Project SCORE (Student-Centered Outcomes Research Experiences) is a community-engaged after school science education program designed to address persistent inequities in health, education, and biomedical career access among Mississippi youth. Grounded in youth participatory action research and leveraging near-peer mentoring (NPM), the program engages teens in public health education, research skill development, and mentored inquiry led by undergraduate and graduate health sciences students. Program components include weekly workshops during the academic year and a one-week residential summer campus experience focused on health literacy, scientific thinking, research communication, and college-readiness. An evaluation assessed implementation and short-term outcomes. Pre/post survey data indicate increases in STEM self-efficacy, career interest in STEM careers, and public health communication skills. Students reported strong engagement, belonging, and program satisfaction, and summer participants described an enhanced interest in college and health science careers. The lessons learned highlight the importance of robust NPM support, flexible program adaptation, and strong community partnerships. Early findings demonstrate that Project SCORE is a feasible, acceptable, and replicable model for engaging historically excluded youth in STEM and public health through community-based, student-centered research experiences.

Objectives:To determine whether US emergency medicine (EM) postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1) resident salaries kept pace with inflation from 2021 and 2022 to 2025 and 2026 and to assess how adjustment for local cost of living altered their relative value. Methods:We conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of ACGME-accredited EM residency programs. Publicly reported 2025 and 2026 PGY-1 base salaries were collected from program websites, and paired 2021 and 2022 salaries were available for a subset. Salaries were adjusted using the Council for Community and Economic Research Cost of Living Index (C2ER COLI), Quarter 3 2025. Salary growth was compared with the 18.331% increase in CPI-U from July 2021 to July 2025. Regional differences were assessed using Kruskal-Wallis tests, and the relationship between COLI and nominal salary was evaluated using simple linear regression. Results:Of 295 programs identified, 271 had 2025 and 2026 salary data and 209 had paired salary data. Mean PGY-1 salary increased from $59,115 to $69,184, a mean increase of 17.0%, slightly below cumulative inflation. 70 programs (33.5%) met or exceeded the inflation benchmark, whereas 139 (66.5%) did not. Across all programs, mean nominal salary was $68,839 and mean COL-adjusted salary was $65,100. The West and Northeast had the highest nominal salaries but the lowest COL-adjusted salaries, whereas the Midwest and South showed the opposite pattern. Each 1-point increase in COLI was associated with a $212 increase in nominal salary (95% CI, $188-$236; R 2 = 0.53; p < 0.001). Adjusted mean salaries ranged from $37,510 for New York City programs in Manhattan to $82,600 in Akron, Ohio. Conclusions:Mean EM PGY-1 salary growth slightly lagged inflation, and two-thirds of programs did not meet the inflation benchmark. Although higher-COL markets paid higher nominal salaries, these increases did not fully offset local costs. COL-adjusted salary reporting may improve transparency and support more informed residency selection and compensation review.

Psychiatric concerns are prevalent among emergency department (ED) patients. Negative attitudes toward psychiatric conditions can adversely influence care provision. In the present study, we examined (a) correlates of explicit and implicit negative attitudes among ED providers, (b) the effect of psychiatric status on hypothetical care decisions, and (c) the role of explicit and implicit negative attitudes on hypothetical care decisions. Participants were ED care providers were recruited for an online study. Participants completed a task to estimate implicit attitudes toward psychiatric conditions and questionnaires about their practice site, training, and attitudes, and were randomized to respond to four scenarios pertaining to psychiatric and nonpsychiatric conditions. There were 105 participants (48.6% female, 44.8% ED physicians). Physicians (vs. other providers) reported less treatment optimism and more explicit negative attitudes toward psychiatric concerns. Psychiatric (vs. nonpsychiatric) vignettes were associated with more negative attitudes toward the patient and more referrals for mental health and substance use treatment. Reported negative attitudes at baseline predicted attitudes toward the hypothetical patient. More training may not always ameliorate negative attitudes. Data confirm that psychiatric (vs. nonpsychiatric) status led to greater negative attitudes toward patients. Such attitudes may require more specialized (vs. general) training.

