Sharp Scratch

As healthcare professionals, we meet people from all walks of life and collect stories along the way — stories of illness and convalescence. When we hear interesting stories, there can be an urge to share them. When something bad happens, you may want to talk and offload it onto your friends and family. As we know, patient confidentiality is a core value in medicine. So what is permissible to share? Is there a way to share these stories while respecting the ethical boundaries? In this episode, the Sharp Scratch team explores the ethical considerations involved in talking and writing about patients, and discusses the popular literature genre of medical memoirs. Expert guest: Dr Matt Phillips is a sexual health consultant and a honorary clinical professor in genitourinary medicine and ethics at the University of Central Lancashire. Recommended reading: The ethics of medical memoirs. Link: https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l6270 Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

Medical students are taught about and examined a lot on clinical guidelines. What is best for patients overall, as recommended in guidelines, may not be appropriate for individuals. Blanket recommendations, rather than a menu of options or recommendations for shared decision making, ignore patients' preferences. So what do guidelines mean in practice? When do we deviate from them when your clinical acumen is telling you that guidelines may not be the best fit? Expert guest: Dr Liam Loftus is a GP trainee and a National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow who has worked with the Personalised Care Institute. Recommended reading: How can tomorrow’s doctors be more caring? A phenomenological investigation. Link: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/medu.13684 Potential benefits, limitations, and harms of clinical guidelines. Link: www.bmj.com/content/318/7182/527 Check us out on social media: Twitter: twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

There is often a debate about whether medicine is an art or a science. Our medical curriculum tends to favour the science bit, with pathophysiology of diseases and treatment algorithms dominating our learning agenda. Social determinants of health also have equal importance in influencing one’s health, but are we taught enough to address this? Timestamps: 0:00 - 3:15 Intro 3:16 - 7:19 How much do you get taught about social determinants of health at medical school 7:20 - 12:00 Do we apply what we learn in medical training about social determinants on health in actual clinical practice? 12:01 - 14:29 There is no easy one-size-fits-all managing social determinants of health 14:30 - 18:53 How do you adapt management plans according to the patient’s circumstances? 18:54 - 21:15 A medical student who has experienced homelessness before shares her insight 21:16 - 24:26 Importance of diversifying the demographic of medical students 24:27 - 28:10 The importance of empathy, compassion and being non-judgemental 29:20 - 34:20 Doctors make up the system that patients have to go through, and we can make the experience pleasant for patients 34:21 - 35:18 Vote for Lily as the next prime minister! 35:19 - 36:44 What medical students can do to address social determinants of health outside of medical capacity 36:45- 39:47 What you can do to learn more about social determinants of health in and outside of medical school 39:48 - 43:38 Final remarks Expert guest: Dr Andrew Moscrop (@andrewmoscrop on Twitter) is a GP working in a health centre for people who are homeless in Oxford and a researcher in social determinants of health. Thank you to Maz Sadler who contributed to this episode. Recommended reading: If social determinants of health are so important, shouldn’t we ask patients about them? https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4150 *We’re looking for new panel members!* Are you a: ✅ Medical student ✅ Listener of Sharp Scratch ✅ Keen on representing the voice of medical students? In the past, the panel only consisted of medical students studying in the UK. However, remote recording meant that we can extend this opportunity to medical students in other countries. If you’re interested, please apply via the link below. We look forward to hearing from you! Apply here: https://forms.gle/QocryfkG137cWTb88 Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

Empathy is one of the essential qualities of a good doctor. One way this is assessed at medical school is the use of objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) stations. The use of OSCEs in medical schools is controversial - it can be used to simulate clinical examination and test students’ ability to express empathy while some perceive OSCEs as an artificial and narrow understanding of clinical medicine. Topics: • How do medical students’ experiences of empathy change during their medical education? • What factors do medical students describe as influencing their empathy during medical school? • Should and can empathy be assessed? • Importance of empathy in the patient-doctor relationship Expert guest: Dr David Jeffrey is a retired palliative doctor and former academic mentor at Dundee medical school involved in student support. He also did a PhD exploring empathy in medical students. Recommended reading: • I never asked to be ICE’d - https://www.bmj.com/content/354/bmj.i3729 • Communication skills and the problem with fake patients - https://www.bmj.com/content/357/sbmj.j974?sso= *We’re looking for new panel members!* Are you a: ✅ Medical student ✅ Listener of Sharp Scratch ✅ Keen on representing the voice of medical students? In the past, the panel only consisted of medical students studying in the UK. However, remote recording meant that we can extend this opportunity to medical students in other countries. If you’re interested, please apply via the link below. We look forward to hearing from you! Apply here: https://forms.gle/QocryfkG137cWTb88 Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

When going on placement, you are probably more interested in gaining experience in the clinical environment and less interested in how frequently doctors can take breaks. Doctors’ working conditions may seem irrelevant as a medical student but they are closely associated with work satisfaction and wellbeing. In this episode, the Sharp Scratch panel discussed doctors’ working conditions and how it impacts our day-to-day work. Expert guest: Dr Kevin Teoh (@kevinteohrh on Twitter) is a Chartered Psychologist and the Executive Officer for the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology. Thank you to Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed (@salihacooks on Twitter) and Neely Mozawala (@NeelyMozawala on Twitter) who contributed to this episode. *We’re looking for new panel members!* Are you a: ✅ Medical student ✅ Listener of Sharp Scratch ✅ Keen on representing the voice of medical students? In the past, the panel only consisted of medical students studying in the UK. However, remote recording means that we can extend this opportunity to medical students in other countries. If you’re interested, please apply via the link below. We look forward to hearing from you! Apply here: https://forms.gle/QocryfkG137cWTb88 Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

