The link between post-qualification experience and self-confidence ratings in two problem-solving domains: a study of radiation therapists

Recognising one’s abilities and limits in clinical tasks is a valuable part of professionalism. This study investigated the self-ratings of problem-solving confidence of radiation therapists (RTs) in two domains: clinical scenarios and critical thinking items (CTIs). We divided the 60 participants into three groups based on post-qualification experience (PQE), and found that greater PQE was linkedwith higher selfrated confidence for clinical scenarios, but not for CTIs

Implications of Concepts of Consciousness for Understanding Pain Behaviour and the Definitiion of Pain

Judgements of the nature and severity of pain others may be experiencing are heavily influenced by an observer's preconceptions about the nature of the experience. Our personal sense of conscious experience dictates a search for consciousness characterized by the state of awareness found in competent adults, including constructive memories and thoughts, images and feelings. People incapable of verbally articulating experiences akin to those reported by competent older children and adults are at risk of having other evidence of pain denied, minimized or ignored. Despite substantial behavioural evidence for pain in the neonate and infant, and findings indicating destructive immediate and long term consequences if pain is not controlled, pain in infants and children often continues to be discounted. An alternative perspective on infant consciousness of pain focusing upon sensory and emotional components is presented. The current prominent definition of pain supports the prejudice favouring adult conceptions of consciousness by emphasizing the importance of self-report in assessing pain. Explanatory notes accompanying this definition also perpetrate the misguided belief that the experience of pain emerges as a product of early life experiences. The case for using nonverbal as well as verbal expression in the process of inferring states of pain is presented. As well, the proposition is supported that there should be explicit recognition that the experience of pain is an inherent quality of life present in all viable newborns, with the nature of the experience and its expression changing in the course of maturation and as a result of exposure to life experiences related to tissue injury

Preferences of Louisiana agronomic crop producers and crop consultants regarding sources of information related to agricultural production

The dissemination of information related to agronomic crop production is crucial to the success of the agriculture industry in Louisiana. This information is distributed by various sources and through multiple methods. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the preferences of Louisiana agronomic crop producers and crop consultants in regards to acquiring information related to their agricultural operations. A secondary purpose was to determine how agronomic crop producers perceived selected LSU AgCenter information sources on accuracy, awareness and frequency of use. Data for the study were obtained through surveys completed by 176 agronomic crop producers and 32 crop consultants. The data were analyzed to determine the two groups’ perceptions of various information sources on issues of usefulness, frequency of use and the preference of particular sources. The participants’ perceptions of selected LSU AgCenter information sources were also analyzed for awareness, frequency of use and accuracy. The majority of agronomic crop producers were white (99.4%). Their average age was 48.6 years old, and they had been farming agronomic crops for an average of 25.2 years. The majority of the crop consultants in the study were white (100%), male (96.9%) and were college graduates (96.9%). The findings indicated that both groups actively used many of the information sources featured in the study. Consultants were the most preferred source for agronomic crop producers followed closely by sources affiliated with the LSU AgCenter. For consultants, LSU AgCenter personnel were the most preferred source followed closely by other crop consultants and LSU AgCenter print materials. Both groups had a similar preference toward interpersonal information sources. Mass media sources were scored lower by both groups. Because both groups had a preference toward interpersonal communication, organizations that plan to communicate with these two groups should include an interpersonal communication component in any information campaigns. Additionally, it is important for a source to be perceived by agronomic crop producers as a source that disseminates accurate information. According to producers, accuracy is a crucial characteristic in terms of the usage of an information source

Pharmacist perception of opioid overuse for analgesia in the retail setting

Opioid analgesics are a class of medications with affinity for receptors in the brain which are naturally targeted by endogenous opioid peptides to exert neuromodulatory action.\u27 Long before this target pathway was ever elucidated, ancient cultures had documented use of a naturally occurring plant derivative, opium, which provided the same effects as opioid drugs today. The active alkaloid constituent of opium is morphine. The human body\u27s equivalents of these substrates interact with multiple types of opioid receptors which produce the effects responsible for pain relief. In addition, there are also unwanted side effects including constipation, nemesis, and respiratory depression. Contributing to those undesirable factors, are receptor-induced responses such as euphoria, tolerance, and physical dependence which provide a causal link to medication abuse.2 While there have been multiple studies done which evaluate the efficacy of opioids in chronic pain, that determine the pain relief achieved by opioids versus placebo, and those relating structural modifications to potency and receptor specificity, an initial literature search of the relationship of chemical changes to the opioid ring system to over utilization of the analgesics shows a lack of information. The rate of use among the general public is growing at a rapid pace, with certain opioid prescriptions experiencing an 800% rise in fill rate over the past decade alone.\u27 It has been asserted that this class of medications is the most commonly prescribed in the entire US.\u27 Although that may be true in terms of prescription volume, just greater than 3% of adults are on chronic opioid therapy for treatment of pain not related to 2 malignancies,s with chronic treatment being defined as consecutive usage for greater than three months time

Lesbian and Gay Parents’ Experiences and their Relationships with/in Schools: An Alberta Study

Researchers have identified challenges for sexual minority individuals in schools; however, attention to lesbian and gay parents’ experiences with their children’s schools has not been given. We used a qualitativecase study involving one identified gay couple and one identified lesbian couple to document their experiences and relationships with/in their children’s urban publicly funded schools. Individual interviews with these parents were the chief data source, which we augmented through reviewing school documents. Through the lens of critical queer theory, we interpreted three themes: (1) lesbian and gay parents are shaped by the teachers’, administrators’, and other parents’ openness of attitudes and willingness to question assumptions about family; (2) lesbian and gay parents feel included, or excluded, depending on the policy and administrative processes that symbolically frame definitions of parenthood; and (3) lesbian and gay parents are sensitive to school climate as expressed through gesture, speech, and artefacts in the school. These four parents had the social capital to navigate barriers and opportunities. However, through the lens of critical queer theory, we conclude that there are real and symbolic markers and practices that normalize a heterosexual understanding of ‘parent’ in two-parent families that necessitates lesbian and gay parents to be intentional and vigilante about their positions in ways that heterosexual parents are not required to be to feel welcome in schools