Accelerated Education Intervention: A Pilot Study to Assess the Effectiveness of a Brief, Self-Paced Intervention to Prevent Burnout in Physician Assistant Students.

PURPOSE: Physician assistant (PA) programs have an academically rigorous curriculum, which places a myriad of pressures on students and contributes to burnout. The benefits of optimal quality and quantity of sleep are well documented, yet students still view sacrificing sleep as a necessary step in academic success. The purpose of this pilot study was to create behavior changes to promote optimal sleep hygiene in PA school and decrease measurements of burnout. METHODS: 39 PA students from a single institution volunteered to take part in an 8-week study. Wrist actigraphy was used to measure students' sleeping habits, resting heart rate, and physical activity. Additionally, the students completed a questionnaire regarding stimulant and sleep aid use and burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) at two time points. The intervention was 8 weeks in duration split into 2, 4-week blocks separated by a 1-hour, evidence-based education intervention to promote beneficial behavior change and sleep hygiene. RESULTS: Sleep duration, wake time, and bedtime remained consistent across the study period with no changes post-intervention (p > 0.05). Moderate to high levels of cynicism and emotional exhaustion were seen in more than three-quarters of students. There was no relationship between sleep duration and exam scores, heart rate, or steps. Shorter sleep duration predicted increased emotional exhaustion and cynicism (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Sleeping habits influence emotional well-being and are likely minimally affected by educational interventions alone. Combatting the high prevalence of burnout in PA schools can begin with targeting environmental and policy-level changes that can influence student recovery and well-being opportunities throughout the academic year.

Diabetes, Aging, and Insulin's Reponic Features: Review.

The aging process and the concomitant physiological changes that come with increasing age have been a focus of researchers and the general population for centuries. The pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the aging process was famously articulated by Aristotle, stating, "education is the best provision for old age." This remains true today in our quest to understand the physiological underpinnings of aging and the incessant attempt to slow or reverse many of the processes. The need to understand normal aging physiology is important to guide future targeted interventions to promote autonomy and prevent impairment of functioning. The risk of frailty, "vulnerability to stressors" and impaired or decreased functioning of a multitude of body systems is a major public health consideration for adults 65 years or older. While there has been a plethora of research on the aging effects of different systems throughout the body, the following literature review will focus on our recent understanding of the components of nutrient handling, specifically the endocrine system in older adults. By understanding the normal physiological changes that occur in response to nutrients, future interventions can be targeted to promote an extension of optimal functioning throughout the lifespan.

An Ergogenic Medical Education: Building Curricula to Optimize Performance and Decrease Burnout.

One of the most pervasive myths in our culture today is the belief that training increases performance. When, in fact, training decreases performance. The current structure of training programs and educational curriculums provide the evidence regarding the acceptance of this belief. Intense focus is placed on the quantity of training time with little regard for additional factors. In pursuit of excellence, maximizing training opportunity and learning exposure insists upon the sacrifice of recovery time. However, recovery is the necessary training period to increase performance. In athletics, training without recovery leads to overtraining syndrome. Burnout is the non-athletic equivalency seen in under-recovered learners and workers. As demonstrated by the climbing burnout rates, the current structure of educational programs, epitomized by medical residency, perpetuates the myth that more training equals better performance. The purpose of the article does not revolve around the presentation of novel research discoveries, but it insists upon the implementation of previously established performance data in curricula development beyond athletics. The inflection and deflection points along the growth and adaptation curves can be explicitly utilized to meet the educational and professional standards set forth by educational institutions. When tracking performance as the metric, initial training stimuli creates a descending slope, e.g., "training decreases performance." The concept that training creates a negative deflection is a neglected concept in academics. By incorporating this feature into learning environments, training can transition from surviving training redundancy to thriving with an optimal work:recovery ratio.