bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Junior Doctor Mentors: Enhancing Medical Student Psychiatry Training
Authors: Ruddock Kenneth , Neil Catriona 
Published: June 2022

AimsIncreased clinical contact during undergraduate psychiatry placements has been shown to both increase the likelihood of students considering a career in psychiatry and reduce mental-health related stigma. It can be challenging to provide medical students with a valuable clinical experience, a problem which has been further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. We aimed to develop a junior doctor mentoring scheme to increase clinical exposure and teaching for students.MethodsWithin NHS Lanarkshire, groups of 4–6 University of Glasgow medical students are accommodated for their five-week clinical psychiatry blocks, during which they have a varied structured timetable, providing an overview of different psychiatric specialties. As such, students meet a wide range of clinicians, which can unfortunately mean there is little continuity in their training throughout the block.We developed a mentoring scheme to help address this issue. Enthusiastic trainee doctors – including foundation year two doctors, GP trainees and psychiatry core trainees – were invited to participate. Medical students are paired with a mentor for the duration of their block, during which they meet informally on a weekly basis. Mentors provide students with ward shadowing opportunities and bedside teaching, as well as completing work-place based assessments (WPBAs), discussing case reports and providing an additional perspective for end-of-block reports.ResultsThe mentoring scheme has been running successfully for every five-week student placement since October 2020. Student feedback has been collected via an anonymous electronic questionnaire. Students were asked what they enjoyed the most about their placement, with students frequently highlighting the support from their mentor.Examples from free-text comments included, “having an assigned mentor was really useful as someone to touch base with and go through clinical cases” and, “having a mentor was invaluable – it is crucial to have a friendly face on the wards and a contact to complete WPBAs”.Informal feedback from mentors has also been positive with trainees enjoying the opportunity to develop their teaching skills and support student training. Mentors also highlighted the role's benefit for their portfolios and specialty applications.ConclusionThis simple and cost-free intervention has had resoundingly positive feedback from medical students and trainees. Medical students enjoy having consistent informal teaching, support and feedback. Our mentoring scheme will continue for all medical students in NHS Lanarkshire and we would encourage other areas to consider a similar project. By increasing clinical exposure we hope to further reduce mental health stigma amongst students and inspire the psychiatrists of tomorrow.
What Do Medical Students Think About Incorporating VR Into Psychiatry Education and Training?
Authors: Sidhu Manu , Dulai Vikram 
Published: June 2022

AimsThe authors hypothesised that medical students may be receptive to incorporating Virtual Reality (VR) within the psychiatric curriculum as a technological adjunct to existing teaching methods. Therefore, the aim was to evaluate medical students’ attitudes towards the role of VR in psychiatry education and training.MethodsIn this descriptive cross-sectional online survey, 76 medical students from all year groups across 10 medical schools in the UK answered a questionnaire consisting of 13 items regarding their views on the role of VR in psychiatry education and training, each on a 5-point Likert scale.Results96.1% of respondents had received some level of education and training in psychiatry. 57.9% had never undertaken a VR experience before, yet 79.0% ‘agreed/strongly agreed’ that they would feel comfortable using VR at medical school.71.1% ‘agreed/strongly agreed’ that experiencing the first-person perspectives of psychiatric patients in VR would enable them to develop greater empathy. 81.6% ‘agreed/strongly agreed’ that managing dangerous patient interactions in VR would increase their confidence in managing such interactions in real-world clinical settings. However, students were most ‘unsure’ about whether VR would reduce their anxiety (30.3%) and improve their interpersonal communication (27.6%) in real-world clinical settings.The majority of students ‘agreed/strongly agreed’ that VR would make educational experiences more engaging (80.3%), improve understanding of content (63.1%), and better prepare them for clinical practice (64.4%).Most significantly, 81.6% ‘agreed/strongly agreed’ that learning in VR would enhance experiential learning in ways that existing teaching methods outside of clinical settings cannot, and 84.2% ‘agreed/strongly agreed’ that they would rather learn from a mixture of VR plus existing methods over existing methods alone.ConclusionThese findings demonstrate that medical students believe VR would improve engagement, understanding, and preparation for clinical practice.VR holds the greatest potential in developing empathy for patients with mental illness and preparing students for dangerous patient interactions. However, further investigation is required to evaluate how educational experiences in VR translate to performance in real-world clinical settings.In times of restricted access to clinical care, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, VR could play a vital role in teaching psychiatry. The preference for VR to be added to existing teaching methods was the strongest held and most relevant belief to the aim of this study, indicating the readiness of medical students to accept VR into psychiatry education and training.
Co-Production of an Online Medical Student Conference: Inspiring Interest in Psychiatry
Authors: Harris Georgina Edgerley , Rudra Sonya , Swain Rachel , Swerdlow Abigail 
Published: June 2022

