Hiking in Africa: Mines and Mountains, Trekking Through Angola

The Highest Challenge Project is an ongoing expedition to climb the highest mountain in as many of the 193 countries of the world as possible. Already holding the world record for being the first person to climb the highest mountain in every country in Europe (47 countries) and 51 out of the 53 countries in Africa, Ginge Fullen also holds the record for scaling the highest mountain in more countries than anyone else to date, presently 118 countries. The following article from Fullen describes his difficulties in scaling Serra Moco, the highest mountain in Angola, because of landmines

Faculty and Student Perceptions of a Physical Therapy Professional Behavior Mentoring Program

Purpose: Mentoring is a process and a relationship between a novice and an expert that fosters intellectual, personal, and professional growth. The purposes and scope of this article are to describe 1) the structured professional development component of a comprehensive mentoring program for students in a physical therapy program; and 2) the perceptions of faculty and students regarding this mentoring program. Method: Faculty and students completed electronic questionnaires developed specifically for each group. Results: Return rate was 54.50% (N=286) for physical therapist students and 100% (N=18) for physical therapy faculty. Student positive ratings regarding the mentoring program exceeded 89.00%. Additionally, 76.75% of the students reported seeking feedback and advice from their faculty mentor to make informed decisions. Students perceived their mentors to be committed to helping them achieve their personal/professional goals (94.96%). Faculty mentors reported that they enjoy being mentors (94.12%), believe they have a responsibility to assist in the professional socialization of mentees (100.00%), and that mentees benefitted from meeting with them regarding professional behavior issues (92.86%). Conclusions: Faculty mentors and student mentees perceive that students benefit from mentoring regarding professional behavior issues and that the mentoring program is valuable and worth the time spent participating in it. We suggest that the process and documents developed by the Program in Physical Therapy may be used as a basis for critical dialogue within other academic units for the purpose of determining the desired professional behavior mentoring system for that particular academic entity

“The Power of Many Minds Working Together”: Qualitative Study of an Interprofessional, Service-Learning Capstone Course

Background: An interprofessional faculty group analyzed a critical reflection assignment of students in a service-learning practicum interprofessional education (IPE) course. Students were from ten programs: physical therapy, occupational therapy, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy, athletic training, nursing, investigative medical science, cytotechnology, nutrition and dietetics, and clinical laboratory science. Research questions investigated what the assignments revealed about students’ application of beliefs, emotions, and behaviours, and if course objectives were met.Methods and Findings: This qualitative study retrospectively analyzed one critical reflection from the course conducted in 2011. Researchers selected a stratified sample of 40 assignments from a population of 278. Nine major themes emerged: achieving IPE outcomes, engaging in team process, learning culture/community engagement, being client/patient centred, becoming aware of behaviours, experiencing barriers, articulating beliefs, connecting with course objectives, and expressing emotions.Conclusions: In an IPE practicum course, transformative learning was evident. Students articulated beliefs, emotions, and behaviours related to interprofessional teamwork. Students expressed detailed understanding of team processes. For future research, critical reflection assignments were useful to assess student beliefs, emotions, and behaviours in a practicum course. We suggest studying practice among health professionals who have experienced IPE compared with those who have not had IPE in their professional curricula

Defensa de los currutacos, pirracas, madamitas del nuevo cuño y señoritos de ciento en boca en XII conclusiones currutacas : con una invectiva contra el nuevo filósofo currutaco

Sign.: [A]-K, LGrav. xil. na p. 1

Implementation of Supplemental Instruction for Physical Therapist Students in an Exercise Physiology Course

An ongoing challenge for faculty is to determine effective and efficient mechanisms for assisting students to achieve academic success. Supplemental Instruction (SI), a form of peer tutoring, has been defined as a peer-led academic assistance program that targets difficult courses and is offered to students enrolled in those courses. Based on student feedback that exercise physiology is difficult, the authors chose this course in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) curriculum for this post-only pilot study. SI was offered over a three-year period to physical therapist students enrolled in an exercise physiology course. The purposes of this study were to 1) determine the perceived benefits of SI by students who attended at least one session, 2) identify reasons students never attended SI or started attending SI and then stopped, 3) identify the degree of student satisfaction with SI, and 4) identify students’ willingness to recommend SI for exercise physiology or other DPT courses. An 18-item written questionnaire was the assessment method. A total of 203 students participated over the three-year period. Frequency distributions and percentages were calculated for each of the multiple choice questionnaire items to determine results of students’ perceptions of SI. Students’ perceived benefits included 1) improved academic performance, 2) improved confidence, 3) increased contact with other students, 4) improved understanding of the material, 5) improved motivation to learn, and 6) improved understanding of instructor expectations. Frequently cited reasons for never attending were conflicts with other courses and/or work schedule, and not perceiving the service as needed. Students cited lack of time to attend sessions and alternative study methods as frequent reasons for attending SI and then stopping. In each of the three years, at least 85% of the students who attended at least one SI session were satisfied. The percentage of students who would recommend SI for exercise physiology or other DPT courses was consistently ≥ 70%. Given the positive outcomes of this three-year implementation of SI in an entry-level physical therapy curriculum, other colleges and universities may wish to consider implementation of an SI program for health professions’ courses

Faculty and Student Perceptions of a Physical Therapy Academic Mentoring Program

Purpose: Mentoring is a process and a relationship between a novice and an expert that fosters intellectual, personal and professional growth. The purposes of this article are to describe: 1) the structured academic component of a comprehensive mentoring program for students in a physical therapy program; and 2) the perceptions of faculty and students regarding this academic mentoring program. Method: Faculty and students completed electronic questionnaires developed specifically for each group. Results: Return rate was 54.50% (N=286) for students and 100% (N=18) for faculty. Overall, student positive response rates regarding the effect of the mentoring program on educational experiences, value of the program and communication with faculty mentor all exceeded 90.00%. Faculty responses revealed 88.89% agreed their mentees benefited from meeting with them regarding academic issues, 94.12% believed the mentoring program was valuable, and 82.35% thought the program was worth the time spent participating in it. Conclusion:Faculty mentors and student mentees perceived that students benefited from academic mentoring and that the mentoring program was valuable and worth the time spent participating in it. Other academic units may use this process as a basis for critical dialogue for developing the desired academic mentoring system for that particular academic unit