ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Communication is essential to building a trusting, clinician-patient relationship. Multiple studies have demonstrated the effects of experiential communication training on patient experience and provider well-being and resiliency. To date, no studies have described an organization-wide communication training program for pediatric clinicians. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a pediatric-focused communication course on provider satisfaction, self-efficacy, and burnout. METHODS: Texas Children's Hospital, in collaboration with the Academy on Communication in Healthcare, designed and implemented a pediatric focused communication course entitled Breakthrough Communication. Pre, immediate-post, and 3-month postcourse completion online surveys were sent to participants 1 day before, 1 day after, and 3 months after course completion. Participant demographic information, self-assessment of communication skills, the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey, and postcourse satisfaction data were collected. RESULTS: Participants reported high course satisfaction and improved self-efficacy in all measured skill sets both following and 3 months after course completion. Trends indicating a reduction in provider burnout improved in 2 of the 3 Maslach Burnout Inventory domains; however, statistical significance was not achieved. CONCLUSIONS: A pediatric-focused communication course was well received by multi-specialty clinicians within a large, academic health care organization. This course enhanced clinician self-efficacy with newly learned pediatric encounter specific communication skills.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Infection with BK virus (BKV) generally occurs early during life, but its mode of transmission has not been clearly defined. We tested the hypothesis that polyomavirus shedding in stool may be a source of BKV exposure.METHODS. Pediatric stool and rectal swab samples were tested for the presence of polyomavirus DNA by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that could detect a conserved region in the large T antigen gene of BKV, JC virus (JCV), and simian virus 40 (SV40). The specific viruses detected by this assay were confirmed by DNA sequence analysis of the PCR amplicons.Results. Of 120 samples collected from 99 patients, 54 (45.0%) were positive for polyomavirus DNA. Of the 99 patients, 46 (46.5%) had at least 1 positive sample, with 38 (38.4%) positive for BKV and 8 (8.1%) positive for SV40. JCV was not detected. There was no association between polyomavirus fecal shedding and age, sex, race/ethnicity, immune status, or symptoms of gastrointestinal disease in the children studied. The BKV strains detected displayed polymorphisms in the T antigen sequence.Conclusions. Polyomaviruses are frequently present in stool samples from hospitalized children. These findings suggest that fecal-oral transmission of BKV may play a role in the ubiquity of infection.