Background Physician empathy has been linked to increased patient satisfaction, improved patient outcomes and reduced provider burnout. Our objective was to test the effectiveness of an educational intervention to improve physician empathy and trust in the ED setting. Methods Physician participants from six emergency medicine residencies in the US were studied from 2018 to 2019 using a pre–post, quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design with randomisation at the site level. Intervention participants at three hospitals received an educational intervention, guided by acognitivemap (the ‘empathy circle’). This intervention was further emphasised by the use of motivational texts delivered to participants throughout the course of the study. The primary outcome was change in E patient perception of resident empathy (Jefferson scale of patient perception of physician empathy (JSPPPE) and Trust in Physicians Scale (Tips)) before (T1) and 3–6 months later (T2). Results Data were collected for 221 residents (postgraduate year 1–4.) In controls, the mean (SD) JSPPPE scores at T1 and T2 were 29 (3.8) and 29 (4.0), respectively (mean difference 0.8, 95% CI: −0.7 to 2.4, p=0.20, paired t-test). In the intervention group, the JSPPPE scores at T1 and T2 were 28 (4.4) and 30 (4.0), respectively (mean difference 1.4, 95% CI: 0.0 to 2.8, p=0.08). In controls, the TIPS at T1 was 65 (6.3) and T2 was 66 (5.8) (mean difference −0.1, 95% CI: −3.8 to 3.6, p=0.35). In the intervention group, the TIPS at T1 was 63 (6.9) and T2 was 66 (6.3) (mean difference 2.4, 95% CI: 0.2 to 4.5, p=0.007). Hierarchical regression revealed no effect of time×group interaction for JSPPPE (p=0.71) nor TIPS (p=0.16). Conclusion An educational intervention with the addition of text reminders designed to increase empathic behaviour was not associated with a change in patient-perceived empathy, but was associated with a modest improvement in trust in physicians.

Introduction: Physician burnout, well-being, and professional fulfillment are deeply intertwined topics that are increasingly recognized as affecting the lives of physicians, health care workers, and patients alike. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) mandates that all residencies address wellness within the context of residency training without providing much guidance on how to do so. Emergency Medicine organizations such as the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Academy of Emergency Physicians, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and the Council of Residency Directors of Emergency Medicine (CORD) suggest that one method to address wellness is in the form of a curriculum. Successfully developing or modifying a curriculum to work for individual residency programs can be a difficult task. Methods: The CORD Resilience Committee Wellness Curriculum Subcommittee comprised of experts in physician wellness and medical education started by conducted literature searches on terms related to burnout and wellness and searching the internet for documented wellness curricula, models and resources. Using this information and a standard curriculum development process, they created a roadmap for developing (or modifying), initiating, and evaluating a wellness curriculum. Conclusion: Wellness curricula are not a one-size-fits-all situation. Using the checklist and guidelines in this white paper, readers can individualize existing wellness curricula to help foster physician well-being.

Anatomical Sciences EducationVolume 14, Issue 6 p. 870-872 Letter to the Editor Introducing medical students to cadaveric dissection: Which aspects of an orientation are most beneficial? Sara Allison Ph.D., Corresponding Author Sara Allison Ph.D. Sara.Allison@med.wmich.edu orcid.org/0000-0001-7837-5054 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Correspondence Dr. Sara Allison, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, 300 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49007, USA. Email: Sara.Allison@med.wmich.edu Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Project administration (lead), Writing - original draft (lead), Writing - review & editing (equal)Search for more papers by this authorAndrew Notebaert Ph.D., Andrew Notebaert Ph.D. Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Science, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)Search for more papers by this authorErin Dehon Ph.D., Erin Dehon Ph.D. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)Search for more papers by this author Sara Allison Ph.D., Corresponding Author Sara Allison Ph.D. Sara.Allison@med.wmich.edu orcid.org/0000-0001-7837-5054 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Correspondence Dr. Sara Allison, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, 300 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49007, USA. Email: Sara.Allison@med.wmich.edu Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Project administration (lead), Writing - original draft (lead), Writing - review & editing (equal)Search for more papers by this authorAndrew Notebaert Ph.D., Andrew Notebaert Ph.D. Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Science, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)Search for more papers by this authorErin Dehon Ph.D., Erin Dehon Ph.D. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)Search for more papers by this author First published: 28 September 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.2140Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume14, Issue6November/December 2021Pages 870-872 RelatedInformation

