The Capacity Ratio as a Measure of Solvency in Experiential Education

Objective. To determine the utility of the capacity ratio to measure and compare solvency in experiential education in 6 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the Northwestern United States. Methods. The 6 colleges and schools of pharmacy combined data on student placements needed, site availability, and changes made to placements during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years and calculated capacity ratios for the advanced and introductory experience programs in the region. Comparisons also were made to previously published capacity results to determine whether the capacity ratio was useful in identifying trends and guiding preceptor and site development. Results. Capacity ratio calculations were successful in facilitating comparison of capacity within and across regions. Experiential education is solvent in the Northwest overall, but specific parts of experiential programs were found to have more capacity than others. Trends in the Northwest were consistent with capacity in other regions. Conclusions. The capacity ratio can determine and facilitate comparison of solvency within and across colleges and schools of pharmacy and thereby inform decisions about resource management in experiential education.Keywords: availability, introductory pharmacy practice experiences, site recruitment, advanced pharmacy practice experiences, capacity, experiential education, preceptor developmentKeywords: availability, introductory pharmacy practice experiences, site recruitment, advanced pharmacy practice experiences, capacity, experiential education, preceptor developmen

The Capacity Ratio as a Measure of Solvency in Experiential Education

Objective. To determine the utility of the capacity ratio to measure and compare solvency in experiential education in 6 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the Northwestern United States

Pulmonary function three to five months after hospital discharge for COVID-19: a single centre cohort study

Abstract Some COVID-19 survivors suffer from persistent pulmonary function impairment, but the extent and associated factors are unclear. This study aimed to characterize pulmonary function impairment three to five months after hospital discharge and the association with disease severity. Survivors of COVID-19 after hospitalization to the VieCuri Medical Centre between February and December 2020 were invited for follow-up, three to five months after discharge. Dynamic and static lung volumes, respiratory muscle strength and diffusion capacity were measured. The cohort comprised 257 patients after a moderate (n = 33), severe (n = 151) or critical (n = 73) COVID-19 infection with a median follow-up of 112 days (interquartile range 96–134 days). The main sequelae included reduced diffusion capacity (36%) and reduced maximal expiratory pressure (24%). Critically ill patients were more likely to have reduced diffusion capacity than moderate (OR 8.00, 95% CI 2.46–26.01) and severe cases (OR 3.74, 95% CI 1.88–7.44) and lower forced vital capacity (OR 3.29, 95% CI 1.20–9.06) compared to severe cases. Many COVID-19 survivors, especially after a critical disease course, showed pulmonary function sequelae, mainly DLCO impairments, three to five months after discharge. Monitoring is needed to investigate the persistence of these symptoms and the longer-term implications of the COVID-19 burden