Job Satisfaction among Practicing Pharmacists: A Rasch Analysis

Purpose: through the application of a Rasch rating scale model, the researchers investigated the effect of gender, ethnicity, practice site, income, and age on levels of job satisfaction among practicing pharmacists. Method: The data consist of responses to a survey questionnaire mailed to a random sample of 5,000 registered pharmacists throughout the United States. A total of 820 individuals mailed back their completed form for a response rate of 16.4 percent. Results: Older, higher-wage earning pharmacists working at independent practice sites experience the greatest amount of job satisfaction.Conclusion: The most significant finding from this study is that age, income, and practice site can predict job satisfaction among practicing pharmacists. Additionally, the results provide empirical evidence for the variables inclusion in future models and they demonstrate the usefulness of Rasch techniques

Development of a Program to Educate Physician Assistant Students on Performance of a Comprehensive Breast Exam

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a new program to educate physician assistant (PA) students on the performance of a comprehensive breast exam and to test its effectiveness as compared to the previous program. Methods: The preexisting educational program for the performance of a clinical breast exam was evaluated during the term prior to the start of clinical rotations for the class of 2015. Baseline data were obtained from this control group by evaluation of student competency using a skills examination, utilizing a Nasco Advanced Breast Exam Simulator, and using a female standardized patient. An innovative program educating the PA class of 2016 on the performance and interpretation of a comprehensive breast exam was instituted, incorporating a new palpation technique, new models, and simulated patients. Both classes were directly compared in terms of their breast examination skills at 5 months post-training by administering the same skills examination. Nested, mixed, generalized, and linear models were created to look for differences between the two classes. Each model was adjusted by covariates to account for variation in student ability. Results: The PA class of 2016 showed statistically better performance in breast inspection, lymph node palpation, breast palpation, breast mass detection, and documentation of findings compared to the PA class of 2015. Conclusion: The new educational program on the clinical breast exam using a well-organized laboratory session with subsequent skills testing was found to be very efficacious

Pockets of Inequality in the Distribution of U.S. Pharmacists’ Wages and Salaries: A Gender Comparison

Background: The literature contains conflicting arguments regarding inequalities in the distribution of U.S. pharmacists’ wages and salaries and the existence of a gender earnings gap.  Some authors argue that the dispersion is small compared to other professions and there is no gap; others report that after controlling for number of hours worked, human-capital stock, and job-related preferences, male pharmacists earn higher wages and salaries than female pharmacists.  Objectives: Estimate the central tendency and spread of wages and salaries of pharmacists practicing in the U.S., compare earning levels of male and female pharmacists, and examine the pockets of inequality within each gender. Methods: The study used self-reported survey data collected from a random sample of licensed pharmacists practicing throughout the United States.  The sample consisted of 375 men and 279 women.  Means and standard deviations of wage-and-salary earnings for male and female pharmacists were estimated by age, number of hours worked, years of professional experience, marital status, type of pharmacy degree, main role as pharmacist, and type of practice site.  The spread of wages and salaries within gender was analyzed using the Gini coefficient. Results: A total of 654 pharmacists provided answers to all relevant questions in the questionnaire (28.9% response rate).  Wages and salaries of male pharmacists exceeded those of female pharmacists, but the gap was restricted to practitioners with selected characteristics–older, married, with more experience, whose primary role was dispensing medications, and practicing in a hospital setting.  The greatest wage-and-salary inequalities were observed among older pharmacists, with more years of professional experience, and whose primary role was dispensing medications.  Different gender-specific pockets of inequality were identified in all variables studied and all categories within these variables. Conclusion: The seemingly smooth gender-specific distribution of earnings in the pharmacy profession might be the result of opposing trends by different groups of practitioners that cancel each other when analyzed aggregately.  By estimating the wages and salaries for selected categories of pharmacists and examining the pockets of inequality within each gender, this study shed light into recent labor market developments and will hopefully stimulate further research into the dynamics of the pharmacist workforce.   Article Type: Original Researc

PHQ-2 Scores in Broward County’s Homeless: Prevalence, Barriers, and Proposed Solutions to Mental Health Disparities

