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Context.--Because of restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical educators rapidly transitioned to an online curriculum for pathology resident education. The benefits and challenges of the shift to online learning, as well as strategies to maximize learning, are yet to be fully elucidated. Objective.--To assess learner perception and satisfaction with the move to online learning. Understanding the benefits of online learning will allow future curricular changes to most effectively incorporate online learning. Understanding the common challenges will allow our current learning strategies to rapidly adapt and ideally mitigate these challenges as online learning is incorporated into medical education. Design.--This was a survey-based study distributed by email to pathology residents nationwide in Canada in anatomic pathology, general pathology, neuropathology, and hematopathology. Thirty residents participated, from anatomic pathology (n = 23; 76%), from general pathology (n = 5; 16%), and 1 participant each from hematopathology and neuropathology. Results.--All participants indicated that their program had transitioned to online learning at least in part. The majority of participants (n = 16; 53%) did not feel their pathology education was negatively affected by the transition to online learning; however, a significant minority (n = 6; 20%) felt their education had been negatively affected. Convenience and less intimidation were rated as benefits of online learning. Negative effects included technical issues and decreased engagement; we identified a number of strategies used by programs and pathology residents to mitigate these negative effects. Conclusions.--Our survey points to a need to use adaptations and best-practice recommendations to maximize the benefits of online learning moving forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Arts-based activities' roles in medical education is to challenge students to cultivate clinical skills using ART (aesthetics, reflection, time). ART activities offer opportunities for students to cultivate creative dimensions of their clinical skills and to reflect on their responses to uncertainty and ambiguity. Faculty, however, are challenged to structure these learning activities in diverse, sometimes unfamiliar, health care settings. Methods: This study explored preclerkship medical students' responses to participating in ART activities presented in the common medical educational format of an objective structured clinical exam (OSCE). Activities included interpreting fine art (eg, images and poetry) and drawing a simulated patient. The discussion section transcript and student sketchbooks were analyzed to identify themes related to participating in the study. Results: Use of arts-based activities elicited behaviors similar to those observed in students' responses to formal summative OSCEs, although students also wrestled with challenges and expressed their subjective impressions. Conclusions: This study offers an arts-based tool set capable of being delivered within the familiar medical education setting and established structure of the OSCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. By April 24, 2020, nearly 3 million cases of COVID-19 with nearly 200 thousand deaths have been confirmed globally. Shortages are being experienced around the world and due to these inefficiencies, physicians are being forced to decide who is more deserving of resources. In response, the world is making the effort to "flatten the curve" so that health care resources and facilities are able to accommodate. As such, the world has employed social distancing measures and encouraged people to stay home. COVID-19 has undoubtedly impacted the world in numerous ways and continues to do so. One such way is its impact on medical education. Medical schools across Canada have cancelled all in-person teaching, including classes and clinical placements. As clerkship rotations are purely clinical in nature, this kind of learning cannot be replicated online, effectively leaving clerkship medical students with their education on hold. Despite no organized placement of medical students into roles, many have organized roles and initiatives for themselves. Medical students across Canada have volunteered in a variety of means, as well as joined together to develop and lead extraordinary initiatives. However, with an uncertainty in establishing an "end" to the pandemic and in determining whether Canada will face a physician shortage, is it worth looking forward and further planning how best to utilize Canadian senior medical students? Medical education prepares students to not only care for the sick, but to function as part of a team and support a larger goal. With the unique skills to be able to assist and the national possibility of needing increased physician support, it may be worth considering how senior medical students can be transitioned into helpful roles in the hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Canadians living in rural and remote communities face difficulty accessing mental health services. This has become a pressing issue in the Canadian healthcare system due to an increased focus on mental health and the high rate of suicide in rural regions as compared to urban communities. The inaccessibility of mental health services in rural Canada can only be partially explained by the lack of psychiatrists working in these areas. Additional access barriers arise from sociocultural nuances within individual rural communities, including an increased value placed on self-reliance and stigmatization of seeking mental health support. It has been challenging for mental