Development of a Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Curriculum for Breaking Bad News

Introduction

Physician communication impacts patient outcomes. However, communication skills, especially around difficult conversations, remain suboptimal, and there is no clear way to determine the validity of entrustment decisions. The aims of this study were to 1) describe the development of a simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) curriculum for breaking bad news (BBN) conversation skills and 2) set a defensible minimum passing standard (MPS) to ensure uniform skill acquisition among learners.

Daily skin-to-skin contact in full-term infants and breastfeeding: Secondary outcomes from a randomized controlled trial

This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effect of a 5-week daily skin-to-skin contact (SSC) intervention between mothers and their full-term infants, compared with care-as-usual, on exclusive and continued breastfeeding duration during the first post-natal year. Healthy pregnant women (n = 116) from a community sample were enrolled and randomly allocated to the SSC or care-as-usual condition. SSC mothers were requested to provide one daily hour of SSC for the first five post-natal weeks. Twelve months post-partum, mothers indicated the number of exclusive and continued breastfeeding months. Multiple regression analyses were conducted using intention-to-treat, per-protocol and exploratory dose–response frameworks. In intention-to-treat analyses, exclusive and continued breastfeeding duration was not different between groups (exclusive: 3.61 ± 1.99 vs. 3.16 ± 1.77 months; adjusted mean difference 0.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] ?0.33 to 0.89; p = 0.36; continued: 7.98 ± 4.20 vs. 6.75 ± 4.06 months; adjusted mean difference 0.81, 95% CI ?0.46 to 2.08; p = 0.21). In per-protocol analyses, exclusive and continued breastfeeding duration was longer for SSC than care-as-usual dyads (exclusive: 4.89 ± 1.26 vs. 3.25 ± 1.80 months; adjusted mean difference 1.28, 95% CI 0.31–2.24; p = 0.01; continued: 10.81 ± 1.97 vs. 6.98 ± 4.08 months; adjusted mean difference 2.33, 95% CI 0.13–4.54; p = 0.04). Exploratory dose–response effects indicated that more SSC hours predicted longer exclusive and continued breastfeeding duration. This study demonstrates that for the total group, the 5-week daily SSC intervention did not extend exclusive and continued breastfeeding duration. However, for mothers performing a regular daily hour of SSC, this simple and accessible intervention may extend exclusive and continued breastfeeding duration by months. Future studies are required to confirm these promising findings. Trial registration: Netherlands Trial Register (NTR5697).     

The impact of neighborhoods and friendships on interracial anxiety among medical students and residents: A report from the medical student CHANGES study

Objective

To examine the experience of interracial anxiety among health professionals and how it may affect the quality of their interactions with patients from racially marginalized populations. We explored the influence of prior interracial exposure—specifically through childhood neighborhoods, college student bodies, and friend groups—on interracial anxiety among medical students and residents. We also examined whether levels of interracial anxiety change from medical school through residency.

Data Source

Web-based longitudinal survey data from the Medical Student Cognitive Habits and Growth Evaluation Study.

Study Design

We used a retrospective longitudinal design with four observations for each trainee. The study population consisted of non-Black US medical trainees surveyed in their 1st and 4th years of medical school and 2nd and 3rd years of residency. Mixed effects longitudinal models were used to assess predictors of interracial anxiety and assess changes in interracial anxiety scores over time.

Principal Findings

In total, 3155 non-Black medical trainees were followed for 7 years. Seventy-eight percent grew up in predominantly White neighborhoods. Living in predominantly White neighborhoods and having less racially diverse friends were associated with higher levels of interracial anxiety among medical trainees. Trainees' interracial anxiety scores did not substantially change over time; interracial anxiety was highest in the 1st year of medical school, lowest in the 4th year, and increased slightly during residency.

Conclusions

Neighborhood and friend group composition had independent effects on interracial anxiety, indicating that premedical racial socialization may affect medical trainees' preparedness to interact effectively with diverse patient populations. Additionally, the lack of substantial change in interracial anxiety throughout medical training suggests the importance of providing curricular tools and structure (e.g., instituting interracial cooperative learning activities) to foster the development of healthy interracial relationships.     

Emergency department patient payer status after implementation of the Affordable Care Act: A nationwide analysis using NHAMCS data

ObjectiveTo evaluate changes in insurance status among emergency department (ED) patients presenting in the two years immediately before and after full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).MethodsWe evaluated National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) Emergency Department public use data for 2012–2015, categorizing patients as having any insurance (private; Medicare; Medicaid; workers' compensation) or no insurance. We compared the pre- and post-ACA frequency of insurance coverage—overall and within the older (≥65), working-age (18–64) and pediatric (<18) subpopulations—using unadjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. We also conducted a difference-in-differences analysis comparing the change in insurance coverage among working-age patients with that observed for older Medicare-eligible patients, while controlling for sex, race and underlying temporal trends.ResultsOverall, the proportion of ED patients with any insurance did not significantly change from 2012 to 2013 to 2014–2015 (74.2% vs 77.7%) but the proportion of working-age adult patients with at least one form of insurance increased significantly, from 66.0% to 71.8% (OR 1.31, CI: 1.13–1.52). The difference-in-differences analysis confirmed the change in insurance coverage among working-age adults was greater than that seen in the reference population of Medicare-eligible adults (AOR 1.70, CI: 1.29–2.23). The increase was almost entirely attributable to increased Medicaid coverage.ConclusionIn the first two years following full implementation of the ACA, there was a significant increase in the proportion of working-age adult ED patients who had at least one form of health insurance. The increase appeared primarily associated with expansion of Medicaid.     

Bone mineral density changes after parathyroidectomy are dependent on biochemical profile

Background

Bone mineral density (BMD) has been found to improve after parathyroidectomy (PTX) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. There are few data on the effect of PTX on BMD in normocalcemic and normohormonal primary hyperparathyroidism.

Analysis of relative effectiveness of high-dose versus standard-dose influenza vaccines using an instrumental variable method

Background

Observational studies of the relative effectiveness of influenza vaccines are essential for public health decision making. Their estimates, however, are subject to bias due to unmeasured confounders. Instrumental variable (IV) methods can control for observed and unobserved confounders.