For Medical Students

Training and ethics for treating critically ill children

It's an ethical question that has been discussed in medical circles for years: How do we train new doctors to perform life-saving procedures while maintaining high-quality patient care?

An article in this month's Virtual Mentor—the AMA's online ethics journal—grapples with finding the optimum balance between the educational needs of trainees and safe, efficient patient care when dealing with critically ill children. While it's clear that trainees need practice to develop the skills to become tomorrow's high-quality clinicians, the risk of complications is higher when trainees perform procedures.

The authors argue that this dilemma has been compounded by the fact training programs generally perceive that residents are performing fewer procedures since the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education established new duty-hour limitations. Accrediting organizations don't often require that residents perform a certain number of life-saving procedures, but even if they have completed the minimum recommended, residents don't always feel comfortable in their abilities.

The authors conclude that "in the era of specialization, while all pediatric trainees should learn a minimum set of effective life-saving procedures, training in advanced skills … should be reserved for those who are specializing in emergency medicine, neonatology, anesthesia, and critical care."

The traditional "see one, do one, teach one" approach is no longer acceptable, they say, and programs need to determine which "procedures pediatric trainees need to learn and which clinicians need to develop competency in additional skills to care for the critically ill child." They also advocate for the use of simulation training and closely supervised experiences before residents are allowed to actually perform these delicate procedures in clinical situations.

Emory wins latest AMA-MSS Event of the Month award

Emory University School of Medicine is the August winner of the AMA Medical Student Section's (MSS) new "Event of the Month" award, which showcases specific recruitment events coordinated by individual AMA medical student sections.

Emory won for holding an AMA introductory meeting during the second week of school for first-year medical students that resulted in 40 students joining the AMA. The event took place at a local sports restaurant during the Summer Olympics, and section officers and upperclassmen talked about the benefits of AMA membership and distributed flyers and applications to attendees.

Is your AMA medical student section holding similar events? When you request a grant through the AMA Section Involvement Grant (SIG) program, you are automatically eligible for the "Event of the Month" award, which the AMA selects each month. At the end of the school year, all monthly awards will be showcased in June at the AMA-MSS Annual Assembly Meeting and will be voted on by students for one "Event of the Year" winner.

Through the SIG program, the AMA-MSS provides an opportunity for local AMA medical student sections to:

• Educate students about the AMA and provide an opportunity for students to get more involved.
• Help put AMA policy into action by providing a service to medical school campuses or communities.
• Engage in activities that focus on AMA's top priorities.

Apply for CDC applied epidemiology fellowship

Medical students interested in public health or in practicing medicine with a broad, analytic perspective are invited to apply for the CDC Experience Applied Epidemiology Fellowship.

Eight competitively selected fellows, selected from rising 3rd- and 4th-year medical students, spend 10 to 12 months at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offices in Atlanta, where they carry out epidemiologic analyses in various areas of public health.

Examples of previous and current areas of concentration include viral diseases, tuberculosis, cardiovascular health, birth defects, sexually transmitted diseases, foodborne diseases, injury prevention, and air pollution and respiratory health.

Application materials for the 2013–2014 fellowship year are due Dec. 7. Learn more about the fellowship by visiting the CDC website.

Enjoy a discount on Kaplan Courses

AMA members can save 30 percent on Kaplan's new High Yield on-demand lecture course, an integrated review featuring page references to First Aid. Also save on Kaplan's Qbank with 2,200 questions that fully integrate with a free app on your iPhone® and Android™ phones. Discounted courses include a new Step 2 CK High Yield Course. Visit the Kaplan website to take advantage of these offers.

In addition, Kaplan is giving away free digital Pharmacology flash cards for Step 1 that are accessible on smartphones, tablets or computers. To sign up, students have to register with their email address, medical school and expected year of graduation. Learn more.

Don't miss out on valuable AMA-member benefits such as this. Renew your membership or join the AMA today to begin receiving these benefits.