Twelve tips for turning quality assurance data into undergraduate teaching awards: A quality improvement and student engagement initiative.

Data on teaching awards in undergraduate medical education are sparse. The benefits of an awards system may seem obvious at first glance. However, there are also potential problems relating to fairness, avoidance of bias, and alignment of the awards system with a wider strategy for quality improvement and curriculum development. Here, we report five- year single center experience with establishing undergraduate teaching awards in a large academic teaching hospital. Due to lack of additional funding we based our awards not on peer review but mainly on existing and very comprehensive quality assurance (QA) data. Our 12 tips describe practical points but also pitfalls with awards categories and criteria, advertising and disseminating the awards, the actual awards ceremony and finally embedding the awards in the hospital's wider strategy. To be truly successful, teaching awards and prizes need to be carefully considered, designed and aligned with a wider institutional strategy of rewarding enthusiastic educators.

Twelve tips on how to establish a new undergraduate firm on a critical care unit.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about undergraduate teaching in critical care unit (CrCU) and many undergraduate curricula lack placements in CrCU. AIMS: To describe how our CrCU succeeded in developing a novel placement for Year 3 undergraduate medical students. METHODS: Particular emphasis was placed on a robust timetable incorporating a variety of activities, a dedicated and thorough induction, and a mix of teaching methods such as formal and informal, consultant-led, and skills. Services allied to CrCU were also utilized. RESULTS: Our new firm has exceeded all expectations and, based on student feedback, received the "Firm of the Year" award for several years in succession. It now serves as a model of undergraduate teaching in our hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Educationalists and intensivists should work together to unlock the full potential of this rich learning environment. Professional societies in critical care medicine should take the opportunity to develop more interest in undergraduate medical education.

Synthesis and enzymatic studies of bisubstrate analogues for farnesyl diphosphate synthase.

Farnesyl diphosphate synthase catalyzes the sequential chain elongation reactions between isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) to form geranyl diphosphate (GPP) and between IPP and GPP to give farnesyl diphosphate (FPP). Bisubstrate analogues containing the allylic and homoallylic substrates were synthesized by joining fragments for IPP and the allylic diphosphates with a C-C bond between the methyl group at C3 in IPP and the Z-methyl group at C3 in DMAPP (3-OPP) and GPP (4-OPP), respectively. These constructs placed substantial limits on the conformational space available to the analogues relative to the two substrates. The key features of the synthesis of bisubstrate analogues 3-OPP and 4-OPP are a regioselective C-alkylation of the dianion of 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol (5), a Z-selective cuprate addition of alkyl groups to an α,ß-alkynyl ester intermediate, and differential activation of allylic and homoallylic alcohols in the analogues, followed by a simultaneous displacement of the leaving groups with tris(tetra-n-butylammonium) hydrogen diphosphate to give the corresponding bisdiphosphate analogues. The bisubstrate analogues were substrates for FPP synthase, giving novel seven-membered ring analogues of GPP and FPP. The catalytic efficiencies for cyclization of 3-OPP and 4-OPP were similar to those for chain elongation with IPP and DMAPP.

Twelve tips to revitalise problem-based learning.

The role of the problem-based learning (PBL) facilitator has seen different interpretations ever since PBL first gained widespread use. What has remained unchanged is the challenge for facilitators to use their knowledge and expertise sparingly and to use their interpersonal skills to improve group dynamics. Medical undergraduates attending PBL sessions have also changed in their skill sets, expectations and the use of technology. Based on the published literature and a recent faculty workshop, we provide PBL facilitators and institutions with 12 tips on how to make PBL more vibrant and interesting. We discuss our tips with reference to published literature and International Academy of Medical Education (AMEE) guidance. Our tips help students to engage with PBL, avoid monotony and make this teaching format more vibrant and fun for all involved. Introducing greater variety to the PBL process may also help with group dynamics by catering for a broader audience with different learning styles.

How we established a new undergraduate firm on a Medical Admissions Unit.

Medical Admission Units (MAUs) were introduced in the UK in the 1980s primarily driven by a governance and service improvement agenda. In the UK this has led to the development of Acute Medicine as a specialty in its own right, together with a strong role of this specialty in postgraduate teaching. In contrast, the role of MAUs, if any, in undergraduate medical education is currently unclear. Prompted by an expansion of our undergraduate student numbers, our aim was to establish a Year 3 undergraduate firm on a 33-bedded MAU in a large academic teaching hospital in the National Health Service (NHS). Despite initial scepticism from clinicians, managers, and educators, the new firm placement on MAU became an instant success and continues to attract excellent feedback from our Year 3 undergraduate students. Students enjoy the bedside teaching with a high percentage of consultant-delivered teaching and also liked the involvement of Foundation Doctors. Here, we report our experience on how to make such a firm work, based on student feedback and the tutors' experience. We provide an overview and a step-by-step guide of how to construct a successful new undergraduate firm on a busy MAU. We also discuss opportunities and challenges and discuss the relevant literature. We conclude that undergraduate teaching is feasible and rewarding in an extremely busy MAU setting. We note that identifying enthusiastic educators within the MAU team, utilisation of peripheral learning opportunities, structured timetables and induction, and a robust framework for quality assurance are all crucial to success.

Current status of prospective drug utilization review.

