OBJECTIVE: To describe current practices in assessing patient communication skills in US colleges and schools of pharmacy. METHODS: Syllabi and behavioral assessment forms were solicited and key faculty members were interviewed. Forms were analyzed to determine skills most commonly assessed in communication with simulated or role-playing patients. RESULTS: Fifty schools ...

OBJECTIVE: To develop and evaluate a web-based interactive information skills tutorial integrated into the curriculum. To determine whether the tutorial was acceptable to students and explore the use of a skills assessment tool in identifying whether the tutorial improved skills. METHODS: The development of a tutorial on OVID medline to ...

Learning surgical skills involves both fine and gross motor skills, and necessitates performance in stressful situations. This environment is similar to the environment in which an athlete performs. Mental imagery has been used successfully in training athletes of all levels of proficiency and enhances both motor skills and motivational skills ...

This study investigated the effects of skill-based conditioning games and traditional conditioning for improving speed, agility, muscular power, and maximal aerobic power in rugby league players. Sixty-nine subelite rugby league players performed either a skill-based conditioning games program (N = 32) or a traditional conditioning (i.e., running activities with no ...

The goal of this study was to assess the impact of modality of production of think-aloud protocols on reading strategies. Readers in two studies spoke or typed protocols for narrative or science texts and completed comprehension tests for each text. Human judges identified the presence of paraphrasing, bridging inferences, and ...

In vivo animal experiments are essential (and a regulatory requirement) to demonstrate the potential efficacy, safety and pharmacodynamic/pharmacokinetic profile of candidate drugs. However, the number of pharmacologists (and other bioscientists) with integrative (in vivo) pharmacology skills has been in decline for a number of years, as have the opportunities for ...

Results of 40 experimental trials designed to enhance communication skills of patients or health-care providers are summarized. Calculation of effect sizes (ES) offered a method for comparing the impact of these interventions on communicative behaviors. Communicative behaviors were categorized into interpersonal processes and interviewing skills. For patient-targeted interventions that examined ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine physician preparation for performing the skin cancer examination (SCE). DESIGN: We evaluated medical students' observation, training, and practice of the SCE; hours spent in a dermatology clinic; and self-reported skill level for the SCE by a self-administered survey. PARTICIPANTS: Graduating students at 7 US medical schools during ...

Most of the spelling error analysis has been conducted in Latin orthographies and rarely conducted in other orthographies like Arabic. Two hundred and eighty-eight students in grades 1-9 participated in the study. They were presented nine lists of words to test their spelling skills. Their spelling errors were analyzed by ...

To reduce the learning curves in humans, several training models have been developed for teaching laparoscopic surgery. The aim of various in vitro or in vivo training models is to help surgeons acquire basic laparoscopic skills such as hand-eye coordination, depth perception, and knot-tying, which should always be acquired prior ...

Effective health care delivery systems rely heavily on high degrees of skill in professionalism and communication. These skills are essential to all of the missions of a successful radiology department. Until recently, there was a lack of emphasis on the importance of these issues and a lack of efforts in ...

Graduating medical students are expected to be proficient in a number of procedural skills. A structured curriculum is infrequently available. In addition, the use of a mannequin tends to be unrealistic and students continue to have some anxiety when performing procedures on patients. This pilot study was designed to demonstrate ...

Skill and risk taking are argued to be independent and to require different remedial programs. However, it is possible to contend that skill-based training could be associated with an increase, a decrease, or no change in risk-taking behavior. In 3 experiments, the authors examined the influence of a skill-based training ...

OBJECTIVE: We outline some of the dominant opinions regarding the provision of formative feedback, as expressed by both trainees and their supervisors. METHODS: Trainee psychiatrists and their supervisors were interviewed and asked to identify 'good' as opposed to 'poor' supervision. RESULTS: A recurrent theme in interview data was that of ...

PURPOSE: To test the hypothesis that people using a pushrim-activated power-assisted wheelchair (PAPAW) can accomplish a wider range of wheelchair skills than when using a manual wheelchair (MWC). METHODS: We studied 30 able-bodied participants, using within-participant comparisons. Participants used a manual wheelchair equipped with both PAPAW and regular MWC rear ...

AIM: To evaluate self-assessed level of clinical skills of graduating medical students at Zagreb University School of Medicine and compare them with clinical skill levels expected by their teachers and those defined by a criterion standard. METHOD: The study included all medical students (n=252) graduating from the Zagreb University School ...

