Female physician and pregnancy- effect of the amended German maternity protection act on female doctors' careers.

OBJECTIVES In Germany, the 2018 amended Maternity Protection Act frequently leads to fundamental restrictions for female physicians, especially surgeons, and now even also for students impeding the progress of their careers. Our goal was to assess the current situation for pregnant female physicians and students, respectively, and their perspective on this amendment regarding their career path. METHODS A nationwide survey was conducted in Germany from December 2020 to February 2021. The questionnaire included 790 female physicians and students who were pregnant after the inception of the amended Act. Those women pregnant after the beginning of the corona pandemic were excluded. RESULTS The survey revealed that two thirds of female physicians worked a maximum of 50% in their previous professional activity as soon as they reported pregnancy. Amongst medical students this amounted up to 72%. 18% of the female physicians and 17% of the female medical students respectively could not follow the sense of these restrictions. 44% of female medical physicians and 33% of female students felt their career impeded. This led up to 43% amongst female medical doctors and 53% amongst female medical students, respectively, who were concerned to announce their pregnancy. As a consequence, pregnancies were reported at 12 weeks in female physicians compared to 19 weeks in medical students. CONCLUSIONS Analyses of the current survey revealed that a relevant number of female physicians and medical students felt impeded in their career path through the application of the amended Maternity Act

Report of the annual meeting of the Society for Medical Education in the German speaking countries, virtual from the ETH Zürich 2021.

After the successful GMA Annual Meeting 2016 in Bern [1], we were “innovative together” for a second time in 2021. The GMA Annual Meeting 2021 was jointly organized by medical education and healthcare institutions in the Zurich area and the Medical Faculty of Bern, namely: University of Zurich, Medical Faculty; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich; Careum Bildungsmanagement; Zurich University of Applied Sciences; University of Lucerne, Department of Health Sciences and Medicine; and Medical Faculty of Bern, with the Institute for Medical Education. After the GMA 2020 had to be postponed due to the Corona Pandemic, it was decided to hold the 2021 meeting online to ensure a higher planning reliability and to ensure to definitely be able to organise the GMA Annual Meeting again. Innovatively, we have thus implemented the first ever online annual meeting of the GMA

Immunmodulatorische Eigenschaften mesenchymaler Stammzellen in der gemischten Lymphozytenkultur

Mesenchymale Stammzellen (MSC) werden zunehmend zur Immunsuppression z.B. bei Gvhd eingesetzt; der vermittelnde Mechanismus ist jedoch noch ungeklärt. Eine Beeinflussung der Prostaglandinsynthese wird ebenso diskutiert wie die Degradation von Tryptophan durch Indolamin-2,3-Dioxygenase (IDO). Es wird angenommen, dass Mesenchmyale Stammzellen von Patienten mit Aplastischer Anämie weniger immunsuppressiv wirken. Methode: MSC aus dem Knochenmark hämatologisch gesunder Spender wurden mittels FACS-Analyse und in Differenzierungsassays charakterisiert (CD9+, CD44+, CD105+, CD34-, CD45-). Eine gemischte Lymphozytenkultur (mixed lymphocyte reaction, MLR) diente als Modell einer Immunreaktion. MSC gesunder Spender oder von Patienten mit Aplastischer Anämie wurden in verschiedenen Konzentrationen direkt oder in Siebeinsätzen zur MLR zugegeben. Es wurden weiterhin Indometacin, NS-398, Tryptophan oder der IDO-Inhibitor 1-Methyl-Tryptophan zugefügt. Ergebnisse: Eine Zugabe von MSC zeigt, auch in Siebsystemen, eine dosisabhängige Reduktion der Proliferation der Lymphozyten, vergleichbar bei der Anwendung von MSC von Patienten mit Aplastischer Anämie. Der Überstand von MSC-Kulturen oder die Zugabe von Indometacin, NS-398, Tryptophan oder 1-Methyl-Tryptophan zeigten keinen signifikanten Effekt. Diskussion: Die Daten der Literatur sind kontrovers. Es lässt sich feststellen, dass wir einen dosisabhängigen Effekt der MSC beobachteten, auch in Siebeinsätzen, nicht jedoch im unstimulierten Überstand der MSC. Eine Tryptophandegradation oder Prostaglandinsynthese ist in unseren Versuchen nicht als alleinige Ursache der Immunsuppression auszumachen. Bei MSC von Spendern mit Aplastischer Anämie fanden wir keinen Hinweis auf eine Defizienz der Immunsuppression. Wir können uns damit der Hypothese anschließen, dass eine Stimulation der MSC zur Produktion eines löslichen Faktors führt, der die Proliferation inhibiert