Broad Skill Set Research Articles

Knee osteoarthritis and the knowledgeable, trustworthy pharmacist: Patient and pharmacist perceptions of community pharmacy-based education and support.

Osteoarthritis (OA) clinical guidelines recommend self-management education, but education is often not included in primary care consultations. To explore pharmacists' and patients' perceptions of a pharmacist-led model of service delivery for knee OA that was integrated within pharmacies' day-to-day workflow. Cross-sectional qualitative design using Thematic Analysis. Community pharmacies were recruited in New Zealand and Australia. Pharmacy patients were screened for knee OA and offered tailored explanations, self-management information and referral for further support. Pharmacist focus groups and patient 1:1 interviews explored perceptions of the service delivery model. Nineteen pharmacists and 12 patients with knee OA participated. Pharmacist and patient data were analysed separately, with themes compared and contrasted to derive three meta-themes. Meta-theme 1: 'Welcome Engagement' included two pharmacist themes ('putting my broad skill set to use' and 'we're here and happy to help') and two patient themes ('information delivered well' and 'a welcome offer of help'). Meta-theme 2: 'The Knowledgeable and Trustworthy Pharmacist' included two pharmacist themes ('professional knowledge to help all sorts of patients' and 'managing time to help my patients') and one patient theme ('the accessible professional who I know and trust'). Meta-theme 3: 'The Opportunity for More Support' included one pharmacist theme ('this is not the end of the story') and one patient theme ('more help is available'). Community pharmacists are well-positioned to provide information and support to people with knee OA. Pharmacists appreciate the opportunity to better use their skills and accessibility for OA care, and patients welcome this engagement.

Teaching of 21st century skills needs to be informed by psychological research

The technological advancements and globalization of the 21st century require a broad set of skills beyond traditional subjects such as mathematics, reading, and science. Research in psychological science should inform best practice and evidence-based recommendations for teaching these skills.

Building The Skills Of Evidence Based Management

Evidence-based practice has a tremendous value for HR and Management, but it requires the use of a broad skill set in order to overcome barriers to implementation. This article outlines some of these barriers and identifies some of the core skills and abilities that practitioners should develop in order to successfully implement evidence-based practices into decision-making processes, as well as suggestions for strategies and resources that they can use.

Perception of School Committee Members (SCMs) on Factors Contributing to Overweight and Obesity Among High School Students in Kiribati: A Qualitative Study.

BackgroundSchools are vital settings for overweight and obesity prevention among children and adolescents. School Committee Members (SCMs) are crucial assets to engaging students with overweight and obesity prevention programs. This study aimed to determine factors contributing to overweight and obesity among high school students in Kiribati through the perception of SCMs.MethodsThis prospective qualitative study was conducted in four randomly selected senior high schools in South Tarawa, Kiribati, from August to November 2020. With a purposive selection of 20 SCMs employed at the four high schools, both male and female participants consented to participate in the study. A semi-structured open-ended questionnaire was used for data collection using focus group discussions (FGDs). Data were transcribed and analyzed using the thematic analysis method.ResultsTwenty participants were involved in FGDs with equal number of SCMs (n = 5) who attended FGDs for each school and 45% of them were female participants. Six themes were identified, namely, knowledge, behaviors, perceived status toward overweight and obesity, perceived action benefits, perceived barriers to practices, and proposed strategies to overweight and obesity prevention. These themes reveal that SCMs have a broad understanding and skill set for overweight and obesity causes and effects. However, the aptitude alone is not enough to prevent the occurrence, and thus, proposed feasible plans were voiced for responsible stakeholders to include in policy developments for overweight and obesity prevention.ConclusionThis study recognized that the knowledge-behavior gap is the main reason behind the failure in preventative strategic approaches among adolescents. As role models to students, SCMs and their schools should team up in implementing the public health policies and building mutual awareness and understanding with students and other specialist stakeholders for a more momentous and viable impact.

Support Staff Take an Essential Role in Research Services

The profound transformation of medical libraries over the last twenty years reflects the advancements in medical education and health care delivery, increased expectations of users, and accelerated evolution of technology. The Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library (CWML) used this opportunity to rethink how staffing could be redeployed to accommodate these new developments. After assessing processes, workflows, and individual responsibilities, library administration devised a novel team approach that would allow clerical & technical (C&T) staff to work across departmental lines to provide a broader variety of in-depth and frontline services. This paper will share how the C&T staff at the CWML developed a broader skill set, while providing library services to users in the rapidly changing field of medical education and health care services.

SPECIAL FEATURE: KNOW YOUR COLLEAGUES—ROBERT DAMELIO AND CARL BINDER

SPECIAL FEATURE: KNOW YOUR COLLEAGUES—ROBERT DAMELIO AND CARL BINDER

The Incidental Findings Coordinator: How a Radiology Nurse can Add Value and Promote Patient Safety

A radiology incidental finding or “incidentaloma” is an important, unexpected finding on imaging that requires clinical or imaging follow-up. Although recommendations for the follow up of incidentalomas are common, actual follow-through is often suboptimal. This gap may lead to patient harm and expose hospitals to malpractice lawsuits. Nevertheless, there is no universal consensus on how to ensure proper follow up. Coordination of incidentaloma follow-up is a unique role through which a radiology nurse can strengthen interdepartmental communication and improve patient outcomes. Our institution employs a hybrid system that uses software to track follow-up recommendations and a radiology nurse to communicate with the relevant parties. The broad skill set of radiology nurses makes them particularly well-suited for this role.

