Comparison of health/medical informatics curricula against multiple sets of professional criteria.
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This poster expands on a methodology presented at the 2003 International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Conference on Education by analyzing the match between four graduate informatics programs to both the IMIA Working Group for Education (WG1) recommendations and the Certified Professional in Healthcare Information Management Systems (CPHIMS) exam objectives published by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Similarities and differences among the programs and criteria are described. (+info)
Outcomes assessment related to professional growth and achievements of baccalaureate dental hygiene graduates.
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The goals of the entry-level baccalaureate dental hygiene (DH) program at the University of California, San Francisco, include the preparation of scholars who will pursue additional study and research and the development of DH educators and leaders in the field of DH. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the goals of the program were being achieved by assessing the professional growth and achievements of the graduates. Questionnaires were mailed to graduates of classes from 1960 to 2000, and the response rate was 66 percent (N = 468). Results indicated the following: 21 percent of the respondents completed a graduate or professional program, with most degrees being master's related to education (53 percent) and dental degrees (28 percent); 20 percent have held a faculty position in a DH educational program, with 26 percent holding leadership positions; 60 percent have been regular participants in DH professional organizations, with 36 percent of them holding leadership positions; and 61 percent have been active in a community organization, with 60 percent of them holding leadership positions. This outcomes assessment indicates that many UCSF DH graduates have become scholars, educators, and leaders in DH, and thus, the current program is successful at achieving its educational goals. Future studies should evaluate graduates of other DH programs on similar outcomes measures. (+info)
Academic pharmacologists: confronting new challenges in educational programs of graduate and health care professionals.
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Pharmacologists belong to a special fraternity, one whose members love to study drugs, even though we may have highly individualized viewpoints about what aspect of drug action delights our intellectual curiosities. Still it is this passion to understand everything about a drug that drives our need to uncover the essence of a chemical's effect on living cells and tissues, and ultimately how it exerts its therapeutic benefits. In this sense, pharmacology is a discipline key to the health sciences in that it bridges basic and clinical endeavors, as well as between professional practices. (+info)
Teaching macromolecular modeling.
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Training newcomers to the field of macromolecular modeling is as difficult as is training beginners in x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, or other methods in structural biology. In one or two lectures, the most that can be conveyed is a general sense of the relationship between modeling and other structural methods. If a full semester is available, then students can be taught how molecular structures are built, manipulated, refined, and analyzed on a computer. Here we describe a one-semester modeling course that combines lectures, discussions, and a laboratory using a commercial modeling package. In the laboratory, students carry out prescribed exercises that are coordinated to the lectures, and they complete a term project on a modeling problem of their choice. The goal is to give students an understanding of what kinds of problems can be attacked by molecular modeling methods and which problems are beyond the current capabilities of those methods. (+info)
The Houston Conference revisited.
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This paper presents a review and critique of the Houston Conference on Specialty Education and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology, together with an informal summary of opinions of a number of neuropsychologists. Issues regarding the role of the Clinical Neuropsychology Synarchy (CNS) and the applicability of the conference policies are offered. Several deficiencies and limitations of the policy statement are discussed. An informal survey of neuropsychologists interested in the Houston Conference indicates rather different opinions concerning the training and education of neuropsychologists. It is our contention that the results of the Houston Conference can only be considered controversial at best and that there is still much diversity of opinion in the field regarding the proper training of neuropsychologists. We hope to stimulate further discussion and greater involvement of the profession before final criteria for education and training are developed and adopted. (+info)
Restrictions impeding web-based courses: a survey of publishers' variation in authorising access to high quality on-line literature.
