Initial match rates of an innovative international partnership: The ochsner clinical school experience

Ochsner Clinical School (OCS) is a unique partnership between Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, LA, and The University of Queensland (UQ) School of Medicine in Brisbane, Australia. OCS trains physicians in global medicine and promotes careers in primary care through its unique structure. The purpose of this study was to determine how OCS graduates perform in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)-The Match-compared to applicants from other types of medical schools.The match outcomes for all OCS graduates since the first graduating class in November 2012 were compared to the match outcomes in the NRMP database for graduates from other types of medical schools in the years 2013-2015. We also examined the number of OCS students electing residencies in primary care compared to the number of US medical school graduates overall during the same time period of 2013-2015.The cumulative match rate from 2013-2015 for applicants from OCS was 91.8%. The OCS graduates' match rate was greater than the match rate for US citizen graduates of international medical schools during the same period (53.0% vs 91.8% [z=6.066,

Genomic reconstruction of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England.

The evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of sampled SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021

A História da Alimentação: balizas historiográficas

Os M. pretenderam traçar um quadro da História da Alimentação, não como um novo ramo epistemológico da disciplina, mas como um campo em desenvolvimento de práticas e atividades especializadas, incluindo pesquisa, formação, publicações, associações, encontros acadêmicos, etc. Um breve relato das condições em que tal campo se assentou faz-se preceder de um panorama dos estudos de alimentação e temas correia tos, em geral, segundo cinco abardagens Ia biológica, a econômica, a social, a cultural e a filosófica!, assim como da identificação das contribuições mais relevantes da Antropologia, Arqueologia, Sociologia e Geografia. A fim de comentar a multiforme e volumosa bibliografia histórica, foi ela organizada segundo critérios morfológicos. A seguir, alguns tópicos importantes mereceram tratamento à parte: a fome, o alimento e o domínio religioso, as descobertas européias e a difusão mundial de alimentos, gosto e gastronomia. O artigo se encerra com um rápido balanço crítico da historiografia brasileira sobre o tema

Factors associated with discussions of human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis in men who have sex with men

Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Truvada) is highly effective at preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in high-risk populations, including in men who have sex with men (MSM). In 2019, the US Preventive Services Task Force released an A recommendation to offer PrEP to persons at high risk of HIV acquisition. Despite the demonstrated efficacy of PrEP, areas with high HIV incidence, such as Louisiana, have historically had low PrEP prescription rates. The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with whether providers in the Ochsner Health System (OHS) discussed PrEP with HIV-negative MSM patients. Methods: Investigators extracted electronic medical record data on all HIV-negative MSM patients who had at least one outpatient visit at OHS between July 1, 2012 and July 1, 2016 and manually reviewed a random sample of 115 charts. Results: Subjects were predominantly Caucasian (75.7%) with a mean age of 37.6 years. A PrEP discussion was documented for 34 (29.6%) patients. Multivariate modeling showed that having a PrEP discussion was associated with 3 factors: being assigned to a primary care provider known to specialize in MSM care (odds ratio [OR] 5.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.81-14.10; P=0.002), having a documented history (positive or negative) of sexually transmitted infection vs no documentation (OR 5.41, 95% CI 1.80-16.23; P=0.003), and having documentation of condom use (consistent or inconsistent) vs no documentation (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.27-8.74; P=0.015). Conclusion: Despite evidence that PrEP significantly reduces sexual transmission of HIV in MSM, PrEP discussions with MSM across OHS were undesirably low. Additional resources need to be aimed at increasing PrEP uptake and should focus on providing skills-based training and education in PrEP and MSM care to healthcare providers. With increased knowledge of and familiarity with PrEP prescribing guidelines, more providers will be better equipped to identify at-risk patients and to discuss prevention options such as PrEP

Recruiting primary care physicians to teach medical students in the ambulatory setting: a model of protected time, allocated money, and faculty development

Medical schools face barriers to recruiting physicians to teach in the ambulatory setting for many reasons, including time required to teach, loss of productivity when learners are present, and physicians' uncertainty about how to teach.In 2012, the primary care department of the University of Queensland-Ochsner Clinical School (UQ-OCS) implemented an innovative model for recruiting primary care physicians to teach students in their clinics. The model's three-pronged approach allows protected teaching time, allocates tuition money to reimburse physicians for teaching via educational value unit (EVU) tracking, and includes a faculty development program.In the first two years of EVU tracking (academic years 2012 and 2013), 5,530 EVUs were provided by 48 primary care faculty teaching 60 students at 11 sites. In academic year 2013, the first year in which tuition dollars were available to fund teaching by primary care faculty, over $120,000 in tuition money was transferred to the department to pay for EVUs. No faculty in 2012 or 2013 experienced a change in salary as a result of teaching activities. Faculty development workshops have been well attended. The general practice clerkship has been the top-rated third-year clerkship by students for the first three years of clinical rotations at the UQ-OCS.A qualitative study to describe the barriers to and solutions for recruiting physicians to teach students in ambulatory settings is planned. Other studies will evaluate the effectiveness of faculty development efforts and the impact of students' presence on patients' access to clinic appointments

End-of-life and palliative care curricula in internal medicine clerkships: a report on the presence, value, and design of curricula as rated by clerkship directors

Purpose: End-of-life and palliative care (EOL/PC) education is a necessary component of undergraduate medical education. The extent of EOL/PC education in internal medicine (IM) clerkships is unknown. The purpose of this national study was to investigate the presence of formal EOL/PC curricula within IM clerkships; the value placed by IM clerkship directors on this type of curricula; curricular design and implementation strategies; and related barriers and resources. Method: The Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine conducted its annual survey of its institutional members in April 2012. The authors analyzed responses to survey items pertaining to formal EOL/PC curriculum and content using descriptive statistics. The authors used qualitative techniques to analyze free-text responses. Results: The response rate was 77.0% (94/122). Of those responding, 75.8% (69/91) believed such training should occur in the IM clerkship, and 43.6% (41/94) reported formal curricula in EOL/PC. Multiple instructional modalities were used to deliver this content, with the majority of programs dedicating four or more hours to the curriculum. Curricula covered a wide range of topics, and student assessment tools were varied. Most felt that students valued this education. The qualitative analysis revealed differences in the values clerkship directors placed on teaching EOL/PC within the IM clerkship. Conclusions: Although many IM clerkship directors have implemented formal curricula in EOL/PC, a substantial gap remains between those who have implemented and those who believe it belongs in the clerkship. Time, faculty, cost, and competing demands are the main barriers to implementation