A novel mentorship programme for residents integrating academic development, clinical teaching and graduate medical education assessment

Introduction: Mentorship fosters career development and growth. During residency training, mentorship should support clinical development along with intellectual and academic interests. Reported resident mentoring programmes do not typically include clinical components. We designed a programme that combines academic development with clinical feedback and assessment in a four-year emergency medicine residency programme. Methods: Incoming interns were assigned an advisor. At the conclusion of the intern year, residents actively participated in selecting a mentor for the duration of residency. The programme consisted of quarterly meetings, direct clinical observation and specific competency assessment, assistance with lecture preparation, real-time feedback on presentations, simulation coaching sessions, and discussions related to career development. Faculty participation was recognized as a valuable component of the annual review process. Residents were surveyed about the overall programme and individual components. Results: Over 88 % of the respondents said that the programme was valuable and should be continued. Senior residents most valued the quarterly meetings and presentation help and feedback. Junior residents strongly valued the clinical observation and simulation sessions. Conclusions: A comprehensive mentorship programme integrating clinical, professional and academic development provides residents individualized feedback and coaching and is valued by trainees. Individualized assessment of clinical competencies can be conducted through such a programme

Characterizing the cancer genome in lung adenocarcinoma

Somatic alterations in cellular DNA underlie almost all human cancers(1). The prospect of targeted therapies(2) and the development of high-resolution, genome-wide approaches(3-8) are now spurring systematic efforts to characterize cancer genomes. Here we report a large-scale project to characterize copy-number alterations in primary lung adenocarcinomas. By analysis of a large collection of tumours ( n = 371) using dense single nucleotide polymorphism arrays, we identify a total of 57 significantly recurrent events. We find that 26 of 39 autosomal chromosome arms show consistent large-scale copy-number gain or loss, of which only a handful have been linked to a specific gene. We also identify 31 recurrent focal events, including 24 amplifications and 7 homozygous deletions. Only six of these focal events are currently associated with known mutations in lung carcinomas. The most common event, amplification of chromosome 14q13.3, is found in similar to 12% of samples. On the basis of genomic and functional analyses, we identify NKX2-1 ( NK2 homeobox 1, also called TITF1), which lies in the minimal 14q13.3 amplification interval and encodes a lineage-specific transcription factor, as a novel candidate proto-oncogene involved in a significant fraction of lung adenocarcinomas. More generally, our results indicate that many of the genes that are involved in lung adenocarcinoma remain to be discovered.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62944/1/nature06358.pd

Identification of regulatory variants associated with genetic susceptibility to meningococcal disease.

Non-coding genetic variants play an important role in driving susceptibility to complex diseases but their characterization remains challenging. Here, we employed a novel approach to interrogate the genetic risk of such polymorphisms in a more systematic way by targeting specific regulatory regions relevant for the phenotype studied. We applied this method to meningococcal disease susceptibility, using the DNA binding pattern of RELA - a NF-kB subunit, master regulator of the response to infection - under bacterial stimuli in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. We designed a custom panel to cover these RELA binding sites and used it for targeted sequencing in cases and controls. Variant calling and association analysis were performed followed by validation of candidate polymorphisms by genotyping in three independent cohorts. We identified two new polymorphisms, rs4823231 and rs11913168, showing signs of association with meningococcal disease susceptibility. In addition, using our genomic data as well as publicly available resources, we found evidences for these SNPs to have potential regulatory effects on ATXN10 and LIF genes respectively. The variants and related candidate genes are relevant for infectious diseases and may have important contribution for meningococcal disease pathology. Finally, we described a novel genetic association approach that could be applied to other phenotypes

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection are often non-specific, and there is no definitive test for the accurate diagnosis of infection. The 'omics' approaches to identifying biomarkers from the host-response to bacterial infection are promising. In this study, lipidomic analysis was carried out with plasma samples obtained from febrile children with confirmed bacterial infection (n = 20) and confirmed viral infection (n = 20). We show for the first time that bacterial and viral infection produces distinct profile in the host lipidome. Some species of glycerophosphoinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol sulfate were higher in the confirmed virus infected group, while some species of fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, glycerophosphoserine, lactosylceramide and bilirubin were lower in the confirmed virus infected group when compared with confirmed bacterial infected group. A combination of three lipids achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.911 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.98). This pilot study demonstrates the potential of metabolic biomarkers to assist clinicians in distinguishing bacterial from viral infection in febrile children, to facilitate effective clinical management and to the limit inappropriate use of antibiotics

