Ethics Education in Professional Psychology: A Survey of American Psychological Association Accredited Programs

Professional psychologists are expected to know ethical standards and engage in proactive analysis of ethical considerations across professional roles (e.g., practice, research, teaching). Yet, little is known about the current state of doctoral ethics education in professional psychology, including the content covered and pedagogical strategies used to ensure developing this core component of professional competency (de las Fuentes, Willmuth, & Yarrow, 2005). A survey of ethics educators from APAaccredited programs across the United States and Canada resulted in 136 instructors reporting on their program\u27s ethics training. The majority of questionnaires returned were from PhD programs (77.9%). A substantial number of programs were clinical (59.6%) and followed a scientist practitioner training model (69.9%). The response rate across specialties ranged from 34.5% to 41.4%. Nearly all (95.6%) reported having a required ethics course. Lectures (95.6%) were the most common teaching method reported. Fully 100% of ethics educators reported teaching about mandated reporting and informed consent to treatment. An overwhelming majority (90% and above) covered the same 11 other topics, showing notable convergence in content. The most commonly used document across programs (99.3%) was the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA, 2010). The most common type of assignment was reading (94.1%), and the most common teaching practice was teaching by example (90.4%). Finally the most endorsed teaching goal was advancement of critical thinking (94.9%). Implications for ethics education and future research directions are described. © 2014 American Psychological Association

Effects on Tissue Integration of Collagen Scaffolds Used for Local Delivery of Gentamicin in a Rat Mandible Defect Model

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a common complication following orthopedic surgery. SSIs may occur secondary to traumatic or contaminated wounds or may result from invasive procedures. The development of biofilms is often associated with implanted materials used to stabilize injuries and to facilitate healing. Regardless of the source, SSIs can be challenging to treat. This has led to the development of devices that act simultaneously as local antibiotic delivery vehicles and as scaffolds for tissue regeneration. The goal for the aforementioned devices is to increase local drug concentration in order to enhance bactericidal activity while reducing the risk of systemic side effects and toxicity from the administered drug. The aims of this study were to assess the effect of antibiotic loading of a collagen matrix on the tissue integration of the matrix using a rat mandibular defect model. We hypothesized that the collagen matrix could load and elute gentamicin, that the collagen matrix would be cytocompatible in vitro, and that the local delivery of a high dose of gentamicin via loaded collagen matrix would negatively impact the tissue–scaffold interface. The results indicate that the collagen matrix could load and elute the antimicrobial gentamicin and that it was cytocompatible in vitro with or without the presence of gentamicin and found no significant impact on the tissue–scaffold interface when the device was loaded with a high dose of gentamicin

Continuous-Flow Bioseparation Using Microfabricated Anisotropic Nanofluidic Sieving Structures

The anisotropic nanofluidic-filter (nanofilter) array (ANAANAANA) is a unique molecular-sieving structure for separating biomolecules. In this protocol we describe the fabrication of planar and vertical ANAANAANA chips and how to perform continuous-flow bioseparation using them. This protocol is most useful for bioengineers who are interested in developing automated multistep chip-based bioanalysis systems and assumes previous cleanroom microfabrication knowledge. The ANAANAANA consists of a two-dimensional periodic nanofilter array, and the designed structural anisotropy of ANAANAANA causes different-sized or charged biomolecules to follow distinct trajectories under applied electric fields, leading to efficient continuous-flow separation. Using microfluidic channels surrounding the ANAANAANA, the fractionated biomolecule streams are collected and routed to different fluid channels or reservoirs for convenient sample recovery and downstream bioanalysis. The ANAANAANA is physically robust and can be reused repeatedly. Compared with the conventional gel-based separation techniques, ANAANAANA offers the potential for faster separation, higher throughput and more convenient sample recovery.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (EB005743)Korea Institute of Science and Technology-Intelligent Microsystems CenterSingapore-MIT AllianceMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Microsystems Technology Laboratorie