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The article focuses on of diversifying the physician workforce which is still largely rhetoric without enough positive action. It highlights several key strategies that can be used to increase diversity in medicine and create a more inclusive workforce which includes actively recruiting underrepresented minority (URM) students who are interested in pursuing a career in medicine and to address implicit biases in the admissions process .

Racism and events of racial violence have dominated the US news in 2020 almost as much as the novel coronavirus pandemic. The resultant civil unrest and demands for racial justice have spawned a global call for change. As a subset of a society that struggles with racism and other explicit biases, it is inescapable that some physicians and health-care employees will have the same explicit biases as the general population. Patients who receive care at academic medical centers interact with multiple individuals, some of whom may have explicit and implicit biases that influence patient care. In fact, multiple reports have documented that some physicians, health-care workers, and health professional students have negative biases based on race, ethnicity, obesity, religion, and sexual identity, among others. These biases can influence decision-making and aggravate health-care disparities and patient-physician mistrust. We review four actual cases from academic medical centers that illustrate how well-intended physicians and health-care workers can be influenced by bias and how this can put patients at risk. Strategies to mitigate bias are discussed and recommended. We introduce what we believe can be a powerful teaching tool: periodic "bias and racism rounds" in teaching hospitals, in which real patient interactions are reviewed critically to identify opportunities to reduce bias and racism and to attenuate the impact of bias and racism on patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are very low and neurologic recovery is poor. Innovative strategies have been developed to improve outcomes. A collaborative extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) program for out-of-hospital refractory pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT) and/or ventricular fibrillation (VF) has been developed between The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Columbus Division of Fire.Methods: From August 15, 2017, to June 1, 2019, there were 86 patients that were evaluated in the field for cardiac arrest in which 42 (49%) had refractory pulseless VT and/or VF resulting from different underlying pathologies and were placed on an automated cardiopulmonary resuscitation device; from these 42 patients, 16 (38%) met final inclusion criteria for ECPR and were placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in the cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL).Results: From the 16 patients who underwent ECPR, 4 (25%) survived to hospital discharge with cerebral perfusion category 1 or 2. Survivors tended to be younger (48.0 ± 16.7 vs. 59.3 ± 12.7 years); however, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.28) likely due to a small number of patients. Overall, 38% of patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). No significant difference was found between survivors and nonsurvivors in emergency medical services dispatch to CCL arrival time, lactate in CCL, coronary artery disease severity, undergoing PCI, and pre-ECMO PaO2, pH, and hemoglobin. Recovery was seen in different underlying pathologies.Conclusion: ECPR for out-of-hospital refractory VT/VF cardiac arrest demonstrated encouraging outcomes. Younger patients may have a greater chance of survival, perhaps the need to be more aggressive in this subgroup of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A large volume of literature has documented racial disparities in the delivery of cardiovascular care in the United States and that decreased access to procedures and undertreatment lead to worse outcomes. A lack of diversity among physicians is considered to be a major contributor. The fellowship training program in cardiovascular medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center had never trained a fellow from a minority group underrepresented in medicine (URM) before 2007. Intervention: In 2005, the fellowship made it a priority to recruit and match URM candidates in an effort to address the community's lack of diversity and disparities in cardiovascular care. Methods: Program leaders revised the recruitment process, making diversity a high priority. Faculty met with members of diverse residency programs during visits to other institutions, the focus of interview day was changed to highlight mentorship, additional targeted postinterview communications reached out to highly competitive applicants, and a regular mentoring program was constructed to allow meaningful interaction with URM faculty and fellows. Results: Since these changes were implemented, the program has successfully matched a URM fellow for 5 consecutive years. Such candidates currently make up 4 of 16 total trainees (25%) in the fellowship in cardiovascular medicine. Conclusions: The cardiovascular medicine fellowship training program at The Ohio State University was able to revise recruitment to attract competitive URM applicants as part of a concerted effort. Other educational programs facing similar challenges may be able to learn from the university's experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Compare vascular complications and incidence of bleeding of Impella 2.5 and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) in high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). Background: Large arterial sheath size for device insertion is associated with vascular and/or bleeding complications; gastrointestinal bleeding may also occur with anti-coagulation use. Methods: Patients with an acute coronary syndrome receiving Impella 2.5 or IABP during high-risk PCI were studied (13 Impella; 62 IABP). Vascular complications and incidence of bleeding were compared. Results: Post-procedure hematocrit was similar between groups. Blood transfusion occurred in 38.4% and 32.2% of patients in the Impella and IABP groups, respectively ( P = NS); 65.3%, 30.7% and 3.8% of bleeding were due to vascular access site/procedure related, gastrointestinal and genitourinary, respectively. There was no statistical significant difference in vascular complications between the Impella and IABP groups (15.3% and 6.4% of patients, respectively); mesenteric ischemia ( n = 1) and aortic rupture ( n = 1) were only in the IABP group. In-hospital and one-year mortality were not statistically significant between groups. Conclusion: Impella can be used as safely as IABP during high-risk PCI with similar vascular and bleeding complications. Importantly, approximately one third of bleeding was from the gastrointestinal system warranting careful prophylactic measures and monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the grading changes in the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step one. It discusses the changes announced by the Federation of State Medical Boards and the National Board of Medical Examiners. It mentions that Step one highlights the degree to which exam scores affect the educational journey and decisions of medical students.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection, a rare cause of acute coronary syndrome, is due to nonatherosclerotic coronary events and is probably underrecognized as a cause of myocardial infarction. The condition typically affects premenopausal women who are otherwise healthy. Among more than 1,200 reported cases, recurrent dissection has been described 63 times, and only 3 reports have documented multiple episodes of dissection involving different vascular territories. We present the case of a woman in her 30s who, over a 9-year period, presented 4 times with coronary dissection in different vascular territories. She was first treated conservatively, then with stents, and ultimately by means of coronary artery bypass grafting. In addition to this case, we discuss this rare condition and its management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three decades, increased attention has been given to the representation of historically underrepresented groups within the landscape of pivotal clinical trials. However, recent events (i.e., coronavirus pandemic) have laid bare the potential continuation of historic inequities in available clinical trials and studies aimed at the care of broad patient populations. Anecdotally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has not been immune to these disparities. Within this review, we examine and discuss recent landmark CVD trials, with a specific focus on the representation of Blacks within several critically foundational heart failure clinical trials tied to contemporary treatment strategies and drug approvals. We also discuss solutions for inequities within the landscape of cardiovascular trials. Building a more diverse clinical trial workforce coupled with intentional efforts to increase clinical trial diversity will advance equity in cardiovascular care. • Recent events lay bare the potential continuation of historic inequities in available heart failure clinical trials • Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has not been immune to these disparities • Building a more diverse clinical trial workforce will advance equity in cardiovascular care • Intentional efforts geared towards increasing clinical trial diversity will advance equity in cardiovascular care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]