The national or local lockdowns in response to COVID-19 forced education systems to rapidly shift from in-person to distance learning. The hasty transition undoubtedly imposed tremendous challenges on teachers, students and distance learning infrastructure. The purpose of this study was to investigate how high school science teachers who had previously been trained in flipped-learning and advanced educational technology through the Science Teaching Excites Medical Interest (STEMI) program perceived their transition to distance learning during this pandemic. In this study eleven teachers were interviewed with a semi-structured interview guide. Data were analyzed using the deductive-inductive content analytic approach. Our results indicated that teachers reported having more confidence in using technology for teaching online due in part to their participation in the STEMI program. They also reported internet access as one of the most significant barriers, both for students and teachers. While some teachers thought that students may feel more in control of learning due to absence of time and place limits with distance learning, others may struggle to stay engaged without the classroom support they would normally have received. Teachers generally experienced increased workloads and harder work–life balance with online teaching. In spite of the unforeseen challenges, the pandemic situation afforded teachers with opportunities to adopt different technology in teaching and foresee the need for technology integration in order to better prepare for the unexpected in the future.

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been shown to increase levels of psychological distress among healthcare workers. Little is known, however, about specific positive and negative individual and organizational factors that affect the mental health of emergency physicians (EP) during COVID-19. Our objective was to assess these factors in a broad geographic sample of EPs in the United States. Methods: We conducted an electronic, prospective, cross-sectional national survey of EPs from October 6-December 29, 2020. Measures assessed negative mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and insomnia), positive work-related outcomes, and strategies used to cope with COVID-19. After preliminary analyses and internal reliability testing, we performed four separate three-stage hierarchical multiple regression analyses to examine individual and organizational predictive factors for psychological distress. Results: Response rate was 50%, with 517 EPs completing the survey from 11 different sites. Overall, 85% of respondents reported negative psychological effects due to COVID-19. Participants reported feeling more stressed (31%), lonelier (26%), more anxious (25%), more irritable (24%) and sadder (17.5%). Prevalence of mental health conditions was 17% for depression, 13% for anxiety, 7.5% for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and 18% for insomnia. Regular exercise decreased from 69% to 56%, while daily alcohol use increased from 8% to 15%. Coping strategies of behavioral disengagement, self-blame, and venting were significant predictors of psychological distress, while humor and positive reframing were negatively associated with psychological distress. Conclusion: Emergency physicians have experienced high levels of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those using avoidant coping strategies were most likely to experience depression, anxiety, insomnia, and PTSD, while humor and positive reframing were effective coping strategies.

Cadaveric dissection offers an important opportunity for students to develop their ideas about death and dying. However, it remains largely unknown how this experience impacts medical students' fear of death. The current study aimed to address this gap by describing how fear of death changed during a medical gross anatomy dissection course and how fear of death was associated with examination performance. Fear of death was surveyed at the beginning of the course and at each of the four block examinations using three of the eight subscales from the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale: Fear of the Dead, Fear of Being Destroyed, and Fear for the Body After Death. One hundred forty-three of 165 medical students (86.7%) completed the initial survey. Repeated measures ANOVA showed no significant changes in Fear of the Dead (F (4, 108) = 1.45, P = 0.222) or Fear for the Body After Death (F (4, 108) = 1.83, P = 0.129). There was a significant increase in students' Fear of Being Destroyed (F (4, 108) = 6.86, P < 0.0005) after beginning dissection. This increase was primarily related to students' decreased willingness to donate their body. Concerning performance, there was one significant correlation between Fear for the Body After Death and the laboratory examination score at examination 1. Students with higher fears may be able to structure their experience in a way that does not negatively impact their performance, but educators should still seek ways to support these students and encourage body donation.

