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The Ukrainian conflict and the increasing number of asylum seekers and refugees (AS&Rs) in the United Kingdom have highlighted the critical need for a dedicated AS&R health curriculum in medical undergraduate programmes. This study utilized a mixed-method approach to assess the current state of AS&R curricula worldwide, identify shortcomings in the UK's medical undergraduate curriculum and determine the specific needs of AS&R. A scoping review of literature revealed an absence of comprehensive AS&R health curricula, with many programmes focusing on broader global health issues. Mapping the General Medical Council's (GMC) Outcomes for Graduates to a UK medical school's learning outcomes uncovered misalignments with AS&R health requirements and an online survey of AS&R charities exposed barriers related to accessibility and knowledge. The study's findings emphasize the importance of introducing or reinforcing specific themes in the medical curriculum, such as clarifying terminology and promoting awareness of AS&R organizations. Employing various teaching methods and continuous assessment are vital to evaluate curriculum effectiveness. The development of an AS&R health curriculum is essential to equip future doctors with the necessary skills and knowledge to provide equitable healthcare to this vulnerable population. The study's findings can serve as a basis for curriculum development and implementation in UK medical schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Health and social care professionals are ideally placed to identify and address gender-based violence (GBV), yet research continues to demonstrate that the subject is being poorly covered at undergraduate level. This qualitative study explored health and social care students' and educators' views on GBV education, with a view to identifying 'best practice'. We aimed to capture students' and educators' experiences and perceptions of GBV education across participating countries; how participants thought GBV should be taught/learned within their curricula; and their views on how GBV education might be 'optimized'. Methods: We conducted nine focus group discussions and one semi-structured interview with 23 students and 21 academic staff across the UK, Australia and Chile. Results: Thematic analysis yielded three themes: (1) GBV addressed in all but name, (2) Introduce sooner, explore later and (3) A qualitative approach to learning. Educators and students indicated that GBV is largely being overlooked or incompletely addressed within curricula. Many participants expressed a wish for the subject to be introduced early and revisited throughout their study, with content evolving as cohorts mature. Lastly, our findings indicate that GBV education could benefit from adopting a 'qualitative' approach, prioritizing survivor narratives and incorporating dialogue to facilitate student engagement. Conclusion: Though time constraints and competing demands within undergraduate curricula are frequently cited as barriers to moving away from traditional didactic methods, our findings suggest that teacher-centered strategies are insufficient and, in some regards, inappropriate for GBV education. The need for a paradigm shift in GBV education is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background medical education must adapt to meet the challenges and demands of an ageing population, ensuring that graduates are equipped to look after older patients with complex health and social care needs. Recommended curricula in geriatric medicine in the United Kingdom and Europe offer guidance for optimal undergraduate education in ageing. The UK version, written by the British Geriatrics Society (BGS), requires updating to take account of innovations in the specialty, changing guidance from the General Medical Council (GMC), and the need to support medical schools preparing for the introduction of the national Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA). Methods the BGS recommended curriculum was mapped to the most recent European curriculum (2014) and the MLA content map, to compare and contrast between current recommendations and nationally mandated guidance. These maps were used to guide discussion through a virtual Nominal Group Technique (NGT), including 21 expert stakeholders, to agree consensus on the updated BGS curriculum. Results the curriculum has been re-structured into seven sections, each with 1–2 overarching learning outcomes (LOs) that are expanded in multiple sub-LOs. Crucially, the curriculum now reflects the updated GMC/MLA requirements, having incorporated items flagged as missing in the mapping stages. Conclusion the combined mapping exercise and NGT have enabled appropriate alignment and benchmarking of the UK national curriculum. These recommendations will help to standardise and enhance teaching and learning around the care of older persons with complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper is motivated by longitudinal progress tests given to medical students in the United Kingdom, which are used to assess students' applied medical knowledge during their learning programme. The main analytic interest is the maximum competency each student achieves on the assessment and the point in the programme at which each student attains this competency. Direct estimates of maximum competency and the time at which students realised this competency are useful for optimising allocation of classroom and hands‐on experiences, as well as to inform curriculum development. Models have been developed for estimating the timing of a threshold or cut‐off common across people or for estimating different rates of change that occur for different phases of time. However, less attention has been paid to models interested in the timing of a value that can change across people—such as maximum competency—and where growth is flat in some phases of time. In this paper, we build a model that borrows pieces from various existing methods such as reparameterisations of polynomial models, splines for ceiling effects, time‐to‐criterion models, dynamic measurement and non‐linear mixed‐effect models to allow the motivating questions to be addressed from these data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Changes to surgical training programmes in the UK has led to a reduction in theatre time for trainees, and an increasing reliance on simulation to provide procedural experience. Whilst simulation offers opportunity for repetitive practice, the effectiveness of simulation as an educational intervention for developing procedural surgical skills is unclear.Methods: A systematic literature review was undertaken to retrieve all studies describing simulation-based medical education (SBME) interventions for the development of procedural surgical skills using the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE and PUBMED databases. Studies measuring skill retention or demonstrating transferability of skills for improving patient outcomes were included in the review.Results: SBME is superior to no training and can lead to improvement in procedural surgical skills, such that skills transfer from simulated environments into theatre. SBME