To Tweet or Not to Tweet—a Review of the Viral Power of Twitter for Infectious Diseases

Purpose of Review With real-time communication crucial to both healthcare professionals (HCPs) and the public in infectious diseases (ID), social media networking sites has become even more important. Twitter is the most popular form of social media used for ID communication. We will review the power of Twitter in ID. Recent Findings Twitter allows for real-time sharing of educational resources at ID scientific conferences, enabling individuals that are not able to attend conferences to follow conferences anytime anywhere and stimulate discussion around topics of interest with experts from across the globe. Further, Twitter chats are a valuable tool for stewardship, with different accounts periodically hosting chats on various stewardship topics. Several studies have also demonstrated the strong relationship between dissemination and citation impact of publications with the help of Twitter. There is great value in engaging with non-ID people on Twitter via dissemination of ID knowledge to other disciplines. Lastly, when used appropriately, Twitter is a useful site for distributing vaccine information, whether informally (by advocates and physicians) or formally (by government entities) and allows one to keep up with ongoing ID outbreaks in real time. Summary Twitter has transformed how we communicate in healthcare. Particularly in ID, where bacteria and viruses can enter/exit borders anytime anywhere, global real-time information about outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance for clinicians and the public is critical. Twitter has no hierarchy or barriers, is a conduit for global collaboration, and is a way for HCPs and the public to “social”ize on healthcare topics, if used appropriately

Narrative desire and historical reparations: Three contemporary British authors

British novelists since Walter Scott have exhibited an interest in history, but this discursive affinity has transformed itself into a veritable obsession in the fiction of the last two decades. Indeed, a concern with and distrust of history and historiographic projects is often hailed as a defining characteristic of postmodernism. And while writers of new historical novels cannot be said to form a movement as such, the predominance of such texts reveals the presence of communal concerns, and a readily identifiable strain of literary production that addresses the circulation of mutual symptoms, beliefs, and anxieties as a response to living in this particular moment in history. Adopting and adapting the theories of Hayden White and Peter Brooks, I highlight various types of narrative desire that drive both narrators and readers in their emplotment of history. Examining three representative novels---A. S. Byatt\u27s Possession: A Romance, Ian McEwan\u27s Black Dogs, and Salman Rushdie\u27s Midnight\u27s Children---this study explores the communal logic and impulse that identifies both reading and constructing narratives as purposeful gestures in coming to terms with our present and future. Each novel attempts to control the ambiguities of history and our ability truly to know it by allowing historical fact and fiction to merge, overlap, and create a new whole. These novels also reflect a number of cultural anxieties about the various narratives that have been constructed to explain the past: Byatt contests the postmodern dismissal of Victorian ideologies in the working through of narratives; McEwan requires a reassessment of the Enlightenment narrative in the face of the collective trauma of the twentieth century\u27s violent history; and Rushdie re-narrates recent Indian history in order to find an issue out of the impasse of fundamentalist and monolithic conceptions of national identity. These novelists, in different ways, employ what has become known as postmodern artifice, sometimes as a way to reject the notion of historical construction, sometimes to advocate it, but always to bring us closer to what they believe are significant values and truths

Discourses Surrounding Divided Germany

This discourse analysis examines a collection of short stories, entitled Schattensprünge: Geschichten rund um die Berliner Mauer, spanning the period of divided Germany (1949-1989) and the effect of this era on the mentality of the German people, particularly in the areas of politics, religion, society and economics. The separation of the country created a culture of fear, struggle and deceit, separated families, encouraged big government secrecy, and proved that socialism leads to economic catastrophe. Both before the Wall went up in 1961 to the time of its destruction in 1989, the German people were faced with having to rebuild their nation after war and the added strain of a divided country caused more unrest in the nation as a whole. The suffering of divided families caused by the Wall and a culture of distrust created by the Orwellian East German government was contrasted with the economically-flourishing and democratic society of the West. These texts illustrate the magnitude of the Berlin Wall and how it affected the society and culture of the German people. Our analyses of the 19 personal stories and experiences related in this collection reveal how the 40-year division of a Volk affected politics, religion, society and economics in the lives of the authors. These specific examples from regular people illustrate life in Germany on both sides of the Wall

Do We Invest Less Time in Children? Trends in Parental Time in Selected Industrialized Countries Since the 1960\u27s

This paper examines trends in parental time in selected industrialized countries since the 1960s using time-use survey data. Despite the time pressures to which today’s families are confronted, parents appear to be devoting more time to children than they did some 40 years ago. Results also suggest a decrease in the differences between fathers and mothers in time devoted to children. Mothers continue to devote more time to childcare than fathers, but the gender gap has been reduced. These results are observed in several countries and therefore suggest a large global trend towards an increase in parental time investment with their children

Évaluation des compétences en réanimation en séance de simulation et en milieu de travail : analyse descriptive et comparative de trois spécialités

