A short, scalable values affirmation intervention reduces the achievement gap between underrepresented minority students and white students in an introductory biology course.

Introduction: Through rural clinical schools (RCSs), medical students may undertake an extended block of clinical training in rural Australia. The premise of these placements is that meaningful rural exposure will facilitate rural career uptake. RCSs offer a range of supports to facilitate student engagement in the program. This study aims to analyse RCS students' perceptions of these supports and impact on intentions to work rurally. Methods: Between September 2012 and January 2013 RCS students were invited to complete questions regarding perceptions of student support, as a part of the annual Federation of Australian Medical Educators survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify associations between supports and intentions for rural internship or career. Results: There were 454 participants. A majority of students (n=349, 79.1%) felt well supported by their RCS. Students from a rural background (odds ratio (OR)=1.64 (95% confidence interval (CI):1.13-2.38)), or who indicated that their placement had a positive impact on their wellbeing (OR=1.38 (95%CI:1.07-1.80)), were more likely to intend to complete a rural internship. Those who felt socially isolated were less likely to elect this (OR=0.82 (0.70-0.97)). Outcomes were similar for those indicating a preference for rural or remote practice after completing training.

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Background In Australia, one‐third of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnoses occur late, with an estimated 11% of people with HIV unaware of their diagnosis. Undiagnosed and untreated HIV infection increases morbidity in the HIV positive person and allows onward transmission of HIV. Aim To determine the rate of HIV testing in acute general medicine patients with HIV indicator conditions (IC) and evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention in improving testing rates. Methods Single‐centre, tertiary hospital, before‐after study of general medicine inpatients with IC for 12 weeks prior and 10 weeks post an educational intervention focusing on recommendations for HIV testing including IC. The REASON Cohort Discovery Tool was used to search for the IC using ICD‐10 codes and laboratory data. The presence of IC was estimated, and HIV testing rates before and after the intervention were compared. Regression analysis was utilised to identify characteristics associated with HIV testing. Results Of 1414 admissions in the baseline period and 946 in the post‐period, 161 (11.4%) and 132 (14.0%) had at least one IC present respectively. There were 18 (11.2%) HIV tests performed for admissions with IC in the pre‐period which increased to 27 (20.5%) (P = 0.028) in the post‐period. Younger patients were more likely to be tested and regression analysis identified the educational intervention (adjusted odds ratio) 2.2 (1.1, 4.4) to be significantly associated with testing. Conclusions Although HIV testing rates for IC doubled following the intervention, they remained unacceptably low. The recently introduced electronic medical record presents opportunities to prompt HIV testing.

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