Interprofessional service-learning in a community setting: findings from a pilot study.

Interprofessional education is becoming more popular in higher education and service-learning has been a successful method to facilitate experiences that foster teamwork between professions. This report shares the results from an interprofessional service-learning project (ISLP) targeting students across eight disciplines (physician assistant, medicine, pharmacy, dietetic internship, physical therapy, master in health administration, nursing and biomedical science). The project used an existing resource, the South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium (SC-AHEC), to coordinate student learning across multiple regions and an established health promotion program curriculum for student outreach content. Participating students (n = 149) were evaluated to determine how the activity affected student appreciation and knowledge of their own and other professions, their interaction with other professional students, and student teamwork skills. Students found the most value in learning with students from other professions as part of the activity with lesser value placed on students increasing their knowledge about their profession's role in interprofessional work.

Video-recorded simulated patient interactions: can they help develop clinical and communication skills in today's learning environment?

It is difficult to provide real-world learning experiences for students to master clinical and communication skills. The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel instructional method using self- and peer-assessment, reflection, and technology to help students develop effective interpersonal and clinical skills. The teaching method is described by the constructivist learning theory and incorporates the use of educational technology. TEACHING METHOD: The learning activities were incorporated into the pre-clinical didactic curriculum. The students participated in two video-recording assignments and performed self-assessments on each and had a peer-assessment on the second video-recording. ASSESSMENT: The learning activity was evaluated through the self- and peer-assessments and an instructor-designed survey. This evaluation identified several themes related to the assignment, student performance, clinical behaviors and establishing rapport. Overall the students perceived that the learning activities assisted in the development of clinical and communication skills prior to direct patient care. CONCLUSION: The use of video recordings of a simulated history and examination is a unique learning activity for preclinical PT students in the development of clinical and communication skills.

Temperature change in lumbar periarticular tissue with continuous ultrasound.

STUDY DESIGN: Counterbalanced, within-subjects experimental design. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of continuous 1-MHz ultrasound, given at 1.5 W/cm2 and 2.0 W/cm2 for 10 minutes, on tissue temperature in the region of the L4-L5 zygapophyseal joint. BACKGROUND: Ultrasound is a modality commonly used for the treatment of lower back pain syndromes. Randomized controlled trials supporting the clinical effectiveness for ultrasound in the treatment of any type of lower back condition are lacking. While one purported purpose of ultrasound is the deep-heating effect, it has not been demonstrated that ultrasound can heat tissues in the area of the lumbar zygapophyseal joints, and the specific parameters needed for a heating effect have not been investigated. To aid in the design of the ultrasound intervention for future randomized controlled trials, it would be beneficial to have insight into the thermal effects of ultrasound on tissues of the lumbar spine and the parameters needed to produce a thermal effect. The present study examined the heating effect of ultrasound on periarticular tissue in the lumbar spine. METHODS AND MEASURES: Continuous, 1-MHz ultrasound at intensities of 1.5 W/cm2 and 2.0 W/cm2 was applied for 10 minutes to the lower back of 6 healthy individuals without lower back pain, while temperature measurements were taken with a hypodermic thermocouple implanted next to the L4-L5 zygapophyseal joint. ANOVA models were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Statistical analysis confirmed that the 2.0-W/cm2 ultrasound application produced (a) a more rapid increase in temperature over time, (b) a greater overall level of heating, and (c) significantly greater heating 6 minutes after the beginning of ultrasound administration. The mean terminal temperatures (at 10 minutes) obtained during the 1.5-W/cm2 and 2.0-W/cm2 ultrasound applications were 38.1 degrees C and 39.3 degrees C, respectively. CONCLUSION: Continuous 1-MHz ultrasound given at either 1.5-W/cm2 or 2.0-W/cm2 intensity has the capability of heating lumbar periarticular tissue. The higher-intensity ultrasound resulted in greater and faster temperature increase.