Introduction:We evaluated educational outcomes and satisfaction following institution of a novel, flexible and urology-driven resident curriculum.Methods:A new urology resident curriculum was instituted at Northwestern University in 2006. Rotation schedules and resident electives were recorded annually. Operative case logs and American Urological Association In-Service Examination scores were collected prospectively. Residents and faculty rated satisfaction with the residency program on a 5-point Likert scale from “poor” to “outstanding.” Differences in cases logged, In-Service Examination scores and satisfaction ratings under the new and prior curricula were compared.Results:Curriculum changes included full 5-year urology oversight of the residency curriculum by the program director, 8 months of urology rotations in the first postgraduate year and 2 months of general surgery during the second postgraduate year. General surgery rotations were modified annually based on educational rationale and feedback. Cases logged per resident and In-Service Examination scores were comparable between old and new curricula groups. All residents matriculating under the new curriculum took and passed their written boards. The percentage of faculty and residents describing the program as “outstanding” increased from 50% in 2004‒2005 to 82% in 2017‒2018. Program satisfaction increased significantly when comparing the first and last 6 years (percent rating “outstanding”: 56.1±2.1% vs 71.6±10.0%, p=0.028).Conclusions:After 13 years with the novel curriculum, resident case numbers and In-Service Examination scores remained similar while faculty/resident satisfaction increased. Direct control of general surgery rotations enabled adjustments based on educational rationale. These results demonstrate that a urology-directed and flexible residency program can be instituted without compromising learner outcomes.

No abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Infection control practices and public policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have shifted healthcare practices towards a telemedicine format, and has resulted in delays or cancelations of in-person and non-emergency care. Our objective was to provide an immediate description of healthcare perceptions/practices of the general U.S. population during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to inform public health response.METHODS: This was a survey study with U.S. residents recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcing platform recruiting minimally compensated participants. Respondents were asked about demographics, COVID-19 knowledge, and ability to access/seek healthcare for both COVID and non-COVID symptoms. Participants (N[1,960) were 70.4% non-Hispanic, 57.8% Caucasian, 68.9% male, 67.8% married, and 75.9% were employed full-time. 76.2% had a stay-at-home order issued for their area of residence.RESULTS: 80.5% of participants felt quarantine was necessary to stop further spread of COVID-19 and reported feeling 'somewhat knowledgeable' (ps <0.001) about COVID-19, with health care workers feeling most knowledgeable (p[0.001). 55.9% of respondents reported feeling at least one symptom of COVID-19, but only 36% sought medical care for those symptoms. Those who had a stay-at-home order were less likely to seek medical treatment (p[0.027). When asked if they would seek medical care if they were feeling ill (non-COVID), 52.1% said 'no:' older adults (p[0.004) and those who considered themselves healthier (p[0.014) were more likely to seek treatment.CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first, largesample cross-sectional description of the health care perceptions and practices of the U.S. general population immediately following the peak onset of this unprecedented pandemic.

R, Parle J. (2009) Examination performance of graduate entry medical students compared with mainstream students. J R Soc Med.102: 425-430. Manning G, Garrud P. (2009) Comparative attainment of 5-year undergraduate and 4-year graduate entry medical students moving into foundation training. BMC Medical Education. 9: 76. DeclarationsThe author has declared that there are no conflicts of interest.This has been published under Creative Commons "CC BY 4.0" (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) AMEE MedEdPublish: rapid, post-publication, peer-reviewed papers on healthcare professions' education. For more information please visit www.mededpublish.org or contact mededpublish@dundee.ac.uk.