Encouraging Physician-Attorney Collaboration through More Explicit Professional Standards

In this age of multi-layered global problem solving, the skill of working with other disciplines is a necessary tool for any professional. Societal ills can no longer be solved by narrow approaches learned in graduate training but call for interdisciplinary collaboration. Effective collaboration of this nature requires the professions to understand the differences in professional cultures and to bridge the communication gap caused by these differences. Legal and medical training offer useful, but often conflicting, approaches to problem solving, thus, potentially impeding our abilities to understand and communicate with others regarding a shared issue or problem. Though each profession has created standards that may hint at the further collaboration of the professions, we believe the standards do not go far enough. To provide context for our position, the first section of this essay offers a theoretical perspective on fundamental components to interdisciplinary collaboration. Section II describes the current support for collaborative skills in each profession\u27s operational standards, and suggests alterations and additions to lend further support to interdisciplinary problem solving

Encouraging Physician-Attorney Collaboration through More Explicit Professional Standards

In this age of multi-layered global problem solving, the skill of working with other disciplines is a necessary tool for any professional. Societal ills can no longer be solved by narrow approaches learned in graduate training but call for interdisciplinary collaboration. Effective collaboration of this nature requires the professions to understand the differences in professional cultures and to bridge the communication gap caused by these differences. Legal and medical training offer useful, but often conflicting, approaches to problem solving, thus, potentially impeding our abilities to understand and communicate with others regarding a shared issue or problem. Though each profession has created standards that may hint at the further collaboration of the professions, we believe the standards do not go far enough. To provide context for our position, the first section of this essay offers a theoretical perspective on fundamental components to interdisciplinary collaboration. Section II describes the current support for collaborative skills in each profession\u27s operational standards, and suggests alterations and additions to lend further support to interdisciplinary problem solving

Teaching Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Theory, Practice, and Assessment

In this article, we offer our own theory-based methodology for teaching interprofessional collaboration to law students and we present our preliminary data on its effectiveness. Part I explicates the definition and development of interdisciplinary collaboration. Part II describes how we have grounded our course in current theory, and Part III explains the extent to which our efforts have been successful. Finally, in Part IV, we offer additional thoughts regarding the teaching of interdisciplinary collaboration and pose questions and ideas for future data collection

Teaching Teamwork to Law Students

Despite law firms’ demand for first year associates who can work collaboratively, teamwork is infrequently taught in legal education. Law professors unfamiliar with teamwork theory and practice are unlikely to use teams to engage students in their learning. As a result, law schools continue to graduate students who are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the concept of working in teams, particularly interdisciplinary teams. This article focuses on the teamwork teaching methods we use in the interdisciplinary courses we teach at California Western. We first provide a rationale for teaching teamwork and a brief description of what professional graduate schools are currently doing to incorporate teamwork instruction. We explain how we use teams within our courses, and how we teach our students teamwork. We then discuss the methodology and findings of our surveys to assess whether students believed they were improving in their knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding teamwork, and, if so, which components of the courses they believed were most effective in accomplishing this improvement. Finally, we analyze what we have learned from our survey results and how the results, along with our experience, have changed our views and practices of teaching teamwork to law students

Overlapping presentation of fungal tubulointerstitial nephritis in an immunosuppressed pediatric patient

With the expanding use of immunosuppressive therapies and broad-spectrum antibiotics, Candida species has become an increasingly important cause of infections, particularly in the presence of anti-tumor necrosis factor-α therapy. We report the case of a 17-year-old female with ulcerative colitis who developed oliguric renal failure following immunosuppressive and nephrotoxic therapy. Although urine cultures and urinary tract imaging were negative in the face of fungemia, renal biopsy was the key to establishing the diagnosis of fungal tubulo-interstitial nephritis as the primary reversible cause of the renal failure

Teaching Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Theory, Practice, and Assessment

In this article, we offer our own theory-based methodology for teaching interprofessional collaboration to law students and we present our preliminary data on its effectiveness. Part I explicates the definition and development of interdisciplinary collaboration. Part II describes how we have grounded our course in current theory, and Part III explains the extent to which our efforts have been successful. Finally, in Part IV, we offer additional thoughts regarding the teaching of interdisciplinary collaboration and pose questions and ideas for future data collection

Faculty Equity, Diversity, Culture and Climate Change in Academic Medicine: A Longitudinal Study.

There is a national call for academic medicine to use evidence-based initiatives to improve its culture and climate. The authors report data-driven policy and programmatic interventions that were associated with increased faculty diversity, equity, respectful behavior and improved faculty climate, at UC San Diego Health Sciences.MethodsBased on demographic and survey data, interventions were designed to improve the climate between 2005 and 2015. Interventions included routine measuring and dissemination of demographic data, changes and dissemination of policy and procedures, and new and improved faculty development programming. Impact was measured using demographic data over time, salary equity studies, and school-wide climate surveys in 2005, 2011, and 2015. Specific outcomes included measures of diversity, salary equity, behavior, and climate.ResultsOver the ten-year period, the proportion of women increased from 16% to 23% of tenure/tenure-track faculty and 31%-40% of all faculty. Underrepresented minority faculty increased from less than 1%-7% of tenure/tenure-track faculty and from 5% to 8% of all faculty. While women continued to be paid less than men, the adjusted difference dropped from 23% to 12%. Reports of inappropriate behavior by faculty decreased significantly, while satisfaction and knowledge about institutional mentoring and resources improved.ConclusionMultiple interventions including new faculty development programs, changes in policy, and measuring demographics/climate supported diverse faculty recruitment, enhanced a culture of respect and improved faculty morale. Cultural changes in policy, periodic faculty data collection with dissemination, and increased faculty development, improve the climate in academic medicine

The Culture of Academic Medicine: Faculty Behaviors Impacting the Learning Environment.

ObjectiveThe culture of academic medical institutions impacts trainee education, among many other faculty and patient outcomes. Disrespectful behavior by faculty is one of the most challenging and common problems that, left unattended, disrupts healthy work and learning environments. Conversely, a respectful environment facilitates learning, creates a sense of safety, and rewards professionalism. The authors developed surveys and an intervention in an effort to better understand and improve climate concerns among health sciences faculty at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), a research-intense, public, academic medical center.MethodsAn online "climate survey" of all UC San Diego health sciences faculty was conducted in 2011-2012. A strategic campaign to address the behavioral issues identified in the initial survey was subsequently launched. In 2015, the climate was re-evaluated in order to assess the effectiveness of the intervention.ResultsA total of 478 faculty members (223 women, 235 men, 35 % of faculty) completed the baseline survey, reporting relatively low levels of observed sexual harassment (7 %). However, faculty reported concerning rates of other disruptive behaviors: derogatory comments (29 %), anger outbursts (25 %), and hostile communication (25 %). Women and mid-level faculty were more likely to report these behavioral concerns than men and junior or senior colleagues. Three years after an institutional strategy was initiated, 729 faculty members (50 % of the faculty) completed a follow-up survey. The 2015 survey results indicate significant improvement in numerous climate factors, including overall respectful behaviors, as well as behaviors related to gender.ConclusionsIn order to enhance a culture of respect in the learning environment, institutions can effectively engage academic leaders and faculty at all levels to address disruptive behavior and enhance positive climate factors