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INTRODUCTION: The authors review a model of early medical student education that leverages the strengths of physician educators in curriculum development and small-group instruction in the first year of medical school. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to understand the experience of practicing physicians who helped to design, implement, and deliver the first-year curriculum at a new medical school. METHODS: Survey data were collected for all first-year physician instructors and first-year medical students at the new Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine during the inaugural 2020-2021 academic year. Physician involvement in curriculum design and implementation, time required for teaching preparation, ratings of collaboration with basic scientists, and confidence and satisfaction of the clinician educators with first-year medical student education, as well as student satisfaction with physician educators, were all explored. RESULTS: Despite extensive time commitment from the physician educators and some reported variability in confidence ratings for course content, physicians rated their experience teaching first-year medical students at the new medical school highly. They rated their collaboration with basic scientists highly as well. Medical students rated their physician educators highly across multiple assessment domains. CONCLUSION: The successful combination of basic scientists with physician educators in first-year medical education may provide a road map for other medical schools seeking to further integrate clinical sciences into basic science education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic pandemic, stay-at-home orders and fear of acquiring COVID-19 may have led to an avoidance of care for medical emergencies, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We evaluated whether a decline in rates of AMI occurred during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. Methods: Rates of AMI per 100,000 member-weeks were calculated for Kaiser Permanente Southern California patients from January 1 to March 3, 2020 (prepandemic period) and from March 20 to July 31, 2020 (pandemic period), and during the same periods in 2019. Rate ratios (RRs) were calculated comparing the time periods using Poisson regression. Case fatality rates (CFRs) were also compared. Results: Rates of AMI were lower during the pandemic period of 2020 compared to the same period of 2019 [3.20 vs 3.76/100,000 member-weeks; RR, 0.85; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80-0.90]. There was no evidence that rates of AMI differed during the 2020 prepandemic period compared to the same period in 2019 (4.45 vs 4.24/100,000 member-weeks; RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.88-1.03). AMI rates were lower during the early pandemic period (March 20-May 7: RR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.66-0.77), but not during the later pandemic period (May 8-July 31: RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.88-1.02) compared to 2019. In-hospital and 30-day case fatality rates were higher during the pandemic period of 2020 compared to 2019 (8.8% vs 6.1% and 6.5% vs 5.0%, respectively). Conclusion: AMI rates were lower during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the same period in 2019. During stay-athome orders, public health campaigns that encourage people to seek care for medical emergencies are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women are a consistent minority in the field of cardiology, with concerns regarding balancing career and parenting responsibilities often cited as a contributing factor to this under-representation. To investigate the impact that a career in cardiology may have on the family planning decisions of female cardiologists, the Women in Cardiology section of the American College of Cardiology conducted a voluntary anonymous survey. The following perspective highlights lessons learned from the survey, and potential solutions to the issues surrounding maternity leave, radiation exposure during pregnancy, and breastfeeding accommodations raised by these data. Given that most female cardiologists are pregnant at some point during their careers, particularly during the vulnerable periods of training and early career, improving the experience of pregnancy and early parenthood for all cardiologists may secure the best possible candidates to the field of cardiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in postmenopausal US women. The contribution of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy to cardiovascular risk is one of the most controversial women's health topics. Strikingly discordant results, between observational and randomized clinical trials, have been reported. Remaining questions regarding time of hormone therapy initiation are discussed, as are ongoing trials focused on these questions. Cardiovascular concerns, cautions, and current recommendations for use are delineated., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)