Development of a remote learning educational model for international Emergency Medicine trainees in the era of COVID-19

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has pressured post-graduate medical education programs to shift from traditional in-person teaching to remote teaching and learning. Remote learning in medical education has been described in the literature mostly in the context of local in-country teaching. International remote medical education poses unique challenges for educators, especially in low-middle income countries (LMICs) who need continued Emergency Medicine (EM) specialty development. Our objective is to describe the development and implementation of our remote educational curriculum for EM trainees in West Bengal, India, and to assess trainee satisfaction with our remote learning curriculum. Methods Our curriculum was developed by adapting remote learning techniques used in Western post-graduate medical education, conducting literature searches on remote learning modalities, and through collaboration with local faculty in India. We assessed resident satisfaction in our curriculum with feedback surveys and group discussions. Results The remote educational curriculum had overall high trainee satisfaction ratings for weekly livestream video lectures and throughout our monthly educational modules (median ratings 9-10 out of a 10-point Likert scale). Qualitative feedback regarding specific lecture topics and educational modules were also received. Conclusions International remote education in LMICs poses a unique set of challenges to medical educators. Residents in our study reported high satisfaction with the curriculum, but there is a lack of clarity regarding how a remote curriculum may impact academic and clinical performance. Future studies are needed to further evaluate the efficacy and academic and clinical implications of remote medical education in LMICs.

Resident Physician and Medical Academic Faculty Burnout

Physician burnout finds its roots in both undergraduate and graduate medical education and has emerged as an important cause of academic faculty turnover. Recognition of the need for resiliency training has led to the development and implementation of wellness programmes throughout the country and world. This chapter examines the causes and potential solutions of combating resident physician and academic faculty burnout in medical education. The authors reviewed current literature on wellness programmes in medical education, including both traditional and curricular approaches and provide a template for creating a well-rounded wellness programme to promote resident physician and academic faculty wellness.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Dog Bite Patients and their Attendants Visiting Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre – A Tertiary Care Hospital in Karachi

Dog bite is a global issue and endemic to especially African and Asian countries, where due to lack of awareness dogs (both domestic and wild) are either un-vaccinated or unneutered. The higher authorities seems to be least bothered concerning the increasing number of stray dog in these countries. Although lot of planning is done, no proper execution of these strategies are observed. The other issue is the negligent attitude of people towards wound management. The objective of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of dog bite patients and their attendants visiting Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre, a tertiary care hospital in Karachi. The structured questionnaires were got filled via interview from both the patient and their attendant at the time they visited the dog bite clinic in the hospital. The results of the study revealed in appropriate and irresponsible attitude on both the part of patients and the concerned authorities responsible for is management. This research work was an endeavor to do the gap analysis in order to ensure practical implementation to overcome the endemic of dog bite and rabies.

New beginnings in post graduate medical education. Latin American Medical Education Leaders Forum

Introduction: The consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic have been catastrophic for Latin America in 2021. This study explores experiences, lessons learned, and practice changes during this critical time in post-graduate medical education in Latin America. Methods: A panel of 53 post-graduate medical education leaders from 8 Latin American countries and Canada was invited to participate in the 2021 Latin American Medical Education Leaders Forum to share their experiences, lessons learned, and main educational practice changes given the Covid-19 pandemic scenario. Participants were selected following a snowball technique with the goal of obtaining a diverse group of experts. Small group discussions were conducted by bilingual facilitators based on a semi-structured questionnaire. The plenary session with the main conclusions of each group was recorded and fully transcribed for a thematic analysis using a framework methods approach. Results: Participants´ profiles included 13 experienced clinician-educators, 19 program directors, and 23 deans or organizational representatives. Seven specific themes emerged. They followed a pattern that went from an initial emotional reaction of surprise to a complex collective response. The responses highlighted the value of adaptability, the application of new digital skills, a renovated residents’ protagonism, the strengthening of humanism in medicine, the openness of new perspectives in wellness, and finally, an unresolved challenge of assessment in medical education in a virtual post-pandemic scenario. Conclusion: A diverse panel of medical educators from Latin America and Canada identified changes triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic that could transform postgraduate medical education in the region.