Group items tagged

Hospitals and health systems are utilizing Web 2.0 tools to improve staff communication, recruit for research, facilitate networking and build the hospital's brand. A number of hospitals are reporting that tools like YouTube (for Webcasts) can significantly increase traffic to the hospital's site. Mobile CIOs can stay in touch with IT staffs from the road by sending and receiving Twitter updates. Social media can break down hierarchal boundaries by making C-suite executives more easily accessible to others in the organization. Sites like LinkedIn and Plaxo can be a valuable tool for CIOs looking to fill positions or network with peers.

Web 2.0 use represents a profound departure from previous learning and decision processes which were normally controlled by senior medical staff or medical schools. There is widespread concern with the risk of poor quality information with Web 2.0 use, and the manner in which physicians are using it suggest effective use derives from the mitigating actions by the individual physician. Three alternative policy options are identified to manage this risk and improve efficiency in Web 2.0's use.

"Medical schools and Continuing Medical Education should focus on training programs for recognizing and handling linguistic barriers between physicians and patients. Patient education programs should encourage patients who experience language barriers to open up to physicians. In situations where language is a barrier, physicians and patients should be encouraged to use interpreters to enhance the expression of emotions."

"The authors describe the use of the portfolio as a pilot project aimed at introducing reflective thinking and measuring clinical learning in undergraduate nursing education."

"The study provides insight as to why supervisors fail to fail the poorly performing student and resident. It also offers suggestions of how to support supervisors, increasing the likelihood that they will provide a valid ITER "

"Limited opportunities may exist for students to develop insight into the challenges faced by doctors and patients presented with challenging or sensitive illness and difficult decisions. The use of patient and doctor narratives to facilitate discussion and encourage reflection on sensitive issues can offer a useful supplement to patient contact."

"Higher performing students appeared to use the feedback more for positive affirmation than for diagnostic information. Those arguably most in need engaged least. We need to construct feedback after summative assessment in a way that will more effectively engage those students who need the most help."

"Diagnostic accuracy was moderately associated with higher certainty only when clinical data were consistent. This correlation disappeared when incon sistent data were provided, possi bly reflecting changes in reasoning strategies among diagnostically success ful trainees. The relationship between certainty and diagnostic accuracy is context dependent. Certainty is an unreliable surrogate for diagnostic accuracy."

"Central to an effective response is a code of conduct that establishes unequivocally the expectation that everyone is entitled to be treated with courtesy, honesty, respect, and dignity. The code must be enforced fairly through a clear and explicit process and applied consistently regardless of rank or station.Creating a culture of respect requires action on many fronts: modeling respectful conduct; educating students, physicians, and nonphysicians on appropriate behavior; conducting performance evaluations to identify those in need of help; providing counseling and training when needed; and supporting frontline changes that increase the sense of fairness, transparency, collaboration, and individual responsibility."

"The HeLMS has acceptable psychometric properties and assesses a range of health literacy constructs important to patients when seeking, understanding and using health information within the healthcare system."

"Despite differences in practice patterns of nurses and physicians in using whiteboards, our findings suggest that all providers value their potential as a tool to improve teamwork, communication, and patient care. Successful adoption of whiteboard use may be enhanced through strategies that emphasize a patient-centered focus while also addressing important barriers to use."

Although operating theater attendance is recognized as an important component of the medical school curriculum, overall attendance at sessions was low. Attendance could be increased by ensuring students knowing what is expected of them, making them feel welcome, setting learning objectives, and allowed them to actively participate. These results highlight the need to ensure that the time spent by medical students in the operating room is positive and maximized to its full potential through structured learning involving all members of the theater team.

"Peer assessment of teaching can improve the quality of instruction and contribute to summative evaluation of teaching effectiveness integral to high-stakes decision making. There is, however, a paucity of validated, criterion-based peer assessment instruments. The authors describe development and pilot testing of one such instrument and share lessons learned"

"There is a growing body of research within specific scientific teaching communities that supports and validates the new approaches to teaching that have been adopted. "