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BACKGROUND: Web-based delivery of educational programmes is becoming increasingly popular and is expected to expand, especially in medicine. The successful implementation of these programmes is reliant on their ability to provide access to web based materials, including high quality published work. Publishers' responses to requests to access health literature in the context of developing an electronic Master's degree course are described. METHODS: Two different permission requests were submitted to publishers. The first was to store an electronic version of a journal article, to which we subscribe, on a secure password protected server. The second was to reproduce extracts of published material on password protected web pages and CD Rom. RESULTS: Eight of 16 publishers were willing to grant permission to store electronic versions of articles without levying charges additional to the subscription. Twenty of 35 publishers gave permission to reproduce extracts of published work at no fee. Publishers' responses were highly variable to the requests for access to published material. This may be influenced by vague terminology within the 'fair dealing' provision in the copyright legislation, which seems to leave it open to individual interpretation. Considerable resource costs were incurred by the exercise. Time expended included those incurred by us: research to identify informed representatives within the publishing organisation, request 'chase-ups' and alternative examples being sought if publishers were uncooperative; and the publisher when dealing with numerous permission requests. Financial costs were also incurred by both parties through additional staffing and paperwork generated by the permission process, the latter including those purely borne by educators due to the necessary provision of photocopy 'course packs' when no suitably alternative material could be found if publishers were uncooperative. Finally we discuss the resultant bias in material towards readily available electronic resources as a result of publisher's uncooperative stance and encourage initiatives that aim to improve open electronic access. CONCLUSIONS: The permission request process has been expensive and has resulted in reduced access for students to the relevant literature. Variations in the responses from publishers suggest that for educational purposes common policies could be agreed and unnecessary restrictions removed in the future. (+info)
Rheumatology training in the United Kingdom: the trainees' perspective.
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BACKGROUND: Rheumatology training has undergone significant changes in the last decade with Calmanization, implementation of the New Deal for junior doctors and newer educational strategies for improving musculoskeletal training, like a core curriculum. However, concerns have been expressed about the quality of postgraduate training programmes in the UK. OBJECTIVES: First, to assess current trainees' perceptions of the quality of core and subspecialty training, the impact of workload on training, and to explore demographic variations in training experience. Secondly, to identify educational strategies that trainees felt would enhance their training. METHODS: The questionnaire was initially distributed to all specialist registrars attending the BSR Annual Meeting in Brighton in April 2002. Subsequently, the questionnaire was posted to all registrars on the Joint Committee for Higher Medical Training list with a reminder after 4 weeks. RESULTS: Trainees rated positively training in routine patient care, musculoskeletal examination and injection skills while training in primary care rheumatology, epidemiology, paediatric rheumatology and sports medicine was rated negatively. There is agreement that the reduction in junior doctors' hours has adversely affected training, and issues relating to workload have overtaken training issues. Trainees undertaking dual accreditation are more likely to feel this. Educational strategies deemed to enhance training included training workshops focused on specific topics, such as musculoskeletal radiology (89.2%), and an adequate debriefing session after an out-patient clinic (81.6%). An independently administered, reliable and valid scale for quality of training could be used to assess regional variations in training and monitoring quality. CONCLUSIONS: The changes to junior doctors' hours, the working patterns of doctors and service commitments have all affected the quality and time available for certain aspects of rheumatological training. A major effort to enhance quality is necessary to ensure that the objectives of training are met within the intended training budget. (+info)
Musculoskeletal ultrasound--a state of the art review in rheumatology. Part 1: Current controversies and issues in the development of musculoskeletal ultrasound in rheumatology.
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As we begin the 21st century, musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) is routinely used by an increasing number of rheumatologists throughout Europe and there is a growing interest in the application of MSUS in rheumatological practice in the UK. MSUS allows high-resolution, real-time imaging of articular and periarticular structures and has the advantages of being non-radioactive, inexpensive, portable, highly acceptable to patients and repeatable. There are a number of critical issues that need to be addressed in order to develop the role of MSUS within rheumatology. These include issues of equipment costs, training and certification and the relationship of rheumatologists and radiologists in advancing the field of MSUS. Rheumatologists must demonstrate the relevance of MSUS in their clinical practice through high-quality research. Emerging technologies such as power Doppler and 3D imaging will further improve imaging capabilities and the range of clinical applications of MSUS systems. This paper reviews how MSUS in rheumatology has evolved and the controversies and issues that rheumatologists must now address in developing MSUS as an indispensable, everyday clinical tool. (+info)