Bridging The Gap Between Higher Education And The Workforce: A Coach Approach To Teaching

Abstract There is debate in the business community around whether new entrants to the labour market are as proficient in essential skills such as communications, collaboration, and critical thinking as were their forbears. At the same time, the demand for executive coaching has increased substantially under both strong and weak economic conditions. Corporations are now using coaching to enhance essential skills within the workplace, which gives rise to questions about college graduates' skills and the positive impact coaching skills could have if embedded within academia. We explore the benefits of using a coach approach in the classroom whereby the instructor engages, enlightens, and empowers students to better prepare graduates for life-long learning and the labour market. The model requires the instructor to embrace authenticity, insight, and innovation by taking a coach approach to teaching with the intent to enhance learning outcomes

Digital Media Player Controls Supporting Music Education

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Challenges to immunization: the experiences of homeless youth

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Homelessness is a critical social issue, both a product of, and contributing to, poor mental and physical health. Over 150,000 young Canadians live on the streets. Homeless youth experience a high incidence of infectious diseases, many of which are vaccine preventable. Early departure from school and limited access to public health services makes them a particularly vulnerable high-risk group. This study explores challenges to obtaining essential vaccines experienced by homeless youth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A qualitative research study to explore knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and experiences surrounding immunization of hard-to-reach homeless youth was designed. Participants were recruited for focus groups from Phoenix House and Shelter, a non-profit, community-based organization assisting homeless youth in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. An experienced facilitator guided the recorded discussions. Transcripts of audiotapes were analyzed using a constant comparative method until data revealed a set of exemplars and themes that best captured participants’ knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and experiences surrounding immunization and infectious diseases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Important themes emerged from our analysis. Considerable variability in knowledge about immunization and vaccine preventable diseases was found. The homeless youth in the study had limited awareness of meningitis in contrast to a greater knowledge about sexually transmitted infections and influenza, gained during the H1N1/09 public health campaign. They recognized their poverty as a risk for contracting infectious diseases, along with their inability to always employ known strategies to prevent infectious diseases, due to circumstances. They showed considerable insight into the detrimental effects of poor hygiene, sleeping locations and risk behaviour. Interviewed homeless youth regarded themselves as good compliers of health professional advice and offered valuable suggestions to improve immunization in their population.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To provide effective public health interventions, it is necessary to consider the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of hard to reach, high risk groups. Our study shows that homeless youth are interested and capable in discussing immunization. Active targeting of homeless youth for public health immunization programs is needed. Working collaboratively with non-profit organizations that assist homeless youth provides an opportunity to increase their knowledge of infectious risks and to improve immunization strategies in this vulnerable group.</p

Structures, processes and outcomes of specialist critical care nurse education: An integrative review

Objectives: The objective of this study was to review and synthesise international literature to reveal the contemporary structures, processes, and outcomes of critical care nurse (CCN) education. Method: An integrative review on specialist critical care education was guided by Whittemore and Knafl's integrative review steps: problem identification; literature search; and data evaluation, analysis, and presentation. Donabedian's Quality Framework (Structure-Process-Outcome) provided a useful analytical lens and structure for the reporting of findings. Results: (1) Structures for CCN education incorporated transition-to-practice and ongoing education programs typically offered by hospitals and health services and university-level graduate certificate, diploma, and masters programs. Structural expectations included a standard core curriculum, clinically credible academic staff, and courses compliant with a higher education framework. Published workforce standards and policies were important structures for the practice learning environment. (2) Processes included incremental exposure to increasing patient acuity; consistent and appropriately supported and competent hospital-based preceptors/assessors; courses delivered with a flexible, modular approach; curricula that support nontechnical skills and patient- and family-centred care; stakeholder engagement between the education provider and the clinical setting to guide course planning, evaluation and revalidation; and evidence-based measurement of clinical capabilities/competence. (3) Outcomes included articulation of the scope and levels of graduate attributes and professional activities associated with each level. The role of higher degree research programs for knowledge creation and critical care academic leadership was noted. Conclusions: Provision of high-quality critical care education is multifaceted and complex. These findings provide information for healthcare organisations and education providers. This may enable best practice structures and processes for critical care specialist training that meets the needs of industry and safely supports developing CCN expertise. There is an acknowledged tension between the expectations of governing bodies for policies, standards, and position statements to enhance quality and reduce care variance and the availability of high-quality evidence to underpin these across international contexts

Synergism between dipyridamole and cisplatin in human breast cancer cells in vitro

Cisplatin is very effective in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. However, the development of cellular resistance is a serious problem in cisplatin chemotherapy. In the present work, the effects of dipyridamole (DPM) on the cellular accumulation and cytotoxicity of cisplatin was studied in cisplatinsensitive (MDA/S) and cisplatinresistant (MDA/R) human breast cancer cells. In the presence of 30 &micro;M DPM, the IC50 of cisplatin was reduced by 39% for both cell lines. Combination index analysis revealed that cisplatin and dipyridamole interact synergistically in MDA/R cells. In the MDA/S cells, the cellular accumulation of cisplatin increased by 57 &plusmn; 8% in the presence of 30 &micro;M DPM. In the MDA/R cells, the cellular accumulation of cisplatin remained the same with or without 30 &micro;M DPM. The results suggest that the enhancement of cisplatin cytotoxicity by DPM in MDA/S cells may be related to a DPM-induced increase in cisplatin accumulation, but the enhanced cytotoxicity in MDA/R cells employs a mechanism that does not involve an increase in the cellular accumulation of cisplatin