Exploring controversies in electrocardiogram electrode placement

The 12-lead ECG electrocardiogram is a commonly performed investigation. A literature review published in this edition of the British Journal of Cardiac Nursing highlights poor practice in electrode placement. Of particular concern is the placement of limb electrodes on the torso, which can result is misdiagnosis of suspected myocardial infarction. Although research suggests modified limb lead positions that produce accurate results, these are not widely understood in practice. A greater emphasis on electrode placement is required by educators

Active Shooter Events: The Guardian Plan

The decision on how to protect the children and youth while at schools is a serious conversation with varying agreements on the best practices. Some feel that school personnel should not be trained nor expected to be able to react to an armed person while others believe that training of school personnel and allowing them to be armed will deter armed assailants in schools. Ultimately, each school board and district leadership need to choose an emergency safety plan that fits their community. The number of school shootings has brought emergency safety discussions to the forefront again. One school district, highlighted in this article, chose the implementation of a plan called the Guardian Plan

General practitioners' reasons for removing patients from their lists: postal survey in England and Wales

The removal of patients from doctors' lists causes con­ siderable public and political concern, with speculation that patients are removed for inappropriate, including financial, reasons. In 1999 the House of Commons Select Committee on Public Administration noted that little evidence was available on either the frequency of, or the reasons for, removal of patients. National statistics do not distinguish between patients removed after moving out of a practice area and those removed for other reasons. Two postal surveys have reported why general practitioners might, in general, remove patients, and one small study has described the reasons doctors give for particular removals. We therefore determined the current scale of, and doctors' reasons for, removal of patients from their lists in Eng­ land and Wales

Current Realities for Public Schools

Administrators in today\u27s schools work in a constant state of flux; change is the norm. Congress\u27 recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Act, through the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), provides a signal example. Just as many were beginning to fully understand and adjust to the implications of the now defunct No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, there\u27s a new set of rules to play by

The Changing Landscape of Leadership

Leading a campus is not what it used to be (nor is teaching a class, being a student, or raising a child for that matter). The increasing pace of societal and technological change provides an ever-evolving backdrop against which educational leaders view and conduct their work. Overlay a culture of accountability enacted amid budget cuts, surging enrollments, and shifting demographics, and the roles of school leaders become clouded with uncertainty, imbued with responsibility, and demanding increased personal commitment and professional and technical knowledge. One principal preparation student recently commented that her teaching colleagues routinely asked her, Why in the world do you want to do that? Upon reflection, it\u27s a valid question we should all answer

Preparing Aspiring Superintendents to Lead School Improvement: Perceptions of Graduates for Program Development

Changes in the design and delivery of educational leadership preparation programs are advocated in order to meet the needs of leadership for 21st century schools (Byrd, 2001; Cox, 2002; McKerrow, 1998; Smylie & Bennett, 2005). The changing needs of the 21st century, coupled with accountability standards and more diverse populations of students within school districts, create challenges for leaders who are attempting to increase student achievement (Firestone & Shipps, 2005; Schlechty, 2008). Further, student performance demands have increased at the state and national level because of the No Child Left Behind Act (Wong & Nicotera, 2007). These standards have thus increased the emphasis of the administrator\u27s responsibility to positively impact student achievement (Taylor, 2001). With the graying of the profession and the need for exemplary school superintendents, the preparation of school superintendents who can successfully lead school improvement is vitally important (Lashway, 2006). According to the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2002), university preparation programs should seek current leaders\u27 perspectives of critical content components and the processes to be used in the preparation of educational leaders who can lead school improvement practices and processes

Understanding the ECG part 1: anatomy and physiology

This first article in a series on 12-lead ECG interpretation explores the importance of the ECG as a diagnostic tool, discusses the anatomy and physiology underpinning cardiac electrical activity, and introduces the basic waveforms seen on the ECG

Life stories of selected adults with learning disabilities: How they come to understand and choose to reveal their disabilities

Adults with learning disabilities continue to be impacted by their disabilities throughout their lives. Once they exit formal education, the disclosure of the disability becomes a personal choice. Previous research proposes that although the effects of disabilities are present in the workplace, individuals with learning disabilities are hesitant to disclose their disabilities or request accommodations. Ten adults with learning disabilities were interviewed for this qualitative study to determine how individuals with learning disabilities come to understand and disclose their disabilities. The results suggest that the understanding of what a learning disability means is based upon several factors including the words and actions of others, special education placement, and self-evaluation. Most adults in this study fully- or partially-disclose their learning disabilities to a variety of people and for an assortment of reasons. They use self-presentation strategies such as covering or passing to minimize or conceal the effects of the learning disability. Demystification and self-determination assist with a positive understanding of the learning disability and successful adjustment in adulthood