Undergraduate medical students' behavioural intentions towards medical errors and how to handle them: A qualitative vignette study

Objectives In undergraduate medical education, the topics of errors in medicine and patient safety are under-represented. The aim of this study was to explore undergraduate medical students' behavioural intentions when confronted with an error. Design A qualitative case vignette survey was conducted including one of six randomly distributed case scenarios in which a hypothetical but realistic medical error occurred. The six scenarios differed regarding (1) who caused the error, (2) the presence of witnesses and (3) the consequences of the error for the patient. Participants were asked: â € What would you do?". Answers were collected as written free texts and analysed according to qualitative content analysis. Setting Students from German medical schools participated anonymously through an online questionnaire tool. Participants Altogether, n=159 students answered a case scenario. Participants were on average 24.6 years old (SD=7.9) and 69% were female. They were undergraduate medical students in their first or second year (n=27), third, fourth or fifth year (n=107) or final year (n=21). Results During the inductive coding process, 19 categories emerged from the original data and were clustered into four themes: (1) considering communication; (2) considering reporting; (3) considering consequences; and (4) emotional responsiveness. When the student him/herself caused the error in the scenario, participants did mention communication with colleagues and taking preventive action less frequently than if someone else had caused the error. When a witness was present, participants more frequently mentioned disclosure of the error and taking actions than in the absence of a witness. When the outcome was significant to the patient, participants more often showed an emotional response than if there were no consequences. Conclusions The study highlights the importance of coping strategies for healthcare professionals to adequately deal with errors. Educators need to introduce knowledge and skills on how to deal with errors and emotional preparedness for errors into undergraduate medical education

EuroScore and IL-6 predict the course in ICU after cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND Despite modern advances in intensive care medicine and surgical techniques, mortality rates in cardiac surgical patients are still about 3%. Considerable efforts were made to predict morbidity and mortality after cardiac surgery. In this study, we analysed the predictive properties of EuroScore and IL-6 for mortality in ICU, prolonged postoperative mechanical ventilation, and prolonged stay in ICU. METHODS We enrolled 2972 patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The patients either underwent aortic valve surgery (AV), mitral valve surgery (MV), coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and combined operations of aortic valve and coronary artery bypass grafting (AV + CABG) or of mitral and tricuspid valve (MV + TV). Different laboratory and clinical parameters were analysed. RESULTS EuroScore as well as IL-6 were associated with increased mortality after cardiac surgery. Furthermore, a higher EuroScore and elevated levels of IL-6 were predictors for prolonged mechanical ventilation and a longer stay in ICU. Especially, highly significant elevated IL-6 levels and an increased EuroScore showed a strong association. Statistics suggested superiority when both parameters were combined in a single model. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that EuroScore and IL-6 are helpful in predicting the course in ICU after cardiac surgery, and therefore, the use of intensive care resources. Especially, the combination of highly elevated levels of IL-6 and EuroScore may prove to be excellent predictors for an unfortunate postoperative course in ICU

Undergraduate education in palliative medicine in Germany: a longitudinal perspective on curricular and infrastructural development

Background: In 2009, palliative medicine became an integrated and compulsory part of undergraduate training in Germany by legislation. After a transitional period, all medical faculties were required to provide adequate teaching with an according examination and certification procedure. In parallel, we conducted bi-annual surveys on all medical faculties in Germany to examine for potential discrepancies between the implementation process and their intended consequences on teaching time and content. Methods: Four consecutive bi-annual surveys (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012) of all 36 medical faculties in Germany were performed, using purposively for this study developed questionnaires. Likert scales and closed questions were analyzed descriptively. Results: Medical Faculty response rate increased from 50 % in 2006 to 88.9 % in 2012. Teaching coordinators in palliative medicine primarily had an anesthesiology or internal medicine background. There was a noted increase over time of the involvement of specialized palliative care units (PCUs) as providing the setting for education. The number of faculties that were able to offer a complete 16 weeks of training in palliative medicine during the "final year" rose steadily. In addition, increased patient-centered teaching formats have been implemented over time. The faculties which offered innovative teaching formats with actors as patients (standardized patient interaction) increased, as did the total number of mandatory examinations. The number of faculties that provided compulsory teaching in a condensed manner within a single academic year increased sharply from 3 of 31 responding faculties in 2010 to 19 of 32 responding faculties in 2012. Conclusions: Until now, teaching conditions and structures in palliative medicine in Germany have proven to be extraordinarily heterogeneous. Although professorships ("Chairs") in palliative medicine proved to be particularly beneficial and supportive in curricular and structural development, only a minority of faculties provide leading academic positions in palliative medicine

