Purpose: The present study was aimed at evaluating the usefulness of box simulators for training novice endoscopists. Materials and Methods: An explanation of the goals, contents, and features of the simulator was given to study participants. The participants then received "hands-on training" in gastrointestinal endoscopy techniques using a box simulator. ...

The present study aimed at evaluating the homogeneity of physiological responses during swim training bouts with intensities prescribed by reference to the individual anaerobic threshold (IAT, Stegmann et al., 1981).18 competitive front crawl swimmers (F 5, M 13, ten long-distance and eight short-distance swimmers, age: 17 ± 1.7 yrs, training ...

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of walkway perturbation training on human dynamic walking stability and slip propensity. A new walkway perturbation training program was developed using an instrumented, split-belt treadmill. Walkway surface perturbation was composed of multiple, randomized perturbation pulses. Each pulse was created ...

Many inquiries regarding the causal effects of policies or programs are based on research designs where the treatment assignment process is unknown, and thus valid inferences depend on tenuous assumptions about the assignment mechanism. This article draws attention to the importance of understanding the assignment mechanism in policy and program ...

In human walking, each transition to a new stance limb requires redirection of the center of mass (COM) velocity from one inverted pendulum arc to the next. While this can be accomplished with either negative collision work by the leading limb, positive push-off work by the trailing limb, or some ...

Clinical protocols are associated with improved patient outcomes; however, they may negatively affect medical education by removing trainees from clinical decision making. To study the relationship between critical care training with mechanical ventilation protocols and subsequent knowledge about ventilator management. A retrospective cohort equivalence study, linking a national survey of ...

The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of a submaximal isometric training program on estimation capacity at 25, 50, and 75% of maximal contraction in isometric action and at two angular velocities. The second purpose was to study the variability of isometric action. To achieve these purposes, ...

When learning to achieve a goal through a complex series of actions, humans often group several actions into a subroutine and evaluate whether the subroutine achieved a specific subgoal. A new study reports brain responses consistent with such "hierarchical reinforcement learning."

STUDY DESIGN: Block randomized controlled trial. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether a strengthening and movement education program, targeting the hip abductors and hip external rotators, alters hip mechanics during running and during a single leg squat. BACKGROUND: Abnormal movement patterns during running and single leg squatting have been associated with a ...

Ultrasound (US) quality control (QC) program data over a 4-year period from more than 45 scanners and more than 265 transducers were reviewed to optimize the program in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Our program included evaluations of mechanical integrity, image uniformity, distance measurement accuracy and maximum depth of penetration ...

Quality assurance work requires acquisition of valid data, as well as mechanisms for enforcing quality criteria, detecting (non-)adherence to these criteria, and for improving inadequate performance. This chapter deals primarily with the various tools available to acquire information at the various steps of the patient journey. Different challenges arise in ...

Here, we report on a new tool for teaching cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology that promotes qualitative as well as quantitative thinking about time-dependent physiological phenomena. Quantification of steady and presteady-state (transient) cardiovascular phenomena is traditionally done by differential equations, but this is time consuming and unsuitable for most undergraduate medical ...

This paper is concerned with the uses of history in science. It focuses in particular on Anglo-American genetics and on university textbooks-where the canon of a science is consolidated, as the heterogeneous approaches and controversies of its practice are rendered unified for its reproduction. Tracing the emergence and eventual standardization ...

There is a significant body of research examining the intelligibility of sinusoidal replicas of natural speech. Discussion has followed about what the sinewave speech phenomenon might imply about the mechanisms underlying phonetic recognition. However, most of this work has been conducted using sentence material, making it unclear what the contributions ...

Knowledge and skills relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation tend to be lost over time. The combination of simulation sessions with online video records and online feedback allows for an enduring record of skills sessions to assist students in retaining and revising their learning. This paper reports a qualitative evaluation of such ...

Abstract Purpose. Using the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT), the effect of mode of administration on (1) students' willingness to disclose sensitive information and (2) response rates was investigated. Design. A 2 × 2 unequal N factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) design was employed. Mode of administration (paper-and-pencil ...

