The workload of trainees in general practice

During their first training period in general practice the authors felt that they did not encounter the balanced workload which is the foundation for learning to be a GP. Previous studies confirmed the existence of differences in overall and specific workload between trainees and trainers. From their own experience and from the relevant literature they addressed several factors which might affect the workload of trainees. A study was undertaken to determine differences in workload between trainees and trainers, and to investigate whether certain characteristics of practice and of trainees affect the workload of trainees. Details of surgery consultations with 34 trainee-trainer partnerships were recorded in the north of the Netherlands over 2 weeks. Questionnaires were filled in by trainers, trainees and practice assistants from these 34 general practices. The total number of contacts recorded was 10,103. It was found that trainees see fewer elderly and female patients, less chronic and oncological conditions, but more minor illnesses. They see only 30% of patients with problem behaviour. Factors that influence the trainees' workload, as compared to their trainers' are: list size; selection in the allocation of patients; trainee's experience prior to starting the training stage, and the trainee's sex. Except for problem behaviour, trainees generally see a cross-section of their trainer's practice population. Selection would provide a more balanced workload for trainees.     

Basic sciences in problem-based learning and conventional curricula: students' attitudes

The purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes toward basic sciences of students in a preclinical problem-based curriculum and a conventional lecture-based curriculum at the end of their second year of medical school. The results showed that the PBL class had more positive attitudes toward basic sciences than students in the conventional class. These results may reflect a learning environment where students meet many scientist role models as teachers and where basic science is learnt in the context of clinical problems.     

Factors determining the performance of medical students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kuwait

An investigation was undertaken to determine the factors influencing performance of medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kuwait. Data were collected for the first batch of 42 candidates who successfully passed the 7-year medical programme. Results showed high correlations between high-school admission grades and subsequent performance during the medical programme. Similar results were also obtained with English proficiency. A partial correlation controlling for English proficiency, however, showed a systematic decline in the magnitude of the correlations between high-school grades and performance during the medical programme. In fact the relationship between high-school GPA and clinical GPA was non-significant. A prominent influence of English proficiency on performance is indicated.     

岛津数字胃肠机IF OVER故障产生的原理及维修

分析了岛津3200数字胃肠机IFOVER故障产生的原因，并结合实际故障现象，具体介绍了排除方法。     

Recent data and their analysis from the Toshiba multiphasic-health-screening centre

An automated multiphasic-health-test system has been opened in Japan for the early detection and treatment of disease in adults. The centre utilises system simulation, digital computation and automated medical equipment, and has made it possible to handle many examinees daily, and to retrieve their data easily. This paper reports many new data and their analysis.     

A Novel Application of the MIRC Repository in Medical Education

Medical students on the radiology elective in our institution create electronic presentations to present to each other as part of the requirements for the rotation. Access was given to previous students presentations via the web-based system, Medical Imaging Resource Center (MIRC) project, created and supported by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). RadPix Power 2 MIRC (Weadock Software, LLC, Ann Arbor, MI) software converted the Microsoft PowerPoint (Redmond, WA) presentations to a MIRC-compatible format. The textual information on each slide is searchable across the entire MIRC database. Future students will be able to benefit from the work of their predecessors.     

An observational study of variation in GPs' out-of-hours emergency referrals.

Out-of-hours organisations are responsible for the care of patients 70% of the time, and their GPs act as gatekeepers to secondary care services. This observational study identifies the variations in GPs' out-of-hours referral rates to secondary care and factors that could explain these variations. One hundred and forty-nine GPs who worked in one UK general practice out-of-hours cooperative which served 19 practices with 167 000 registered patients. Data on patients who accessed the out-of-hours service over 3 years (2001-2004) were examined. Factors thought to be predictors of variation in referral rates were investigated using logistic regression analysis. There was a fivefold difference in referral rates between the lowest and highest referring quartiles of GPs (OR [odds ratio] = 4.56, CI [confidence interval] = 3.86 to 5.38). The sex (female) of the clinician, the time of the consultation (11 pm to 7 am), and the place of the consultation (home visit) accounted for some, but not all, of the increased referral rates. A doctor working out-of-hours disproportionately influences the fate of the patient, the number of hospital admissions, and extra costs to the health service. There is a need for follow-up studies to investigate the factors associated with referral behaviour, and how the variation relates to patient factors and the resources available. These findings could be used when planning the staffing of out-of-hours services to optimise appropriate care and minimise patients' exposure to unnecessary intrusive and expensive hospital care.     

Integrated medical informatics with small group teaching in medical education

National Taiwan University College of Medicine (NTUCM) introduced small groups of teaching and basic-clinical integrated courses for medical students in 1992. By using computer network and multimedia techniques, this study tried to overcome barriers to learning in small group teaching. The Department of Medical Informatics of NTUCM established campus networking and computer classrooms and provided Internet and intranet network services including mail, netnews, bulletin board systems (BBS), world wide web (WWW), gopher, ftp and local file servers. To implement an interactive learning environment, the authors first tried mail lists, newsgroups and BBS. Next an integrated learning system prototype on the WWW was developed to provide functions including online syllabus, discussion boards simulated to BBS, online talk, interactive case studies, virtual classroom with video on demand (VOD) and Internet medical resources. The results showed that after the medical students completed the required course of medical informatics and had good network access using a network to communicate with each other became a daily practice. In the future, the system will extend to the tutoring of clinical practice and continuing medical education. The authors expect a national medical education network and more international cooperation and exchange.     

To test or not to test: an ethical conflict with presymptomatic testing of individuals at 25% risk for Huntington's disorder

The first presymptomatic test for Huntington's disease was developed in the 1980s. With the detection of the gene causing the disorder in 1993, it became possible to do direct mutation tests with almost 100% sensitivity and specificity. The author discusses some of the ethical issues that arise when an adult child at 25% risk for the disease wishes to have the test, but the parent(s) at 50% risk refuses to have one. If the child tests positive, the genetic status of the parent will also be disclosed. No matter what course of action is chosen in this situation, the ethically legitimate interests of either child or parent might be violated. The author examines different alternatives and suggests a solution that might be acceptable to all parties.