BackgroundPrior research suggests that medical students with higher fear of death are more likely to feel that providing care to terminally ill patients would have a negative personal impact. This negative perception concerning end‐of‐life care may carry into students’ careers as clinicians. Previous studies have shown that physicians with higher fear of death reported more difficulty in end‐of‐life communication and decision‐making. Because cadaveric dissection serves as an important introduction to death and dying issues, it is important to understand how this experience relates to students’ fear of death.AimThe current study aimed to identify which demographic characteristics are associated with medical student fear of death and describe how fear of death changes throughout the duration of a gross anatomy course with cadaveric dissection.MethodsProcedures were carried out according to the protocol approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Mississippi Medical Center (IRB # 2018‐0221) and informed consent was obtained from all participants. First year medical gross anatomy students’ were surveyed during the fall semester of 2019. Fear of death was surveyed using sixteen items from three subscales of the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale (MFODS): Fear of the Dead (6 items), Fear of Being Destroyed (4 items), and Fear for the Body After Death (6 items). For each item, students use a Likert type scale to select the degree to which they agree or disagree with the statement, with lower scores indicating a higher fear of death. Baseline fear of death scores and demographic data (age, gender, undergraduate GPA, MCAT, and prior anatomy experience) were collected on the first day of the course, prior to beginning cadaveric dissection. These baseline scores were then correlated to demographics. To determine how fear of death changed throughout the course, the MFODS was also given at each of the four block examinations. This data was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA.ResultsOf the 170 students invited to participate, 143 (84.1%) completed the baseline survey. Of those students, 57.3% had a prior anatomy experience while only 25.2% had prior exposure to cadavers. At the time of the baseline survey, average scores for the MFODS subscales were: Fear of the Dead (20.13 out of 30); Fear of Being Destroyed (13.57 out of 20); Fear for the Body After Death (22.99 out of 30). Complete data is currently being collected and analyzed.DiscussionResults of this study will determine if medical students’ fear of death is associated with specific demographic characteristics and how fear of death changes throughout a gross anatomy course. Understanding these relationships will allow instructors to implement interventions to support students with higher fear of death and identify a time point at which an intervention would be most beneficial. Ultimately, this would provide another means to support medical students and train physicians who are well equipped to handle end‐of‐life issues.

Objective: Lack of empathic communication between providers and patients may contribute to low value diagnostic testing in emergency care. Accordingly, we measured the perception of physician empathy and trust in patients undergoing low-value computed tomography (CT) in the emergency department (ED). Methods: Multicenter study of ED patients undergoing CT scanning, acknowledged by ordering physicians as unlikely to show an emergent condition. Near the end of their visit, patients completed the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perception of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), Trust in Physicians Survey (TIPS), and the Group Based Medical Mistrust Scale (GBMMS). We stratified results by patient demographics including gender, race, and education. Results: We enrolled 305 participants across 9 sites with diverse geographic, racial, and ethnic representation. The median scores (interquartile ranges) for the JSPPPE, TIPS, and GBMMS for all patients were 29 (24-33.5), 55 (47-62), and 18 (12-29). Compared with white patients, nonwhite patients had similar JSPPPE and TIPS scores but had higher (worse) GBMMS scores. Females had significantly lower JSPPPE and TIPS scores than males, and scores were lower (worse) in females with college degrees. Patients in the lowest tier of educational status had the highest (better) JSPPPE and TIPS scores. Scores were invariant with physician characteristics. Conclusion: Among patients undergoing low-value CT scanning in the ED, the degree of patient perception of physician empathy and trust varied based on the patients’ level of education and gender. Given this variation, an intervention to increase patient perception of physician empathy should contain individualized strategies to address these subgroups, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Many professional development programs aim to improve student outcomes by enhancing teacher competencies. Effective evaluation of these programs requires a clear delineation of the competencies to be gained. A competency model was developed to evaluate the impact of a teacher professional program that aimed to improve teachers' ability to effectively implement technologically engaged modules in a flipped classroom setting. Competencies were identified via participatory evaluation techniques and assessments were aligned to the competencies. The competency of teachers in the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for creation and delivery of effective flipped lessons can be tracked using a radar graph to guide tailored professional development.

