Monitoring Reading Fluency Progress with the Use of Graphs

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) is a scientifically based approach used to collect progress monitoring data, and is often used to monitor reading development. Graphing a student\u27s reading data over time allows educators to view the student\u27s rate of progress, goal, and interventions. This leads to timely changes to ineffective instructional programs, often resulting in more academic success for students. Graphs can be a communication tool for educators to share progress data with students, parents, and other staff. The current need for educators to monitor student progress has resulted in an increasing need of programs that can be used in the educational setting to graph and store a large amount of educational data in an inexpensive way. The project designed is a program that stores student CBM results, specifically reading fluency data. Data collected includes screening information from all students during the Fall, Winter, and Spring, as well as frequent progress data, which includes individual students\u27 rate of progress and their goal. This information is stored in tables and can be presented in graph form allowing teachers to view student progress. The program described is userfriendly and allows teachers to monitor student reading progress in an inexpensive, convenient way

Skin cancer screening in the primary care setting

INTRODUCTION: Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and melanoma is the fifth most common kind of cancer. The incidence of melanoma has been increasing over the past thirty years. This type of cancer can be detected using a visual skin examination. Survival is related to the thinness and stage at the time of diagnosis. Clinicians find thinner, earlier stage melanomas compared to those found by patients and significant others. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE: The average American visits their primary care provider twice annually and skin conditions are the number one reason Americans younger than sixty-five visit their primary care physician. However, the majority of residents in the United States are not comfortable with performing the full body skin examination required to screen for melanoma. Medical schools in the United States spend one percent of the curriculum on dermatologic conditions. In fact, the United States Preventative Services Task Force does not support regular skin cancer screening by primary care providers since there is limited evidence that primary care physicians perform adequate skin examinations. METHODS: This curriculum is aimed at teaching internal medicine and family medicine interns and primary care physician assistants and nurse practitioners the full body skin cancer screening examination as well as the ability to differentiate between benign and malignant skin lesions. A pre- and post-course examination of benign versus malignant lesions will be distributed and the scores will be analyzed using a paired T-test. A pre- and post-course Likert scale will be dispersed to evaluate how clinical practice changes based on this course. Mean and standard deviation for the overall Likert scale as well as individual parts of the scale will be calculated and a paired T-test will be used to analyze how the course changed clinical practice of the clinicians. Additionally, standardized patients will be provided for the participants to practice the full body skin examination. CONCLUSION: This study is unique in that it is teaching primary care medical interns as well as physician assistants and nurse practitioners the full body skin examination. Limitations include a small sample size, voluntary participation in the setting of a busy work schedule, and pushback from clinicians since performing full body skin exams are not recommended at this time

Risk Assessment of Bone Fracture During Space Exploration Missions to the Moon and Mars

The possibility of a traumatic bone fracture in space is a concern due to the observed decrease in astronaut bone mineral density (BMD) during spaceflight and because of the physical demands of the mission. The Bone Fracture Risk Module (BFxRM) was developed to quantify the probability of fracture at the femoral neck and lumbar spine during space exploration missions. The BFxRM is scenario-based, providing predictions for specific activities or events during a particular space mission. The key elements of the BFxRM are the mission parameters, the biomechanical loading models, the bone loss and fracture models and the incidence rate of the activity or event. Uncertainties in the model parameters arise due to variations within the population and unknowns associated with the effects of the space environment. Consequently, parameter distributions were used in Monte Carlo simulations to obtain an estimate of fracture probability under real mission scenarios. The model predicts an increase in the probability of fracture as the mission length increases and fracture is more likely in the higher gravitational field of Mars than on the moon. The resulting probability predictions and sensitivity analyses of the BFxRM can be used as an engineering tool for mission operation and resource planning in order to mitigate the risk of bone fracture in space

Risk Assessment of Bone Fracture During Space Exploration Missions to the Moon and Mars

The possibility of a traumatic bone fracture in space is a concern due to the observed decrease in astronaut bone mineral density (BMD) during spaceflight and because of the physical demands of the mission. The Bone Fracture Risk Module (BFxRM) was developed to quantify the probability of fracture at the femoral neck and lumbar spine during space exploration missions. The BFxRM is scenario-based, providing predictions for specific activities or events during a particular space mission. The key elements of the BFxRM are the mission parameters, the biomechanical loading models, the bone loss and fracture models and the incidence rate of the activity or event. Uncertainties in the model parameters arise due to variations within the population and unknowns associated with the effects of the space environment. Consequently, parameter distributions were used in Monte Carlo simulations to obtain an estimate of fracture probability under real mission scenarios. The model predicts an increase in the probability of fracture as the mission length increases and fracture is more likely in the higher gravitational field of Mars than on the moon. The resulting probability predictions and sensitivity analyses of the BFxRM can be used as an engineering tool for mission operation and resource planning in order to mitigate the risk of bone fracture in space

Human Factors and Simulation in Emergency Medicine

This consensus group from the 2017 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference Catalyzing System Change through Health Care Simulation: Systems, Competency, and Outcomes held in Orlando, Florida, on May 16, 2017, focused on the use of human factors (HF) and simulation in the field of emergency medicine (EM). The HF discipline is often underutilized within EM but has significant potential in improving the interface between technologies and individuals in the field. The discussion explored the domain of HF, its benefits in medicine, how simulation can be a catalyst for HF work in EM, and how EM can collaborate with HF professionals to effect change. Implementing HF in EM through health care simulation will require a demonstration of clinical and safety outcomes, advocacy to stakeholders and administrators, and establishment of structured collaborations between HF professionals and EM, such as in this breakout group