EXPLORING AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING AS A POTENTIAL FORMATIVE INSTRUMENT FOR PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN PAEDIATRIC WARDS

The specificity of a paediatric ward adds complexity to medical and health practice: providing care, especially to children, invariably involves an educational dimension. Professionals working in paediatric wards are required to deal with such complexity on a daily basis. In this paper I explore the potential of writing, a specific mode of human language, to act as an instrument for helping professionals operating in a paediatric ward to deal with the complexity of their work context. In particular, I assess whether autobiographical writing may be used as an educational training instrument, with a view to designing a course of personal and professional development for professionals in paediatric hospital settings. I focus on the process of reflection stimulated by writing as a source of awareness about how we act in our daily lives and work: such reflection can bring about the desire for change and allow us to find meaning in our individual experience

Reflections on Educational Work in the Area of Italian Mental Health

The paper specifically reflects on educational work in the area of mental health, on the basis of an empirical research designed to explore the interaction between medical and pedagogical interventions in two Italian mental health contexts.The study design was qualitative (Denzin Lincoln, 2000); specifically a phenomenological-hermeneutical method (Van Manen, 1990) and a case-study strategy (Nagy Leavy, 2011; Yin, 1994) were adopted. An analysis of educational work in healthcare contexts was carried out, with a focus on the particular knowledge, professional role and professional practices that identify educators in this field.The case study pointed up critical and specific characteristics of educational action in the mental health services, which is aimed at striking a balance between the dimensions of caring for, and developing the skills of, people with mental illness.

Developments in anaplastic large-cell lymphoma: targeting the anaplastic lymphoma kinase

Francesca Farina, Alessandra Stasia, Carlo Gambacorti-Passerini Department of Health Sciences, University of Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy Abstract: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase protein implicated in a variety of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. ALK contributes to the development of cancers in different cell lineages through a variety of genetic mechanisms: gene fusions, activating point mutations, and possibly gene amplification. Recent developments led to significant therapeutic advances, including efficient diagnostic tests and ALK-targeting agents. This review addresses some therapeutic considerations with regard to the use of ALK inhibitors in ALK-positive lymphomas where, in spite of the advanced stage of the disease, long-lasting responses could be obtained in a substantial portion of heavily pretreated patients. Data and mechanisms for the development of resistance to ALK inhibitors will also be presented and discussed. Keywords: ALK, lymphoma, tyrosine kinase, targeted therapy, crizotini

L’utilizzo di un software per l’analisi nella ricerca qualitativa. Potenziali e limiti di NVivo in un progetto fenomenologico-ermeneutico

Il contributo presenterà una riflessione critica relativa all’utilizzo del software NVivo all’interno progetto di ricerca qualitativa, finalizzata a indagare l’incontro nella pratica professionale tra il sapere pedagogico e quello medico/sanitario. Riferendosi a un approccio qualitativo, il progetto si è basato sul metodo fenomenologico-ermeneutico e sulla strategia dello studio di caso. Per raccogliere i dati sono stati utilizzati l’osservazione etnografica, l’intervista semi-strutturata, la pratica del collage-making, il diario di ricerca. L’analisi del materiale, effettuata seguendo il modello fenomenologico-ermeneutico, è stata supportata da NVivo. La conoscenza del software, approfondita prima del suo impiego, ha permesso di utilizzarlo come ausilio per accompagnare il lavoro di analisi, non in sostituzione all’interpretazione della ricercatrice. Riprendendo questa esperienza, il contributo presenterà aspetti positivi e difficoltà incontrati nell’utilizzo di NVivo, evidenziando come l’uso di un software per l’analisi qualitativa, e nello specifico nell’approccio fenomenologico-ermeneutico, passi inevitabilmente attraverso l’insostituibile pensiero del ricercatore

