Faculty insights regarding incorporation of gender- and sex-related differences in the PharmD curriculum: Phase 2.

BACKGROUND: While pharmacists should be aware of gender and sex-related differences in treatment related decisions, this is not a required doctor of pharmacy curricular component. A regional pilot study demonstrated that approximately half of pharmacy practice faculty discussed these differences in their content area. The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent of inclusion of gender and sex-related differences on a national level in doctor of pharmacy curricula and to determine if faculty are comfortable teaching the topic. METHODS: An electronic message with a link to an online survey was distributed to 7250 faculty members at 139 colleges of pharmacy. The survey remained open for three weeks and potential participants received weekly email reminders. The survey was voluntary, and responses were de-identified. RESULTS: Overall, 641 faculty participated in the survey (8.8% response rate). Most respondents indicated that they do not teach about gender or sex-related differences (54.9%). Of those faculty reporting teaching gender and/or sex-related differences, 28% indicated that it was addressed in one clinical topic, while some (7.7%) indicated that the content was included in up to five topics. Half of faculty (53.6%) indicated that they believe this topic is somewhat important. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest that gender and sex-related differences are not adequately addressed in current pharmacy curricula.

Climate change and the surgeon: what is the problem? Why is it so hard? What can be done?

We know very well what causes climate change, and in general terms, what the dangers are. This is a new kind of environmental problem, it is not like taking lead out of petrol, and it is important to understand why responding to climate change is so challenging. But that is no reason to give up: in fact there are many opportunities to intervene, including actions that can be taken by surgeons and other health professionals.

Attitudes of Members of Genetics Professional Societies Toward Human Gene Editing.

Gene-editing technologies have improved in ease, efficiency, and precision. Although discussions are occurring around acceptable uses of human gene editing, limited data exist on the views of genetics-trained individuals. In 2017, we distributed an anonymous online survey to assess the attitudes of members of genetics professional societies toward gene editing (N = 500). Virtually all respondents were supportive of somatic editing in basic-science (99.2%) and clinical (87.4%) research on nonreproductive human cells. Only 57.2% were supportive of germline-editing basic-science research; 31.9% supported the transfer of viable embryos to humans for clinical research. While most favored future therapeutic uses of somatic (96.6%) and germline (77.8%) editing, there was little support for enhancement in somatic (13.0%) or germline (8.6%) cells. This study describes attitudes toward gene editing from genetics professionals worldwide and contributes to ongoing discourse and policy guidance in this domain.

[Ethical training as a support for the moral development of students in health sciences programs: towards a teaching focused on the needs of the student as a person]. / Formación ética como soporte del desarrollo moral del alumno de carreras de ciencias de la salud: hacia una enseñanza centrada en las necesidades del estudiante como persona.

Based on the epidemiological surveys on mental health applied to Health Science students of the School of Medicine (Medicine, Nursing, Obstetrics, Nutrition, and Medical Technology) of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, the author postulates that there are two ways to understand the teaching needs of ethics: 1) as a curricular strategy, with theoretical information through specific courses; and, 2) as a support to the moral development of the personality with diverse innovative methods. Based on the results of the surveys mentioned, which show lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts and dissocial behaviors greater than in the general population, it is proposed that such teaching shall be planned for two groups of students with different needs: 1) those without a mental health pathology and who can benefit from the regular curricular strategy; and, 2) those who, with mental health problems and indicators of difficulties in their social behavior, shall also be helped with techniques aimed at offering them support in their moral development. And that this educational challenge must be the responsibility of the university of the 21st century, under the question: What does our country need, health professionals who know ethics or who behave ethically?

