Speaking to the Head and the Heart: Prioritizing Empathetic Communication in the Post-COVID Workplace

As of August 2022, COVID-19 continues to affect our daily lives in physical, psychological, and financial ways. Many vulnerable individuals are struggling to adapt to returning to work and as a result, employee morale is at risk. In times of crises, empathy is needed in the workplace to support one another, but many leaders and employees may not have a firm grasp of the concept. This article seeks to define empathetic communication and explore the need for prioritizing empathy amid the current post-COVID-19 workplace. Through a literature review of empathy, psychological safety in the workplace, and crisis leadership, the author explains how the development of empathetic communication must be intentional to achieve sustainable change and lead to long-term organizational success. Practical recommendations are provided on how organizations should define empathetic communication, provide training for leaders and employees, and incorporate empathetic communication as a standard of responsibility for every employee to be assessed on a regular basis

Sophomores Reign On!: A Sophomore Student Success Model for Old Dominion University

The Division of Student Engagement and Enrollment Services at Old Dominion University (ODU) submitted a Request for Assistance to examine the challenges sophomore students face that can lead to attrition. A doctoral research team conducted an exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods study consisting of a literature review, focus groups and interviews with current ODU juniors and seniors, surveys of current ODU sophomores, staff, and faculty, and interviews with benchmark institutions that have successful sophomore student programming at their schools. The team explained the commonly found needs and barriers that sophomore students face, and specifically examined the expressed sophomore student challenges as revealed by ODU students, staff, and faculty. Findings indicated that there is a lack of transitional support, sophomore student development training, and a defined sophomore student experience at ODU. In response to these findings, the team created a sophomore student success model that recommends developing a sophomore orientation program, training staff and faculty on sophomore needs and development, creating a streamlined mentoring program, evaluating current academic advising models, and designing a Sophomore Year Experience (SYE)

The Effect of Molecular Rapid Diagnostic Testing on Clinical Outcomes in Bloodstream Infections: A Systematic Review & Meta-analysis

Background. Previous reports on molecular rapid diagnostic testing (mRDT) do not consistently demonstrate improved clinical outcomes in bloodstream infections (BSIs). This meta-analysis seeks to evaluate the impact of mRDT in improving clinical outcomes in BSIs. Methods. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Web of science, and EMBASE through May 2016 for BSI studies comparing clinical outcomes by mRDT and conventional microbiology methods. Results. Thirty-one studies were included with 5,920 patients. Risk of morality was significantly lower with mRDT as compared to conventional microbiology methods (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.54-0.80) yielding a NNT of 20. The risk of mortality was slightly lower with mRDT in studies with antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.51-0.79) and non-ASP studies failed to demonstrate a significant decrease in risk of mortality (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.46-1.12). Significant decreases in mortality risk were observed with both Gram-positive (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.55-0.97) and Gram-negative organisms (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.33-0.78) but not yeast (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.49-1.67). Time to effective therapy decreased by a weighted mean difference of -5.03 hours (95% CI -8.60 to -1.45) and length of stay decreased by -2.48 days (95% CI -3.90 to -1.06). Conclusions. For BSIs, mRDT was associated with significant decreases in risk of mortality in the presence of a ASP, but not in its absence. Additionally, mRDT decreased time to effective therapy and length of stay. mRDT should be considered as part of the standard of care in patients with BSIs

How Transformational Leadership Can Help Native American Students

In this paper, I examine the challenges that Native American students face in higher education and the role that education plays in their lives. I provide data on this topic spanning more than three decades through a literature review of three published articles. Through this literature review, I reveal key challenges that Native American students historically have faced and provide information on what factors play an important role in their success. Furthermore, I expose a research gap on the role that higher education administrators can play in addressing these challenges and inequities. I present strategies and recommendations on how to effectively implement a sustainable way to address these challenges from an ethical and practical perspective

Sophomores Reign On!: A Sophomore Student Success Model for Old Dominion University

The Division of Student Engagement and Enrollment Services at Old Dominion University (ODU) submitted a Request for Assistance to examine the challenges sophomore students face that can lead to attrition. A doctoral research team conducted an exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods study consisting of a literature review, focus groups and interviews with current ODU juniors and seniors, surveys of current ODU sophomores, staff, and faculty, and interviews with benchmark institutions that have successful sophomore student programming at their schools. The team explained the commonly found needs and barriers that sophomore students face, and specifically examined the expressed sophomore student challenges as revealed by ODU students, staff, and faculty. Findings indicated that there is a lack of transitional support, sophomore student development training, and a defined sophomore student experience at ODU. In response to these findings, the team created a sophomore student success model that recommends developing a sophomore orientation program, training staff and faculty on sophomore needs and development, creating a streamlined mentoring program, evaluating current academic advising models, and designing a Sophomore Year Experience (SYE)

Structural basis for the cooperative allosteric activation of the free fatty acid receptor GPR40

Clinical studies indicate that partial agonists of the G-protein-coupled, free fatty acid receptor 1 GPR40 enhance glucose-dependent insulin secretion and represent a potential mechanism for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Full allosteric agonists (AgoPAMs) of GPR40 bind to a site distinct from partial agonists and can provide additional efficacy. We report the 3.2-Å crystal structure of human GPR40 (hGPR40) in complex with both the partial agonist MK-8666 and an AgoPAM, which exposes a novel lipid-facing AgoPAM-binding pocket outside the transmembrane helical bundle. Comparison with an additional 2.2-Å structure of the hGPR40-MK-8666 binary complex reveals an induced-fit conformational coupling between the partial agonist and AgoPAM binding sites, involving rearrangements of the transmembrane helices 4 and 5 (TM4 and TM5) and transition of the intracellular loop 2 (ICL2) into a short helix. These conformational changes likely prime GPR40 to a more active-like state and explain the binding cooperativity between these ligands