BACKGROUND Epistemological beliefs (EB) are an individual's cognitions about knowledge and knowing. In several non-medical domains, EB have been found to contribute to the way individuals reason when faced with ill-structured problems (i.e. problems with no clear-cut, right or wrong solutions). Such problems are very common in medical practice. Determining whether EB are also influential in rea...

BACKGROUND Quality and patient safety (PS) are critical components of medical education. This study reports on the self-reported PS competence of medical students and postgraduate trainees. METHODS The Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey was administered to medical students and postgraduate trainees in January 2012. PS dimension scores were compared across learning settings...

BACKGROUND Visa trainees are international medical graduates (IMG) who come to Canada to train in a post-graduate medical education (PGME) program under a student or employment visa and are expected to return to their country of origin after training. We examined the credentialing and retention of visa trainees who entered PGME programs between 2005 and 2011. METHODS Using the Canadian Post-M...

PURPOSE To measure pediatric program directors' (PDs') and trainees' perceptions of and expectations for the balance of service and education in their training programs. METHOD In fall 2011, an electronic survey was sent to PDs and trainees at Boston Children's Hospital. Respondents described perceptions and expectations for service and education and rated the education and service inherent t...

BACKGROUND Mental health disease is under recognized in medical professionals. OBJECTIVE To screen medical students (MS), residents and fellows for major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) under the new era of work hour reform with age-matched controls from a large representative cross-sectional survey. METHODS We conducted an anonymous online survey at a medic...

BACKGROUND Skills-lab training as a methodological teaching approach is nowadays part of the training programs of almost all medical faculties. Specific ingredients have been shown to contribute to a successful learning experience in skills-labs. Although it is undoubted that the instructional approach used to introduce novel clinical technical skills to learners has a decisive impact on subseq...

PURPOSE To evaluate whether the lack of diversity in plastic and orthopedic surgery persists into hand surgery through assessment of trainee demographics. METHODS Demographic data were obtained from compilations on graduate medical education by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Ethnic diversity was assessed using the proportions of minority trainees. We analyzed the trends in e...

BACKGROUND Assent is the child's affirmative agreement to participate in research. Consent from parents and assent from children are required in research involving children. OBJECTIVE To determine the knowledge, perception, and level of practice of assent in children among medical specialists and trainees in research work as well as the level of ethical norms observed during research. METHO...