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Purpose: This paper aims to determine whether an inclusive teaching session changes student attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities (ID). To investigate the impact of an inclusive teaching session in terms of student perceptions. Design/methodology/approach: 66 years 4 students at Cardiff University completed the attitudes towards disabled people form B questionnaire (ATDP-B) before and after a communication skills session on ID. Before and after scores were collated and compared using a paired t-test analysis. Common perceptions were identified using anonymised ATDP-B results to conduct five semi-structured interviews and one focus group with nine students. The common perceptions were discussed, alongside how the teaching session tackled them and suggestions for further improvements. Findings: Mean ATDP-B score before the teaching session was 115 (SD = 14.5). Mean ATDP-B score after the teaching session was 122 (SD = 17.2). The teaching session improved scores in the ATDP-B by a mean of 6.92 (4.69, 9.16). A paired t-test found this to be a statistically significant difference, t(65) = 6.20, p < 0.001. Qualitative data was thematically analysed and three main themes were identified: Student identity, patient contact and curriculum content. Originality/value: This is the first study to investigate the origin of the negative attitudes of medical students, and found they stem from a lack of confidence in their abilities and failure to develop a professional identity. The impact of the teaching session stems from its focus on meaningful patient contact and identifying and overcoming communication barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although tuberculosis (TB) is relatively rare in the UK, its diagnosis is important because diagnostic delays can result in worse outcomes for patients and expose others to the risk of infection. Atypical presentations may be common, and patients' help-seeking behaviour may influence the diagnostic process in primary care. Little is known about the process of diagnosing TB in primary care in developed countries., Aim: To understand the process of diagnosing TB in UK primary care., Design of Study: Qualitative inductive study with paired semi-structured interviews., Setting: Communities and general practices in south-east Wales., Method: Interviews were conducted with 17 patients diagnosed with TB in the previous 6 months and 16 GPs involved with their care. Data were analysed thematically., Results: In response to expected classical features, GPs generally ordered specific tests. Both GPs and patients reported atypical presentations, and then the diagnostic and referral net was appropriately widened in most cases. Identified barriers to prompt diagnosis included atypical presentations and low clinical suspicion of TB, lack of continuity of care, workload demands that limit time with patients, and suboptimal clinician-patient communication. GPs recognised the growing problem of TB nationally and the need for improved education among health professionals., Conclusion: GPs' and patients' accounts about the process of diagnosing TB suggest that delays can occur, although they are not typical. Where diagnosis is clear, GPs generally test specifically and refer appropriately; where diagnosis is less clear, the diagnostic net is cast further. It is only when certain core values of general practice are not applied (including continuity of care, considering context appropriately, and eliciting and responding appropriately to patients' explanatory models) that clinicians and patients identify a suboptimal diagnostic process.

Objective: To describe the effects of a voluntary intervention using reflective learning techniques on students' learning., Design: An interventional study with reflective learning techniques offered to medical students., Setting: Year 3 of undergraduate medicine at Cardiff University where the curriculum is integrated with early clinical contact., Participants: All 232 Year 3 students were invited to participate. A total of 65 attended an introductory lecture. After the lecture 35 students agreed to take part; 15 of these subsequently dropped out (some before attending tutorial groups, others after taking part for some weeks)., Interventions: Participants kept learning journals for 2 terms and attended fortnightly, facilitated tutorial groups where they discussed their reflective journal entries. Main outcome measures were qualitative interviews and examination results., Results: Interviews were carried out with 19 full participants, 4 initial participants and 7 non-participants. Participants perceived that they gained a greater ability to identify learning objectives and to integrate learning. The tutorial groups encouraged students to compare progress with their peers. Some students did not take part because they thought that the large factual content of the curriculum would make reflective learning less useful. There were no differences between the groups in examination results., Conclusions: Students among the small, self-selected group of participants were better able to identify what they needed to learn although there was no improvement in examination results. Students appear unlikely to take up voluntary reflective learning if they do not think it relates to the curriculum and assessments. Student culture exerts a potent effect on willingness to attend extra tutorial groups.