AimsThe aim of this project was to create a Pan-London event to increase awareness and enthusiasm of medical students for Psychiatry as a specialty. In addition to a longer term goal of ultimately increasing recruitment to the specialty once students qualify, this event aimed to bring Mental Health to the forefront of the minds of future doctors.MethodsPsychiatry Teaching Fellows from different trusts created a virtual educational event targeted at medical students in all years across London universities. It was co-produced with the student Psychiatry Societies across the London Universities. This encouraged student engagement from the ground level and fostered an environment of collaboration between students and Doctors. The event was free to attend and was supported by the Royal College of Psychiatry, London Division. The conference programme showcased the various facets Psychiatry has to offer from a global perspective, including Women's Mental Health, Forensic Psychiatry, research and volunteering around the world.ResultsThe conference welcomed 263 attendees. 92 of the attendees completed a feedback questionnaire at the end of the session. The majority of respondents were from London universities and fairly evenly distributed amongst medical school year groups. 99% of those completing the questionnaire found the session interesting (scoring 3 or more out of 5 on a 5 point Likert scale). 98% of respondents reported that they found the session widened their view of Psychiatry. 78% were already considering a career in Psychiatry. 96% felt more likely to pursue a career in Psychiatry following the conference (scoring 3 or more out of 5 on a 5 point Likert scale). Open-text feedback indicated that attendees had found the sessions interesting and particularly valued the range of topics.ConclusionExtra-curricular events are a fantastic chance to broaden medical students’ views of the specialty of Psychiatry. A virtual platform creates opportunities for audiences to hear from a vast array of expert speakers, which might not otherwise be possible in person, and creates a community of like-minded students in a safe environment. Whether or not students go on to pursue the field themselves later on in their training, events such as this bring awareness of Psychiatry and its impacts to the foreground. It is hoped that, in future, further co-produced events between the Royal College of Psychiatry and university Psychiatry societies, can continue to inspire medical students.
Improving the Response Rate of Teaching Feedback by Introducing Exam Practice Questions – a Quality Improvement Project
Authors: Tamilson Bruce , Swerdlow Abigail , Rudra Sonya 
Published: June 2022

AimsAim: The quality improvement (QI) project aimed to improve the response rate of teaching feedback from medical students at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Background information: Universities and health care settings use students' feedback to improve the teaching and other services. The feedback is a valuable source to evaluate a service delivery and improvement. Following the COVID-19 pandemic a large majority of teaching switched to being held online. Feedback plays an important role in evaluating these new methods of teaching. However, response rates were noted to be low. This QI project aims to improve the response rate from students.MethodsThe project was registered on LifeQI and carried out during the psychiatric teaching for 4th year medical students at QMUL. The team emphasized the importance of feedback to students and produced online feedback forms which are mobile-friendly and concise. These were provided to students immediately after lectures and in an email reminder. As a change idea, five multiple choice practice questions from the topics of the day were included as a follow-on activity from the feedback form, with the expectation that this would motivate the students to complete the feedback. The response rate was calculated as a percentage (number of responses/number of attendees x 100%) and compared before and after the change was introduced using the independent t-test.ResultsIntroducing practice MCQs at the end of the feedback form resulted in a significant improvement: the response rate increased from 22.3% to 50%, more than doubled. The independent t-test found a significant increase in the number of feedback forms returned from the original rates (M = 13.8, SE = 3.0) to rates after practice questions were introduced into feedback (M = 30.6, SE = 1.7), t= -4.9 p = 0.001.ConclusionStudents’ motivation to complete feedback plays a major role in the response rate of medical students’ feedback at QMUL. Adding five MCQs on the topics of the day to the feedback form has significantly increased the response rate of 4th year medical students at QMUL. This project was limited to 4th year medical students who received online psychiatric lectures. It is important to try other change ideas in future in order to compare the outcomes.
“Transition to CAMHS SPR” – a Simulation Induction Course Provided for Newly Appointed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Higher Trainees (HTs)
Authors: Tiley Claire , Cuhraja Alina , Saunders Aleks , Virk Kiran , Schilderman Marcela , Baxey Emma , Fisher Megan 
Published: June 2022

