Evaluation of sepsis teaching for medical and dental students at a British University

Abstract

Introduction:The aim of this study was to evaluate sepsis on undergraduate programmes in medicine (BMBS), dentistry (BDS) and dental therapy (BScDTH) at a university in England. Materials and Methods:The study was carried out at the Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth. Questionnaires consisting of a series of closed and open-ended items were designed for students and faculty by a group of academics. Following a pilot, participants were invited to complete the questionnaires online. Data collection and analyses were completed over a period of 3 months.Results: A total of 71 students responded, including 43 were on the BDS programme, 21 on BMBS and 7 on BScDTH. The vast majority were aged between 18-24 years old (n = 61), with 9 reporting being between 25-44 years old. Of the 14 staff who responded, 13 were aged between 35 and 54 years old, with one respondent reporting being aged 25-34. The participants reported their perceptions regarding the teaching and clinical exposure of students to sepsis patients; availability of resources for students and patients to raise sepsis awareness. Students across all programmes reported limited clinical exposure to management of sepsis and lack of confidence in recognising early signs of sepsis in patients. The agreement profile between programmes only differed significantly for recognition of sepsis risk item (χ(6, n = 71) = 26.187, p < 0.001), with BDS students disagreeing with the item to a larger extent than BMBS and BScDTH students. Students and staff reported similar perceptions regarding information available to students and patients. Responses to open-ended items provided several suggestions for improvements in the teaching of students and raising public awareness on sepsis. Conclusion:This study identified several areas related to sepsis teaching which require improvements across all programmes. The key issues highlighted by the students included limited clinical exposure to sepsis patients and lack of confidence in recognising early signs of sepsis.

[Retracted] Evaluation Method of Public Physical Training Quality Based on Global Topology Optimization Deep Learning Model

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Near-Peer-Teaching Revision Series During the COVID-19 Recovery Phase: An Experience From a UK Medical School

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“…Dear Editor, We read with great interest the article published by Ali et al, 1 which highlighted the perceived lack of confidence amongst medical, dental and dental therapy students in recognising the early signs of and lack of clinical exposure to sepsis. The UK Sepsis Trust estimates that up to 48 000 deaths occur as a direct result of sepsis in the United Kingdom each year, 2 with NHS England estimating that 10 000 of these are avoidable in England alone.…”