health services to adequately address the vast social, economic and cultural differences that exist among individual rural communities - a reality that necessitates holistic mental health programs tailored to the unique complexities of each community. Nonetheless, programs aiming to improve accessibility of rural mental health services do exist across Canada, often employing technology to deliver psychiatric support to rural patients or provide guidance to rural primary care physicians who care for patients with mental illness. This narrative review outlines the barriers that are impeding mental health care in rural Canada, the existing strategies to circumvent these barriers, and the role of current medical students in the future of rural psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The researchers implemented an interprofessional education (IPE) pilot program, wherein final year baccalaureate nursing students and 3rd year medical students undertook preceptorships concurrently in a semi-rural acute care setting. The goal was to emphasize interprofessional (IP) collaboration and team-building. The researchers sought to determine how hands-on, clinically-based IP experiences could improve classroom-based IPE, and how the rural context might mediate such experiences. This article is an exploration of how participants defined a successful rural IPE experience, and which factors promoted or hindered that success. The definition of rural as used in the context of the research is to live outside of a major city. Three nursing and four medical students who agreed to undertake rural preceptorships were recruited through their supervising faculty. Upon their placement, three registered nurses and four physicians, assigned to precept the students, also agreed to take part. The researchers collected data through midpoint and endpoint semi-structured interviews, and two focus groups. The data were coded and analysed using Glaserian grounded theory. In the participants' view, successful rural IPE resulted in enhanced knowledge of each others' scope of practice, firsthand insights into rural IP teamwork and increased confidence in working with other disciplines. Authenticity was a key distinguishing rural feature. Success moreover depended on buy-in and facilitation by preceptors and staff, and student initiative and self- reliance. Hinderances to success were lack of logistical support, professional inertia or turf- consciousness, and student discomfort with IP engagement. Over the course of the pilot, the students grew to emulate their rural preceptors' interprofessional collegiality beyond the clinical setting. The results of this study support the implementation of IPE in clinical rotations as an alternative or an adjunct to classroom-based IPE. The rural context may be particularly advantageous to clinical IPE owing to comprehensive coverage of acute care and holistic, community focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: According to a national survey of over 900 Canadian medical students, the stereotype of an isolated radiologist working in a dark room persists. The purpose of this study is to use qualitative methods to explore the ways exposure to radiology in medical school impacts students' opinions and perceptions of radiology and radiologists. Methods: After receiving ethics approval, 4 focus groups were conducted, 1 per year of undergraduate medical training at Western University. The transcribed audio recordings and accompanying field notes, together with the open-ended questions obtained from the national survey, were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Five hundred sixty students in medical school years 1 and 2 (preclerkship) participated in the national survey and 18 in the focus groups; 336 students in years 3 and 4 [clerkship] participated in the national survey and 10 in the focus groups. Three major findings emerged from the analysis of the data. First, stereotypes are perpetuated mainly through informal interactions. Second, there is limited exposure to radiology and radiologists in medical school, especially in preclerkship. Third, students want to know what to expect if they choose a career in radiology. Conclusions: Medical students, especially those in preclerkship, are seeking accurate information to modify or reinforce radiology stereotypes. Limited exposure makes interactions with students impactful and mentorship essential. Students want meaningful interactions with radiologists and radiology residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess second-year medical students' views on chiropractic. Methods: A three-step triangulation approach was designed, comprising a 53-item survey, nine key informant interviews and one focus group of 8 subjects. ANOVA was used to assess attitude-response survey totals over grouping variables. Constant comparison method and NVivo was used for thematic analysis. Results: 112 medical students completed the survey (50% response rate). Subjects reporting no previous chiropractic experience/exposure or interest in learning about chiropractic were significantly more attitude-negative towards chiropractic. Thematically, medical students viewed chiropractic as an increasingly evidence-based complementary therapy for low back/chronic pain, but based views on indirect sources. Within formal curriculum, they wanted to learn about clinical conditions and benefits/risks related to treatment, as greater understanding was needed for future patient referrals. Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of exposure to chiropractic within the formal medical curriculum to help foster future collaboration between these two professions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]