Publications, presentations, citations - these are trophies that you can flash proudly on your CV. However, what medical students may underestimate, is the long hours required reading papers, processing data and revising manuscripts. While academic medicine can be rewarding and intellectually stimulating, it is not the only way to become a successful clinician, and it definitely isn’t the be-all and end-all. Topics: •What do editors look for in manuscripts? •The importance of having a mentor in academia •Navigating author guidelines •Pre-print platforms •How does one get into publishing? •How do I get better at writing? •What do researchers look for when medical students reach out to them? •Predatory journals Expert guest: Dr Joseph Ross (@jsross119 on Twitter) is a Professor of Medicine (General Medicine) and of Public Health (Health Policy and Management) at the Yale School of Medicine. He is also the co-founder of the preprint service for medicine and health sciences - medRxiv. Check out Edward Christopher’s piece on predatory journals: https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2019/10/08/edward-christopher-how-can-medical-students-avoid-predatory-journals/ Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

As healthcare professionals, we work with people from a myriad of culture and countries. At times, some patients may need a little bit of help with English. We may also elicit language skills from our diverse workforce. But is it the right thing to do? Timestamps: 0:00 - 1:17 - introduction 1:18 - 4:50 anecdotes of encountering patients who may need a bit of help with English 4:51 - 7:15 a bilingual medical student shares her experience of interpreting for patients 7:16 - 10:18 - language barrier may compound medical jargon 10:19 - 13:07 why getting help from interpreters is important 13:08 - 18:40 should you be asking your colleagues with language skills to help interpret? 19:50 - 23:07 a medical interpreter gives some insight about her role 23:08 - 31:33 reflecting on misunderstanding that arose from misinterpreting verbal and non-verbal communication 33:27 - 39:17 should you be using Google Translate? 39:18 - 47:00 how about using friends and family of the patient to help with interpreting? According to the Census in 2011, the top three languages other than English spoken in England and Wales are Polish (546,000 people), Punjabi (273,000 people) and Urdu (269,000 people). Link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/articles/languageinenglandandwales/2013-03-04 Expert guest: Professor Jieun Kiaer is a Professor of Korean Language and Linguistics at the University of Oxford. Thank you to Wiktoria Ozarek and Candy Lee who contributed to this podcast. Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

‘Tis the season of giving and receiving gifts. In medicine, as demonstrated by the early phase of the pandemic, patients and the public may express gratitude towards healthcare staff by giving tokens of appreciation in the form of gifts. In this episode, we discuss: - the ethics and etiquette of receiving gifts from patients - how thank you cards can be a good addition to your portfolio, and - how you can also show appreciation and gratitude to your colleagues by writing feedback. Thank you for your support this year. If you have any ideas of what we should cover later in the season, please let us know by contacting us via social media. Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the Sharp Scratch team! NHS England provides guidance on managing conflicts of interest in the NHS which can be accessed here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/guidance-managing-conflicts-of-interest-nhs.pdf Expert guest: Dr Gordon Caldwell (@doctorcaldwell on Twitter) is a Consultant Physician and Clinical Lead at Lorn and Islands District General Hospital, part of NHS Highlands. Thank you to Andrew MacFarlane (@andrew_mac94 on Twitter) and Dr Hans van Huellen (@_hvh_ on Twitter) who contributed to this podcast. Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

FBC, BIBA, NBM - how many of these do you recognise? The healthcare system speaks an entirely different language. As healthcare professionals, our vocabulary is full of jargon and acronyms, and it’s something that we pick up in training. Communication is key in medicine. So why are we using language that our patients and colleagues may not understand? A sub-specialty of medical jargon is management language. Check out this BMJ Christmas paper on management language: https://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5661 Expert guest: Dr Ashley Reece (@drashleyreece on Twitter) is a consultant paediatrician and a medical educator. Thank you to Dr Simon Hodes (@DrSimonHodes on Twitter) who contributed to this podcast. Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.

The climate crisis is a health crisis. In this episode, we explored how climate change will affect how we practise medicine, the importance of sustainable healthcare practice and what you can start doing on a personal, professional and political level towards a greener future. Climate change is a complex and multi-faceted problem. It’s fair to point out that not everything is covered in this podcast. We would encourage you to do further research and empower yourself and others in working towards a greener future. Expert guest: Dr Anna Moore is a registrar in respiratory medicine, the Health Education England Population Health Fellow for NHS Lewisham and Greenwich Trust and the vice chair of Green at Barts Health. Thank you to Rhiannon Osborne who contributed to this podcast. Check out Anna’s editorial in the BMJ on integrating planetary health into the medical curriculum: https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2385 Check us out on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMJStudent Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmj_student/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMJStudent/ This podcast is produced and edited by Dom Byrne and Duncan Jarvies.