A radical theory on how to encourage women to take their smear test has been published in the British Medical Journal. It suggests that women who miss a GP appointment for a smear test would be more likely to submit the test, if it were provided as a self- sample kit to do at home.

The study was conducted in order to test the accuracy of HPV test from a home sample, and help improve cervical cancer detection for women who are not attending regular screenings. The first review concluded that results from HPV tests taken at home varied depending on the technology used for testing. Some results on home tests were more likely to be inaccurate, leading to a false diagnosis. The second review discovered that women who were offered to take their own HPV as a home test were twice as likely to respond than they would to a reminder letter. They did also find that women were not as likely to request a HPV home test from their GP.

But would women benefit from taking their own smear tests at home or will it just be a waste of NHS resources?

Benefits

It’s previously been reported that one in three women will not attend a cervical cancer screening due to embarrassment. Home screening tests would reduce the anxiety associated with the testing and encourage more women to have their health checked regularly. This is supported by the research; 80% of women would rather self- sample at home. Testing from home will also be beneficial for women who are not as mobile or who cannot easily get to their local GP, as it is more accessible.  The study did also show that 80% of women in developing countries, such as Africa and South America, would take a home test if they were offered one. The more women who are getting tested, the more women there are getting help.

Consequences

The accuracy of the testing is of the utmost importance, especially when it comes to detecting abnormal cells in a cancer screening test. According to the study, the accuracy of the self- sample,  kits were significantly different compared to the samples taken from the GP. The self- sample kits were not as accurate, varying on the technology used to test the samples, and were showing a false positive result. There is no benefit to a HPV self- care kit unless the results are 100% accurate.

Medical school demands are intense, both physically and mentally and this can be quite an adjustment for new students. There is a lot of pressure to get a lot of work done in a short period of time, and more often than not, this can lead to burnout. Not only will this affect your productivity but your overall physical health may also suffer. Before you let your work load get the better of you, take a look at these few tips to help you recognise and overcome study burnout.

Recognise the symptoms of burn out

The symptoms of burn out can often affect you long before you even realise that something is wrong. The sooner you recognise the symptoms of burn out, the sooner you can take the steps to get yourself back on track. Things to look out for include:

– Indifference to studying

– Feelings of inadequacy

– Fatigue and exhaustion

– Unwillingness to studying

– The inability to absorb more information

– An overall decline in academic performance

Find effective ways to manage your time

Re- evaluate which work is of the most importance and go from there. Rather than read an 800 page book in one sitting, take note of what your lecturers want you to know and focus on that specific area until you’ve caught up.

If you find yourself struggling with your work load, reach out to fellow students and lecturers, because their advice and support will be invaluable. Don’t leave everything to the last minute. Begin studying early as soon as you start a new topic and catch up with yourself when you have the time.

Developing your own routine and learning how to manage your time in a way that works for you will help you to feel less stressed too. Whether that’s by creating a study plan on an app, using to do lists or charting off time and subjects on a calendar, getting organised about how your time will be spent can lift some of the pressure.

Aim to pass, not exceed expectations

Of the biggest problems that medical students face is the pressure to consume as much knowledge as possible. The more pressure you put on yourself to study harder, the more likely you are to tire yourself out. You will not benefit from trying to learn everything all at once, so create a study plan based around your syllabus and work outwards from there.

Spend time on yourself

It’s untrue that you can’t go to medical school and have a life. Eating healthy, getting enough sleep and making sure you spend time with friends and family are a priority when you’re studying for a medical degree. Denying yourself time to relax will put your body and your mind under more stress, and will increase the feeling of burn out. Make sure you find the time to take care of yourself.

When you’re training to be a doctor and you’re coming up to the end of your medical school education, there are multiple training pathways to choose from. Which option is best for you, depends on your circumstances, goals, and your learning style.

Pathways tend to change each year, with multiple different entry points to consider depending on each individual organisation. Following medical school, whether your course lasted for four or six years, you’ll eligible to apply for foundation training and have gained provisional GMC registration. Of course, some foundation programmes require certain speciality training pathways and may have required you to study another degree subject for a year alongside traditional medical school. This isn’t an essential step, but it can help to improve your career prospects, particularly if you have a certain medical field in mind that you would like to pursue.

Foundation years

If you’re preparing to enter foundation years, you need to apply this autumn to begin in the summer of 2019. It’s the most common step from medical school, lasting two years and aims to give you an opportunity to experience a range of medical or surgical specialities. It’s a chance to find which career path is the right option for you and where your interests lie.

