Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

P Richards

Publications and source records attributed to P Richards.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

The changing clinical experience of British medical students.

The UK National Health Service is undergoing fundamental reforms, which might have a detrimental effect on the training of doctors, not least with respect to the amount of clinical experience that medical students get. We compared the practical experience gained by two cohorts of students at medical schools throughout the UK, who had started their training in 1981 or 1986. The assessment was made by questionnaire at the end of their final clinical year. Experience of acute medical conditions, surgical operations, and practical procedures differed significantly between groups of medical schools, and showed a significant decline in the past five years. This decline in the clinical experience of medical students has coincided with the introduction of the health service reforms. We suspect that the university-based clinical education designed for a lifetime of change is in danger of being replaced by a dispersed clinical apprenticeship for current practice.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1993

Why do medical school applicants apply to particular schools?

5427 applicants to British medical schools indicated the importance of each of 22 specific reasons for applying to the five choices they had put on their medical school application. The 24852 applications were aggregated by medical school, and the profile of reasons analysed for each school. Factor analysis showed four clear dimensions, labelled as 'Reputation', 'Personal contact', 'Location' and 'Prospectus'; scores and rank order for each school on each factor are reported. Scrutiny of the pattern of ratings of individual schools suggested that although many of the applicants' perceptions were probably valid, there were some perceptions which appeared inconsistent with other evidence. Cluster analysis showed that in general the London schools clustered together as did the provincial schools of England and Wales, and the Scottish schools; Oxbridge and Belfast were perceived as very separate from the other schools.

Choice Behavior↗
PubMed1993

Evaluation of ferric oxalate as an agent for use during surgery to prevent post-operative root hypersensitivity.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 6% ferric oxalate solution applied during periodontal surgery to prevent post-operative tooth hypersensitivity. Twenty-five adult patients with similar bilateral periodontal defects participated in this study. Data were collected at baseline (1 week prior to surgery) and 1, 2, 4, and 6 weeks following surgery. Sensitivity level was determined using the visual analog scale (VAS) with the following stimuli: 1) mechanical stimulation with a No. 23 dental explorer; 2) water at 50 degrees C; 3) ice; and 4) electric pulp tester (EPT). Teeth were randomly assigned to either test (6% ferric oxalate in 0.9% saline) or control (0.9% saline) groups. Solutions were applied to the exposed root surfaces for 1 minute during surgery. Data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA, paired t-test, and Pearson's correlation test. Results from this study demonstrated statistically significant reduction in the responses to thermal stimuli, especially cold, between groups treated with ferric oxalate as compared to those treated with saline. For the cold test the difference increased with time from baseline to 6 weeks. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) differences in sensitivity to heat between groups were also observed, but only at 2 and 4 weeks following surgery. There were no differences at any time period between the test and control groups when tactile or EPT techniques were used. In addition, there was no correlation between sensitivity and other clinical parameters. It was concluded from this study that 6% ferric oxalate was effective in reducing post-surgical cold sensitivity when applied during periodontal surgical procedures.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Toe graphaesthesia as a discriminator of brain impairment: the outstanding feet for neuropsychology.

Because of the vulnerability of the medial surfaces of the cerebral hemispheres to the consequences of shear forces, we hypothesized that quantitative sensori-motor deficits for the feet would be strong indicators of general brain dysfunction. On the basis of the Halstead-Reitan Impairment Index, 28 adults who had received closed head injuries were assigned to perfectly normal, normal, or (mildly to severely) impaired groups. Foot tap and finger tap as well as agnosia and graphaesthesia for the fingers and toes were measured. Deficits in toe graphaesthesia were the most powerful group discriminator. Potential usefulness of haptic/motor, finger/toe comparisons for recording the progress of degenerative diseases, such as AIDS, is also suggested.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Tobacyk's sex differences in the experiences of ego-alien intrusions.

Tobacyk's Revised Paranormal Belief Scale and an inventory that infers temporal lobe signs were administered to 44 men and 54 women who were enrolled in first-year university courses. Women believed more in psi phenomena, witchcraft, and spiritualism than did men, who believed more in extraterrestrial life forms. Although complex partial epileptic-like signs were moderately (0.40) correlated with total beliefs for both sexes, these signs were dominated by experiences of ego-alien intrusions for women only. The results support the concept of greater interhemispheric coherence in women compared to men and emphasize the importance of limbic processes in the formation and maintenance of religious and paranormal beliefs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Effects of discrimination by sex and race on the early careers of British medical graduates during 1981-7.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the possible effects of discrimination by sex and race on the career patterns of doctors up to six years after qualifying. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire follow up survey. PARTICIPANTS: 1572 Doctors who graduated from five British medical schools in 1981, 1983, and 1985, including 587 women and 131 doctors from ethnic minorities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reported success rates of applications for training posts. RESULTS: Comparison of the career patterns of women and men yielded no evidence of discrimination against women in competition for posts. In contrast, there were striking differences in career patterns between graduates of native European origin and those of ethnic minority origin. Graduates from ethnic minorities reported lower success rates and more difficulty in obtaining house officer posts, registrar posts, and places in vocational training schemes in general practice. Most of this discrimination seemed to occur at the stage of shortlisting for interview. Graduates from ethnic minorities were more likely than graduates of native European origin to have experienced spells of unemployment while seeking work. They were also more likely to have changed their original choice of career because of difficulty in obtaining suitable training posts or unfavourable career prospects. CONCLUSIONS: Discrimination against ethnic minorities occurs in the competition for training posts among graduates from British medical schools. There was no evidence of discrimination against women graduates. Shortlisting procedures based on objective scoring systems may help to ensure equality of opportunity in future.

Career Mobility↗