Changes in LDL Fatty Acid Composition as a Response to Olive Oil Treatment Are Inversely Related to Lipid Oxidative Damage: The EUROLIVE Study

Objective: The aim of our study was to assess the changes in the fatty acid composition of low density lipoproteins (LDL) after sustained consumption of olive oil at real-life doses (25 mL/day) and their relationship with lipid oxidative damage. Methods: A multi-center randomized, cross-over, clinical trial with 3 similar types of olive oils, but with differences in the phenolic content, was conducted on 200 healthy European subjects. Intervention periods were of 3 weeks separated by 2-week washout periods. The LDL fatty acid content was measured in samples drawn at baseline and after the last intervention period. Results: After olive oil ingestion oleic acid concentration in LDL increased (1.9%; p Ͻ 0.001) and those of linoleic (1.1%; p Ͻ 0.002) and arachidonic acid (0.5%; p Ͻ 0.001) decreased. Monounsaturated/polyunsaturated fatty acid and oleic/linoleic acid ratios in LDL increased after olive oil consumption. An inverse relationship between the oleic/linoleic acid ratio and biomarkers of oxidative stress was observed. One unit increase in the oleic/linoleic acid ratio was associated with a decrease of 4.2 g/L in plasma isoprostanes. Conclusion: Consumption of olive oil at real-life doses improved the fatty acid profile in LDL, the changes being associated with a reduction of the oxidative damage to lipids

Validation of a German short version of the Attitudes towards Patient Safety Questionnaire (G-APSQshort) for the measurement of undergraduate medical students' attitudes to and needs for patient safety

Introduction: Topics of patient safety are being taught increasingly within medical eudcation. To date, however, there is no suitable means of measuring the status quo of medical students’ attitudes towards patient safety in German-speaking Europe. The German validation of a short version of the Attitude towards Patient Safety Questionnaire (G-APSQ) is meant to fill this gap with the aid of two validation studies. Methods: In Study 1, item and reliability analyses were used to examine internal consistency as well as factorial structure. In Study 2, the measurement sensitivity of the G-APSQ in detecting changes in attitudes was assessed. Results: Study 1 comprised N=83 participants (M=23.16 years; 21 female). Adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=.722-.903) was reached in 6 of the seven subscales. The factor analysis showed that the six extracted factors matched the theoretically conceived subscales.Study 2 comprised N=21 participants (M=26 years; 11 female). A multivariate analysis of variance showed that the differences before and after a short-term intervention were significant with medium effect size (F(1;16)=6.675; p<.05; η=.29).Discussion: In six subscales, the G-APSQ can be considered valid in respect to measuring point and change. It is hoped that regular and concerted implementation of measuring instruments such as the G-APSQ will help to develop a common ground for data comparison among many different German-speaking medical faculties

Patients' perception of types of errors in palliative care - results from a qualitative interview study

Background: Medical errors have been recognized as a relevant public health concern and research efforts to improve patient safety have increased. In palliative care, however, studies on errors are rare and mainly focus on quantitative measures. We aimed to explore how palliative care patients perceive and think about errors in palliative care and to generate an understanding of patients' perception of errors in that specialty. Methods: A semistructured qualitative interview study was conducted with patients who had received at least 1 week of palliative care in an inpatient or outpatient setting. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to qualitative content analysis. Results: Twelve patients from two centers were interviewed (7 women, median age 63.5 years, range 22-90 years). Eleven patients suffered from a malignancy. Days in palliative care ranged from 10 to 180 days (median 28 days). 96 categories emerged which were summed up under 11 umbrella terms definition, difference, type, cause, consequence, meaning, recognition, handling, prevention, person causing and affected person. A deductive model was developed assigning umbrella terms to error-theory-based factor levels (definition, type and process-related factors). 23 categories for type of error were identified, including 12 categories that can be considered as palliative care specific. On the level of process-related factors 3 palliative care specific categories emerged (recognition, meaning and consequence of errors). Conclusion: From the patients' perspective, there are some aspects of errors that could be considered as specific to palliative care. As the results of our study suggest, these palliative care-specific aspects seem to be very important from the patients' point of view and should receive further investigation. Moreover, the findings of this study can serve as a guide to further assess single aspects or categories of errors in palliative care in future research