Incorporating special needs simulations into allied dental education curriculum to encourage inclusion, understanding, and empathy: A mixed method study.

OBJECTIVES: Allied dental practitioners increasingly encounter demands specific to treating patients with special needs and disabilities. New standards by the Commission on Dental Accreditation require dental and allied dental graduates to have didactic and skill-based competencies to ensure awareness of and effective treatment and recommendations for these patients. This study sought to determine if adding a special needs simulation activity into allied dental students' curriculum would increase the student's awareness of and comfort level when treating patients with special needs. METHODS: This mixed-methods study measures student perceptions specific to the efficacy of adding special needs simulations into the allied dental program curriculum. Graduating dental assistants and dental hygienists (n = 65) participated and were paired within their cohort. Didactic instruction specific to the diagnoses of cerebrovascular accident (CVA), macular degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, and hearing impairment was provided. Following formal classroom instruction, pairs of students participated in simulation stations, one for each of the listed diagnoses. A pre-/postsurvey was given to evaluate any changes in student perceptions of patients with special needs, and a Student Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ) postsurvey provided to evaluate their perception of the educational activity. RESULTS: All 65 participants completed the pre- and postsurveys for a 100% response rate, and 61 (93.8%) completed the SEEQ. SPSS software was utilized to run a Wilcoxen Signed Ranks Test to determine significance for each pre-/postsurvey question to determine any statistically significant (p < .05) differences. Means and standard deviations were calculated for each survey item including SEEQ. There were significant differences for each question, and, overall, in participant's perceptions from the presurvey to the postsurvey. Most notable were the positive changes related to the participants' ability to relate to persons with special needs, their awareness of various special needs, and their increased knowledge of available adaptive oral health equipment. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, students feel better prepared to treat clients with special needs after guided instruction within their respected dental hygiene and/or dental assisting programs. The incorporation of lecture and lab content through simulated activities enhances their perceptions, confidence, and preparedness to effectively treat, accommodate, and educate special needs patient's.

Sophomore nursing students' perception of their Professional Behavior toward Rehabilitation patients: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Rehabilitation is considered one of the elements of universal health coverage, emphasizing its importance for every person in need throughout the life course. Nurses play a pivotal role in the rehabilitation team as they possess the competencies to help individuals manage health problems and maximize potential well-being. Yet, little is known regarding knowledge of this subject among nursing students, as well as regarding their attitudes, thoughts, and professional behavior. This study aimed to explore: (a) Sophomore students' attitudes, feelings, thoughts, and professional behavior toward rehabilitation patients; and (b) Differences in the research variables as affected by students' previous exposure to rehabilitation patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design among sophomore nursing students. A questionnaire was distributed through a commercial internet survey provider (Qualtrics.com) before the beginning of a mandatory course on "nursing rehabilitation", introduced for the first time in 2022 in all Israeli universities. Students were divided into three groups according to their previous exposure to rehabilitation patients: no professional or personal previous exposure to rehabilitation patients; previous professional or personal exposure to rehabilitation patients; and previous exposure to rehabilitation patients both in one's professional and personal life. The study adhered to the STROBE guidelines. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 122 participants. Significant differences were found between the groups by their previous exposure to rehabilitation patients. Participants with no previous exposure to rehabilitation patients were found to have lower self-perceived capability to care for rehabilitation patients and more negative professional behavior toward rehabilitation patients and their families compared to the other two groups (H = 22.06, p = 0.006, H = 23.86, p = 0.03, respectively). No other statistical differences were observed between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings emphasize the importance of exposing students to the field of nursing rehabilitation and to the care of rehabilitation patients. Exposure to nursing rehabilitation specifically during one's studies, through theoretical learning and clinical experience, can promote positive attitudes, professional values, and positive professional behavior toward these patients and their families.

Ethics in Clinical Orthopedic Surgery.

