Honors students in the health professions: An academic-practice partnership for developing interprofessional competencies through simulation.

Abundant literature supports the value of interprofessional education (IPE) in health profession programs, but few studies focus on undergraduate honors students. The goals of this academic-practice partnership quality improvement project were to increase awareness of IPE, provide experiential opportunities to learn the principles of interprofessional practice, assess perceptions of readiness for practice, and to explore motivations and learning expectations of undergraduate nursing and pre-medical honors students. Average scores on the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) increased in several areas after the IPE simulation experiences, with small to medium effect sizes (Cohen's d) on individual items and two subscales (Teamwork & Collaboration and Positive Professional Identity). Themes identified in the narrative data were opportunity, fun, self-awareness, situational awareness, and the value of teamwork. These findings add to literature on honor students' expectations and motivations for learning and can be used in designing interprofessional collaborative learning activities for undergraduate health profession students.

Reliability and Validity of HeartSmartKids: A Survey of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Children.

INTRODUCTION: Reliable and valid instruments to measure counseling effectiveness related to eating, activity, and inactivity are lacking. HeartSmartKids (HSK; HeartSmartKids, LLC, Boulder, Colorado) is a bilingual decision-support technology that can be used to assess and counsel families on cardiovascular risk factors in children. The purpose of this study was to establish preliminary test-retest reliability and convergent validity of HSK questions relative to a previously validated questionnaire, HABITS. METHOD: Data were collected from children (ages 9-14 years) during an intervention study. A multitrait/multimethod correlation matrix framework was used to examine the test-retest reliability (n = 35) and convergent validity (n = 103) of HSK relative to HABITS. RESULTS: HSK had moderate/strong test-retest reliability and good convergent validity between HSK and HABITS. DISCUSSION: This study provides preliminary test-retest reliability and convergent validity of a useful clinical tool that can be used to quickly assess children's nutrition (e.g., fruit/vegetable consumption, snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages, breakfast) and activity habits to guide behavior change counseling. Additional work should be done validating HSK with objective measures.

Implementing a writing course in an online RN-BSN program.

Scholarly writing is an essential skill for nurses to communicate new research and evidence. Written communication directly relates to patient safety and quality of care. However, few online RN-BSN programs integrate writing instruction into their curricula. Nurses traditionally learn how to write from instructor feedback and often not until midway into their baccalaureate education. Innovative strategies are needed to help nurses apply critical thinking skills to writing. The authors discuss a collaborative project between nursing faculty and technical communication faculty to develop and implement a writing course that is 1 of the 1st courses the students take in the online RN-BSN program.

Reliability and validity of an instrument assessing nurses' attitudes about healthy work environments in hospitals.

AIM: To examine the psychometric properties of an instrument used to evaluate the work environment of direct care nurses employed in hospital settings. BACKGROUND: Healthy work environments are associated with increased retention and high-quality patient care. METHODS: Items for the instrument were based on the American Association of Critical Care Nurses' standards for a healthy work environment. Six items measured the individual's contribution to the work environment and six measured co-workers' contributions. Each item was graded on a scale from 'A=well above average' to 'F=failing'. The instrument was administered by nurse leaders to 210 direct care nurses in six hospitals. RESULTS: The Cronbach α was 0.75 for the self-rating subscale and 0.89 for the co-workers rating subscale. Administrators rated their co-workers significantly higher [n=32, mean (M)=2.69, standard deviation (SD)=0.63] than direct care nurses rated theirs (n=209, M=2.31, SD=0.83, P=0.03). Direct care nurses intending to stay in nursing rated co-workers significantly higher (n=170, M=2.35, SD=0.81) than those not intending to stay (n=22, M=1.87, SD=0.81, P=0.01). CONCLUSION: The instrument is a feasible, reliable and valid method for assessing the work environment. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The instrument can be used to assess the relationship of the work environment to nurse retention in hospitals.

Obesity prevention interventions for middle school-age children of ethnic minority: a review of the literature.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the current literature on interventions to reduce obesity in middle school-age children of ethnic minority. DESIGN AND METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted. RESULTS: A total of eight studies matched the inclusion criteria. Findings support personal, behavioral, and environmental factors that contribute to obesity in children, yet results for ethnic minorities were inconclusive. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Obesity research suggests that there is merit in addressing specific factors. This review highlights the absence of prevention interventions for middle school-age children, particularly of ethnic decent.

