General medical training programs are aimed at promoting competency in general practice skills with a holistic perspective of patient-centered medicine for the new generation of physicians. The faculty development program was implemented to promote learning and application of the six core competencies established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. This article describes the implementation and outcome of the current faculty development program. Additional assessment tools of the faculty development program are recommended to evaluate different perspectives of outcome. Our experience suggests that OSTEs are a realistic and well-received approach for faculty development that merits further investigation. According to the clinical instructors' response, our faculty development program effectively increased familiarity with various teaching and assessment skills needed to teach PGY 1 residents and ACGME competencies, and these clinical instructors also then subsequently applied these skills.

Objectives: Exercise is considered as an adjuvant therapeutic modality to alleviate symptoms of several rheumatic diseases. However, data regarding the benefits of exercise to patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are relatively scant. Methods: This study aimed to assess the effects of regular, moderate-intensity, aerobic exercise combined with resistance training on women with SLE who had no regular exercise. Patients were recruited and allocated into either the exercise or control group by their willingness. Patients in the exercise group (n = 12) underwent 12 weeks of combined exercise (five days per week), whereas those in the control group (n = 11) maintained their usual lifestyle. Results: At baseline, there were no between-group differences in body composition, disease activity, two-kilometer walking test, and executive function test. After the combined exercise intervention for 12 weeks, significant improvements of both fitness index and reaction time to the stimuli in the go/no-go test were observed in the exercise group, but not in the control group. The disease activities in both study groups did not change significantly at the end of the study period. Conclusion: Our results suggest that regular moderate-intensity aerobic exercise combined with resistance training improves the physical and executive functions of SLE patients without exacerbating disease activity.

Acute-phase markers are often used to evaluate the disease activity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Occasionally, the serum levels of acute-phase reactants remain normal in patients with obvious inflamed joints. Hematological indices derived from complete blood counts have been shown to correlate with disease activity. This provides a potential practical implementation in daily practice. Only a few studies have evaluated the relation between hematological indices and novel RA treatment (i.e., biological and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARDs); no research has examined the changes in hematological indices in RA treatments longitudinally. We conducted a retrospective study involving 273 RA patients with b/tsDMARD treatment and followed them for at least a year. Baseline, 3-month, and 6-month lab data were collected. The results indicated a reduction in the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte–lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) post-treatment. Higher baseline PLRs and SIIs were associated with a more significant reduction in ESR at three months (η² = 0.03/0.13, p = 0.21/0.023). NLR and SII correlated with CRP moderately at three months (r = 0.373/0.394, p < 0.001/< 0.001). A correlation comparison showed that the correlation of NLR and PLR with CRP differs during different periods (p = 0.037/0.004). Subgroup analysis revealed that the time effect on correlation is related to treatment with Janus kinase inhibitor and anti-interleukin-6 but not antitumor necrosis factors.

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a systemic autoimmune disease consisting of necrotizing granulomatosis of the respiratory tract, necrotizing vasculitis, and necrotizing glomerulonephritis. It is under the category of ANCA-associated vasculitis, which involves small vessels. The nose, sinus, and ear were the most affected sites besides lung and kidney in localized form. They might precede other disease manifestations before progressing to the systemic form. Our patient presented with an intractable headache, followed by acute vision loss. His symptoms deteriorated regardless of antibiotic treatment for paranasal sinusitis. The sequential CT/MRI images showed the inflammatory raid of the orbital apex and cavernous sinus within days. The sinus biopsy and elevated PR3-anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody led us to the diagnosis of GPA. Fortunately, the patient’s vision improved gradually after steroid and immunosuppressant treatment.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), characterized by fibrosis of the skin and other organs, is a devastating systemic autoimmune disease. Lung involvement is frequent in SSc and contributes to the high rate of mortality. To describe the first case report of SSc and interstitial lung disease (ILD) receiving autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in Taiwan. Case report. A 51-year-old man presented with rapid skin thickening and shortness of breath. Early progressive SSc-associated ILD was diagnosed. Because his lung function rapidly declined and his skin disease progressed, he received ASCT with satisfactory treatment responses in both skin thickness and lung function. In addition, lung imaging analysis showed remarkable improvements in ILD after treatment. We suggest that ASCT can be considered in selected patients with early, rapidly progressive SSc associated with ILD.