Accreditation Guidelines Research Articles

Pre-professional Suicide Training for Counselors: Results of a Readiness Assessment

Change is needed in mental health pre-professional suicide training (PPST) to address updates in practice, ethical/legal, and accreditation guidelines. Assessing readiness for change can inform successful, lasting change. The Community Readiness Model offered an established structure for research team analysis of interviews with educators, administrators, and supervisors representing diverse, accredited counselor training programs. An overall score of 4.9 out of 9 indicates the counselor education and supervision (CES) profession is in the preplanning stage of readiness to address PPST. Readiness dimensional subscores ranged from 3.6 to 6.6, which align with readiness stages from vague awareness to initiation. CES needs to increase readiness to improve PPST regarding logistical support, knowledge of existing training, active leadership support, and the attitudinal environment toward suicide and PPST. This assessment informs the work of training program administrators, state and national policymakers, educators, and supervisors to improve PPST for future counselors.

Program accreditation

Program accreditation is usually a voluntary process based on published standards and performed by a governmental or non-governmental agency of peers. The accreditation process has several components: self-assessment guide completion, site visit and review of program data by the accrediting body. Program accreditation’s primary function is to facilitate self-assessment, provide standards of education and lead to program improvement. It also serves to protect the student’s education and ultimately improve patient care. The International Council of Ophthalmology has developed International Guidelines for accreditation of ophthalmology residency programs and is launching a pilot program to accredit programs on demand.

Relationship Between Knowledge and Attitude with Implementation of Patient Safety Targets in RSUD Yogyakarta

Joint Commission International stipulates the International Patient Safety Goals (IPSG) as one of the points in the hospital's international accreditation assessment. In Indonesia the IPSG target was translated by the hospital accreditation committee (KARS) into 6 patient safety targets (SKP) in the 2012 hospital accreditation guidelines (KARS 2012). Yogyakarta Regional General Hospital (RSUD) is one of the class B public hospitals that have received Akreditasi Paripurna, in this case all working groups including patient safety standards at the hospital have been assessed. However, there are still KTD, KNC, KPC, and KTC in Yogyakarta Hospital. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between attitudes and knowledge with the implementation of patient safety goals by nurses in Yogyakarta Hospital. The study used quantitative research methods with a cross sectional research design. Data retrieval is done by distributing questionnaires related to attitudes and knowledge to 80 nurses with the implementation of patient safety goals, the sampling technique with clustered stratified sampling. Data analysis techniques for quantitative analysis with univariate, bivariate (chi square test). Research results of the relationship between knowledge and implementation of SKP showed that the p-value of α (0.631> 0.05), means that there is no relationship between nurse knowledge and the implementation of patient safety goals (SKP). The results of the study of attitude relations with SKP Implementation can be seen that the p-value α (0.045 <0.05), meaning that there is a relationship between nurse attitudes and the implementation of patient safety goals (SKP).

The Allied Dental Professions: Executive Summary.

This executive summary for Section 5 of the "Advancing Dental Education in the 21st Century" project addresses the current and future educational systems for dental assisting, dental hygiene, dental therapy, and dental laboratory technology. Nineteen experts prepared six background articles on the educational changes necessary for future roles and practices. The key issues addressed relate to delivery system changes, educational curricula, scopes of practice, regulatory measures, and the public's oral health. The major finding is that substantial reforms will be needed to adequately prepare allied oral health professionals for the changes anticipated in 2040. A reconsideration of current accreditation guidelines, more flexibility with scopes of practice, and an adherence to rigorous academic programs are essential elements for the future of these professions.

Models of care for traumatically injured patients at trauma centres in British Columbia: variability and sustainability.

Successful trauma systems employ a network of variably-resourced hospitals, staffed by experienced providers, to deliver optimal care for injured patients. The "model of care"-the manner by which inpatients are admitted and overseen, is an important determinant of patient outcomes. To describe the models of inpatient trauma care at British Columbia's (BC's) ten adult trauma centres, their sustainability, and their compatibility with accreditation guidelines. Questionnaires were distributed to the trauma medical directors at BC's ten Level I-III adult trauma centres. Follow-up semi-structured interviews clarified responses. Three different models of inpatient trauma care exist within BC. The "admitting trauma service" was a multidisciplinary team providing exclusive care for injured patients. The "on-call consultant" assisted with Emergency Department (ED) resuscitation before transferring patients to a non-trauma admitting service. The single "short-stay trauma unit" employed on-call consultants who also oversaw a 48-hour short-stay ward. Both level I trauma centres utilized the admitting trauma service model (2/2). All Level II sites employed an on-call consultant model (3/3), deviating from Level II trauma centre accreditation standards. Level III sites employed all three models in similar proportions. None of the on-call consultant sites believed their current care model was sustainable. Inadequate compensation, insufficient resources, and difficulty recruiting physicians were cited barriers to sustainability and accreditation compliance. Three distinct models of care are distributed inconsistently across BC's Level I-III trauma hospitals. Greater use of admitting trauma service and short-stay trauma unit models may improve the sustainability and accreditation compliance of our trauma system.