A program for simulated rodent surgical training.

For the inexperienced individual, learning surgical techniques can be taxing. The authors developed a rodent surgery dry lab training program to assist educational and research institutions in providing low-stress training for basic surgical techniques using handmade, cost-effective simulation models. The program not only helps students develop essential skills in basic surgery, but also fulfills the mandate of the 3Rs by allowing students to repeatedly practice and refine their skills on models rather than live animals. This type of training is a valuable tool in bridging the gap between computer training and training with live animals.

Clinical and immunopathologic findings in oral lichen planus pemphigoides.

Lichen planus pemphigoides (LPP) is a rare, acquired, immunobullous disorder of skin that occasionally involves oral mucous membranes. Clinical, histologic, and immunopathologic findings of the oral manifestations of LPP are described. Clinical features are lichenoid striae, erosions, and ulcerations involving gingiva and buccal mucosae. Histopathologic features are similar to those of ora lichen planus. Direct immunofluorescence demonstrates linear deposits of immunoglobulin G and complement component C3 along the basement membrane with fibrillar deposits of fibrin at the epithelial/lamina propria junction. Fluorescence overlay antigen mapping and laser scanning confocal microscopy of the biopsy specimen exhibits colocalization of in situ antibodies with beta4 integrin, a marker of the keratinocyte basal plasma membrane and upper lamina lucida, consistent with the location of the bullous pemphigoid antigens. This case report describes a case of LPP that presented exclusively as an oral condition. Lichen planus pemphigoides should be considered in the clinical differential diagnosis of vesiculoerosive oral mucosal diseases.

Fraternal birth order and ratio of heterosexual/homosexual feelings in women and men.

Studies of the 2-3% of persons who identify as homosexual found men but not women had more older brothers than persons who identify as heterosexual. The present study investigated the birth order in the approximately 20% of men and women who anonymously report some homosexual feelings, few of whom identify as homosexual. The number of older brothers and sisters was investigated in seven cohorts: 319 male twins; and 49, 54, and 61 female and 66, 116, and 50 male medical students. Both women and men who anonymously reported homosexual feelings had a greater mean number of older brothers and sisters than did those who reported no homosexual feelings. The difference was stronger in relation to brothers than sisters. The birth order effect was not related to the strength of the subjects' degree of homosexual compared with heterosexual feelings. Its presence in women could not be accounted for by the widely accepted hypothesis that the birth order effect is due to a maternal immune reaction provoked only by male fetuses. The lack of relationship between the strength of the effect and degree of homosexual feelings in the men and women suggests the influence of birth order on homosexual feelings was not due to a biological, but a social process in the subjects studied. Investigating the neglected significant percentage of predominantly heterosexual men and women who anonymously report some homosexual feelings may aid in understanding the factors influencing sexual orientation, and identity.

Intra-arterial carboplatin and intravenous etoposide for the treatment of recurrent and progressive non-GBM gliomas.

Recurrent and progressive non-GBM gliomas are a diverse group of brain tumors that often respond poorly to adjuvant chemotherapy treatment. Regional intra-arterial (IA) administration of chemotherapy may result in increased tumor uptake of drug, with improvement in response rates and time to progression (TTP). Twenty-five patients with recurrent or progressive non-GBM gliomas were treated with IA carboplatin (200 mg/m2/d) and intravenous (IV) etoposide (100 mg/m2/d) for 2 days every 4 weeks. Patients ranged in age from 22 to 68 years (mean 37.8). All but one patient had received standard irradiation, and eight patients had attempted prior chemotherapy. Five of 25 patients had objective responses (20%), while another 15 patients had stable disease (60%), receiving a total of 318 IA treatment procedures. There was one complete response (4.0%), three partial responses (12.0%), one minor response (4.0%), 15 stable diseases (60.0%), and five progressive diseases (20.0%). The median TTP was 24.2 weeks overall and 32 weeks in responders. Overall median survival was 34.2 weeks. Therapy was well tolerated, with mainly hematologic toxicity. Two patients had embolic complications. Although these are preliminary results, IA carboplatin and IV etoposide have modest activity against recurrent and progressive non-GBM gliomas and warrants further study.