To assess improvement in documentation of asthma indicators using the Asthma Toolbox, an asthma decision-making tool developed in accord with National Asthma Education and Prevention Program guidelines. Retrospective medical record review using cross-sectional, independent, random samples. Reviews were conducted for 1-year periods before and after implementation and after revision reflecting ...

Increased soil erosion on sloped land has become a significant environmental concern in China that has been attributed to human activities such as deforestation, over-cultivation, and over-grazing of livestock. In order to reduce soil erosion on sloped lands, the Chinese government has responded by implementing large-scale, ecological rehabilitation programs, including ...

This paper describes the implementation of an interprofessional patient record (IPPR) at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (STHFT). The IPPR was a two-year project, commencing in May 2008, aimed at creating a single IPPR to which all staff contribute. Prior to the IPPR, records were profession specific with nursing, ...

Abstract Purpose . Environmental conditions often serve as critical enabling factors for health promotion. This article describes the effect of a preschool hygiene intervention program on classroom environmental conditions. Design . Cluster randomized trial, with randomization at the level of the preschool. Setting . State-run preschools in Jerusalem. Subjects . ...

This paper provides field evidence on the effects of diet on educational outcomes, exploiting a campaign lead in the UK in 2004, which introduced drastic changes in the meals offered in the schools of one borough - Greenwich - shifting from low-budget processed meals towards healthier options. We evaluate the ...

Many international jurisdictions have introduced responsible gambling programs. These programs intend to minimize negative consequences of excessive gambling, but vary considerably in their aims, focus, and content. Many responsible gambling programs lack a conceptual framework and, in the absence of empirical data, their components are based only on general considerations ...

The mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (mini-CEX) is used to assess medical students' clinical skills during medicine clerkships. To evaluate reliability, feasibility, and user satisfaction of a paper vs PDA-based mini-CEX in a third-year medicine clerkship. The mini-CEX was reformatted as a PDA-based rating form for a medicine clerkship over 1 year. ...

This paper will discuss the potential role of interventional radiologists in teaching of endovascular skills to vascular surgical trainees. Prerequisites and advantages of such a training will be discussed, as well as the secondary effect this kind of training program may have on developing multidisciplinary teams.

This paper examines the effects of alcohol use on high school students' quality of learning. We estimate fixed-effects models using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Our primary measure of academic achievement is the student's GPA abstracted from official school transcripts. We find that increases in alcohol ...

BACKGROUND: This paper presents early outcomes of three residency programs participating in Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice (P4), family medicine's innovative residency redesign initiative. The three programs allow learner-directed diversification and either allow or require extra time, up to 4 years of residency, to complete these experiences. Residents endorse ...

This paper investigates new realities in emergency preparedness and safety for schools and other educational facilities in a budgetary climate where the sector is being asked to do more with fewer resources. The paper provides a guide to overcoming issues connected with staffing levels and apathy, incorporating principles of emergency ...

The Controlling Asthma in American Cities Project (CAACP) was designed to improve the control of asthma in inner-city populations of children with a disparate burden of symptoms and adverse outcomes. As with many chronic diseases, asthma is the manifestation of multiple biologic, environmental, and social determinants. In addition to appropriate ...

Numerous haptic devices have been developed for upper-limb neurorehabilitation, but their widespread use has been largely impeded because of complexity and cost. Here, we describe a variable structure pantograph mechanism combined with a spring suspension system that produces a versatile rehabilitation robot, called Universal Haptic Pantograph, for movement training of ...

Contemporary planners see mixing residential, retail and other compatible uses as an essential planning principle. This paper explores the challenges that planners, developers and municipal councillors encounter in trying to implement retail uses as part of the mix in suburban areas in three Canadian cities. The study finds that planners ...

The use of e-Learning in educational institutes has rapidly increased along with the development of information and communication technology (ICT). In healthcare, more medical educators are using e-Learning to support their curriculum design, delivery and evaluation. However, no systematic work exists on characterizing a collective set of Critical Success Factors ...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of lower-limb running prostheses and stakeholders' perceptions of fairness in relation to their use in competitive disability sport. A Delphi study was conducted over three rounds to solicit expert opinion in a developing area of knowledge. High levels of consensus ...

