A porcine model for teaching surgical cricothyridootomy

<sec><title>OBJECTIVE:</title><p> To evaluate the acceptability of an educational project using A porcine model of airway for teaching surgical cricothyroidotomy to medical students and medical residents at a university hospital in southern Brazil.</p></sec><sec><title>METHODS:</title><p> we developed a teaching project using a porcine model for training in surgical cricothyroidotomy. Medical students and residents received lectures about this surgical technique and then held practical training with the model. After the procedure, all participants filled out a form about the importance of training in airway handling and the model used.</p></sec><sec><title>RESULTS:</title><p> There were 63 participants. The overall quality of the porcine model was estimated at 8.8, while the anatomical correlation between the model and the human anatomy received a mean score of 8.5. The model was unanimously approved and considered useful in teaching the procedure.</p></sec><sec><title>CONCLUSION:</title><p> the training of surgical cricothyroidotomy with a porcine model showed good acceptance among medical students and residents of this institution.</p></sec

Telemedicine uptake among genetics professionals in Europe: room for expansion

Today's economic challenges and the changing landscape of clinical genetics are forcing us to consider alternative ways of providing genetic services, to comply with budget limitations and at the same time meeting the demands of increasing patient numbers and patient-centered care delivery. Telegenetics could be an effective and efficient way of counseling, but its use in Europe is not widely reported, nor is there evidence of international collaboration. We conducted an online survey among 929 genetics professionals, to explore the current availability and use of different telegenetics modalities in Europe. Our questionnaire was completed by 104 clinically active European genetics professionals. Telephone genetic counseling was used by 17% of respondents. Videoconferencing facilities were available to 24%, but only 9% of them used these for patient counseling. Various barriers to availability and use were cited, ranging from practical constraints, lack of professional support/knowledge, to lack of perceived suitability and need. The results show that telegenetics modalities are not currently in widespread use by our respondents, in part due to perceived barriers. To meet the changing economic, genetic, and societal circumstances, we recommend consideration of greater integration of telegenetics into regular clinical genetic care, to supplement existing care modalities. Professional cooperation, sharing knowledge, and establishing guidelines on a national and international level could contribute to successful and more widespread implementation of telegenetics. However, the perceived practical and regulatory barriers have to be overcom