News in brief: September 2012

Medical students are not learning the importance of physical activity, research suggests. Key teaching areas, including recommendations of the chief medical officer on physical activity are being overlooked in favour of other subjects.

Contrasting a mean 109 hours of pharmacology teaching with just four hours for the science of physical activity, the study suggests that most medical schools are neglecting to equip students with the skills required to implement clinical guidelines and promote physical activity.

The authors say that this must be dealt with, and more teaching time should be dedicated to physical activity education, to help control the epidemic of non-communicable disease. (Br J Sports Med, 2012 doi:10.1136/bjsports-2012-091380)

The Royal College of Physicians has developed a National Early Warning Score (NEWS) algorithm with, they claim, the potential to save 6000 lives a year. Developed in collaboration with the Royal College of Nursing, NEWS seeks to standardise monitoring of vital