Introduction: Florida ranks 9th in states with highest prevalence of mental illness among homeless individuals. The state also ranks 43rd of 52 states in providing adequate access for mental health concerns in homeless individuals. This study surveyed people experiencing homelessness in Broward County to investigate utilization of healthcare and mental health resources and accessibility of the target population to adequate care.. Aims included a collection of demographics concerning homelessness such as age and gender, prevalence of mental illness, history of substance use and emergency department, and then correlating these with scores from a standardized depression rating scale (PHQ-2). Methods: The Community Based Participatory Research model was employed while working with local volunteer organizations. Participants completed an 18 question survey and PHQ-2 at three feeding sites in Broward County, totaling 136 participants. . Results: 100% of participants surveyed had an income below $12,488, thereby falling in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage gap. 66% stated “none” for insurance, 67% screened positive for depression with the PHQ-2 questionnaire, while 57% acknowledged having mental illness. Only 19% reported using the ER during mental health emergencies but 80% of this population had at least 1 ER visit within the year. Individuals who reported no to the question, “In the past year, was there ever a time when you were prescribed a drug but were unable to get it”, scored 1.23 points lower (95% CI: -0.33,-2.12) on the PHQ-2 than individuals who were able to obtain medications. Individuals who reported history of binge drinking, substance use and thoughts of suicide scored 1.21 points higher (95% CI: -0.14,-2.28) on the PHQ 2 than individuals who responded no. Discussion: Our results suggest a majority of homeless individuals need further assessment concerning depression. Based on the utilization of the ER, healthcare resource awareness is inadequately approached. Programs available are underutilized due to lack of awareness, accessibility and outreach. These findings encourage redistribution of funding and further advocate for resources available to this population

A Study of the Effectiveness of a Youth Peace Education Program

Based on the premise that students can be active learners and change makers, rather than passive recipients of knowledge, this study evaluated the effectiveness of the peace education program, READING PEACE PALS, delivered to six-to-nine-year-olds at a Boys and Girls Club. This program infused art, literacy, and community mentorship to teach conflict resolution skills. This study assessed the program’s effectiveness by utilizing Kirkpatrick’s (2016) model for evaluating training effectiveness and statistically assessed affective, cognitive, and behavioral learning, and the results/impact of peace education to examine perceptions of impacts of youth learning on the community and society. Youth and mentors responded positively to all forms of learning, and the impact of youth learning indicated overall effectiveness. The findings have profound implication for research, training, and practice in peace education as this model program provides evidence that participants perceived that this program has positive impacts on youths’ lives, communities, and society

Dissecting the regulatory activity and sequence content of loci with exceptional numbers of transcription factor associations

DNA-associated proteins (DAPs) classically regulate gene expression by binding to regulatory loci such as enhancers or promoters. As expanding catalogs of genome-wide DAP binding maps reveal thousands of loci that, unlike the majority of conventional enhancers and promoters, associate with dozens of different DAPs with apparently little regard for motif preference, an understanding of DAP association and coordination at such regulatory loci is essential to deciphering how these regions contribute to normal development and disease. In this study, we aggregated publicly available ChIP-seq data from 469 human DAPs assayed in three cell lines and integrated these data with an orthogonal data set of 352 nonredundant, in vitro–derived motifs mapped to the genome within DNase I hypersensitivity footprints to characterize regions with high numbers of DAP associations. We establish a generalizable definition for high occupancy target (HOT) loci and identify putative driver DAP motifs in HepG2 cells, including HNF4A, SP1, SP5, and ETV4, that are highly prevalent and show sequence conservation at HOT loci. The number of different DAPs associated with an element is positively associated with evidence of regulatory activity, and by systematically mutating 245 HOT loci with a massively parallel mutagenesis assay, we localized regulatory activity to a central core region that depends on the motif sequences of our previously nominated driver DAPs. In sum, this work leverages the increasingly large number of DAP motif and ChIP-seq data publicly available to explore how DAP associations contribute to genome-wide transcriptional regulation

Origin and evolution of the octoploid strawberry genome.

Cultivated strawberry emerged from the hybridization of two wild octoploid species, both descendants from the merger of four diploid progenitor species into a single nucleus more than 1 million years ago. Here we report a near-complete chromosome-scale assembly for cultivated octoploid strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) and uncovered the origin and evolutionary processes that shaped this complex allopolyploid. We identified the extant relatives of each diploid progenitor species and provide support for the North American origin of octoploid strawberry. We examined the dynamics among the four subgenomes in octoploid strawberry and uncovered the presence of a single dominant subgenome with significantly greater gene content, gene expression abundance, and biased exchanges between homoeologous chromosomes, as compared with the other subgenomes. Pathway analysis showed that certain metabolomic and disease-resistance traits are largely controlled by the dominant subgenome. These findings and the reference genome should serve as a powerful platform for future evolutionary studies and enable molecular breeding in strawberry

A roadmap for research in octoploid strawberry

The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is an allo-octoploid species, originating nearly 300 years ago from wild progenitors from the Americas. Since that time the strawberry has become the most widely cultivated fruit crop in the world, universally appealing due to its sensory qualities and health benefits. The recent publication of the first high-quality chromosome-scale octoploid strawberry genome (cv. Camarosa) is enabling rapid advances in genetics, stimulating scientific debate and provoking new research questions. In this forward-looking review we propose avenues of research toward new biological insights and applications to agriculture. Among these are the origins of the genome, characterization of genetic variants, and big data approaches to breeding. Key areas of research in molecular biology will include the control of flowering, fruit development, fruit quality, and plant–pathogen interactions. In order to realize this potential as a global community, investments in genome resources must be continually augmented.Peer reviewe