Advanced Physical Diagnosis: An Innovative Interprofessional Approach for Teaching Clinical Skills to Senior Medical Students

Conclusions: This interprofessional education session, employing a case-based videotape, was successful in illustrating to senior medical students the roles of OT and PT in patient management, and in increasing their awareness of the types of patient problems that would warrant referral for OT and PT services. The team is developing learning activities for future modules for medical students to teach the role of occupational and physical therapies in interprofessional health care

Rehabilitation in Nursing Homes: A Cross-National Comparison of Recipients

Objective: To examine the prevalence of therapy use in nursing homes in selected countries and to describe the characteristics of nursing home residents who receive therapy. Design and sampling: The design of the study is cross-sectional, using Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments of nursing home residents. The sample includes all nursing home residents in six US states (n=273491), in Copenhagen, Denmark (n=;3451), Reyjkavik, Iceland (n=1254), and selected locations in Italy (n=1089) and Japan (n=1255). Method: We determined who had received physical or occupational therapy treatments in the last 7 days. Demographic and clinical characteristics of recipients were compared relative to other nursing home residents within each country. Results: In the five countries, the prevalence of receiving therapy was 31% (Iceland), 30% Qapan), 23% (Denmark), 14% (Italy) and 11% (USA). Substantial proportions of the recipients were over the age of 85, were clinically stable and had been in the nursing home for longer than 90 days. Across all countries, residents with poorer activities of daily living (ADL) scores but good cognitive scores were more likely to receive therapy than other residents. Rehabilitation nursing, an adjunct to therapy, was concentrated on residents with poor ADL scores. Conclusions: Substantial numbers of long-stay residents receive therapy in nursing homes, including those over the age of 85 years and those with cognitive impairment. Hence, future rehabilitation outcome studies can involve these previously understudied patient population

Evaluation of the use of patient-focused simulation for student assessment in a surgery clerkship.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of simulated patients in conjunction with anatomic and tissue task-training models to assess skills. METHODS: Faculty reviewed the objectives of the clerkship to identify skills to be acquired. Three cases were developed related to rectal examination, suturing, and inserting intravenous lines and nasogastric tubes. Student scores were based on their ability to gather data from simulated patients and perform procedures on simulation models. RESULTS: A total of 670 students were assessed between 2006 and 2009. Alpha reliability coefficients were .97 for Communication/Interpersonal Skills, .71 for Procedures, and .58 for Data Gathering. Students receiving low ratings from faculty in the clerkship had significantly (P \u3c .001) lower simulation scores. There were significant (P \u3c .001) relationships between scores and grades in other clerkships. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of simulated patients and simulation models yielded reliable scores for procedural and interpersonal skills, and evidence of validity related to clinical ratings

IMPACTFUL LESSONS THROUGH EMBEDDING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS INTO SCIENCE CURRICULA

The University of Sydney has identified the embedding of cultural competence into academic programs as one of its core Graduate Qualities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). This knowledge, surrounding animals, plants and the environment, is embedded in stories and paintings used to pass on knowledge and cultural practices. Despite the challenges posed in embedding IKS into science curricula due to the perceived conflict of different of ways of doing and knowing things in relation to Western science, this has been achieved in several units of study across the Faculty of Science. Here we present presential and online approaches in which science students, from 1st to 3rd year, engaged with aspects of ecological and biocultural Indigenous knowledge, embedded in the stories of life and paintings by the Ngaanyatjarra People through the Warburton Arts and Knowledge Portal (https://indigenous-knowledges.sydney.edu.au/). Students were asked to reflect on: ways that western science and IKS package information; diverse views about classification of plants/animals; consideration of culture and spirituality in IKS; the relevance of IKS for mainstream societies when solving modern day problems related to conservation of biodiversity; and how the activity helps to improve students’ cultural competence