Introduction: Orthopedic surgeons, owing to their specialized role, have a set of medical and moral responsibilities that span beyond the confines of the operating room. The primary objective of this exploration is to emphasize the pivotal ethical and professional standards that these surgeons should uphold. Methodology: We derived key ethical and professional aspects by reviewing standard medical practices, professional guidelines, and through consultations with senior orthopedic professionals. These aspects covered both the conduct inside the surgery room and the interpersonal relations outside. Results: Several core areas of conduct were identified.Patient-Centered Care: Prioritizing the holistic well-being of the patient.Communication: Ensuring that all communications are both transparent and respectful.Informed Consent: Properly securing consent after ensuring the patient is adequately informed.Confidentiality: Taking measures to safeguard patient information.Professional Behavior: Upholding the highest standards of professional conduct.Continuous Learning: Remaining committed to updating skills and enhancing competence.Interpersonal Relations: Building healthy and constructive relationships with industry representatives, professional peers, and hospital staff.Personal Life Balance: Recognizing the importance of a balanced personal and professional life for holistic well-being. Conclusion: For Orthopedic surgeons, strict adherence to the outlined ethical and professional principles is essential. Such commitment not only ensures the trust and safety of patients but also serves to maintain and elevate the prestigious standing of the orthopedic community in the broader medical landscape.

A 10-year longitudinal study of dental students' emotional intelligence and the impact of COVID-19.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Emotional intelligence (EI) supports the clinical and social competencies of a practicing dentist. Reuven Bar-On's EI model is an array of inter-related emotional and social competencies, skills, and behaviors, which consist of five key domains: Self-Perception, Self-Expression, Interpersonal, Decision Making, and Stress Management, and associated with the domains are 15 emotional quotient (EQ) subskills. This study measured the impact of COVID-19 on dental students' EI by comparing measures pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 matriculation. METHODS: This retrospective longitudinal study measured EI with the EQ-i 2.0 for higher education. Dental students completed an EQ-i 2.0 assessment (Attempt) at the beginning of matriculation, at the mid-point, and prior to graduation. Ten groups were included, of which the first three completed matriculation prior to the pandemic and the remaining seven matriculated during timeframes intersecting at different times during the pandemic. A paired t-test dependent sample of means (p ≤ 0.05) compared EQ scores for each attempt for all groups. The study compared means for three EQ attempts with the t-test independent sample of means (p ≤ 0.05) for cohorts matriculating pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19. RESULTS: The pre-COVID-19 groups showed significant increases in EQ with each subsequent attempt. COVID-19-impacted groups demonstrated significant increase in Stress Tolerance and significant decreases, most notably in the domains of Interpersonal and Self-Perception, and subscales of Optimism and Happiness. CONCLUSION(S): COVID-19-related stressors impacted dental students' EI as multiple EI areas declined significantly. Dental educators should minimize organizational stressors and support EI during years 2 and 3 of matriculation.

The most influence factor of the medical competence achievement regarding patient management ability on medical school graduates.

PURPOSE: A doctor's professional behavior and clinical competency reflect a range of personal and interpersonal qualities, attributes, commitments, and values. This study aimed to identify the most influential factor of medical competence regarding patient management ability. METHODS: We used an analytic observational design with a cross-sectional approach, and gathered the perceptions of medical school graduates of Bandung Islamic University via an online questionnaire scored on a Likert scale. Two hundred and six medical graduates who graduated at least 3 years prior to survey were included in the study. The factors evaluated included humanism, cognitive competence, clinical skill competence, professional behavior, patient management ability, and interpersonal skill. IBM AMOS ver. 26.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, USA) was used for structural equation modelling of the six variables latent and 35 indicator variables. RESULTS: We found that graduates have highly positive perceptions of the humanism (95.67%). Followed by interpersonal skills (91.26%), patient management (89.53%), professional behavior (88.47%), and cognitive competence (87.12%). They rated clinical skill competence the lowest (81.7%). Regarding factors that contribute to patient management ability, the aspects of humanism, interpersonal skill, and professional behavior were found to significantly affect patient management ability (p-value=0.035, 0.00, and 0.00, respectively) with a critical rate of 2.11, 4.31, and 4.26 consecutively. CONCLUSION: Humanism and interpersonal skill are two important factors that medical graduates assessed very positively. According to surveyed medical graduates, their expectations of the institution were met regarding humanism. However, there is a need to strengthen medical students' clinical skills and improve their cognitive abilities through educational programs.

OMS residents' obstructive sleep apnea-related education, knowledge, and professional behavior: A national survey.