Human gross anatomy is a foundational course that is consistently covered in the first year of all major health professional education programs. Even though human gross anatomy is a major foundational course, it is not required by all health professional education programs. Most occupational therapy and physical therapy programs do require gross anatomy as a prerequisite course before admission, but often medical and dental schools do not. This leads to incoming students having a variety of exposure levels to the content of human gross anatomy, with many of the students having no exposure at all. It is easy to assess the amount of anatomy exposure that a student has had just by looking at their transcript, the major difference is the quality of the exposure that they have had.In order to assess the quality of anatomy exposure that students have had in the past we needed to create an assessment that covered the foundational information in anatomy. To create this assessment a survey was conducted asking anatomy course instructors what textbooks they used for the health professional education program that they teach. The four most commonly used textbooks were then selected as the major source of information that incoming health professional students will receive in their gross anatomy course. The introductory chapters of these books were reviewed as they contain foundational anatomy information that will be built upon throughout the rest of the human gross anatomy course. A master list of all the foundational structures, terms, and concepts was created from the first chapter of these textbooks and evaluated using a Modified Delphi method. This master list was sent to experts (health professional human gross anatomy course directors) from multiple institutions for validation. After two rounds of the Modified Delphi method any of these topics with a Content Validity Index above 80% agreement were then considered validated foundational information. This new validated list will then be used to create an Anatomy Readiness Assessment.The Anatomy Readiness Assessment is designed to be given to health professional students prior to starting their gross anatomy course. This will assess their understanding of foundational information for anatomy prior to starting the course and may be used to identify students at risk prior to the first examination.

IntroductionIn the last few decades the necessity of cadaveric dissection in anatomy education has come into question. Some anatomists feel that dissection is essential and promotes students' understanding of death and dying issues. Others argue that cadaveric dissection may not be an appropriate way to introduce students to these sensitive issues. This is supported by literature establishing cadaveric dissection as a source of anxiety in anatomy students. Considering general anxiety has been shown to be associated with performance, anxiety caused by cadaveric dissection has the potential to impact exam scores in gross anatomy. What has yet to be studied is how cadaveric dissection influences students' fear of death and how fear of death is related to performance in gross anatomy.AimThis study aims to describe how dental students' fear of death changes with exposure to cadaveric dissection and investigate its relationship to performance in a gross anatomy course.MethodsWith IRB approval, students' fear of death will be surveyed using three subscales from the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale (MFODS): Fear of the Dead, Fear of Being Destroyed, and Fear for the Body After Death. The survey will be given at the beginning of the semester and again before each exam to determine if there are changes in students' fear of death throughout the gross anatomy course. Students' fear of death scores will also be correlated to written and practical exam scores to determine if there is a relationship between fear of death and anatomy performance. In order to account for potential covariates, such as the students' prior experience with cadavers, time spent in lab outside of scheduled hours, and percentage of time spent actively dissecting the cadavers, these factors will be included in statistical analysis using multiple regression.ResultsData is currently being collected and analyzed.DiscussionResults of this study may reveal a link between fear of death and performance in gross anatomy. Understanding this relationship would allow instructors to implement interventions to modulate fear of death and improve performance in gross anatomy. Possible interventions may include a death education course, as they have been shown to significantly lower fear of death. Ultimately, this would allow for anatomy faculty members to further support their students both emotionally and academically.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

OBJECTIVE:Mental health-related ED visits are increasing. Despite this trend, most emergency medicine (EM) residency programs devote little time to psychiatry education. This study aimed to identify EM residents' perceptions of training needs in emergency psychiatry and self-confidence in managing patients with psychobehavioral conditions.METHODS:A needs assessment survey was distributed to residents at 15 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited EM programs spanning the U.S. Survey items addressed amount and type of training in psychiatry during residency, perceived training needs in psychiatry, and self-confidence performing various clinical skills related to emergency psychiatric care. Residents used a 5-point scale (1 = nothing; 5 = very large amount) to rate their learning needs in a variety of topic areas related to behavioral emergencies (e.g., medically clearing patients, substance use disorders). Using a scale from 0 to 100, residents rated their confidence in their ability to independently perform various clinical skills related to emergency psychiatric care (e.g., differentiating a psychiatric presentation from delirium).RESULTS:Of the 632 residents invited to participate, 396 (63%) responded. Twelve percent of respondents reported completing a psychiatry rotation during EM residency. One of the 15 participating programs had a required psychiatry rotation. Residents reported that their program used lectures (56%) and/or supervised training in the ED (35%) to teach residents about psychiatric emergencies. Most residents reported minimal involvement in the treatment of patients with psychiatric concerns. The majority of residents (59%) believed that their program should offer more education on managing psychiatric emergencies. Only 14% of residents felt "quite" or "extremely" prepared to treat psychiatric patients. Overall, residents reported the lowest levels of confidence and highest need for more training related to counseling suicidal patients and treating psychiatric issues in special populations (e.g., pregnant women, elderly, and children).CONCLUSIONS:Most EM residents desire more training in managing psychiatric emergencies than is currently provided.