Recovery of paraffin blocks and central archiving : Experiences of the Kiel lymph node registry and the German study group for Hodgkin lymphoma

Central collection of tissue blocks for pathological and translational research is particularly important in rare diseases. Transfer of tissue blocks from primary to central pathology is of crucial importance. We aimed to answer the following questions: Has the transfer of tissue blocks sent for consultation or within clinical trials changed over the last 20 years? What are the reasons for reclaiming tissue blocks by the primary pathology and what actions would convince primary pathologists to leave the blocks in the reference pathology? The first 100 biopsies of each year between 1995 and 2015 (n= 2100), as well as all tissue transfers within therapeutic studies (n= 1405, German Hodgkin Study Group, GHSG) between 1998 and 2015, were analyzed separately for block reclaims using the Department of Pathology database. Aquestionnaire evaluated the reasons for block reclaiming by the peripheral pathologists. There is asignificant increase in block reclaims during the period analyzed among submissions for consultation as well as in clinical trials (linear regression, p= 0.0195 and p= 0.0107). The percentage of block reclaims does not differ between consultations and cases submitted upon request within clinical trials (p= 0.2404, t-test). Asurvey among pathologies that reclaim the block showed that their willingness to leave the block at the reference center would increase if the compatibility with accreditation guidelines (39.3%), apositive statement from professional associations (25%), or aformal confirmation of availability (53.6%) is provided. In particular, to improve research on rare diseases, it is desirable to point out the compatibility of central archiving in adesignated center with accreditation guidelines.

Rhetorical Styles in University Accreditation: Judgmental Rules or Collaborative Creation?

The university accreditation process is at a crossroads. After more than a century of allowing universities to function as self-governing institutions, legislatures are now demanding more accountability. That puts pressure on the accreditation process to impose more external rules, which are diametrically opposed to the high value placed on heterogeneity and the spirit of free and independent inquiry. However, accreditation, and the assessment practices that accompany it, need to resist this restrictive methodology. Assessment is a rhetorical social practice, and as such, the kind of rhetoric we use when we engage this practice influences how we think and feel about the work and contributes to the effectiveness of our practice. Aristotle's distinction between forensic and deliberative rhetoric provides a heuristic framework for us to think about regional accreditation and internal assessment of universities. A close look at recent accreditation guidelines reveals that the context of much regional and local assessment calls for a deliberative rhetoric (thinking together about how to create a common future) rather than forensic rhetoric (gathering evidence to judge a past event). However, habituated responses to existing assessment genres can cause those involved in accreditation and assessment to fail to move beyond a mentality of mere compliance and miss the opportunities of progressive, aspirational assessment practice, a practice that requires a deliberative rhetoric in order to set us on the open pathway of building educational community.

Lessons learnt: pilot of mid rotation feedback.

The Aga Khan University went through an external review of its undergraduate medical education in December 2006 based on the accreditation guidelines by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME). The external review panel comprised of international and local experts which developed a comprehensive report on its findings with regards to LCME standards of accreditation. In the final report of the external review one of the areas highlighted as not meeting the standards of LCME was documentation of formal mid-rotation feedback of the students by the faculty in AKU clerkships through years 3 to 5. A four hour faculty development workshop was organized by the Department of Medicine in collaboration with the Department for Educational Development to emphasize the role of feedback in improving student's performance, improve faculty's skill in giving effective feedback, and to come up with recommendations for documenting the formative feedback process. A mid-rotation feedback form was designed to facilitate the documentation process. Faculty members who participated in the workshop took a lead in piloting this form and reported the areas that could be further improved upon to facilitate the process of timely and effective feedback.