OBJECTIVES: Oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMS) treat adult and pediatric patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Objective 1 assessed sleep apnea-related education, knowledge, and professional behavior of OMS residents in the United States. Objective 2 was to compare the responses of junior versus senior residents and residents in single- versus dual-degree programs. METHODS: OMS residents in the United States received a recruitment email with a link to an anonymous online survey; 81 residents responded. The survey included 20 questions to assess respondents' OSA-related education, knowledge, attitudes, and professional behavior. RESULTS: Respondents generally agreed that they had received OSA-related didactic-based education (5-point scale with "5" = agree strongly: mean = 3.62) and clinical training (mean = 3.75). Clinical and classroom educational gaps were identified in relation to treatment with oral appliances and hypoglossal nerve stimulation. The residents scored on average 10.38 out of 18 (58%) possible correct answer points for the knowledge questions. Findings about pediatric OSA suggest that only 43.8% of residents understand diagnostic criteria for pediatric OSA, with only 26.6% screening pediatric patients for OSA. A case analysis showed that only 1.5% of residents correctly identified an apnea-hypopnea index of 17 as moderate sleep apnea. CONCLUSION(S): This survey found knowledge gaps in several areas that can be improved upon. It identifies deficiency in objective knowledge about OSA among OMS residents and a specific lack of clinical training and confidence with hypoglossal nerve stimulation and management of pediatric patients with OSA. Junior and senior residents and single- and dual-degree residents showed no statistically significant differences in any category except senior residents in regard to surgical management of OSA, particularly with maxillomandibular advancement.

Establishing the Need for Standardized Clinical Educator Training Programs for Medical Laboratory Professionals.

BACKROUND: There is minimal, if any, training for clinical educators in medical laboratory professions. This leads to challenges with teaching, assessment and workload/training balance. Hence, the need for standardized clinical educator training. METHOD: A survey was developed, validated and deployed to medical laboratory professionals. Responses were analyzed using SPSS. Responses from two open-ended questions-is clinical educators' training important and how is this training beneficial?-were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Most participants indicated that clinical educator training is important (99.4%). However, 72.4% received no formal training prior to training student. Themes from the importance of training include: Equip clinical educators, body of knowledge, standardize training and quality of training. Themes that emerged from the benefits of clinical educators training involve Training content, logistics, professional behavior and technical skills. CONCLUSION: Clinical educators' training is crucial and valuable. Standardized training on pedagogy and other success strategies are warranted for successful clinical experiences.

Work Ethics and Ethical Attitudes among Healthcare Professionals: The Role of Leadership Skills in Determining Ethics Construct and Professional Behaviors.

(1) Background: The provision of healthcare is transforming, necessitating changes in descriptions and frameworks for ethical leadership. This study aimed to assess the association of the different leadership skills with the work ethical constructs and attitudes among healthcare professionals. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study design using a snowball sampling technique was used to enroll healthcare practitioners. The questionnaire used in this study included two parts: the first part gathered the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, while the second part consisted of three validated assessment scales, i.e., work ethics, ethical attitudes questionnaire for public health professionals, and leadership skills questionnaire. (3) Results: Higher work ethics and a higher intrinsic work motivation subscale were significantly associated with high leadership administrative skills (Beta = 6.04, p = 0.019, and Beta = 2.55, p < 0.001, respectively). However, higher leadership conceptual skills (Beta = −1.07, p = 0.027) were associated with a lower intrinsic work motivation subscale. Higher leadership administrative skills (Beta = 28.39, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with higher ethical attitudes scores. (4) Conclusions: Higher administrative leadership has an imperative positive impact on work ethic in the provision of different public health services. Leadership skills are not limited to a specific profession, experience, or career stage of health care, and could significantly predict the individual ethical attitude and professional behavior.

Social media use, professional behaviors online, and perceptions toward e-professionalism among dental students.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess self-reported social media use, professional behaviors online, and perceptions on e-professionalism while using social media among dental students in two Southeast Asian universities. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved clinical dental students at University of Malaya (UM), Malaysia (n = 150) and Airlangga University (AU), Indonesia (n = 150). A questionnaire was distributed using Google Form via WhatsApp network. Data were analyzed using descriptive, Chi-square, and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. RESULTS: All students responded (n = 300) and reported as active social media users. Majority spent ≥ 1 h a day on social media and checked their social media > 6 times a day. Most commonly used social media accounts were Instagram (UM: 92.7%, AU: 95.3%) and Facebook (UM: 94.7%, AU: 59.3%). A small proportion of UM and AU students admitted to posting clinical photographs, patient records, and comments about patients on social media. UM students had significantly better scores in terms of their professionalism behaviors on maintaining the integrity of the profession compared to AU students (p < 0.001). Meanwhile AU students had better scores than UM students on behaviors related to upholding colleagues' professional image on social media (p = 0.421). Most students in UM and AU shared similar positive perceptions toward online professionalism behavior statements. Majority reported concerns over unprofessional posts online. CONCLUSION: Self-reported behaviors online sometimes contradict with students' perceptions and concerns about being unprofessional online. There is a need for clearer educational guidelines on how to instill e-professionalism values and behaviors among dental students.

