Virtual Communities of Practice: A 21st Century Method for Learning, Programming, and Developing Professionally

Cooperative Extension can build on use of virtual Communities of Practice (CoP) to enhance educational programs and professional development. This article examines the way virtual CoPs can support the Extension mission and build on our heritage of integrity and innovation. Literature about virtual CoPs reports on successful implementation of these communities by the volunteer sector, eXtension, and by formal education to support professional development and content and program development. Cooperative Extension may benefit from the study of virtual communities of practice and their applications across the national system

Videoigre u psihoterapiji

Videoigre u ovom radu dijelit će se na ozbiljne i komercijalne. Ozbiljne videoigre razvijene su u svrhu usvajanja novih znanja i vještina te promjene ponašanja, a zabava nije njihova primarna svrha, već dodatna pogodnost. S druge strane, komercijalne videoigre razvijene su isključivo u svrhu zabave i svi smo se barem nekada susreli s njima (npr. Pac-Man, League of Legends). Ovaj pregledni rad nudi kritički osvrt na nekoliko istraživanja koja su se bavila učinkovitošću ozbiljnih i komercijalnih videoigara u psihoterapiji, kao i na jedno istraživanje o stavovima psihoterapeuta o njihovom korištenju. Ozbiljne videoigre koje se spominju u ovom radu uglavnom su namijenjene terapiji različitih poremećaja kod djece i adolescenata te su zasnovane na principima kognitivno bihevioralne terapije, uz izuzetak videoigre Playmancer koja se koristi u terapiji ovisnosti o kockanju kod odraslih te je temeljena na biofeedbacku. Uzimajući u obzir velika novčana ulaganja u komercijalne videoigre, što ih čini tehnološki superiornima u odnosu na ozbiljne videoigre, istraživači su se zapitali koje su potencijalne dobrobiti ovih iznimno popularnih igara izvan okvira zabave u slobodno vrijeme. Opisana su dva kvalitativna istraživanja komercijalnih videoigara u psihoterapiji, od kojih se jedno bavi tretmanom PTSP-a, a drugo je usmjereno na generalnu podršku psihoterapiji djece i proizlazi iz iskustva dječjeg psihodinamskog terapeuta

Are There Disparities in Health Information Access Among New Mexico Practitioners? Results of a Study

We designed an exploratory study to find out what information resources are available to New Mexico health care practitioners not currently affiliated with the University of New Mexico. We conducted semi-structured interviews of a purposive sample of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists at the location of their practice in all quadrants of the state, including public health clinics. The interview included nine open-ended questions, which were approved by the UNM Human Research Protections Office. Interviews were recorded on an iPad, transcribed, and coded using nVivo (QSR International), a qualitative data coding software package. Fifty-one practitioners particiipated. Their responses indicate that New Mexico pracitioners not affiliated with UNM: are satisfied with their access to information resources to support clinical decision making; are not satisfied with information resources for their patients; would like access to a wider variety of information resources for both clinical information and for their patients.https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hslic-posters-presentations/1044/thumbnail.jp

Strategies for Small Businesses Negotiating Contracts with Hospitals

Failure to successfully negotiate contracts can have negative impacts on business survivability. Contract negotiations are ways medical suppliers and hospitals establish mutually beneficial relationships to increase profitability and longevity while innovating to improve patient care. Grounded in the resource dependency theory and the grand theory of negotiation, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies used by Texas physician preference item (PPI) suppliers to successfully negotiate contracts with hospitals to improve profits and sustain their small business beyond 5 years. The participants comprised 11 small business leaders in Texas who successfully negotiated contracts with hospitals to improve profits and sustain their small business beyond 5 years. Data were collected using semistructured interviews along with the review of organizational documents. Through content analysis, five major themes emerged: building trustful and mutually beneficial relationships; research and experience; positive, confident, and patient attitudes and behaviors; communication skills; and flexible and compromising strategies. A key recommendation is for PPI suppliers to establish strong verbal and nonverbal communication skills for successful negotiation processes. The implications for positive social change is the potential for small business growth to supporting employment and fuel the economy and medical device innovation to improve healthcare outcomes for hospitals and patients

Age of the Cretaceous alkaline magmatism in northeast Iberia: implications for the Alpine cycle in the Pyrenees

Cretaceous magmatism in northeast Iberia is related to the opening of the Bay of Biscay and counterclockwise rotation of Iberia with respect to Europe and predates the collision between Iberia and Europe that resulted in the formation of the Pyrenees. To better constrain the age of this magmatism, we have undertaken a Ar/Ar study on samples from the Pyrenees and the Catalonian Coastal Ranges. In the Basque-Cantabrian Basin and the North Pyrenean Basins, we have obtained Albian ages (ca. 102 Ma). In the northern Catalonian Coastal Ranges, we have obtained Campanian ages (ca. 79 Ma). We integrate our data with a review of previously published ages and discuss our results in terms of their geodynamic significance. The Cretaceous magmatism in the Pyrenees is Albian-Santonian (mostly occurring between 105 to 85 Ma) and was emplaced in a tectonically unclear context after the opening of the Bay of Biscay and rotation of Iberia. The magmatism in the Catalonian Coastal Ranges is well constrained to ca. 79 Ma and could mark the onset of Alpine shortening in the Pyrenean realm in northeasternmost Iberia. Finally, we describe a Late Triassic (ca. 232 Ma)-Early Jurassic (ca. 180 Ma) phase of magmatism in the Central Pyrenees, previously considered to be Cretaceous, that widens temporally and geographically the extent of the rift-related alkaline magmatism in southwestern Europe at that time. Key Points New Ar/Ar data update the age of the Cretaceous magmatism in NE Iberia Magmatism in the Pyrenees postdates the rotation of Iberia Magmatism in the Catalonian Coastal Ranges could mark the onset of Alpine shortenin

