, as well as in the verification phase of the assumptions made.

Simulation in laparoscopic surgery.

Nowadays surgical trainees are faced with a more reduced surgical practice, due to legal limitations and work hourly constraints. Also, currently surgeons are expected to dominate more complex techniques such as laparoscopy. Simulation emerges as a complementary learning tool in laparoscopic surgery, by training in a safe, controlled and standardized environment, without jeopardizing patient' safety. Simulation' objective is that the skills acquired should be transferred to the operating room, allowing reduction of learning curves. The use of simulation has increased worldwide, becoming an important tool in different surgical residency programs and laparoscopic training courses. For several countries, the approval of these training courses are a prerequisite for the acquisition of surgeon title certifications. This article reviews the most important aspects of simulation in laparoscopic surgery, including the most used simulators and training programs, as well as the learning methodologies and the different key ways to assess learning in simulation.