The Impact of Simulation Based Experiences on Clinical Education: Physical Therapist Student Perspective

Purpose: Simulation based experiences (SBE) have been described as a means of preparing physical therapist students for clinical practice. The literature, however, largely represents student perceptions while still in the academic setting. The aim of this study was to explore student perceptions of how SBE threaded throughout the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program impacted subsequent clinical education experiences. Method: Purposeful sampling was used to recruit eleven participants who had completed coursework, three clinical education affiliations, and earned DPT degrees. Two semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted and transcribed by the authors. Data analysis was performed using inductive conventional content analysis. Results: Participants reported that roles, procedures, interactions, and predictability in SBE impacted preparedness for clinical education. Findings support previous literature that debriefing fosters development of communication and self-reflection, and that self-efficacy for patient care is promoted through SBE. Conclusions: SBE requires variability and complexity to adequately prepare DPT students for clinical education experiences. Further research on the impact of learner roles within the simulation on preparedness is recommended

The Relationship between Subjective and Objective Parameters in CT Phantom Image Evaluation

Objective: To evaluate whether there is a relationship between subjective parameters determined by a reviewer (spatial resolution, low contrast resolution, and artifacts) and objective parameters (the CT number of water, noise, and image uniformity) in CT phantom image evaluations. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the CT results of phantom image evaluations conducted by Korean Institute for Accreditation of Medical Image (KIAMI) from May 2007 to June 2007. We compared the objective parameters against the pass or fail groups for the subjective parameters. We also evaluated whether there is a relationship between the artifact types and the other subjective parameters. Results: The mean noise value was significantly higher in the fail groups for the subjective parameters compared to the pass groups (p = 0.006). Specifically, noise and low contrast resolution were found to have a statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0. 183, p < 0.001). In the fail group for low contrast resolution, the failure due to artifacts was significantly higher than the pass group (p < 0.001). In contrast, no statistically significant differences were found for the mean CT number of water, noise, or image uniformity based on the types of artifacts. Conclusion: Subjective CT image parameters evaluated by a reviewer correlate with objectively measured parameters, especially noise. Therefore, a stricter noise standard might be able to improve the subjective parameters results, such as low contrast resolution.Park HJ, 2008, KOREAN J RADIOL, V9, P354, DOI 10.3348/kjr.2008.9.4.354IM TH, 2007, 1 KIAMI, P1*KIAMI DEP ED, 2006, WORKSH EX QUAL ASS P, P141*FLUK CORP, 2005, NUCL ASS 76 410 4130*KIAMI DEP ED, 2005, WORKSH EX QUAL ASS P, P13McCollough CH, 2004, MED PHYS, V31, P2423, DOI 10.1118/1.1769632MCCOLLOUGH CM, 2000, CATEGORICAL COURSE D, P189WIL R, 1998, CT IMAGE QUALITYEUCLID S, 1994, COMPUT TOMOGR, P174BETHESDA MD, 1988, 99 NCRPJUDY PF, 1977, 1 AAPM*ACR, CT ACCR PROGR REQ

Support Needs and Coping Strategies as Predictors of Stress Level among Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study examined maternal stress, coping strategies, and support needs among mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A convenience sample of 70 mothers completed the Parent Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF), Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP), and Modified Family Needs Questionnaire (FNQ). PSI-SF scores reflected clinically significant levels of stress for 77% of mothers, and mothers identified 62.4% of important needs as unmet. The five most frequently reported important unmet needs were (1) financial support; (2) break from responsibilities; (3) understanding of other after-school program children; (4) rest/sleep; (5) help remaining hopeful about the future. Most coping strategies (81%) were identified as helpful. Additionally, both coping strategies and support needs served as predictors for maternal stress. Maternal stress scores decreased by .402 points for each percent increase in helpful coping strategy, and stress scores increased by .529 points with each percent increase in unmet needs. Given large variation in questionnaire responses across participants and studies, utilization of user-friendly questionnaires, such as the PSI-SF, CHIP, and FNQ, is advocated to determine the evolving important needs unique to each family over the child’s lifetime as well as guide prioritization of care, compilation of resources, and referrals for additional services

A robust high speed serial PHY architecture with feed-forward correction clock and data recovery

This paper describes a robust architecture for high speed serial links for embedded SoC applications, implemented to satisfy the 1.5 Gb/s and 3 Gb/s Serial-ATA PHY standards. To meet the primary design requirements of a sub-system that is very tolerant of device variability and is easy to port to smaller nanometre CMOS technologies, a minimum of precision analog functions are used. All digital functions are implemented in rail-to-rail CMOS with maximum use of synthesized library cells. A single fixed frequency low-jitter PLL serves the transmit and receive paths in both modes so that tracking and lock time issues are eliminated. A new oversampling CDR with a simple feed-forward error correction scheme is proposed which relaxes the requirements for the analog front-end as well as for the received signal quality. Measurements show that the error corrector can almost double the tolerance to incoming jitter and to DC offsets in the analog front-end. The design occupies less than 0.4 mm2 in 90 nm CMOS and consumes 75 m