Suggestions for Early Career Community-Engaged Scholars

This document was written specifically, though not exclusively, for early career faculty members doing (or would like to be doing) faculty work in collaboration with off-campus community partners. The document may also be helpful to faculty members at other career stages who are beginning to undertake community-engaged work and administrators seeking to support their faculty. This is the information we wish we had at the start of our careers. We, the five co-authors of this paper, are tenured community-engaged faculty members and seasoned higher education administrators specializing in civic and community-engaged academic practices. Based on our literature review and collective lived experiences, we have focused this paper on three topics we believe are critical for early career community-engaged faculty members to understand more deeply. These three topics include developing your identity statement, finding your mentors, and documenting your scholarship

Interprofessional training for final year healthcare students: a mixed methods evaluation of the impact on ward staff and students of a two-week placement and of factors affecting sustainability

BACKGROUND: Multiple care failings in hospitals have led to calls for increased interprofessional training in medical education to improve multi-disciplinary teamwork. Providing practical interprofessional training has many challenges and remains uncommon in medical schools in the UK. Unlike most previous research, this evaluation of an interprofessional training placement takes a multi-faceted approach focusing not only on the impact on students, but also on clinical staff delivering the training and on outcomes for patients. METHODS: We used mixed methods to examine the impact of a two-week interprofessional training placement undertaken on a medical rehabilitation ward by three cohorts of final year medical, nursing and therapy students. We determined the effects on staff, ward functioning and participating students. Impact on staff was evaluated using the Questionnaire for Psychological and Social factors at work (QPSNordic) and focus groups. Ward functioning was inferred from standard measures of care including length of stay, complaints, and adverse events. Impact on students was evaluated using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Survey (RIPLS) among all students plus a placement survey among medical students. RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2010, 362 medical students and 26 nursing and therapy students completed placements working alongside the ward staff to deliver patient care. Staff identified benefits including skills recognition and expertise sharing. Ward functioning was stable. Students showed significant improvements in the RIPLS measures of Teamwork, Professional Identity and Patient-Centred Care. Despite small numbers of students from other professions, medical students’ rated the placement highly. Increasing student numbers and budgetary constraints led to the cessation of the placement after three years. CONCLUSIONS: Interprofessional training placements can be delivered in a clinical setting without detriment to care and with benefits for all participants. While financial support is a necessity, it appears that having students from multiple professions is not critical for a valuable training experience; staff from different professions and students from a single profession can work successfully together. Difficulty in aligning the schedules of different student professions is commonly cited as a barrier to interprofessional training. Our experience challenges this and should encourage provision of authentic interprofessional training experience

Task force on immigration and higher education in Central Massachusetts

In August 2007, the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, Inc. created a task force to examine the issue of immigration and higher education in Central Massachusetts. It has become increasingly clear from recent demographic and economic studies and projections that the population in the northeast, and certainly in Central Massachusetts, is showing minimal growth. There is evidence that a decline in the “native-born” population is caused by significant out-migration due to a number of factors, including the high cost of living, limited career opportunities and a declining birth rate. The limited population growth that is evident is due primarily to the recent influx of immigrants to this area, with the most significant numbers in Worcester coming from Ghana, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, El Salvador, Albania and Liberia. It is also clear that the area’s economy is becoming more knowledge-based with an increasing percentage of all new jobs requiring some form of postsecondary education. According to the 2007 Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development’s Job Vacancy Survey, 38 percent of current job vacancies in Massachusetts require an associate’s degree or higher. This represents an increase from 30 percent in 2003. Consequently, the level of education that the immigrant population attains is of vital importance to everyone—not only to immigrant students and their families but also to the economic well-being of the entire region. The Task Force was charged with researching the barriers to higher education faced by this new wave of immigrants and suggesting recommendations to address those barriers. The 36-member Task Force was made up of representatives from Consortium member institutions; federal, state and local governments; community and faithbased organizations; the Worcester Public Schools; the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education; and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition. Meetings were held over six months, during which the Task Force identified three main barriers faced by immigrant communities in accessing higher education, and sub-committees were created to work on each of these. Speakers were invited to present on topics of interest. Two public hearings were held, the first of which was conducted at Worcester State College in October. It attracted community representatives, as well as college and high school faculty and administrators. The second hearing, held at the downtown branch of Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) in December, was attended by immigrants (English for Speakers of Other Languages – ESOL and GED) students as well as QCC staff.Published versio