Tomando como base las encuestas epidemiológicas sobre salud mental aplicadas a estudiantes de las Ciencias de la Salud de la Facultad de Medicina (Medicina, Enfermería, Obstetricia, Nutrición y Tecnología Médica) de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, el autor postula que existen dos formas de entender las necesidades de enseñanza de la ética: 1) Como estrategia curricular, con información teórica a través de cursos específicos; y, 2) Como soporte al desarrollo moral de la personalidad con diversas metódicas innovadoras. Apoyándose en los resultados de las encuestas citadas, que evidencian prevalencias de vida de intento suicida y conductas disociales mayores que en población general, se plantea que tal enseñanza debe planificarse para dos grupos de alumnos con diferentes necesidades: 1) Aquellos que sin patología de salud mental pueden beneficiarse con la estrategia curricular regular; y, 2) Aquellos que, presentando problemas de salud mental e indicadores de dificultades en su conducta social, deben, además, ser ayudados con técnicas orientadas a ofrecerles apoyo en su desarrollo moral. Y que este reto educativo debe ser responsabilidad de la universidad del siglo XXI, bajo la pregunta de ¿qué necesita nuestro país, profesionales de la salud que sepan ética o que se comporten éticamente?

Factors associated with scientific misconduct and questionable research practices in health professions education.

INTRODUCTION: Engaging in scientific misconduct and questionable research practices (QRPs) is a noted problem across fields, including health professions education (HPE). To mitigate these practices, other disciplines have enacted strategies based on researcher characteristics and practice factors. Thus, to inform HPE, this study seeks to determine which researcher characteristics and practice factors, if any, might explain the frequency of irresponsible research practices. METHOD: In 2017, a cross-sectional survey of HPE researchers was conducted. The survey included 66 items adapted from three published surveys: two published QRP surveys and a publication pressure scale. The outcome variable was a self-reported misconduct score, which is a weighted mean score for each respondent on all misconduct and QRP items. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability and correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression modelling. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In total, 590 researchers completed the survey. Results from the final regression model indicated that researcher age had a negative association with the misconduct score (b = -0.01, ß = -0.22, t = -2.91, p <0.05), suggesting that older researchers tended to report less misconduct. On the other hand, those with more publications had higher misconduct scores (b = 0.001, ß = 0.17, t = 3.27, p < 0.05) and, compared with researchers in the region of North America, researchers in Asia tended to have higher misconduct scores (b = 0.21, ß = 0.12, t = 2.84, p < 0.01). In addition, compared with those who defined their work role as clinician, those who defined their role as researcher tended to have higher misconduct scores (b = 0.12, ß = 0.13, t = 2.15, p < 0.05). Finally, publication pressure emerged as the strongest individual predictor of misconduct (b = 0.20, ß = 0.34, t = 7.82, p < 0.01); the greater the publication pressure, the greater the reported misconduct. Overall, the explanatory variables accounted for 21% of the variance in the misconduct score, with publication pressure accounting for 10% of the variance in the outcome, above and beyond the other explanatory variables. Although correlational, these findings suggest several researcher characteristics and practice factors that could be targeted to address scientific misconduct and QRPs in HPE.

Formación ética como soporte del desarrollo moral del alumno de carreras de ciencias de la salud: hacia una enseñanza centrada en las necesidades del estudiante como persona / Ethical training as a support for the moral development of students in health sciences programs: towards a teaching focused on the needs of the student as a person

Tomando como base las encuestas epidemiológicas sobre salud mental aplicadas a estudiantes de las Ciencias de la Salud de la Facultad de Medicina (Medicina, Enfermería, Obstetricia, Nutrición y Tecnología Médica) de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, el autor postula que existen dos formas de entender las necesidades de enseñanza de la ética: 1) Como estrategia curricular, con información teórica a través de cursos específicos; y, 2) Como soporte al desarrollo moral de la personalidad con diversas metódicas innovadoras. Apoyándose en los resultados de las encuestas citadas, que evidencian prevalencias de vida de intento suicida y conductas disociales mayores que en población general, se plantea que tal enseñanza debe planificarse para dos grupos de alumnos con diferentes necesidades: 1) Aquellos que sin patología de salud mental pueden beneficiarse con la estrategia curricular regular; y, 2) Aquellos que, presentando problemas de salud mental e indicadores de dificultades en su conducta social, deben, además, ser ayudados con técnicas orientadas a ofrecerles apoyo en su desarrollo moral. Y que este reto educativo debe ser responsabilidad de la universidad del siglo XXI, bajo la pregunta de ¿qué necesita nuestro país, profesionales de la salud que sepan ética o que se comporten éticamente?.