The role of bosutinib in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia

The availability of several BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) options means physicians and patients can select the most appropriate treatment for a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). BCR-ABL TKI selection as a first- or later-line therapy is dependent on a number of clinical factors. Regular monitoring of patients, patient education, dose optimization and management of treatment-emergent adverse events are key aspects of long-term chronic myeloid leukemia management and contribute to improved clinical outcomes, quality of life, patient adherence and healthcare costs. This review provides an overview of the BCR-ABL1 TKI bosutinib, its pharmacology and clinical trials; discusses the impact of comorbidities and concomitant medications on bosutinib treatment selection; and suggests strategies for managing adverse events and dose optimization during bosutinib treatment

Le storie di vita dei malati di Leucemia Mieloide Cronica: “dare un posto” all’esperienza di malattia nella propria esistenza 
e contribuire all’implementazione della qualità delle cure

Il presente progetto ha raccolto le storie di vita di alcuni membri dell\u2019Associazione Italiana Pazienti di Leucemia Mieloide Cronica (AIP-LMC), in modo da poter esplorare quanto da essi vissuto, anche in relazione all\u2019esperienza di malattia incontrata. La proposta di ripensare, attraverso il racconto, il proprio percorso esistenziale, pu\uf2 costituire un\u2019occasione per ri-significare, ri-pensare e rielaborare l\u2019esperienza di malattia esperita dai partecipanti. Una tale rielaborazione, oltre a favorire una ricostruzione di s\ue9 e della propria storia , utile in primo luogo a chi narra, pu\uf2 consentire di nominare e mettere in luce vissuti, sentimenti, emozioni attraversati nell\u2019esperienza di malattia che potrebbero aiutare lo staff medico e sanitario a riconoscere dimensioni a cui prestare attenzione nel percorso diagnostico e terapeutico

La formazione medica alle cure palliative come ΠΆΘΕΙ ΜΆΘΟΣ : guadagnare saggezza dall'incontro con la finitudine

In this paper we reflect on medical knowledge and professional identity change that may occur when physicians start train-ing in palliative care (PC). Our reflections are based on a secondary analysis of data collected in a qualitative study on the development of competence in PC, which involved all the profession-als (n=30) who in 2014-2015 attended a master program in PC offered by the University of Milan (Italy). They were involved in three focus group (FG), at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the training. We focus on FGs conducted with physicians (N=10) to reflect on the impact of PC training on their knowledge and identity. Physicians claimed to have a therapeutic role in the CP, even though they realized from the beginning of the Master that their role had to move from caring dimension \u2013 in biomedical sense \u2013 into taking care one referring to patients / family members. The participants affirmed that they had to \u201cun-dress\u201d languages and philosophies that characterized their previ-ous education, in order to acquire the skill to confront suffering. Even if, at the beginning of the Master, the encounter with death and suffering seems to put. Even if encountering death and grief, at the beginning of the Master, seems to intensely challenge med-ical knowledge and role, later, physicians seem to enlarge their idea of competence and wisdom arises from coming to terms with human finitude. Entering in the context of PC makes the doctors confront not only with patients\u2019 finitude, but also with their own sense of finitude. Therefore, the process of \u3c0\u3ac\u3b8\u3b5\u3b9 \u3bc\u3ac\u3b8\u3bf\u3c3 seems put in place here, which allows the construction of a new idea of medical knowledge that we called \u201csapience\u201d. The latter can not be intended as a simple transmission/acquisition of knowledge, but has been described as a process of "becoming". In conclusion, we reflect on the importance of making medical stu-dents confront with finitude, and therefore on the value of intro-ducing PC also in undergraduate training, in order to enlarge medical students\u2019 knowledge and identity

Chapter The ‘Second Level’ Education Professional: a Traineeship Programme Fostering a Proactive Approach to Employability

In this chapter, we outline the process that led to the development of the current traineeship programme − Tirocinio Formativo e di Orientamento (TFO) related to the Master’s Degree Course in Education at the University of Milan-Bicocca. We focus particularly on the interconnection between developing professional competences and addressing the issue of employabilit