This paper evaluates the impact of a large-scale, community agency-driven initiative to increase physical activity (PA) in after-school programs in Ontario. In 2008, the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club (BGC) introduced CATCH Kids Club (CKC) into 330 after-school program sites. This study assessed the impact of the intervention on ...

Innovative organisations need creative employees who generate new ideas for product or process innovation. This paper presents a conceptual framework for the effect of personal, social-organisational and physical factors on employee creativity. Based on this framework, an instrument to analyse the extent to which the work environment enhances creativity is ...

Motivational theories of choice focus on the influence of goal values and strength of reinforcement to explain behavior. By contrast relatively little is known concerning how the cost of an action, such as effort expended, contributes to a decision to act. Effort-based decision making addresses how we make an action ...

Students look forward to their clinical practicum to learn within the context of reality nursing. As educators we need to actively develop models of clinical practicum whereby students are supported to engage and learn in the clinical learning environment. The aim of this paper is to describe an innovative model ...

In this paper we address the problem of tracking an object in a video given its location in the first frame and no other information. Recently, a class of tracking techniques called "tracking by detection" has been shown to give promising results at real-time speeds. These methods train a discriminative ...

This paper investigates: (1) whether high school students overestimate gun carrying by their peers, and (2) whether those students who overestimate peer gun carrying are more likely to carry firearms. Data come from a randomly sampled survey conducted in 2008 of over 1700 high school students in Boston, MA. Over ...

Failing a student nurse for not meeting clinical competency on a practice placement can be a distressing and traumatic event for both student and community nurse mentor. This paper describes how a reflective model can be used to support practitioners' to come to terms with the decision and action of ...

This paper reports on the socio-demographic characteristics of the first year cohort of 52 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Oral Health programme at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales. Forty students completed paper-based questionnaires. Results show that the cohort is predominantly female (94%), the mean age of students ...

Research has shown that excess calories from sugar-sweetened beverages are associated with weight gain among youth. There is limited knowledge, however, regarding perception of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption norms. This study examined the extent of misperception about peer sugar-sweetened beverage consumption norms and the association of perceived peer norms with personal ...

Motivational interviewing (MI) has been promoted in recent years as an effective method for engaging patients in positive health behaviors and increasing adherence to treatment regimens. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a brief training of MI techniques provided within the dental school curriculum. Third-year dental students received ...

Sheffield's School of Clinical Dentistry has developed a year-round dental outreach teaching programme of 20 weeks for each student in two or three of six already established general practices and five PCT clinics. On the programme, under local supervision, students provide comprehensive care for patients and complete associated projectwork. This ...

This paper reports six male undergraduate students living at a local university hostel who were infested with cat fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae: Ctenocephalides felis felis) in February 2009. All of them suffered from maculopapular rashes and severe pruritus after the bites. Investigation revealed the presence of a stray cat in the ...

There has been much discussion regarding the topic of business continuity and security convergence. This paper provides a realistic overview of the union of the two disciplines and offers no/low-cost programme elements that may be used for organisations considering or in the midst of convergence efforts.

Interprofessional education (IPE) has emerged as a critical pedagogy for promoting interprofessional collaboration (IPC) within healthcare. However, the literature includes few reports of students' perspectives on IPE experiences. Understanding students' experiences is critical, as they are the crux of IPE's culture change agenda. This paper presents an autoethnographic account of ...

This paper sought to identify the behaviour change targets for an injury prevention program; Skills for Preventing Injury in Youth (SPIY). The aim was to explore how such behaviours could subsequently be implemented and evaluated in the program. The quantitative procedure involved a survey with 267 Year 8 and 9 ...

PURPOSE: Emotional development, an important component of nascent professional competence, is likely to be shaped by specific formative experiences. This study sought to identify and gauge the impact of highly evocative experiences occurring during medical school. METHOD: A 34-item list of candidate formative experiences was developed through focus group meetings ...

In this paper we discuss scenario life savers - interventions before and during simulation scenarios that allow to create and use relevant learning opportunities, even if unexpected events happen during the conduction of the scenario. Scenario life savers are needed, when the comprehension or acceptance of the scenario by the ...

Even small departments may never experience complete harmony in their assignment of codes, but they have good motivation for achieving as much consistency as they can. Training, communication, monitoring, and coding reviews help reach that goal, HIM experts say.