BACKGROUND: The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 offered the promise that prospective drug utilization review (pDUR) systems would improve the quality of drug prescribing and patient drug use. There is little evidence that this promise has been fulfilled. To the contrary, there is growing evidence that suboptimal use of drugs (in terms of preventable drug-related morbidity) is at least as costly as the prescription drugs themselves. Online computerized pDUR has been the subject of numerous critical examinations in the pharmacy and medical literature. Recent publications have sought to illustrate perceived shortcomings in the DUR systems currently in use. OBJECTIVE: We focus on the state of the art with regard to pDUR, what is known about its effectiveness, and how emerging technologies may change pDUR and consider the work that may be needed to establish its effectiveness. SUMMARY: A growing body of literature documents numerous problems and concerns with respect to the quality of DUR criteria, DUR alerts, and the response of health care professionals to these alerts. Problems with the current pDUR "system" can be grouped into those involving technical aspects (e.g., duplicate messaging from in-store and online systems, or message text limitations) and into those involving human aspects, specifically how pharmacists and other health care providers interpret and respond to potential drug therapy problem alerts generated by the electronic systems. CONCLUSION: DUR is a quality assurance system that holds promise as a tool that, if implemented effectively, could enhance appropriate drug use. We believe a more systematic approach to DUR is needed. Evaluation and management of public and private pDUR systems must link documentation of processes of care, such as pharmacists. cognitive services, patient interventions, etc. To address technical aspects, we strongly recommend (a) a national effort to validate DUR screen criteria relying upon evidence-based studies and (b) adoption of a minimal set of.critical. pDUR screen criteria by pharmacy service providers and third-party intermediaries, including pharmacy benefit managers. To address the human component of pDUR systems, we advocate (a) adoption of performance standards for pharmacists and (b) explicit remuneration for time spent identifying and responding to drug therapy problems.

A randomised efficacy and discontinuation study of etanercept versus adalimumab (RED SEA) for rheumatoid arthritis: a pragmatic, unblinded, non-inferiority study of first TNF inhibitor use: outcomes over 2 years.

OBJECTIVE: To compare adalimumab versus etanercept in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to test the hypothesis that adalimumab was not inferior to etanercept in terms of drug continuation by a margin of 15% after 52 weeks of treatment. DESIGN: Pragmatic, randomised, parallel group, multicentre, unblinded and non-inferiority trial. Randomisation stratified by baseline use of methotrexate. PARTICIPANTS: 125 adults with active RA despite treatment with two disease-modifying drugs (DMARDs), including methotrexate randomised (1 : 1) to adalimumab 40 mg alternate weeks or etanercept 50 mg weekly, added to existing medication. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was proportion of patients continuing treatment after 52 weeks. Secondary outcomes included: disease activity score using 28 joints (DAS28), treatment satisfaction (TSQM V.2), health status (Euroqol-5D), drug toxicity and persistence with therapy after 2 years. RESULTS: Persistence with therapy was 65% for adalimumab versus 56.7% for etanercept (one-sided 95% CI for proportion still taking adalimumab minus proportion on etanercept ≥-7.9%); demonstrating non-inferiority at the 15% margin. After 2 years these figures were: adalimumab 58.3% and etanecept 43.3% (CI ≥-1.7%). The proportion of good, moderate and non-responders based on DAS28-C reactive protein, after 52 weeks, were 26.3%, 33.3% and 40.4%, respectively, for adalimumab versus 16.7%, 31.7% and 51.7%, respectively, for etanercept (p=0.158). Baseline median EQ-5D scores improved from 0.52 to 0.69 for adalimumab and from 0.52 to 0.64 for etanercept (p=0.046) after 52 weeks. Global satisfaction, effectiveness, side effects and convenience scores based on the TSQM were similar for both drugs. Fourteen serious adverse events occurred including two deaths from myocardial infarction, one patient with ovarian cancer and one with acute myeloid leukaemia. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians choosing a first tumour necrosis factor inhibitor for active RA, despite trying two DMARDs including methotrexate, may choose either adalimumab or etanercept in the knowledge that these drugs are similarly effective. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: EU Clinical Trials Register 2006-006275-21/GB.

An association between the acute phase response and patterns of antigen induced T cell proliferation in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

The aim of this research was to determine whether all memory T cells have the same propensity to migrate to the joint in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Paired synovial fluid and peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferative responses to a panel of antigens were measured and the results correlated with a detailed set of laboratory and clinical data from 39 patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Two distinct patterns of proliferative response were found in the majority of patients: a diverse pattern, in which synovial fluid responses were greater than peripheral blood responses for all antigens tested; and a restricted pattern, in which peripheral blood responses to some antigens were more vigorous than those in the synovial fluid compartment. The diverse pattern was generally found in patients with a high acute phase response, whereas patients without elevated acute phase proteins were more likely to demonstrate a restricted pattern. We propose that an association between the synovial fluid T cell repertoire and the acute phase response suggests that proinflammatory cytokines may influence recruitment of memory T cells to an inflammatory site, independent of their antigen specificity. Additionally, increased responses to enteric bacteria and the presence of alphaEbeta7 T cells in synovial fluid may reflect accumulation of gut associated T cells in the synovial compartment, even in the absence of an elevated acute phase response. This is the first report of an association between the acute phase response and the T cell population recruited to an inflammatory site.