Background: Simulation-based assessment can complement workplace-based assessment of rare or difficult to assess Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). We aimed to compare the use of simulation-based assessment for resuscitation-focused EPAs in three postgraduate medical training programs and describe faculty perceptions of simulation-based assessment. Methods: EPA assessment scores and setting (simulation or workplace) were extracted from 2017-2020 for internal medicine, emergency medicine, and surgical foundations residents at the transition to discipline and foundations of discipline stages. A questionnaire was distributed to clinical competency committee members. Results: Eleven percent of EPA assessments were simulation-based. The proportion of simulation-based assessment did not differ between programs but differed between transition (38%) and foundations (4%) stages within surgical foundations only. Entrustment scores differed between settings in emergency medicine at the transition level only (simulation: 4.82 ± 0.60 workplace: 3.74 ± 0.93). 70% of committee members (n=20) completed the questionnaire. Of those that use simulation-based assessment, 45% interpret them differently than workplace-based assessments. 73% and 100% trust simulation for high-stakes and low-stakes assessment, respectively. Conclusions: The proportion of simulation-based assessment for resuscitation focused EPAs did not differ between three postgraduate medical training programs. Interpretation of simulation-based assessment data between committee members was inconsistent. All respondents trust simulation-based assessment for low-stakes, and the majority for high-stakes assessment. These findings have practical implications for the integration simulation into programs of assessment.Contexte : Pour les activités professionnelles confiables (APC) qui sont rarement observées ou difficiles à évaluer, l’évaluation dans les séances de simulation peut compléter l’évaluation en milieu de travail. Nous avons comparé l’utilisation de l’évaluation lors de simulations pour les APC axées sur la réanimation dans trois programmes de formation médicale postdoctorale et décrit les perceptions de membres du corps professoral concernant cette modalité d’évaluation. Méthodes : Nous avons extrait les scores et le cadre (simulation ou lieu de travail) d’évaluation des APC de 2017 à 2020 pour les résidents en médecine interne, en médecine d’urgence et en fondements chirurgicaux aux étapes de transition vers la discipline et de fondements de la discipline. Un questionnaire a été distribué aux membres du comité des compétences cliniques. Résultats : Onze pour cent des évaluations d’APC étaient faites lors de séances de simulation. Cette proportion était la même pour tous les programmes, mais dans le cadre des fondements chirurgicaux, elle était différente selon qu’il s’agissait de l’étape de transition (38 %) ou de l’étape des fondements (4 %). Les scores de confiance différaient selon le cadre de l’évaluation uniquement pour les résidents en médecine d’urgence à l’étape de la transition (simulation : 4,82 ± 0,60; lieu de travail : 3,74 ± 0,93). Le questionnaire a été rempli par 70 % des membres du comité (n=20). Parmi ceux qui avaient utilisé l’évaluation en séance de simulation, 45 % avaient interprété les données de l’évaluation différemment de la façon dont ils interprètent les données d’évaluation en milieu de travail. Soixante-treize pour cent et 100 % d’entre eux font confiance à la simulation pour les évaluations à enjeux élevés et à faibles enjeux, respectivement. Conclusions : La proportion d’évaluations en séance de simulation pour les APC axées sur la réanimation était la même pour trois programmes de formation médicale postdoctorale. Les membres du comité n’ont pas interprété les données de ce type d’évaluation de manière uniforme. Tous les répondants font confiance à l’évaluation en séance de simulation pour les évaluations à faible enjeu, et la plupart d’entre eux pour les évaluations à enjeu élevé. Ces résultats ont des incidences pratiques sur l’intégration de la simulation dans les programmes d’évaluation

Assessment of a Pharmacist-Led Antibiotic Time-out for Transition of IV Vancomycin to Oral Linezolid

Introduction: Intravenous (IV) vancomycin requires therapeutic drug monitoring and line placement and may prolong hospital stay. Linezolid requires less monitoring, is orally bioavailable, and may expedite transitions of care. This study assessed the impact of a pharmacist-led antibiotic timeout for the transition from IV vancomycin to oral linezolid. Methods: This single-center, quasi-experimental study included admitted adult patients receiving IV vancomycin for over 48 hours. Patients receiving vasopressors, of immunocompromised status, or with specific antibiotic indications were excluded. The primary outcome was the pharmacist intervention acceptance rate. Secondary outcomes included median hospital length of stay, median antibiotic treatment days, and incidence of adverse effects. Results: Of the 317 screened patients, 94 were eligible for the antibiotic time-out assessment, of which 66 met the criteria for oral linezolid. Of those meeting the criteria, 27 interventions were made, of which 20 (74%) were accepted. The median length of antibiotic treatment days was six days between both groups (p = .352). No differences in safety outcomes were observed. Discussion: A pharmacist-led antibiotic timeout for IV vancomycin to oral linezolid resulted in a high intervention acceptance rate and increased oral linezolid use without impacting safety outcomes. These results support the use of this strategy for antimicrobial stewardship. Conclusion: This study illustrates the impact of a pharmacist-led antibiotic timeout for the transition from IV vancomycin to oral linezolid therapy as an antimicrobial stewardship tool

Patterns of Time use of People Age 55 to 64 Years Old: Some Cross-National Comparisons

Objectives. This paper examines the patterns of time use of adults age 55 to 64 years old in six countries: Austria, Canada, Finland, Italy, Sweden, and the United States. It examines the discontinuity in daily activities by employment status and gender. Methods. The paper uses nationally representative samples from time use surveys carried out in each country. We compute aggregate patterns of time use by employment status and gender for seven categories of activities: personal activities, paid work, unpaid work, housework, social leisure, active leisure, and passive leisure. We also compute dissimilarity indices to measure the degree of discontinuity in patterns of time use by employment status and gender. Results. We find that the pattern of time use of non-employed adults resemble that of full-time employed people on their non-workdays. We also find evidence that the transition out of the labor force is associated with a convergence in pattern of time use of men and women in the USA, Canada, and Finland, but not in other countries. Discussion. There appears to be continuities in the way people use their time as they grow older and retire from the labor force. We however raise the possibility that these results may hold only for the ‘young-old’. Decreasing health and physical endurance at older ages may introduce significant discontinuities in patterns of time at a later stage of the life-cycle. Our future work will examine the impact of health and daily limitation on patterns of time use at older ages