AimsThe transition between Core Psychiatry Training (CPT) and Psychiatry HTs is often anxiously anticipated by trainee psychiatrists, in view of the heightened responsibility and increased demand faced by trainees. The author wrote and delivered a one-day simulation induction course for newly appointed CAMHS HTs across London. The aim of this course was to improve participant's confidence, skills and knowledge in managing a range of conditions and challenging scenarios in children and young people (CYP) presenting to CAMHS. The course was also designed to improve HT's confidence in supporting junior colleagues and in managing conflict resolution. There was also an overarching aim of increasing human factor skills by focusing on these within the scenarios and debriefs.MethodsThe simulation training was delivered online and consisted of five scenarios commonly faced by CAMHS SPRs based in a variety of settings. Themes within the scenarios included eating disorders and deliberate self-harm, as well as managing risk, multiple demands, and the psychosocial factors contributing to mental illness. Professional actors, plants and virtual backgrounds were used to enhance fidelity of the scenarios. Platform orientation and an introduction to simulation were initially provided followed by “ice breaker” activities, which were used to promote psychological safety amongst participants. Each scenario lasted approximately 10 minutes. Following each scenario, participants were supported to engage in a debrief using the Maudsley Debrief model. Pre- and post-course evaluation questionnaires were given to participants to complete and comparative analysis was conducted.ResultsSeven participants completed both the pre- and post- course evaluation questionnaires. The mean sum score for course specific questions was 51.86 (SD = 9.56) pre course, and 68.00 (SD = 10.08) post course, showing a 31.12% increase in knowledge, skills, and confidence across the course specific domains.The mean sum score for the Human Factors Skills for Healthcare Instrument (HFSHI) was 76.67 (SD = 17.26) pre course, and 86.50 (SD = 16.54) post course, showing a 12.82% increase in human factors skills.ConclusionThis simulation course demonstrated it is an effective and innovative way to help with induction for HT, resulting in an increase in knowledge, skills and confidence in trainees transitioning from CPT to HT, both in terms of factors specific to managing CYP's care and in relation to broader human factor skills.
Smartphone Addiction and Its Associated Factors Among Tehran University Students
Authors: Kheradmand Ali , Amirlatifi Elhamsadat 
Published: June 2022

AimsSmartphone addiction is a new concern due to its progressive global usage. Since this phenomenon occurs in adolescents and young people, especially in students, causing many problems in interpersonal relationships, occupational and educational performances, evaluation of smartphone addiction in this population seems to be necessary. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the prevalence of smartphone addiction in Tehran university students for determining the risk factors associated with this issue.MethodsThis analytical cross-sectional survey was carried out on university students in Tehran between 2016–2018. A study sample of 382 students from various faculties of Tehran universities was chosen by random multi-stage cluster sampling. The participants simultaneously completed a researcher-made questionnaire on demographic characteristics and risk factors, the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS), and Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT). After checking the smartphone addiction questionnaire, smartphone-addicted individuals were identified, and a comparison with the non-addicted group was performed in terms of risk factors.In this study, the participants were given written consent forms. Questionnaires were anonymous and the information was kept confidential. This study was registered at the Ethics Committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences with a code of 1395,309.ResultsOur findings indicated that the frequency of smartphone addiction was 28.8%. The frequency of smartphone addiction in women (32.5%) was higher than that in men (23%) (p = 0.04). The highest incidence of smartphone addiction occurred in the age range of less than 20 while the lowest was found above the age of 40. (P = 0.001). The prevalence of smartphone addiction in the single population was 34.1% Vs 16.1% in married. (P = 0.000) The most prominent educational field of smartphone addicts was technical and engineering. (P = 0.007). Smartphone addiction was significantly more in internet service and social networking users. (P = 0.025) There was a significant relationship between the history of psychiatric illness and smartphone addiction. (P = 0.035) The most common psychiatric diseases were found to be obsessive-compulsive disorder (41.7%), followed by anxiety disorders. (33.3%)ConclusionSmartphone addiction has a significant frequency among university students in Tehran, associated with access to internet services and social networking. It was more common in women, single adults, and younger ages. There was a significant relationship between the history of psychiatric illness and smartphone addiction. The highest frequency of psychiatric illnesses in the addiction group was obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders. No relationship was found between smartphone addiction and history of substance use, as well as smoking and alcohol.
Experience and Reflection From Inpatient Staff at an Intellectual Disability Hospital During COVID-19
Authors: Malhotra Rahul , Azhar Zeenish 
Published: June 2022