The Development of a Standardised Multiprofessional Paediatric In-Situ Simulation Programme Based on a National Standards Framework: A Multi-Centered Approach

Aim: ASPiH (2016) produced a standards framework to guide the delivery of high quality simulation in healthcare. In 2017, ASPiH will use these standards as a platform to develop guidelines for individual and institutional accreditation. The Multiprofessional Paediatric in situ Simulation (MPIS) programme is the first programme developed from the ASPiH standards and aimed to drive multi-professional learning initiatives across a regional network. Methods: A regional scoping study was conducted to assess the delivery of MPIS. Semistructured interviews and questionnaires were conducted with Simulation Educators using questions based upon two main categories defined within the ASPiH standards framework: Faculty and Activity. The findings of the scoping study underpinned the development of driver diagrams and the creation of the MPIS programme. The MPIS programme was piloted across 8 hospital sites, delivering 15 simulation sessions to 74 participants. It was evaluated using a 14 item questionnaire assessing participants’ perceptions that simulation supported multi-professional learning pre and post participation in the MPIS programme. Results: Multi-professional learning was not supported, with a lack of relevant and well defined learning objectives for professional groups other than trainee doctors across the network; this justified the need to develop the MPIS programme. Evaluation using Paired T Test statistical analysis demonstrated significant improved perception that simulation supported multiprofessional learning following participation in the MPIS programme (t(73)=8.51, p<0.001). Further ANOVA subset analysis highlighted increased perception of learning for both doctors and nurses (F (1,72)=71.0, p<0.001) to the same degree (F (1,72)=0.11, p=0.74). Conclusion: Our MPIS programme supports multi-professional simulation learning initiatives and is valued by both doctors and nurses. Our programme is the first programme to be developed from the ASPiH standards framework and if endorsed nationally, the MPIS programme could lay the foundations for ASPiH’s accreditation and ensure high quality delivery of in-situ simulation.

Comprehensive guidelines for ABET accreditation of a computer science program: the case of the American University of Kuwait

ABET accreditation adds a real value to an educational program by meeting the essential requirements that enable it to produce ready graduates for the market. We at the Computer Science and Information Systems Department in the American University of Kuwait (CSIS-AUK) recognise this value after we have gone through restructuring and enhancing our program to meet CAC-ABET standard requirements and completing the self-study report. In this paper, we will present a complete and detailed documentation of our work in establishing our ABET compliant program. Special focus will be given to a case study of three student outcomes SOs A, B and J where, a thorough assessment process is presented including: data collection, reporting and assessment forms, analysis, justification, recommendations and finally data graphical representation for individual performance indicator (PI) trend tracking among different assessment cycles. We believe that our approach to ABET accreditation is unique from different aspects that will be very clear in the body of the paper. The CSIS-AUK department has a great confidence of the deigned, implemented and tested process and strongly believes that it will be a great source for learning, adoption and inspiration for institutions seeking ABET accreditation.

Comprehensive guidelines for ABET accreditation of a computer science program: the case of the American University of Kuwait

ABET accreditation adds a real value to an educational program by meeting the essential requirements that enable it to produce ready graduates for the market. We at the Computer Science and Information Systems Department in the American University of Kuwait (CSIS-AUK) recognise this value after we have gone through restructuring and enhancing our program to meet CAC-ABET standard requirements and completing the self-study report. In this paper, we will present a complete and detailed documentation of our work in establishing our ABET compliant program. Special focus will be given to a case study of three student outcomes SOs A, B and J where, a thorough assessment process is presented including: data collection, reporting and assessment forms, analysis, justification, recommendations and finally data graphical representation for individual performance indicator (PI) trend tracking among different assessment cycles. We believe that our approach to ABET accreditation is unique from different aspects that will be very clear in the body of the paper. The CSIS-AUK department has a great confidence of the deigned, implemented and tested process and strongly believes that it will be a great source for learning, adoption and inspiration for institutions seeking ABET accreditation.

The Most Common Smartphone Applications Used By Medical Students and Barriers of Using Them.

Introduction:Medical knowledge is rapidly expanding and updating. It is very important that students can timely access to information and the latest scientific evidence without any time and place limitation. The smartphone is one of ICT tools that adopted greatly by healthcare professionals. Today, the most medical sciences universities have provided smartphone as an educational aid tool and acquisition licenses for medical apps resources in training of their students.Aim:This research was conducted to determine common smartphone applications among medical students of Urmia University of medical sciences and to identify barriers in using them.Materials and Methods:This research was a descriptive type of study carried out in 2016. Population of the study included 530 medical students completing the clinical course in Urmia University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using researcher-developed questionnaire. The validity of it determined based on the view of experts and the reliability of it obtained by calculating the value of Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.82).Results:82.3% of the students had smartphone, which in terms of operating system the highest was related Andriod (53%) and iPhone (32%). The most common applications used often by medical students included Up to date, PubSearch, Calculate by QxMD, Epocrates and OMnio. Lack of accreditation of medical apps by valid health institutions (4.63), lack of support and update of applications by their developers (4.44), lack of adequate skill to use applications (4.25) are the most important barriers in using these applications among students.Conclusion:To assurance quality of medical apps, it seems very important that academic and healthcare organizations should be involved to develop and update the apps and also provided guidelines for accreditation of apps. It is recommended that for promotion of knowledge and skill of students provide essential educations.

