7 research outputs found
Evaluation of learning and exposure in the undergraduate interventional radiology curriculum (ELIXIR)
Aim:
To gauge current final year medical students' exposure to interventional radiology (IR)and assess their perceptions of IR as a prospective career option.
Materials and methods:
An online questionnaire comprising of questions that gauge final-year medical students' understanding of and exposure to IR based on the recommendations set out by the British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR), was sent out to final-year students across 34 UK medical schools.
Results:
Five hundred and ten responses were collected from 33 out of 34 eligible medical schools. Sixty-four per cent of respondents rated their own IR knowledge as inadequate. On average, only 50% of all subtopics proposed in the BSIR undergraduate curriculum was covered during medical school and 32.7% of respondents were not exposed to any fundamental IR principles and techniques recommended by the BSIR during medical school. Regarding careers, 2.7% of respondents reported a definite interest in pursuing a career in IR. Most respondents (89.8%) felt that there was insufficient undergraduate teaching on IR and that they lacked information to consider pursuing a career in IR (87.5%).
Conclusion:
Insufficient exposure and teaching on IR throughout medical schools have led to a lack of awareness and consideration of IR as a future career choice amongst UK medical students. The re-evaluation of IR teaching in the medical school curricula is needed. In the long-term, such recommendations could provide the much-needed solution to the workforce shortages seen in IR
Strikingly Different Atheroprotective Effects of Apolipoprotein A-I in Early- Versus Late-Stage Atherosclerosis
Summary: Preclinical studies have shown benefit of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I)/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) raising in atherosclerosis; however, this has not yet translated into a successful clinical therapy. Our studies demonstrate that apoA-I raising is more effective at reducing early-stage atherosclerosis than late-stage disease, indicating that the timing of HDL raising is a critical factor in its atheroprotective effects. To date, HDL-raising clinical trials have only been performed in aged patients with advanced atherosclerotic disease. Our findings therefore provide insight, related to important temporal aspects of HDL raising, as to why the clinical trials have thus far been largely neutral. Key Words: atherosclerosis, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein