Enhancing suicide risk assessment through the use of visual metaphor : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Health Science in Psychology at Massey University, Albany Campus, New Zealand

Competent assessment and management of the risk of harm is a core competency that mental health professionals are expected to possess. However, despite this expectation, adequate training programs have been lacking for decades and, even when risk assessment training is provided, it is often reported as being insufficient. The literature indicates that training delivery methods often include passive and didactic methods during supervision or seminar sessions. To help enhance the learning of suicide risk factors, some authors proposed a visual metaphor that visually and metaphorically depicts all suicide risk factors. The main purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the proposed visual metaphor. A pilot RCT was undertaken to test several hypotheses, all of which predicted that the visual metaphor would demonstrate superior effects when compared with the conventional textual teaching methods. A group of 22 psychology students were randomized into either a control group (who learnt suicide risk factors via the conventional textual teaching methods) or a treatment group (that learnt the risk factors using the visual metaphor in addition to the conventional textual teaching methods). Memory recall, knowledge transfer, cognitive load, and satisfaction were all tested at the end of the learning sessions. Independent samples t tests indicated that the visual metaphor was effective in improving memory recall and knowledge transfer and reducing the cognitive load. The differences between the two groups’ post-learning scores were significant in each of these outcome measures. The treatment group also expressed higher satisfaction levels in comparison to the control group. Overall the visual metaphor of suicide risk factors was found to be superior to the conventional teaching methods in teaching suicide risk factors to university psychology students. Limitations, implications of this study and directions for future research are discussed

Translation and validation of the Arabic version of the Digital Stress Scale (DSS-A) with three Arabic-speaking samples

Objective: Given the ubiquitous nature of digital technologies such as smartphones, research has increasingly focused on the health outcomes of prolonged use of such technologies. The Digital Stress Scale (DSS) has been developed recently, but it is currently only available in English and Chinese, and validations in other languages are warranted. Methods: The 24-item DSS was translated into Arabic using the method of translation and back-translation. Using a general population sample (n = 1069) from Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Jordan, the psychometric properties of the Arabic DSS (DSS-A) were investigated using higher-order confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The original five-factor structure was replicated for the DSS-A without the need for any modifications such as item deletion or reassignment of items to another factor. Reliability was excellent for the total scale score (α = 0.92) as well as for the five subscales (α ranged between 0.81 and 0.91). Convergent validity was supported by significant correlations between the DSS-A and psychological distress. Conclusion: The strong psychometric properties of the DSS-A imply that this scale can now be used with high validity and reliability to explore the role of digital stress and its sub-characteristics in Arabic-speaking populations

Diagnostic accuracy of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of thyroid lesions along with histopathological correlation. A 3-year retrospective study

Background: Among endocrine malignancies, thyroid carcinoma is by far the most frequent. Approximately 5 to 15 percent of all thyroid nodules have been found to be cancerous in recent years. The results of a cytology test can help doctors determine the best course of therapy for their patients, including surgery. There has been a great deal of research into the accuracy of FNAC in diagnosing thyroid cancer. Objectives: Diagnose thyroid FNAC lesions according to the Bethesda approach and compare them with histological diagnoses to establish diagnostic value and accuracy. Materials and Methods: This is a three-year retrospective research conducted at the King Khalid Hospital in Najran. Data including demographics, FNAC report and histopathological diagnosis was collected from the hospital records. Thyroid cytology was classified into six categories based on the Bethesda system and histopathological correlation was done. Calculations were performed to determine the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Results: The average age was 36.6 ±11.9 years, ranging from 16 to 83 years.. Females made up 91.5 percent of the sample, having a male-female ratio of 1:10. There were 24 (29.3%) Bethesda category II lesions, 28 (34.14%) Bethesda category IV lesions, and the least 2 Bethesda category III lesions (2.4 percent ). On FNAC, 12 (14.63 %) of the lesions were malignant. There was a 92.4 percent sensitivity, 68.9 percent specificity, 84.5% positive predictive value (PPV), 83.3% negative predictive value (NPV), and an accuracy of 84.1 percent for FNAC validity. Conclusion: This study found that in FNAC thyroid the sensitivity and specificity are both satisfactory and our findings are comparable. The Bethesda Tiered Diagnostic System is a great tool for diagnosing and managing thyroid lesions. Cytopathologists should be mindful of potential diagnostic pitfalls, which can be minimized even more if aspirates are acquired under USG supervision

