Asthma is the most common chronic medical condition that school teachers may encounter among their pupils. However management of asthma in schools and the role school teachers adopt in this condition has only recently been explored. The aim of this study was to determine teachers' knowledge of asthma and its management. A postal questionnaire was circulated to 199 school teachers from 46 schools in Dublin City. A 74 per cent response rate was obtained. The number of children with asthma as identified by teachers was 7.8 per cent which suggests that asthma may be unrecognised in a number of pupils. Knowledge on signs and symptoms of asthma, provoking factors of asthma and the nature of the disease was generally satisfactory. However, knowledge on asthma medications, the purpose of inhalers and teachers' understanding of the treatment and management of asthma was considered poor. Knowledge on exercise-induced asthma was limited. There is a need to provide school teachers with education on asthma and its management. School policies on asthma also need to be developed with particular reference to action necessary in the event of an acute severe attack of asthma.

With the integration of St Joseph's College of Occupational Therapy into the Faculty of Health Sciences at Trinity College, Dublin, the selection procedures were reviewed to consider using academic criteria alone. The relevant literature is reviewed and the decision to select students using academic criteria alone in the majority of cases is discussed briefly.

Introduction Providing feedback is a fundamental principle in medical education; however, as educators, our community lacks the necessary skills to give meaningful, impactful feedback to those under our supervision. By improving our feedback-giving skills, we provide concrete ways for trainees to optimize their performance, ultimately leading to better patient care. Methods In this faculty development workshop, faculty groups used six feedback video vignettes scripted, enacted, and produced by residents to arrive at a shared mental model of feedback. During workshop development, we used qualitative analysis for faculty narratives combined with the findings from a focused literature review to define dimensions of feedback. Results Twenty-three faculty (physical medicine and rehabilitation and neurology) participated in seven small-group workshops. Analysis of group discussion notes yielded 343 codes that were collapsed into 25 coding categories. After incorporating the results of a focused literature review, we identified 48 items grouped into 10 dimensions of feedback. Online session evaluation indicated that faculty members liked the workshop's format and thought they were better at providing feedback to residents as a result of the workshop. Discussion Small faculty groups were able to develop a shared mental model of dimensions of feedback that was also grounded in medical education literature. The theme of specificity of feedback was prominent and echoed recent medical education research findings. Defining performance expectations for feedback providers in the form of a practical and psychometrically sound rubric can enhance reliable scoring of feedback performance assessments and should be the next step in our work.