Based on the epidemiological surveys on mental health applied to Health Science students of the School of Medicine (Medicine, Nursing, Obstetrics, Nutrition, and Medical Technology) of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, the author postulates that there are two ways to understand the teaching needs of ethics: 1) as a curricular strategy, with theoretical information through specific courses; and, 2) as a support to the moral development of the personality with diverse innovative methods. Based on the results of the surveys mentioned, which show lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts and dissocial behaviors greater than in the general population, it is proposed that such teaching shall be planned for two groups of students with different needs: 1) those without a mental health pathology and who can benefit from the regular curricular strategy; and, 2) those who, with mental health problems and indicators of difficulties in their social behavior, shall also be helped with techniques aimed at offering them support in their moral development. And that this educational challenge must be the responsibility of the university of the 21st century, under the question: What does our country need, health professionals who know ethics or who behave ethically?.

There relations between professionals in the deontology codes of several professions of health.

A good care of people in the health field requires coordination among the professionals responsible for such care, both interdisciplinary and between levels of care. The ethical considerations that underlie, being fundamental, have been little studied in a specific way, although all the Codes of Deontology of the professions related to the health collect recommendations and suggestions regarding the relations between professionals. This article makes a reflective review on these recommendations and their importance in our care environment.

Local to global: Working together to meet the needs of vulnerable communities.

Since 2012, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) faculty from nursing and physical therapy (PT) have been working together towards a common goal: to meet the healthcare needs of vulnerable populations in Malawi and Milwaukee. Sharing valuable knowledge and understanding one another's professions have allowed us to develop interprofessional education (IPE) learning experiences for students to help identify how quality of life could be improved or enhanced for children and their families across two different geographic spaces, one in rural Malawi and the other in urban Milwaukee. IPE learning modules were implemented in UWM's community health-focused short-term study abroad programmes to Malawi. IPE learning modules were also piloted at one of UWM's nurse-managed community health centres, located in a low-income, African American community in the inner city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Based on survey data collected from 10 participating IPE students in Milwaukee, from nursing, occupational therapy, PT, and speech and language pathology, a pilot study yielded a statistically significant change in a positive direction for increased understanding of three interprofessional collaborative practice core competencies: values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, and teams and teamwork. In this article, we discuss the processes used to develop, implement, and evaluate IPE experiences for UWM students, which may enable other professionals to envision the various projects they can embark upon from an interprofessional perspective.

Learning professional ethics: Student experiences in a health mentor program.

BACKGROUND: The use of patient centred approaches to healthcare education is evolving, yet the effectiveness of these approaches in relation to professional ethics education is not well understood. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and learning of health profession students engaged in an ethics module as part of a Health Mentor Program at the University of Toronto. METHODS: Students were assigned to interprofessional groups representing seven professional programs and matched with a health mentor. The health mentors, individuals living with chronic health conditions, shared their experiences of the healthcare system through 90 minute semi-structured interviews with the students. Following the interviews, students completed self-reflective papers and engaged in facilitated asynchronous online discussions. Thematic analysis of reflections and discussions was used to uncover pertaining to student experiences and learning regarding professional ethics. RESULTS: Five major themes emerged from the data: (1) Patient autonomy and expertise in care; (2) ethical complexity and its inevitable reality in the clinical practice setting; (3) patient advocacy as an essential component of day-to-day practice; (4) qualities of remarkable clinicians that informed personal ideals for future practice; (5) patients' perspectives on clinician error and how they enabled suggestions for improving future practice. DISCUSSION: The findings of a study in one university context suggest that engagement with the health mentor narratives facilitated students' critical reflection related to their understanding of the principles of healthcare ethics.

Professional Hubris and its Consequences: Why Organizations of Health-Care Professions Should Not Adopt Ethically Controversial Positions.

In this article, I argue that professional healthcare organizations such as the AMA and ANA ought not to take controversial stances on professional ethics. I address the best putative arguments in favor of taking such stances, and argue that none are convincing. I then argue that the sort of stance-taking at issue has pernicious consequences: it stands to curb critical thought in social, political, and legal debates, increase moral distress among clinicians, and alienate clinicians from their professional societies. Thus, because there are no good arguments in favor of stance-taking and at least some risks in doing so, professional organizations should refrain from adopting the sort of ethically controversial positions at issue.