Fifteen minute consultation: stabilisaton of the high risk newborn infant beside the mother

Paediatric and adult resuscitation is often performed with family present. Current guidelines recommend deferred umbilical cord clamping as part of immediate neonatal care, requiring neonatal assessment next to the mother. This paper describes strategies for providing care beside the mother using both standard resuscitation equipment and a trolley designed for this purpose

Why all the fuss about 2D semiconductors?

Graphene is no longer alone; a family of atomically thin 2D semiconductors has emerged. Optoelectronics and photonics applications are in their experimental infancy but the future holds much promise.Comment: Commentary article, 1 figure, 1 tabl

First High-Convergence Cryogenic Implosion in a Near-Vacuum Hohlraum

Recent experiments on the National Ignition Facility [M. J. Edwards et al., Phys. Plasmas 20, 070501 (2013)] demonstrate that utilizing a near-vacuum hohlraum (low pressure gas-filled) is a viable option for high convergence cryogenic deuterium-tritium (DT) layered capsule implosions. This is made possible by using a dense ablator (high-density carbon), which shortens the drive duration needed to achieve high convergence: a measured 40% higher hohlraum efficiency than typical gas-filled hohlraums, which requires less laser energy going into the hohlraum, and an observed better symmetry control than anticipated by standard hydrodynamics simulations. The first series of near-vacuum hohlraum experiments culminated in a 6.8 ns, 1.2 MJ laser pulse driving a 2-shock, high adiabat (α ~ 3.5) cryogenic DT layered high density carbon capsule. This resulted in one of the best performances so far on the NIF relative to laser energy, with a measured primary neutron yield of 1.8×10[superscript 15] neutrons, with 20% calculated alpha heating at convergence ~27×

Mission impossible? Assessing the veracity of a mental health problem as result of a road traffic accident: a preliminary review of UK experts’ practices

The number of people claiming for personal injury after being involved in a road traffic accident (RTA) in the UK continues to soar. In April 2015, the UK Government intervened to implement measures aimed at reducing the prevalence of fraud within such personal injury claims. However, these reforms did not include claims for mental disorder that arise because of a RTA despite being responsible for substantially larger payouts in comparison with claims for whiplash. The present study examines the assessment practice for detecting fraudulent claims of this nature using a mixed methods survey analysing UK medico-legal professionals’ assessment methodologies (N = 37). The findings suggest comprehensively that assessment practices in this field are idiosyncratic. The findings evidence limitations in all aspects of the assessment process from medico-legal assessors being asked to undertake examinations without the presence of medical records to 44% of examiners being unaware of the three types of malingering. The article concludes with recommendations for improving both assessments and the assessment process for assessing RTA claimants in the UK

Peer assessment of teamwork in group projects: Evaluation of a rubric

Effective teamwork is integral to the functioning of many professions. Employers desire work-ready graduates who have developed the so-called ‘soft skills’ involved in teamwork. One way for students to practise and gain feedback on their team skills is through team-based assessment tasks. The TeamUP Rubric was developed to teach and assess five domains of teamwork skills through peer feedback. Initial evaluation of the five domains and use of the TeamUP with health and arts students has provided initial support for its utility as a measure of teamwork. In the current study the scale structure of each of the five domains was evaluated using Mokken scale analysis (MSA). MSA is a non-parametric item response theory approach that evaluates the internal structure of an evaluation tool. One-hundred and seventy-seven primary education students were recruited for the study. All participants were undertaking a teamwork assignment in a unit of study in their education degree at an Australian regional university. They completed the TeamUP Rubric assessment for themselves and for each of the students in their team. Each TeamUP domain met the requirements for a Mokken scale. The current study supports the validity of the scores derived from the TeamUP Rubric and further supports its use as a tool for teaching and assessing teamwork

Developing teamwork skills in pre-registration osteopathy education: A qualitative pilot investigation

Objectives: Teamwork in healthcare provides better outcomes for patients and contributes to job satisfaction and autonomy. Graduate capabilities of teaching institutions require educators to assess teamwork skills. The TeamUP Short-Form (TeamUP-SF) was developed as a self- and peer-assessment tool of teamwork skills following feedback from the previous version. This pilot study evaluated the utility of the TeamUP-SF in developing and assessing teamwork skills in a cohort of senior osteopathy students undertaking group assignments. Methods: Forty-nine students received the TeamUP-SF after a minimum of 12 weeks of group work. Students rated their own teamwork skills, and those of other members of their group using the TeamUP-SF. Focus groups were conducted to explore students’ attitudes and impressions about teamwork and its assessment. Analysis of focus group transcripts followed a constructivist paradigm utilising thematic analysis. Results: Seventeen students participated in a 1-h focus group about the usability of the TeamUP-SF for assessing and developing teamwork skills. Themes to emerge were perceptions of teamwork, purpose of the TeamUP-SF, usability of the TeamUP-SF, and the emotional impact of evaluating teamwork skills. Conclusion: The TeamUP-SF may be valuable in developing and assessing teamwork skills. Students recommended using the TeamUP-SF in two ways: assess and monitor their own teamwork skills; and, optimise team function in their own learning environments by focusing on team efficiency and effectiveness. Students also identified limitations of the TeamUP-SF including its use as a summative assessment. These recommendations may reduce the emotional impact on students assessing individuals within a team