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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has led to global disruption of healthcare. Many students volunteered to provide clinical support. Volunteering to work in a clinical capacity was a unique medical education opportunity; however, it is unknown whether this was a positive learning experience or which volunteering roles were of most benefit to students. Methods: The COVIDReady2 study is a national cross-sectional study of all medical students at medical schools in the United Kingdom. The primary outcome is to explore the experiences of medical students who volunteered during the pandemic in comparison to those who did not. We will compare responses to determine the educational benefit and issues they faced. In addition to quantitative analysis, thematic analysis will be used to identify themes in qualitative responses. Discussion: There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that service roles have potential to enhance medical education; yet, there is a shortage of studies able to offer practical advice for how these roles may be incorporated in future medical education. We anticipate that this study will help to identify volunteer structures that have been beneficial for students, so that similar infrastructures can be used in the future, and help inform medical education in a non-pandemic setting. Trial registration: Not Applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about how best to implement portfolio-based learning in medical school. We evaluated the introduction of a formative e-portfolio-based supervision pilot for final year medical students by seeking views of students, supervisors and graduates on use and educational effects. Methods: Students and supervisors were surveyed by questionnaire, with free text comments invited. Interviews were held with new graduates in their first Foundation Programme placement. Results: Most students used the e-portfolio (54%) and met with their supervisor (62%) 'once or twice' only. Students had more negative views: 22% agreed that the pilot was beneficial, while most supervisors thought that e-portfolio (72%) and supervision (86%) were a 'good idea'. More students reported supervision meetings benefited learning (49%) and professional development (55%) than the e-portfolio did (16%; 28%). Only 47% of students felt 'prepared' for future educational processes, though graduates noted benefits for navigating and understanding e-portfolio building and supervision. Factors limiting engagement reflected 'burden', while supervision meetings and early experience of postgraduate processes offered educational value. Conclusion: Final year students have negative attitudes to a formative e-portfolio, though benefits for easing the educational transition are recognised by graduates. Measures to minimize time, repetition and redundancy of processes may encourage use. Engagement is influenced by the supervisor relationship and educational value may be best achieved by supporting supervisors to develop strategies to facilitate and motivate self-directed learning processes in undergraduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The esophagus of blood-feeding schistosomes has been largely neglected although its posterior portion was designated as a gland decades ago. However, we recently showed it plays a pivotal role in blood processing. It is clearly demarcated into anterior and posterior compartments, both surrounded by a mass of cell bodies. Feeding movies revealed that erythrocytes accumulate in the anterior compartment before entering the posterior, indicating that a distinct process is executed there. We therefore investigated ultrastructural aspects and possible functions of the anterior region. Methods The heads of adult Schistosoma japonicum were detached and prepared for both transmission and scanning electron microscopy to define the detailed ultrastructure of the anterior esophagus. Cryosections of heads were also prepared for immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy to define the pattern of intrinsic host antibody binding in the anterior esophageal lining. Results The anterior syncytial lining of the esophagus is highly extended by long, thin corrugations of cytoplasm projecting towards the lumen. Strikingly in the male worm, the tips of the corrugations are further expanded by numerous threads of cytoplasm, producing a spaghettilike appearance in the central lumen. Flattened, pitted cytoplasmic plates are interspersed in the tangled mass of threads. Abundant, morphologically distinct light vesicles of varied size and contents are manufactured in the cell bodies, from where they traffic through cytoplasmic connections to the corrugations and out to the tips. Clusters of vesicles accumulate in expanded tips in males, together with occasional mitochondria whilst females have more mitochondria but fewer vesicles. The membranous contents of light vesicles are secreted mainly from the tips, but also from the sides of the corrugations. They coat the surfaces and then form organised self-adherent membrane figures when shed into the lumen. Host antibody binds strongly in a characteristic pattern to the anterior esophageal lining indicating that the secretions are highly immunogenic. Conclusions We suggest that the anterior esophageal region is an independent secretory organ. The contents of light vesicles are released into the esophageal lumen via the tips of corrugation to interact with incoming blood. Our immediate task is to establish their composition and role in blood processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study addressed two research questions: What factors do doctors in training describe as influencing their choices to apply (or not apply) for specialty training during their Foundation Year 2? Which of these factors are specific to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unique experiences of the cohort of doctors who qualified early during the pandemic?, Design: Sequential explanatory mixed methods study: Quantitative survey. Qualitative semistructured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed with logistic regression. Qualitative data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis., Setting: UK-wide., Participants: Junior doctors who graduated medical school in 2020., Survey: 320 participants (22% of those contacted). 68% (n=219) were female, 60% (n=192) under 25 and 35% (n=112) 25-30. 72% (n=230) were white, 18% (n=58) Asian and 3% (n=10) black. Interviews: 20 participants, 10 had applied for specialty training, 10 had not., Results: A minority of respondents had applied for specialty training to start in 2022 (114, 36%). While burnout varied, with 15% indicating high burnout, this was not associated with the decision to apply. This decision was predicted by having taken time off due to work-related stress. Those who had not taken time off were 2.4 times more likely to have applied for specialty training (OR=2.43, 95% CI 1.20 to 5.34). Interviews found reasons for not applying included wanting to 'step off the treadmill' of training; perceptions of training pathways as inflexible, impacting well-being; and disillusionment with the community and vocation of healthcare, based, in part, on their experiences working through COVID-19., Conclusions: Participants infrequently cited factors specific to the pandemic had impacted their decision-making but spoke more broadly about challenges associated with increasing pressure on the health service and an eroded sense of vocation and community., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)