An insightful evaluation of professionalism among dentistry students.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to explore the ambience of professionalism related to academic integrity among undergraduate dental students. METHODOLOGY: "Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory I: Academic Integrity" was used to collect responses from first-year to fifth-year dental students of the College of Dentistry, King Saud University (Response rate = 78%). The participants' responses (for 34 professionalism lapses) were recorded by using the Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and T-tests (P < 0.05). RESULTS: The "Ignore" sanction was not opted for any of the 34 professionalism behaviors, and there was unanimous agreement between the participants in considering all 34 behavior statements to be "wrong". Male and female participants were found to opt for a similar sanction as the median for 16 statements (47%), whereas, for 18 statements (53%), their responses differed with a range of levels 0.5 to 1.5. Preclinical- and clinical-year student responses also showed similarities in their 11 statements (32.3%), and they did differ for 20 statements (58.8%). Interestingly, clinical year respondents were overall on the stricter side of recommending sanctions. CONCLUSIONS: For the majority of the dental students tested, there was a good understanding of the significance of some lapses of professionalism associated with academic integrity. Some of the disclosures in this study were substantially appreciable because none of the students selected "ignore" sanction for any of the survey statements. We found that using the Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory for learning and understanding academic professionalism among dental students is useful.

On intimate relationships between healthcare professionals and patients: a nationwide cohort analysis of medical tribunal decisions in the Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: We examine the incidence of medical tribunal decisions and disciplinary actions (DAs) against healthcare professionals (HCPs). In addition, we studied whether an intimate relationship between an HCP and patient as part of the medical tribunal decision is associated with an increased likelihood of disciplinary actions. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide cohort analysis on the downloadable medical tribunal decisions from a medical disciplinary tribunal in the Netherlands from 2010 to 2017. RESULTS: We found that 117 (2.8%) of the 4,046 medical tribunal decisions involved an alleged intimate relationship between an HCP and patient. In these medical tribunal decisions the likelihood of a disciplinary action was significantly increased (odds ratio [OR] 12.97, 95% Confidence Interval [95% CI] 7.11-23.64). In addition, we found that nurses and psychiatrists are more frequently accused of and receive disciplinary actions due to intimate relationships than other HCP groups. CONCLUSIONS: We found a limited number of medical tribunal decisions involving an intimate relationship. Especially given the total number of medical tribunal decisions and the number of yearly HCP-patient interactions, the number appears small. Furthermore, an alleged intimate relationship or inappropriate sexual conduct is associated with an increased likelihood of disciplinary action. Future research should obtain statistics on the number of intimate relationships that actually start between HCPs and patients.

Relationship between nursing students' perceptions of clinical instructor caring and their professional behaviors.

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between nursing students' perceptions of clinical instructor caring and their professional behaviors. METHOD: This study used a descriptive and cross-sectional design. The data were analyzed with Pearson's correlation and Linear regression analyses. RESULTS: The professional behaviors of nursing students were found to increase their desire to become a nurse in the future with "instills confidence through caring" and "supportive learning climate" subscales but to decrease their desire to be an academician in the future. CONCLUSION: As students' perceptions of clinical instructor caring increased, their status of applying professional behaviors was found to increase, as well. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: Descriptive characteristics and clinical instructor caring are related to high professional behaviors in nursing students.

Examination of the professional values of the nurses and the associated factors.

PURPOSE: This study is conducted to examine the professional values of nurses and their personal and professional characteristics affecting these values. DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 369 nurses completed a questionnaire on personal information and nursing professional values scale (NPVS-R). FINDINGS: The total scores of the nurses on the NPVS-R were found to be 100.87 ± 21.07, and the item mean scores were found to be 3.87 ± 0.81. When the scores for individual scale factors were examined, the highest scores were observed for the "caring" (4.02 ± 0.87) and "activism" (3.90 ± 0.89) factors. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The fact that nurses are aware of their individual values and how these values affect their behavior can be a guide in human-focused value nursing planning.

Assessment of dental residents' professionalism through Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise (P-MEX).