results in minimal skill degradation after 2 weeks, although more significant decay results after >90 days. Many studies recruited <10 participants, used a variety of methods and were restricted to endoscopic surgical techniques. All studies did not compare interventions with non-SBME teaching methods for developing procedural surgical skills. No studies compared the curriculum design of different surgical training programmes.Conclusions: SBME interventions are effective for developing procedural skills in surgery. SBME interventions are also effective for preventing the decay of procedural surgical skills. Although no studies demonstrate non-inferiority of SBME interventions compared to time in theatre developing skills, SBME interventions do enable the transfer of skills into theatre, and the potential for improving patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A curriculum innovation for a new UK medical school – Peninsula, launched in 2002 – was grounded in a period of radical pedagogical innovation in medical education in the UK during the 1990s. Part of this thinking was to include the medical humanities as a medium for re-thinking medical practice, especially how medical students might better learn to communicate with patients and colleagues, and how they might become agents of change in progressing medicine through innovations. In designing the curriculum, Cultural-historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was used as a model to 'think', or reconceptualise, the purposes of a curriculum. The first question asked was: 'what do patients want?' Emphasis was placed on resisting a 'will-to-stability' in adopting safe curriculum process, in favour of adopting a 'possibility knowledge' framework that celebrated dialogue. This operated through three 'spearheads', or radical aims: democratic habits, towards the feminine, and tender-mindedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A national undergraduate curriculum for General Practice might address current concerns regarding intellectual challenge and recruitment through articulating disciplinary knowledge and providing teaching guidance. However, there is ambivalence regarding this idea and the reasons appear incompletely understood. Aims: To better understand ambivalence towards a GP curriculum and to assess the acceptability of a new approach to national curriculum design. Methods: Questionnaire informed by Kotter's model of change, distributed to Heads of Teaching (HOTs) at each UK medical school, regarding the acceptability of both conventional and new approaches to the design of national curriculum guidelines. Qualitative and quantitative data collection with grounded theory-informed analysis of qualitative data. Results: Support for a conventional, detailed curriculum of clinical conditions is weak but there is strong support for a curriculum outlining general disciplinary principles. Identification with general practice as an independent academic discipline is important in predicting support or otherwise for any type of national curriculum. Conclusion: The identity of GP as an independent academic discipline emerges as a key issue. Further research on designing and implementing curricula that use principles rather than detailed outcomes is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and young people is increasing, leading to recommendations that medical schools re-consider their curriculum content and teaching practices for child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP). The purpose of this paper is to seek guidance for undergraduate curriculum development from the wider literature on CAP curriculum content and teaching practices. Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted, focussing on studies that examined undergraduate teaching of CAP. In an attempt to establish whether there is an agreed level of curriculum content and teaching practices, literature from all over the world was included. Findings: Findings suggest that curriculum content and teaching practices are varied, therefore it was difficult to identify best practice upon which recommendations can be made. In addition, despite previous calls for curriculum improvements and expansion of learning objectives, recent studies suggest that there has been little change. Research limitations/implications: A common theme emerging was the importance of making the CAP curriculum relevant to all future doctors rather than only those who plan to specialise in CAP. Further research to determine what CAP knowledge, skills and attitudes non-psychiatrists think that medical students need to be taught is warranted. Originality/value: This paper reviewed the literature on undergraduate CAP teaching, highlighting common themes from the wider literature on medical curriculum development to inform how CAP curricula content can be developed to equip future doctors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: ENT is highly under-represented in the saturated UK medical school curriculum, comprising less than 1 per cent of the curriculum. A 1-day course was implemented in order to raise awareness of ENT among medical students, educate them in the specialty and teach a basic skill. Methods: The skills day comprised lectures by consultants followed by a consultant-led workshop teaching tracheostomy. Pre- and post-course questionnaires assessed perceptions of ENT, confidence performing tracheostomy and interest in ENT as a career. Results: Perceptions of ENT as a specialty were improved by up to 80 per cent (p < 0.01). There was improved understanding of and confidence in performing tracheostomies. Interest in a career in ENT was increased by 77 per cent (p < 0.01). Conclusion: A 1-day course run by a student body can be a powerful adjunct to the medical school curriculum, in terms of educating undergraduates in ENT and inspiring the pursuit of ENT as a career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The study describes the development of the first UK national framework to guide undergraduate education in anesthesia, perioperative medicine, critical care, and pain medicine. Methods: We followed an inclusive process of curriculum design aiming to promote high-level learning amongst students. We conducted telephone interviews with senior anesthetic educators at 33 UK medical schools to establish current provision and practice. We then held a consultative national workshop for educators, using focus group interviews to set broad aims for the final framework and gather information. Result: Anesthesia undergraduate educators demonstrated a conceptual focus that moves beyond simple acquisition of knowledge to one geared to encouraging clinical behavioral change in learners to equip them for practice as new doctors. Respondents also highlighted the opportunities for promoting spiral, integrated, and longitudinal learning within the undergraduate curriculum. We also formulated eight key domains of practice in anesthesia and critical care and mapped 63 of the 106 General Medical Council's Outcomes for Graduates against these domains, and created a brief suggested syllabus. Conclusions: The framework aims to provide support and guidance for medical schools in the