This study investigated the effect of a skill-based training program on measurements of skill and physical fitness in talent-identified volleyball players. Twenty-six talented junior volleyball players (mean +/- SE age, 15.5 +/- 0.2 years) participated in an 8-week skill-based training program that included 3 skill-based court sessions per week. Skills ...

BACKGROUND: This review examines the surgical and psychological literature on surgeons' intraoperative non-technical skills. These are the critical cognitive and interpersonal skills that complement surgeons' technical abilities. The objectives of this paper are (1) to identify the non-technical skills required by surgeons in the operating room and (2) assess the ...

BACKGROUND: Ileoscopy is the criterion standard for mucosal lesions of terminal ileum but is performed in 5% of colonoscopy activity, and the need for training is undefined. OBJECTIVE: To assess the learning curve and skill-keeping line of ileoscopy. DESIGN: Prospective randomized study. SETTING: Single GI endoscopy unit. PATIENTS: Adult outpatients ...

OBJECTIVE: A student-oriented basic life support and first-aid training is practical to enlarge the number of qualified people in the field. In this study, we aimed to describe and discuss the training process of a group of medical students at Hacettepe University, School of Medicine and their assessment as basic ...

BACKGROUND: Ineffective physicians' communication skills have detrimental consequences for patients and their relatives, such as insufficient detection of psychological disturbances, dissatisfaction with care, poor compliance, and increased risks of litigation for malpractice. These ineffective communication skills also contribute to everyday stress, lack of job satisfaction, and burnout among physicians. Literature ...

While the previous chapter by L. Fallowfield and V. Jenkins focuses on different communication skills training (CST) concepts currently being utilized, this chapter reviews and comments the scientific evidence of the impact of CST on improving communication skills. The aim of this chapter is not to provide a complete review ...

BACKGROUND: Numerous protocols for laparoscopic skills training using simulator-based laboratories have proven effective. However, little is known about the availability and uniformity of such facilities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, utilization, and costs of skills laboratories currently in use. METHODS: A survey was mailed to ...

Communication is a core clinical skill of veterinary medicine and one that needs to be taught and learned to the same degree as other clinical skills. To provide this education and essential expertise, veterinary schools in many countries, especially including North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia, have begun to ...

The motivation behind every educator's dedication and hard work in the classroom is the knowledge that his or her teaching will result in students' success in life. Educators are committed to implementing twenty-first century skills; they have no question that students need such skills to be equipped for life beyond ...

Based on their experience as teachers of communication skills training for oncology clinicians, the authors report their observations and reflect on open questions and future challenges with regard to communication in cancer care. Both of us have been training oncologists and oncology nurses in communication skills training (CST) for many ...

Aware that constituent support is essential to any educational endeavor, the AOL Time Warner Foundation (now the Time Warner Foundation), in conjunction with two respected national research firms, measured Americans' attitudes toward the implementation of twenty-first century skills. The foundation's national research survey was intended to explore public perceptions of ...

PURPOSE: A substantial body of literature demonstrates that communication skills in medicine can be taught and retained through teaching and practice. Considerable evidence also reveals that characteristics such as gender, age, language and attitudes affect communication skills performance. Our study examined the characteristics, attitudes and prior communication skills training of ...

Recent studies of veterinary practice have suggested a correlation between well-developed communication skills and job satisfaction, career retention, customer satisfaction, decreased lawsuits, and financial remuneration for veterinarians. Veterinary educators are under growing pressure to teach functional communication skills to veterinary students; however, the methods employed have not been well evaluated. ...

Public education is the key to individual and business prosperity. With a vested stake in education, educators, employers, parents, policymakers, and the public should question how this nation's public education system is faring. Knowing that recent international assessments have shown little or no gains in American students' achievement, the author ...

BACKGROUND: Career support needs of general practitioners are poorly described in the literature. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews of 26 practising GPs from two United Kingdom counties. RESULTS: General practitioners believed they would benefit from the provision of career advice and guidance provided by trained peers. They were looking for advisors to ...

Microsoft is an innovative corporation demonstrating the kind and caliber of job skills needed in the twenty-first century. It demonstrates its commitment to twenty-first century skills by holding its employees accountable to a set of core competencies, enabling the company to run effectively. The author explores how Microsoft's core competencies ...

