Feasibility and Acceptability of Using Television Clips to Teach Communication Skills.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to conduct an innovative seminar that was developed by using clips from the television program ER to teach/reinforce key concepts of effective communication for didactic phase physician assistant (PA) students. METHODS: Interactive, 2-hour , small group seminars were conducted as part of the PA curriculum. Demographic data, as well as information about prior exposure to medical-related television shows and interest in specific medical disciplines, were collected at baseline. The evaluation of this unconventional teaching strategy was completed via a post-activity self-administered, electronic survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated for closed-ended questions, and a thematic analysis approach was used to examine open-ended questions. RESULTS: Approximately two-thirds (n = 49) of the students who attended the seminars completed both the baseline and post-activity surveys. The seminars were well-received, with 94% of respondents indicating they would like to participate in similar trainings in the future. The primary suggestion was to use clips from multiple television programs. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that this instructional format was highly acceptable to modern PA students, who yearn for an amalgamation of education and entertainment. Future work could examine the influence of the seminar on students' communication in clinical environments.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Violations by Physician Assistant Students: Applying Laws to Clinical Vignettes.

Students enrolled in medical schools, nursing schools, and physician assistant (PA) programs are required to have instruction on patient privacy and protection of health-related information. The medical literature has several examples of breaches of patient privacy by clinicians, which likely represents only a fraction of the violations that occur. Patient privacy and the protection of health-related information constitute both an ethical issue and a legal issue and are associated with significant consequences. Medical, PA, and allied health students are required to comply with the same federal laws related to patient privacy and confidentiality as licensed professionals. Universities must work diligently to create a culture in which students are taught about the legal requirements of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and are held accountable for compliance with such requirements. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act must be considered part of standard classroom instruction and be embedded and upheld at all clinical training sites. We present a series of 7 HIPAA violations by PA students, along with a brief description of the HIPAA provisions associated with each case. These real-life examples provide a comprehensive overview of important HIPAA components and illustrate how easily violations can occur in clinical settings.

Changes in the incidence and predictors of wasting syndrome related to human immunodeficiency virus infection, 1987-1999.

The authors examined the impact of potent antiretroviral therapy (ART) on the diagnosis of wasting syndrome in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. Study time was divided into the periods 1988-1990, 1991-1993, 1994-1995, and 1996-1999 to correspond to different treatment eras. The proportion of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome diagnoses in which wasting was present increased from 5% in 1988-1990 to 7.1% in 1991-1993, 7.7% in 1994-1995, and 18.9% in 1996-1999. The incidence of wasting per 1,000 person-years increased from 7.5 in 1988-1990 to 14.4 in 1991-1993 and 22.1 in 1994-1995; it decreased to 13.4 in 1996-1999. Fewer patients with wasting had low hemoglobin and hematocrit levels and reported oral thrush in 1996-1999 than in any other period. Analysis of change in body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) after wasting showed a faster return to prewasting levels in 1994-1995 and 1996-1999 than in earlier periods. Case-control analysis showed that wasting prior to 1996 was weakly associated with fatigue (p = 0.10), low hemoglobin (p = 0.11), and CD4-positive T-lymphocyte count (p = 0.04). During 1996-1999, wasting was weakly associated with diarrhea (p = 0.05) and potent ART (p = 0.097). Predictors of wasting have changed with potent ART. Further research is needed to determine whether lipodystrophy may be misdiagnosed as wasting syndrome.