EKSISTENSI PUSTAKAWAN DALAM PENINGKATAN KUALITAS PERPUSTAKAAN PERGURUAN TINGGI MELALUI AKREDITASI PERPUSTAKAAN

Efforts to improve the quality of university libraries should be conducted continuously with reference to library standards published by the National Library. Assessment of the quality of university libraries can be done through accreditation library. Accredited certificate can obtain a university library based on the amount of the weighted value of nine components. These components are the components of the service, collaboration, collection, organizing library materials, human resources, building or space and infrastructure, budget, library management and maintenance of the library collection. To be accredited university library to get the most, librarians should play an active role. Some examples of the role of librarians in the accreditation activities of the university library are studying the accreditation guidelines, prepare the physical evidence, conduct self-evaluation, and perform simulations accreditation.

Attainment of Course Outcomes: - A Sample Empirical Case Study for Incorporating Outcome Based Education

Outcome based education (OBE) is now inevitable and is a directive for education as per standards stated by National board of accreditation (NBA). Course outcomes (CO) and Program outcomes (PO) are two crucial aspects pertaining towards effective OBE incorporation. To achieve this, mapping of course outcomes with program outcomes is a major concern. As per accreditation guidelines of NBA direct and indirect tools must be deployed for calculating the attainment of Program Outcomes. Certain CO-PO mapping strategies must also be defined. This paper presents an empirical case study of the subject Operating Systems and Administration in the third Semester of Computer engineering curricula of Savitiri bai Phule Pune University (SPPU), India. The Paper gives a threefold contribution: - a) proposes an empirical algorithm to estimate the correlation between the CO and PO. b) Three direct schemes of CO attainment are designed along with two indirect schemes c) Final attainment estimation is done by integrating the above proposed schemes.

Language-Appropriate Appointment Reminders: Assessing the Communication Preferences of Women With Limited English Proficiency.

The purpose of this study was to assess the communication preferences and the telephone, text, and e-mail usage of women with limited English proficiency who attended an outpatient women's health clinic. This study surveyed a convenience sample (N = 220) of Spanish- and Arabic-speaking women in an obstetrics and gynecology clinic. The survey instrument was designed to capture the experience of women with limited English proficiency who received automated English-only telephone appointment reminders. We evaluated how these women currently use short message service (SMS) technology and/or access e-mail, the costs they incur for these services, and their preferences for and receptiveness to receiving appointment reminders through a variety of modalities including text, e-mail, phone, or direct mail. More than half of women surveyed reported either not receiving an appointment reminder or reported difficulty understanding the reminder they did receive. Of all women surveyed, 91% preferred appointment reminders in their primary language regardless of their ability to read, write, speak, or understand English. Significant variation in preferences was found within and between the 2 language groups. The data suggest that the current appointment-reminder system is both inefficient and linguistically inappropriate for female clients with limited English proficiency. This project offers preliminary data on the preferences of Spanish- and Arabic-speaking women. Creating language-appropriate appointment reminders in both phone and text formats reflects an institutional commitment to the language preferences of all women, not just those who speak the dominant language, in accordance with accreditation guidelines defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Joint Commission.

SU‐F‐I‐16: Short Breast MRI with High‐Resolution T2‐Weighted and Dynamic Contrast Enhanced T1‐Weighted Images

Purpose:To develop and demonstrate a short breast (sb) MRI protocol that acquires both T2‐weighted and dynamic contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted images in approximately ten minutes.Methods:The sb‐MRI protocol consists of two novel pulse sequences. The first is a flexible fast spin‐echo triple‐echo Dixon (FTED) sequence for high‐resolution fat‐suppressed T2‐weighted imaging, and the second is a 3D fast dual‐echo spoiled gradient sequence (FLEX) for volumetric fat‐suppressed T1‐weighted imaging before and post contrast agent injection. The flexible FTED sequence replaces each single readout during every echo‐spacing period of FSE with three fast‐switching bipolar readouts to produce three raw images in a single acquisition. These three raw images are then post‐processed using a Dixon algorithm to generate separate water‐only and fat‐only images. The FLEX sequence acquires two echoes using dual‐echo readout after each RF excitation and the corresponding images are post‐processed using a similar Dixon algorithm to yield water‐only and fat‐only images. The sb‐MRI protocol was implemented on a 3T MRI scanner and used for patients who had undergone concurrent clinical MRI for breast cancer screening.Results:With the same scan parameters (eg, spatial coverage, field of view, spatial and temporal resolution) as the clinical protocol, the total scan‐time of the sb‐MRI protocol (including the localizer, bilateral T2‐weighted, and dynamic contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted images) was 11 minutes. In comparison, the clinical breast MRI protocol took 43 minutes. Uniform fat suppression and high image quality were consistently achieved by sb‐MRI.Conclusion:We demonstrated a sb‐MRI protocol comprising both T2‐weighted and dynamic contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted images can be performed in approximately ten minutes. The spatial and temporal resolution of the images easily satisfies the current breast MRI accreditation guidelines by the American College of Radiology. The protocol has the potential of making breast MRI more widely accessible to and more tolerable by the patients.JMA is the inventor of United States patents that are owned by the University of Texas Board of Regents and currently licensed to GE Healthcare and Siemens Gmbh.

