Objective. To longitudinally assess pharmacy and medical students' attitudes toward the medically underserved. Methods. The Medical Students' Attitudes Toward the Underserved (MSATU) survey was administered to the entering classes at the schools of pharmacy and medicine at 2 universities in the South. This self-report measure was then completed by these students in each year of the professional curriculum. Data were compared longitudinally to assess students' attitudes toward the underserved. Conclusion. This initial study comparing pharmacy and medical students' attitudes toward the underserved can serve as a baseline as healthcare professionals seek for solutions to better care for the medically underserved.

Our findings highlight the feasibility and usefulness of training students to work effectively with interpreters. Evaluation and feedback from students and faculty have been positive. Cost for this curriculum enhancement was reasonable, making it feasible to introduce the training into a wide variety of medical and allied health programs.

Introduction In light of the opioid overdose epidemic in the US and the necessity of developing training to conduct difficult conversations around opioid dependence, three case-based videos were created to demonstrate providers using motivational interviewing (MI) with patients who have opioid use disorder (OUD). These vignettes displayed a primary care provider interacting with a patient seeking opioids. Methods Learners—including third-year medical and physician assistant (PA) students, and family medicine residents—viewed three videos set in a family medicine clinic and assessed clinician use of MI when interacting with patients with OUD. The patients were at different levels of acknowledging their need to change their opioid use behaviors and/or pursue treatment. Learners rated each video with an MI rating scale, and a facilitator debriefed strengths, weaknesses, and omissions regarding MI. Results Medical and PA students, and resident family physicians provided 572 ratings. Analysis of variance of mean percent incorrect was lower in residents than in all groups combined, but failed to reach statistical significance (47% + 12.0 vs 53% + 15.0, p = .43). Discussion These case-based videos with MI ratings afforded students and residents the opportunity to assess clinician use of MI techniques with patients with OUD. The MI rating scale had clinical significance (residents scored +5 points and had more training) despite lacking statistical significance. These scenarios allowed learners to recognize how to use MI when having a difficult conversation with patients who misuse opioids. We envision individual use or use for group discussion.

Mind-body self-regulation techniques, including progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, the Relaxation Response, applied relaxation, and meditation, have been employed for the treatment of stress and mental health disorders and for moderating the causes and complications of acute and chronic medical illnesses for many years. More recently, interest has grown in the usefulness of forms of self-regulation training for mitigating the stresses of medical practice along with enhancement of professional performance. Medical schools have begun to include mindfulness training in their required curricula and many make the training available through electives or student health services. In this article, we describe a practical approach to self-regulation training that is a combination of applied relaxation and applied mindfulness (ARAM) designed to be cogent to third-year medical students. Approximately 150 students have practiced this approach and overall feedback has been positive.

As the physician assistant (PA) profession celebrates its 50th birthday, we can be proud of the gains our profession has accomplished. However, despite the positive reports of job satisfaction, a marked increase in female PA leaders, and overall gains in PA compensation, a significant wage gap remains between male and female PAs. The PA profession is flourishing but it is time female PAs are paid equitably.