AimsThe COVID-19 pandemic and the associated impact on the NHS led to particular challenges for Intellectual Disability (ID) inpatient hospitals across the country. The aim of this Research Project is to gather the experience of Inpatient staff in our local ID Hospital following the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020.MethodsWe gathered data by means of survey from inpatient staff including ‘staff nurses’ and ‘health care support workers’ from 2 cute assessment and treatment units and 1 rehabilitation unit over the preceding 3 months. We obtained 15 responses. We gathered quantitative data via a questionnaire on the views of staff regarding the service provision for patients and staff during COVID-19. We also gathered qualitative data on learning points and how things would have been done differently in hindsight.ResultsThe responses were anonymised, directly transcribed, coded and grouped into themes. 67% of staff stated appropriate type and quantity of Personal Protective Equipment was available. 60% of staff stated it was ‘easy’ to access a General Practitioner for patient reviews. 60% of staff stated, there was a change in arrangements for Do Not Resuscitate/Escalation plans during COVID-19. 47% of staff stated there was availability of virtual or face-to-face clinical training support. 67% of staff did not take sickness leave due to symptoms or contact with a COVID-19 patient. 67% of staff did not receive or found it difficult to access a COVID-19 test. 47% of staff reported a negative impact of the pandemic on their physical and mental health well being. 13% of staff found the Counselling/emotional Support helpful.Some of the key themes that emerged in the qualitative data analysis included the importance of being grateful for personal health and well being, move lives could be saved if earlier and more frequent testing was available during the first wave, delays in the arrival of PPE in the hospital and ideas to mitigate risk by designating members of staff to a fixed work area to reduce mixing.ConclusionA wide range of reflections, suggestions and feedback were obtained during the research project which will be helpful to plan and organise services moving forward should future waves of COVID-19 emerge.
Evaluation of Physical Health in an In-Patient Psychiatric Rehabilitation Setting
Authors: Cockburn Alastair , Watson Andrew , Mountain Debbie , Lawrie Stephen 
Published: June 2022

AimsThe mortality gap between patients with serious mental illness (SMI) and without is around 15–20 years. This has multiple contributing factors including poor physical health, side effects of antipsychotic medications and sub-optimal medical management. Presented here is a detailed cross-sectional study of physical health measures in an in-patient rehabilitation population in Scotland. Results are compared to national averages and clinical guidelines with the aims to a) benchmark physical health in this population and b) where possible improve physical health.MethodsPhysical health data including observations, blood tests, and investigations was collected ahead of detailed structured interviews and physical exams performed by a post-foundation doctor. These results were compared to recommendations for physical health monitoring from numerous national and government guidelines (SIGN, NICE, Scottish Government, Maudsley). Data were collected in 4 domains, 1) Indicators of physical health, 2) Engagement with physical health, 3) Concordance with guidelines and 4) Outcomes of reviews.ResultsData were collected from 57 of all 62 in-patients. 34 reported being generally happy with their health vs 15 unhappy. 42% were obese (compared to 28% of the general population), 84% were smokers (vs 16% in the local population) 16% were hypertensive, 22% had raised HbA1c, 50% had raised cholesterol, 47% had QRISK >10%. 68% agreed to a full physical health review, 65% agreed to flu vaccination. Completed cancer screening uptake compared to the Scottish population was low; Cervical (30% vs 71%), Bowel (8% vs 59%), Breast (23% vs 72%), AAA (0% vs 84%). Patients were generally up to date in terms of recorded weight (100%), BP (98.2%), HR (98.2%) and lipids (89.4%), but not ECG's (61.4%) and Diabetes screening (59.6%). 17 referrals were made to medics/surgeons, 29 to MDT's, 24 medications started, 9 stopped and 27 changed, most commonly statins (12 patients), vitamin D (8 patients) and hypoglycemics (5 patients).ConclusionCardiovascular disease indicators were notably raised, uptake of screening was very poor and there were areas where the service didn't meet national guidelines. The number of referrals and medication changes suggest an unmet need within such services. The findings, if generalisable across similar populations, suggest that more can be done to address ongoing poor physical health in populations with SMI and indeed patient readiness to comply with physical health screening. Screening for key physical health parameters needs to be augmented by working to engage patients and following up with management plans for abnormalities found.