Operating Theater Technician Responsibilities with Nurses and Pharmacists Working together Preoperative: Review

Through the years, pharmacy services have historically included dispensing, the supply of information regarding medications, and activities related to inventory management. The impact of pharmacists on the implementation of medication safety standards, drug therapy optimization, and other clinical interventions has been adequately reviewed in settings of general wards and is considered to be standard practice. On the other hand, these activities in the operating room have not yet gained the status of standard practice. Without exception, the general fundamental competences should be possessed by all healthcare professionals, regardless of the field in which they work. Some of the specific content that falls under these abilities varies from one discipline to another. The specialized operating theater nurse is the only healthcare practitioner who possesses the level of expertise necessary to be responsible for asepsis, instrumentation, infection and complications, control, and management of biological specimens while the surgical procedure is being performed. No other profession in the healthcare industry possesses the formal education, competence, or skills necessary to provide nursing care in the operating room during a surgical procedure. The only exception to this is the nursing profession that specializes in operating rooms. As a result, the competency of operating theatre nurses is absolutely necessary in order to guarantee the safety of patients during surgery

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Subjective Happiness Assessment among Taif University Medical Students

Abstract Happiness is a very important factor in human life, it is due to happiness that a person can perform tasks in a better or worse way, as it can affect performance. It also could be affected by different factors including study load, smoking, marital status, income, exercise, and study habits. Medical students in particular are subject to have many factors that could influence their happiness level. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 605 medical students at Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia that was conducted between August and November of 2015. Students filled a questioner that includes demographic data and validated questions to assess the subjective happiness [the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS)]. We classified students into happy and unhappy groups according to the score achieved. Those who achieved score more than median were considered to be happy. The primary goal is to assess the level happiness and it's relation to the level of the students, gender, income, study habits, and lifestyle habits. According to the SHS, more students were classified as unhappy (54.4%). The 2nd and 3rd year groups were more likely to be happy (p 0.106). Engaged students were more likely to be happy compared to those who were single or married (p 0.323). Happy students tend to have non-significant higher mean GPA. Happy students were more likely to be younger and reports high/middle income compared to the unhappy group (p <0.05). Those who do exercise for at least 30 min were more likely to be happy compared to those who reports sedentary lifestyle (p 0.146). Students study habits didn't impact the happiness level (p 0.953). According to SHS, more students were considered to be unhappy. The 2nd and 3rd year groups were happier than the other years. Happy students were more likely to be male, younger, engaged, reports high/middle income, higher GPA and exercise more

Examining and enhancing the reliability of the Arabic version of the Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire

Background Clinical perfectionism has been implicated among risks for developing depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. This study aimed to translate the widely used Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ) into Arabic and examine its psychometric properties. A general population sample of 1598 Saudi adults completed an online survey. Respondents were randomly selected to create two separate samples of n = 400 each, thus meeting the sample size recommendations for Rasch analysis. We applied the partial credit Rasch model to one independent sample to investigate and improve the psychometric characteristics of the scale and replicated our findings with another independent sample of the equal size. Results Minor modifications were required to address local dependency issues and resulted in a good fit of the Arabic CPQ to the unidimensional Rasch model in both samples. The scale demonstrated unidimensionality, invariance across personal factors, and good reliability (PSI = 0.78). As expected, the scale scores were positively associated with depression, anxiety, and disordered eating behaviors. Conclusions Overall, the Arabic CPQ demonstrated robust psychometric properties after minor modifications that did not change the original scale format. The utility and accuracy of the Arabic CPQ can be enhanced by converting ordinal scores into interval scale scores using conversion tables presented in this paper