Competency Status and Desire for Training in Core Public Health Domains: An Analysis by Job Level.

Context:Although trainings on core public health domains are widely available, and experts concur that competency in multiple core domains (analysis/assessment, leadership, communication, etc) is desirable for public health professionals, many still lack such competency. Employee job level could be a factor, as organizational research indicates that broad skill sets often hold importance mainly for higher-level employees.Objective:This study examines whether the association between competency and desire for training in core public health domains depends on job level.Design:A training preferences and domain competency survey of public health professionals: nonmanagers (n = 790), middle managers (n = 332), and upper managers (n = 69). The association of competency in domains overall with number of related training topics desired was examined using median tests. The association of competency in individual domains with desire for specific related training topics was assessed using logistic regressions adjusted for education.Settings:Public health departments in the US Southwest (2013-2019).Main Outcome Measures:Competence in core domains: Financial Planning and Management, Analysis/Assessment, Communication, Cultural Competency, Leadership/Systems Thinking, Policy Development/Program Planning, Public Health Sciences, and Community Dimensions of Practice. Desire for training (yes/no) in 25 domain-related topics.Results:Upper managers lacking overall competence in core domains desired more training topics than their competent counterparts (median of 12 topics vs 5, P = .02). In contrast, nonmanagers lacking overall competence desired fewer topics than their competent counterparts (4 vs 6, P < .001). Upper managers with lesser competency in an individual domain often had significantly higher odds of desiring training related to the domain, but the opposite was found for nonmanagers. Among middle managers, little association between competency and training desire was found.Conclusions:Ideally, lesser competence in core domains would be accompanied by greater desire for ameliorative training, but only upper managers exhibited this pattern. Efforts are needed to better connect domain competency status and training desire among nonmanagers and middle managers.

Development of an authentic concept of engineering activities based on product redesign

AbstractToday's job market is seeking engineers with competencies to design innovative solutions that meet sophisticated customer needs. Engineering education is then challenged to equip future engineers with holistic engineering design skills, especially functional ones. A powerful means to strengthen these skills is the use of reverse‐engineering‐based activities, which consist of examining, extracting information, and redesigning existing products. However, most current education endeavours, based on reverse engineering, consist only of practicing simple teardowns that have circumscribed impact on the acquisition of skills. Therefore, there is a need for more elaborated authentic hands‐on activities to gain a broad set of design skills. This study addresses this gap by the development of a concept of wide‐ranging engineering activities that start with the study of an existing product and ends with an improved redesigned three‐dimensional (3D) printed product. This concept of activities was developed to strengthen a conventional course on product design. Thus, a tailored comprehensive redesign process is proposed first, and expanded as a concept of a set of experiential activities, with associated measures for skills acquisition. This concept encompasses teardown, 3D digitizing and rapid prototyping, and aims mainly at facilitating the understanding of components' functionalities, the numerical reconstruction by 3D digitizing, the mechanical modelling and engineering analysis of parts and finally the 3D printing of the redesign output. To understand, experience, and weigh up the relevance of the proposed concept of activities, a preliminary implementation, and a case study are illustrated. Particularly, the relevance of the concept is demonstrated through the assessment of the activities' measures. In short, this study provides educators with an authentic education tool that leverages on a broader reverse engineering vision to boost the job's sought‐after design skills.

CIMIC and Peacekeeping 'Effectiveness': The Role of 'Communication' as a Critical Interface in Evolving UNPKO Dynamics

‘Communication,’ as an ongoing process underlying civil-military interaction, may be taken as a key component in conceptualizing Civil-Military Coordination (CIMIC) in the context of peacekeeping. Consequently, it allows for a process-centric understanding of peacekeeping ‘effectiveness,’ particularly in the light of the growing disconnect between the functional dynamics of on-ground missions and broader overarching doctrine/principles. Transitional and Protection of Civilians (POC) mandates compel United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs) to operate on the margins of existing doctrine, requiring personnel engaged in conflict management to cultivate and exercise a broader skillset than one initially associated with traditional peacekeeping. Given this background, this research utilizes ‘scenario-based interviews’ so as to engage with the self-reflexive praxis of veteran Pakistani peacekeepers having served in integrated/hybrid missions. In doing so, it attempts to conceptualize communication as a process premised on the ‘shared intentionality’ of both military and civil personnel, utilizing de Coning’s peacekeeping dimension. Inputs received from the interview process are analyzed using a model conceptualizing communication as a process essential to the realization of successful PKO outcomes. Two key subthemes emerging from the interview process, i.e., crisis management/risk perception and resource management are discussed in relation to decisional processes and ‘bounded rationality’ constraints attending inter-and intra-group communication under CIMIC in peacekeeping spaces.

