Clinical medicine (London, England)
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A woman in her early 60s was referred with dysphagia and chest pain to a tertiary referral centre specialising in oesophageal disorders. Cardiac symptom origin and sinister oesophageal pathology had been excluded at her local hospital in NHS Scotland. ⋯ This case demonstrates the benefit of including provocative testing during high-resolution manometry to reproduce relevant dysphagia and the importance of stopping proton-pump inhibitors long enough to uncover excessive eosinophils which could otherwise be masked. Ultimately, tailored management for both conditions separately was required to achieve symptoms resolution.
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The UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) is an assessment of the quality of research carried out in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), performed in 7-year cycles. The outcome impacts the rankings and funding of UK HEIs, which afford the exercise high priority. Much of what REF measures is known to be biased against academics with protected characteristics: for example, women and ethnic minority researchers are less likely to win grants or be published in prestigious journals. ⋯ The BMA Women in Academic Medicine and Medical Academic Staff Committee carried out a survey of UK clinical academics' experiences of REF2021. The data indicated the persistence of activities previously characterised as 'extremely harmful' in Research England-commissioned work, affecting up to 10% of clinical academics. While acknowledging the limitations of the data, women appeared to be disproportionately affected.