No abstract

No abstract

Objective. To determine the value of using the Roter Interaction Analysis System during objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) to assess pharmacy students' communication competence. Methods. As pharmacy students completed a clinical OSCE involving an interview with a simulated patient, 3 experts used a global rating scale to assess students' overall performance in the interview, and both the student's and patient's languages were coded using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS). The coders recorded the number of utterances (ie, units of spoken language) in each RIAS category. Correlations between the raters' scores and the number and types of utterances were examined.Results. There was a significant correlation between students' global rating scores on the OSCE and the number of utterances in the RIAS socio-emotional category but not the RIAS business category. Conclusions. The RIAS proved to be a useful tool for assessing the socio-emotional aspect of students' interview skills.

Aim: Drug overdose is an important issue in emergency medicine. However, studies covering overdose patients transported by ambulance have not been sufficiently carried out. We attempted to clarify problems of suspected drug overdose patients transported by ambulance.Methods: This is a prospective population-based cohort study. Data were collected by emergency medical service crews in Osaka City, Japan, between January 1998 and December 2010.Results: Drug overdose cases increased annually from 1,136 in 1998 to 1,822 in 2010 (P < 0.0001 for trend). In these cases, the dominant age range was between 16 and 40 years and the age distribution did not change over time. The age of non-overdose cases increased (P < 0.0001 for trend), with patients aged ≥66 years becoming most common in recent years, reflecting the aging of society. Males comprised most non-overdose patients, but the percentage of females increased annually (P < 0.0001 in trend). Females comprised approximately 70% in overdose cases annually throughout the study period. The duration from the emergency call to the arrival at the hospital for overdose patients has increased markedly in recent years. It also takes more time to obtain acceptance from hospitals to care for patients of suspected overdose. Conclusion:The characteristics of drug overdose patients are clearly different from those of non-overdose patients. Recent trends of drug overdose patients indicate the accelerated burden on emergency medical services system.