development of competent, well-rounded doctors who are able to provide safe, patient-centered care in all areas of medical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The General Medical Council (GMC) sets the standards and requirements for the delivery of all stages of medical education and training in the United Kingdom (UK). Using a novel educational tool (the 'Digital Carousel'), we set out to determine to what extent current systems and process sit alongside standards as set out in GMC document 'Promoting excellence' and establish key foci of work going forward to promote excellence in the Caledonian-Rural track (CRT) General Practice Specialty Training (GPST) educational programmes by engaging key stakeholders in the process. The 'Digital Carousel' allowed a large group of participants (including the Deanery team, GPSTs and ESs) to efficiently collaborate views on how our current GP training programme reflects guidance in 'Promoting excellence' and on areas for development. There was a sense of 'working together' in identifying key priorities of work for 'our' GP training programme. The tool may have value in a variety of medical educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insertion of history into the medical school curriculum has been discussed over a long period of time. But the role of history in the public health curriculum has not been the subject of much discussion, despite the changes in UK public health training and the advent of multidisciplinary public health. This article reviews the history of inserting history into the curriculum in a leading public health postgraduate institution. It discusses the strategies used to secure acceptance for history; the positioning of history within the curriculum both as a core and a special subject; and the different curriculum content and learning approaches which have been used over time. It reviews recent developments in distance learning and the launch of a history Massive Open On line Course. It concludes that no one approach can be recommended for inserting history and that flexibility, persistence, alliances and the willingness to adapt to local circumstances are important. Students themselves are now more receptive to historical approaches and can appreciate the value of a discipline which teaches critical skills of analysis and assessment of evidence. It remains to be discussed how the discipline and such approaches can be transferred into wider professional public health training and at the undergraduate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can we further develop mindfulness training in health professions education? Hancock and Mattick argue the answer lies in the complex interventions framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary care physicians have become a fundamental aspect of teaching in modern medical school curricula worldwide with a significant proportion of undergraduate teaching taking place in primary care. There are calls for this to increase with more patient care occurring in the community but teaching capacity in primary care is a potential challenge. Medical schools, therefore, need strategies to be able to increase their primary care physician teaching workforce. Methodology: We asked all Heads of General Practice Teaching in UK medical schools to share their three top tips for recruiting and retaining GPs to teach undergraduate students. The majority (two-thirds) of medical schools responded and we have summarized the answers into the following twelve tips. Results: Although the twelve tips are varied and comprehensive, including broad topics such as finances and training, one clear theme running through the majority of tips is good communication and relationships between education teams and GPs. Conclusions: The solutions to recruiting and retaining GPs to teach undergraduate medical students are clearly multifactorial and complex. We hope that by presenting suggestions from UK GP heads of teaching as these twelve tips provides some helpful, thought-provoking ideas and inspiration for both the UK and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the economic, environmental and patient-related imperatives to prepare medical students to become health promoting doctors, health promotion remains relatively deprioritised in medical curricula. This paper uses an in-depth case study of a health promotion curriculum implementation at a large UK medical school to provide insights into the experiences of teachers and learners across a range of topics, pedagogies, and teaching & assessment modalities. Topics included smoking cessation, behavioural change approaches to obesity, exercise prescribing, social prescribing, maternal and child health, public and global health; with pedagogies ranging from e-learning to practice-based project work. Qualitative methods including focus groups, analysis of reflective learning submissions, and evaluation data are used to illuminate motivations, frustrations, practicalities, successes and limiting factors. Over this three year implementation, a range of challenges have been highlighted including: how adequately to prepare and support clinical teachers; the need to establish relevance and importance to strategic learners; the need for experiential learning in clinical environments to support classroom-based activities; and the need to rebalance competing aspects of the curriculum. Conclusions are drawn about heterogeneous deep learning over standardised surface learning, and the impacts, both positive and negative, of different assessment modalities on these types of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Public health faces the paradox of being increasingly emphasized by the key health and social care regulators and stakeholders, while remaining a largely under-represented discipline in the context of medical curricula. Enhancing medical student engagement in public health teaching is one way to address this concern. Methods: We discuss four key solutions to the challenges faced by public health educators in medical schools, and present five case studies which demonstrate innovative approaches to engaging medical students in our discipline. Results: Four different approaches have been piloted by members of the Public Health Educators in Medical Schools (PHEMS) network: (i) ensuring social accountability, (ii) demonstrating clinical relevance, (iii) mapping the core curriculum, and (iv) using technology enhanced learning. Preliminary student feedback suggests that these approaches can be used to position public health as an enabler of modern medical practice, and promote a more holistic understanding of medicine by linking patient-centred care to the population level. Conclusions: The zeitgeist in both academia and the healthcare system supports the teaching of public health within the medical curriculum; there is also consensus at the political and pedagogical level. The challenge of ensuring engagement now needs to be met at the student–teacher interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including the medical school curriculum, in order to facilitate active recruitment of medical students and junior doctors into Otolaryngology Higher Surgical Training.