Being there, there and there: using research methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of librarians embedded in chart rounds within a multi-center Family Medicine residency program

OBJECTIVE: To measure the impact, analyze results and suggest enhancements of librarian participation at multi-disciplinary chart rounds at three central Massachusetts health centers affiliated with the U Mass Medical School Worcester Family Medicine residency program. METHODS: Chart rounds, led by Department of Family Medicine and Community Health faculty preceptors, are held daily at each residency practice site. Family Medicine residents present cases based on patients seen that day. New guidelines for chart rounds were developed by residency leadership in 2007. Based on these guidelines, librarians, behavioral health specialists and pharmacists are invited to participate. In early 2010, residents (n=32) were invited to complete an IRB-approved survey asking them to evaluate their satisfaction with chart rounds. The survey consisted of ten questions, three of which focused on the effectiveness of library participation. Other questions sought feedback on the value of chart rounds as an educational tool as well as questions about the participation of other specialists. This paper reports results from this survey specific to librarian involvement, analyzed using SPSS 17.0. RESULTS: Survey results were crosstabulated by practice site and by post-graduate year (PGY) across all sites. Of greatest significance were satisfaction reports by PGY. Residents in the third year of training were more likely than those in earlier years to report that information provided by librarians during rounds: A) changed their short-term and/or long-term treatment plans (chi2=13.61, p=.009); B) helped them locate useful information more efficiently than in the past (chi2=10.99, p=.027); and C) helped increase their knowledge about a medical or community health issue (chi2=16.15, p=.003). CONCLUSIONS: After reviewing these results and discussing possible interpretations by site and by PGY, several changes have been made or are proposed for this and the 2011-2012 academic year, e.g. participation of librarians in PGY1 practice settings such as inpatient morning report. These changes will address areas where lower satisfaction scores were reported. A specific follow-up survey targeting librarian participation is planned for 2012

Librarian Participation in Chart Rounds: Final Results of Two Surveys Measuring the Effectiveness of Librarians Working with Family Medicine Residents in a Clinical Setting

OBJECTIVE: To measure the impact of librarian participation at multi-disciplinary chart rounds at three central Massachusetts health centers affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester Family Medicine residency program. BACKGROUND: Chart rounds, led by Department of Family Medicine and Community Health faculty preceptors, are held daily at each residency practice site. Family Medicine residents present cases based on patients seen that day. New guidelines for chart rounds were developed by residency leadership in 2007 through a grant from AAMC Regional Medicine-Public Health Education Centers. Based on these guidelines, librarians, behavioral health specialists and pharmacists are invited to participate. METHODS: In early 2010, residents (n=32) were invited to complete an IRB-approved Likert-scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree) survey asking them to evaluate their satisfaction with chart rounds. The survey included three questions focusing on the effectiveness of library participation. Based on the findings of this first survey, initiatives were undertaken to increase librarian impact. These initiatives specifically reached out to PGY1 residents who had scored library participation lower that PGY2 and PGY3 residents. In 2012, a second survey was distributed (n=24) using the same questions. This poster will present results from both surveys specific to librarian involvement. Both sets of results were analyzed using SPSS 17.0. RESULTS: Results were tabulated for the 2010 survey and the 2012 survey, and were then cross-tabulated to identify changes. The three librarian-related questions posed were -- librarians during rounds: A) changed their [residents] short-term and/or long-term treatment plans; B) helped them locate useful information more efficiently than in the past; and C) helped increase their understanding of identifying and utilizing best-evidence information resources in their practice. Although the sample size was small, following the implementation of the initiatives aimed specifically at first year residents, statistically-significant increases were seen in 2012 survey responses in the first two questions. DISCUSSION: Librarians from the Lamar Soutter Library at UMass Medical School have been participating in chart rounds for many years; at some centers, even before the formal guidelines were developed in 2007. Through these two surveys, the librarian cohort now have quantitative data demonstrating their effectiveness in these clinical settings

Double quantum dot with tunable coupling in an enhancement-mode silicon metal-oxide semiconductor device with lateral geometry

We present transport measurements of a tunable silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor double quantum dot device with lateral geometry. Experimentally extracted gate-to-dot capacitances show that the device is largely symmetric under the gate voltages applied. Intriguingly, these gate voltages themselves are not symmetric. Comparison with numerical simulations indicates that the applied gate voltages serve to offset an intrinsic asymmetry in the physical device. We also show a transition from a large single dot to two well isolated coupled dots, where the central gate of the device is used to controllably tune the interdot coupling.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Applied Physics Letter

Enhancement mode double top gated MOS nanostructures with tunable lateral geometry

We present measurements of silicon (Si) metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) nanostructures that are fabricated using a process that facilitates essentially arbitrary gate geometries. Stable Coulomb blockade behavior free from the effects of parasitic dot formation is exhibited in several MOS quantum dots with an open lateral quantum dot geometry. Decreases in mobility and increases in charge defect densities (i.e. interface traps and fixed oxide charge) are measured for critical process steps, and we correlate low disorder behavior with a quantitative defect density. This work provides quantitative guidance that has not been previously established about defect densities for which Si quantum dots do not exhibit parasitic dot formation. These devices make use of a double-layer gate stack in which many regions, including the critical gate oxide, were fabricated in a fully-qualified CMOS facility.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.