Interprofessional education and practice guide No. 5: Interprofessional teaching for prequalification students in clinical settings

ABSTRACTThe importance of interprofessional education in health professions training is increasingly recognised through new accreditation guidelines. Clinician teachers from different professions may find themselves being asked to teach or supervise learners from multiple health professions, focusing on interprofessional dynamics, interprofessional communication, role understanding, and the values and ethics of collaboration. Clinician teachers often feel prepared to teach learners from their own profession but may feel ill prepared to teach learners from other professions. In this guide, we draw upon the collective experience from two countries: an institution from the United States with experience in guiding faculty to teach in a student-run interprofessional clinic and an institution from Canada that offers interprofessional experiences to students in community and hospital settings. This guide offers teaching advice to clinician educators in all health professions who plan to or already teach in an interprofessional clinical setting. We anticipate that clinician teachers can learn to fully engage learners from different professions, precept effectively, recognise common pitfalls, increase their confidence, reflect, and become role models to deliver effective teaching in interprofessional settings.

Developing a Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Toolbox: The Curriculum

Abstract Introduction Quality improvement and patient safety are important elements of quality patient care. National medical boards and graduate medical education accreditation guidelines support ...

Assuring a Cybersecurity Perspective within Engineering Technology and Computer Science and the Economies they Uphold

Online, connected and mobile systems are creating the foundation of a digitally-enabled economy. However, the cybersecurity risks inherent to this economy are currently shouldered by an overburdened cybersecurity profession, labouring under a well-known skills gap in the field. In response, (ISC)2 has joined forces with the Council for Professors and Heads of Computing (CPHC) – and more than 30 universities – to publish and support a new set of Curriculum Guidelines on Cybersecurity for UK undergraduate computing courses, covering five themes: information and risk; threats and attacks; cybersecurity architecture and operations; secure systems and products; and cybersecurity management. Incorporation of these themes will, it is hoped, develop graduates committed to more robust design and computing practices, while also exposing students to cybersecurity as a career. The initiative was developed with the support of both the UK Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It is referenced within revised accreditation guidelines published in June by the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. In this study, the authors establish the guiding principles that defined the authors’ approach to this joint initiative, including some of the key governmental and industrial drivers.

Scanner-Based Protocol-Driven Ultrasound: An Effective Method to Improve Efficiency in an Ultrasound Department.

For ultrasound, a wide variation is often observed among the number and sequence of images acquired for a particular examination type. Scanner-based protocols are preset pathways in the ultrasound machine that guide a sonographer through the required study images. These protocols can streamline image acquisition by improving consistency and efficiency of ultrasound examinations. This study evaluated whether implementation of scanner-based protocol-driven ultrasound improves efficiency by decreasing the scanning duration and number of images acquired. Retrospective evaluation of 437 carotid Doppler examinations, 395 complete abdominal ultrasound examinations with Doppler imaging, and 413 bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler examinations for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) performed by five sonographers before and after implementation of scanner-based protocol-driven ultrasound was performed. The scanning duration and number of images acquired for each study were recorded. Statistical analysis compared the scanning duration and number of images acquired before and after implementation of protocol-driven ultrasound. A p value of < 0.05 was considered significant. A significant decrease in scanning duration occurred for both carotid Doppler ultrasound examinations (decrease by 12.4% [2.7 minutes], p < 0.0001) and complete abdominal ultrasound examinations with Doppler imaging (decrease by 7.5% [2.0 minutes], p = 0.0054) after implementation of protocol-driven ultrasound. The decrease in scanning duration was not significant for lower extremity DVT Doppler examinations (p = 0.4192). In addition, there was a significant decrease in the overall number of images obtained for all three types of studies. Scanner-based protocol-driven ultrasound is an effective method that streamlines image acquisition and significantly improves efficiency in an ultrasound department while ensuring consistency and adherence to accreditation guidelines.