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the professional behavior of dental residents through Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise (P-MEX). METHODS: This was a descriptive-analytical study. Content validity of P-MEX form was investigated for use in the context of dentistry. A total of 24-item version of P-MEX consisted of doctor-patient relationship skills (n = 7), reflective skills (n = 5), time management (n = 3), and interprofessional relationship skills (n = 9) was used in the present study. Residents in different dental specialties (n = 56) were evaluated by trained raters (448 times). Data were analyzed by descriptive (mean, SD) and analytical tests (Pearson, ANOVA, and post hoc test (Bonferroni)). RESULTS: Validity of P-MEX was approved in the field of dentistry. The mean score of professional behavior in residents were reported 2.79 ± 0.24, with minimum and maximum scores of 2.17 and 3.62, respectively. The residents' professional behavior in the domain of reflective skills and doctor-patient relationship skills were lower than the other domains. CONCLUSION(S): The results showed that the scores of professional behavior among dental residents were classified in the below expectation level and their scores have followed a downward trend from the second year. Therefore, planning for training and continuous assessment of professional behavior among residents in the faculty of dentistry should be considered.

Video cases as tricksters, in medical students´ transition to psychiatric clerkship. A liminal perspective.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. OBJECTIVE: This study introduced a lens of liminal theory, drawn from anthropological classical ritual theory, to explore how a preparatory teaching format using video casesinfluenced medical students' patient approaches in their subsequent psychiatric clerkship. The video cases portrayed simulated patient-doctor encounters in diagnostic interview situations and were hypothesized to function as a liminal trickster. METHODS: The study applied a qualitative explorative design using individual rich picture interviews. We asked the students to draw their experiences, which we investigated using a semi-structured interview guide designed to capture and unfold the students' perspectives. We explored how students navigated insights from the preparatory teaching in their clerkship using liminal theory concepts in a mixed inductive and deductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: The results from 8 rich picture interviews demonstrated that students' ability to navigate insight gained from the video cases in their clerkship varied according to their roles in the clinical diagnostic interview situations. Students having active roles in the diagnostic interview situation adopted a patient-centred focus demonstrating empathic engagement and self-reflexivity related to their learning experiences with the video cases. Students with passive roles described a focus on how to adopt an appropriate appearance and copied the behaviour of the simulated doctors in the video cases. CONCLUSION: The liminal ritual theory perspective to explore the influence of preparatory teaching was useful for demonstrating how video cases could affect students' patient-centred learning. Without guidance and active roles in clerkship, medical students' learning experiences may lead to a prolonged liminal phase and may not capitalise on the potentially positive effects of the preparatory teaching. Liminal theory may further inform our understanding of students' learning considering patient cases in educational technology arrangements as tricksters.

Personal factors affecting medical professionalism: a qualitative study in Iran.

Professional behavior with patients and interactions with colleagues, the institution and professional bodies are influenced by many factors. The purpose of this manuscript is to clarify those personal factors affecting medical professionalism in clinical settings affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences. For this purpose, a qualitative study was carried out. One hundred and eighty-two participants were recruited through purposive sampling of clinical staff, physicians, and medical students in Tehran. Data were collected through 22 focus group discussions, and conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data. The results were reported in five categories to present the participants' views. Categories were extracted from 103 codes and consisted of 1) people's belief in professionalism, 2) personality traits, 3) problems in family, 4) mental or physical health status, and 5) communication skills. The results showed that despite the facilitator roles of some personal factors, others act as barriers to professional behaviors. In order to control their impact, it is crucial to pay attention to them at the time of student/staff selection. Strengthening support systems in the organization is also essential for decreasing the effect of family problems or physical and mental health problems.

Teaching Professional Behavior.

The goal of this article is to discuss the teaching of professional behavior to nuclear medicine technologists. The focus is on the present-day student situation and practices in the programs at Bellevue College and at Oregon Institute of Technology. Professional behavior is defined, and ways to communicate and assess it are described. Additionally, approaches to remedy unprofessional behavior are presented. The needs and expectations of clinical sites and of future employers of nuclear medicine graduates, as well as current avenues for promoting professionalism, are also discussed.

Hospital administration response to physician stress and burnout.

Recent studies have documented the alarming degree of physician stress and burnout that has affected physician attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Growing dissatisfaction, irritability, and frustration has negatively impacted physician ideals and attitudes which can lead to compromised health care relationships with impaired communication, collaboration, and coordination that can adversely affect satisfaction, clinical performance, and patient outcomes of care. For the most part physicians on their own have a difficult time recognizing or admitting that they are working under stress and burnout conditions, and even if they do, are reluctant to do anything about it. In this regard it is essential for the organization(s) in which the physician is involved with to take a pro- active role in providing support services to help physicians address this issue in a more empathetic, effective, and constructive manner.