Although child abduction is a low-rate event, it presents a serious threat to the safety of children. The victims of child abduction face the threat of physical and emotional injury, sexual abuse, and death. Previous research has shown that behavioral skills training (BST) is effective in teaching children abduction-prevention skills, ...

Written communication is a requisite skill for practitioners in the field of health education. Advocacy skills are now considered to be both a professional competency and an ethical responsibility. Given that many advocacy strategies involve written communication, it makes sense that the skills of writing and advocacy be developed concomitantly ...

Communication skills are considered a core clinical skill in human medicine. Recognizing the importance of communication skills and addressing them in veterinary curricula, however, is just beginning. In the fall of 2003, the Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, markedly changed the way in which it approaches communication ...

There has been a growth in students with dyslexia attending university. These students commonly rate writing as one of their greatest problem areas. Our research set out to describe the effects of dyslexia on the writing skills of students compared to age-matched peers and a spelling-skill-matched group. Generally, the texts ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether and to what extent generic skills that are learned by practitioners are used on their clinical laboratory science/medical technologist (CLS/MT) jobs; and to determine if there are any significant differences in learning and/or using these skills by practitioners who were CLS/MT vs. Other BA/BS degree majors. ...

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that effective physician communication strongly correlates with patient satisfaction and treatment outcome. Unfortunately, teaching these skills has been challenging because of 2 major barriers: (a) medical students are often too preoccupied with the technical and scientific aspects of their curriculum, and (b) it is difficult to expand ...

Second-year veterinary students were surveyed at the beginning and end of a 15-week semester regarding their confidence in performing three clinical reasoning skills: (1) making Problem Lists; (2) making Rule-Out Lists; and (3) selecting appropriate diagnostic tests. Each week during the semester, these skills were practiced in small-group case discussions. ...

In the past two decades, economic, technological, demographic, and political forces have stimulated major change in the learning and working landscape for young people. These circumstances compel us to prioritize the integration of technology skill building into youth development experiences in order to better prepare older youth for the challenges ...

This study examined the effects of an intensive parent training program on the acquisition and generalization of discrete trial teaching (DTT) procedures with two parents of children with autism. Over the course of the program, parents applied the DTT procedures to teach four different functional skills to their children, which ...

Communication skills courses are an essential component of undergraduate and postgraduate training and effective communication skills are actively promoted by medical defence organisations as a means of decreasing litigation. This article discusses active listening, a difficult discipline for anyone to practise, and examines why this is particularly so for doctors. ...

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that wheelchair skills training of community-based manual wheelchair users is efficacious, safe, and practical. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Rehabilitation center and community. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty community-based manual wheelchair users (15 men, 5 women; age range, 21-77 y), half with musculoskeletal and half with neurologic disorders. ...

This study continued the effort to apply social skills training to increase vocational outcomes of people with severe mental illness. We planned to identify factor structure of essential social skills necessary for mental health consumers who have a vocational preference to work as salesperson in retail market. Exploratory factor analysis ...

The aim of this study was to investigate methods of practice, assess skill level, and evaluate attitudes towards fibreoptic intubation in the anaesthetic community of New Zealand. A postal survey questionnaire was sent to all vocationally registered anaesthetists in New Zealand and to all New Zealand anaesthetic trainees registered with ...

Skill is one of the factors influencing labour productivity of manual labour. The present study aims to find out the possible relationship between skill and productivity and between skill and physical body dimension among the tea garden labourers of Northern West Bengal, India. Skill was measured by indigenously devised test ...

The need to develop skills in Information Technology and Information Literacy for a career in the Health Sciences is not in dispute. More debated are the most appropriate ways of assessing existing skills, addressing training needs and incorporating IT/IL learning, and at what stage skills development should begin to be ...

BACKGROUND: The recognition of emotional states in one's self and others, emotional intelligence (EI) may play a key role in patient care. This study examines the relationship between EI and students' clinical skills in a required, comprehensive performance examination (CPX). METHOD: Prior to taking a 12-station CPX, third-year students in ...

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated whether a supplementary skills training program improved work outcomes for clients enrolled in supported employment programs. METHODS: Thirty-five recently employed clients with severe mental illness who were receiving supported employment services at a free-standing agency were randomly assigned to participate in either the workplace fundamentals program, ...

BACKGROUND: To determine correlations between personality factors and clinical skills of second-year medical school students. METHOD: Participants were 206 medical students who had completed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and the Clinical Skills Assessment II (CSA II). RESULTS: of the 16PF and CSA II were analyzed using Pearson R. ...