COVID-19 and Medical Education: A Four-Part Model to Assess Risks, Benefits, and Institutional Obligations During a Global Pandemic

The practice of medicine carries inherent risks, especially during outbreaks of highly contagious diseases like Ebola, H1N1, tuberculosis, and COVID-19. Exposure risks remain and extend to medical students and resident/fellows functioning in clinical settings and create ethical dilemmas around service vs. potential risks of illness. At the time of an unprecedented crisis in the US healthcare system, institutional leaders and medical educators are tasked with meeting patient care demands and ensuring the health and well-being of learners across the medical education continuum, while preventing stagnation in their education and promoting their professional growth. In this commentary, we offer a framework to guide medical schools and teaching hospitals leaders’ decisions around the deployment of these learners during the pandemic. To create the framework, we drew on information about minimizing the risks in inherently dangerous industries, practice during earlier outbreaks of dangerous infectious disease and guidance from ethics experts. We provide examples of how this risk framework can be applied to specific situations where medical students and residents/fellows function in a clinical context

Morbidity and Mortality Conference in Emergency Medicine Residencies and the Culture of Safety

Introduction: Morbidity and mortality conferences (M+M) are a traditional part of residency training and mandated by the Accreditation Counsel of Graduate Medical Education. This study’s objective was to determine the goals, structure, and the prevalence of practices that foster strong safety cultures in the M+Ms of U.S. emergency medicine (EM) residency programs. Methods: The authors conducted a national survey of U.S. EM residency program directors. The survey instrument evaluated five domains of M+M (Organization and Infrastructure; Case Finding; Case Selection; Presentation; and Follow up) based on the validated Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality Safety Culture survey. Results: There was an 80% (151/188) response rate. The primary objectives of M+M were discussing adverse outcomes (53/151, 35%), identifying systems errors (47/151, 31%) and identifying cognitive errors (26/151, 17%). Fifty-six percent (84/151) of institutions have anonymous case submission, with 10% (15/151) maintaining complete anonymity during the presentation and 21% (31/151) maintaining partial anonymity. Forty-seven percent (71/151) of programs report a formal process to follow up on systems issues identified at M+M. Forty-four percent (67/151) of programs report regular debriefing with residents who have had their cases presented. Conclusion: The structure and goals of M+Ms in EM residencies vary widely. Many programs lack features of M+M that promote a non-punitive response to error, such as anonymity. Other programs lack features that support strong safety cultures, such as following up on systems issues or reporting back to residents on improvements. Further research is warranted to determine if M+M structure is related to patient safety culture in residency programs

Morbidity and Mortality Conference in Emergency Medicine Residencies and the Culture of Safety

Introduction: Morbidity and mortality conferences (M+M) are a traditional part of residency training and mandated by the Accreditation Counsel of Graduate Medical Education. This study’s objective was to determine the goals, structure, and the prevalence of practices that foster strong safety cultures in the M+Ms of U.S. emergency medicine (EM) residency programs. Methods: The authors conducted a national survey of U.S. EM residency program directors. The survey instrument evaluated five domains of M+M (Organization and Infrastructure; Case Finding; Case Selection; Presentation; and Follow up) based on the validated Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality Safety Culture survey. Results: There was an 80% (151/188) response rate. The primary objectives of M+M were discussing adverse outcomes (53/151, 35%), identifying systems errors (47/151, 31%) and identifying cognitive errors (26/151, 17%). Fifty-six percent (84/151) of institutions have anonymous case submission, with 10% (15/151) maintaining complete anonymity during the presentation and 21% (31/151) maintaining partial anonymity. Forty-seven percent (71/151) of programs report a formal process to follow up on systems issues identified at M+M. Forty-four percent (67/151) of programs report regular debriefing with residents who have had their cases presented. Conclusion: The structure and goals of M+Ms in EM residencies vary widely. Many programs lack features of M+M that promote a non-punitive response to error, such as anonymity. Other programs lack features that support strong safety cultures, such as following up on systems issues or reporting back to residents on improvements. Further research is warranted to determine if M+M structure is related to patient safety culture in residency programs

Reaching Out of the Box: Effective Emergency Care Requires Looking Outside the Emergency Department

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