Over the two years, you’ll experience between six and eight rotations. Foundation Year 1 enables you to begin supervised responsibility for patient care and to bring together the skills you’ve learnt during your time at medical school. By the end of year one, you should expect to obtain your full GMC registration. Foundation Year 2 builds on the skills learnt in the previous year, such as making management decision, but you’ll still remain under clinical supervision. On satisfactory completion, you’ll receive Foundation Programme Certificate of Completion (FPCC), formally known as the Foundation Achievement of Competency Document (FACD), which indicates you’re ready to enter a core, speciality, or general practice training programme.

Speciality training pathways

When it comes to your next training pathway, you’re free to choose your speciality, this will define whether you enter uncoupled training or run-through training programmes. Training programmes differ in length and structure depending on the area you’re focussing on if you choose to enter general practice the programme will last for three years, while other specialities can range between five and eight years.

Uncoupled training programmes – Uncoupled training programmes consist of core training and then entry into a higher speciality training. Core training is either two years, for core medical and surgical training, and three for core emergency medicine and psychiatry.

Run through training programmes – For a run through programme you apply once and are recruited for the entire duration. You begin with an overview of the speciality and gradually specialise more over the duration.

Tags: medical training pathways, training pathways after medical school, medical training,

Not too long ago, gene therapy would have sounded like something out of science fiction. But it’s a process that’s rapidly becoming viable to treat a huge range of conditions. The potential successful gene therapy holds means it could unlock a whole new chapter in modern medicine.

What is gene therapy?

Gene therapy uses nucleic acid as a drug to treat disease by introducing it into a patient’s cells. The first attempt to modify human DNA took place almost four decades ago but the first successful nuclear gene transfer in humans didn’t occur until nine years later in 1989, while the first therapeutic use of gene transfer and the first direct insertion of human DNA into the nuclear genome occurred just a year later. It led to a boom in the research being conducted into gene therapy, with over 2,300 clinical trials taking place over the last 25 years.

Gene therapy is designed to compensate for abnormal genes, giving it plenty of scope to treat and cure a range of different conditions. As with all new medical developments, gene therapy has encountered obstacles along the way, but it could be about to take centre stage.

So, what can gene therapy do?

As gene therapy introduces altercations to a patient’s genetic make-up, it’s potential has been linked to a vast array of results, among them:

• Genetic engineering – Gene therapy could hold the key to eradicating diseases that we’re born with through being conducted on each foetus, but it can also prevent or cure those that occur later in life. While genetic engineering can tackle disease, in theory, it can also be used to alter other areas in a foetus, such as appearance, intelligence, and memory, making it a highly debated ethical topic.
• Cancer treatment – A cure or improved treatment for cancer is being explored from multiple avenues, including gene therapy. Gene therapy aims to improve the body’s ability to recognise and attack cancerous cells, enhancing the patient’s natural abilities through adding genes to their immune system.
• Tackle infertility – Were patients suffer from infertility, early stage research indicated that gene therapy could be used to re-establish fertility. The trials have yet to be approved for humans, but the early results suggest it could be a promising route for researchers to continue exploring.

At the moment, the diagnosis process can seem longwinded and the options you have available aren’t always exactly what you need. But a new tool could soon change that by allowing professionals to quickly and cheaply build up the diagnostic test that they need.

While it’s still in the early stages of development and is being designed with the challenges third world countries face, it’s an idea that has the potential to shape how diagnostic tests are completed in the future. The diagnostic platform comes from the MIT Little Devices Lab and has been dubbed plug-and-play devices due to their customisable features and versatility.

Ampli, as the device is called, uses a set of modular blocks that can be configured in numerous different ways to create effective diagnostic devices. For example, one way of putting the block together will accurately test blood glucose levels in a diabetic patient, while another configuration will be able to detect a viral infection. With little skill required to put the blocks together, the Ampli development could change the way diagnostic procedures are done.

The modular blocks stand out for a number of reasons.

• They’re low cost – Compared to alternatives, Ampli is incredibly low cost. Each block costs just a few cents making it accessible to smaller labs. It makes it affordable for healthcare professionals to carry out the diagnostic tests that can support patient outcomes and wellbeing.
• They don’t require specialist handling – The Ampli concept was designed to work in labs around the world, including those that aren’t well equipped with the latest tech. They don’t require any specialist handling and don’t even need to be refrigerated, providing more scope for them to be used.
• Diagnostic tests can be completed in-house – In some circumstances, samples need to be sent many miles for even basic tests to be conducted. The modular block approach means they can be completed in-house, reducing wait times and how treatment progresses.
• They’re adaptable – Ampli can act as a single kit to diagnose a range of conditions, with around 40 blocks at present. It’s an adaptable approach to medicine that can be changed to reflect the demands of each healthcare professional.

The team behind Ampli aim to get the product into small labs and they’re already working on new blocks and configurations that would provide further testing capabilities. Is the Ampli approach something you’d like to see expanded to operations in the UK, could it be useful in a modern healthcare setting?