CIMIC and Peacekeeping ‘Effectiveness’: The Role of ‘Communication’ as a Critical Interface in Evolving UNPKO Dynamics

‘Communication,’ as an ongoing process underlying civil-military interaction, may be taken as a key component in conceptualizing Civil-Military Coordination (CIMIC) in the context of peacekeeping. Consequently, it allows for a process-centric understanding of peacekeeping ‘effectiveness,’ particularly in the light of the growing disconnect between the functional dynamics of on-ground missions and broader overarching doctrine/principles. Transitional and Protection of Civilians (POC) mandates compel United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs) to operate on the margins of existing doctrine, requiring personnel engaged in conflict management to cultivate and exercise a broader skillset than one initially associated with traditional peacekeeping. Given this background, this research utilizes ‘scenario-based interviews’ so as to engage with the self-reflexive praxis of veteran Pakistani peacekeepers having served in integrated/hybrid missions. In doing so, it attempts to conceptualize communication as a process premised on the ‘shared intentionality’ of both military and civil personnel, utilizing de Coning’s peacekeeping dimension. Inputs received from the interview process are analyzed using a model conceptualizing communication as a process essential to the realization of successful PKO outcomes. Two key subthemes emerging from the interview process, i.e., crisis management/risk perception and resource management are discussed in relation to decisional processes and ‘bounded rationality constraints attending inter-and intra-group communication under CIMIC in peacekeeping spaces.

Targeting the nurse practitioner workforce: Influences and barriers in choosing rural practice

Background and objective: Recruitment and retention of primary care providers are projected to worsen in rural regions. Nurse practitioners (NPs) are a crucial solution to the shortage of primary care providers in rural America. Little research exists regarding factors influencing new NPs’ decisions to practice in rural settings, as well as practice readiness. The purpose of this study is to explore factors influencing new NPs’ decision to practice in rural settings.Methods: A survey of family nurse practitioner (FNP) graduates in a rural state was conducted. The survey measured rural background, current practice environment, the impact of rural clinical experiences on readiness to practice, and perceptions of rural NP practice.Results: The data collected over five years (N = 42) indicated several factors that influenced an NP’s decision to choose a position in a rural or underserved setting. A wide scope of practice, rural roots, a desirable job offer, and strong relationships were influential when choosing rural practice.Conclusions: Most respondents (69%) were not practicing in rural or underserved areas. Among those who were, the ability to practice to the full scope of education and autonomy were the most important factors. However, respondents were also apprehensive and intimidated with the broad skill set required in rural care. Implications: This study provides insight into factors and barriers for new graduate NPs in choosing a rural practice setting as well as possible solutions to the rural workforce shortage.

Assessing Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Structures and Outcomes Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Network Analysis Study.

BackgroundHealth care organizations (HCOs) adopt strategies (eg. physical distancing) to protect clinicians and patients in intensive care units (ICUs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many care activities physically performed before the COVID-19 pandemic have transitioned to virtual systems during the pandemic. These transitions can interfere with collaboration structures in the ICU, which may impact clinical outcomes. Understanding the differences can help HCOs identify challenges when transitioning physical collaboration to the virtual setting in the post–COVID-19 era.ObjectiveThis study aims to leverage network analysis to determine the changes in neonatal ICU (NICU) collaboration structures from the pre– to the intra–COVID-19 era.MethodsIn this retrospective study, we applied network analysis to the utilization of electronic health records (EHRs) of 712 critically ill neonates (pre–COVID-19, n=386; intra–COVID-19, n=326, excluding those with COVID-19) admitted to the NICU of Vanderbilt University Medical Center between September 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, to assess collaboration between clinicians. We characterized pre–COVID-19 as the period of September-December 2019 and intra–COVID-19 as the period of March-June 2020. These 2 groups were compared using patients’ clinical characteristics, including age, sex, race, length of stay (LOS), and discharge dispositions. We leveraged the clinicians’ actions committed to the patients’ EHRs to measure clinician-clinician connections. We characterized a collaboration relationship (tie) between 2 clinicians as actioning EHRs of the same patient within the same day. On defining collaboration relationship, we built pre– and intra–COVID-19 networks. We used 3 sociometric measurements, including eigenvector centrality, eccentricity, and betweenness, to quantify a clinician’s leadership, collaboration difficulty, and broad skill sets in a network, respectively. We assessed the extent to which the eigenvector centrality, eccentricity, and betweenness of clinicians in the 2 networks are statistically different, using Mann-Whitney U tests (95% CI).ResultsCollaboration difficulty increased from the pre– to intra–COVID-19 periods (median eccentricity: 3 vs 4; P<.001). Nurses had reduced leadership (median eigenvector centrality: 0.183 vs 0.087; P<.001), and neonatologists with broader skill sets cared for more patients in the NICU structure during the pandemic (median betweenness centrality: 0.0001 vs 0.005; P<.001). The pre– and intra–COVID-19 patient groups shared similar distributions in sex (~0 difference), race (4% difference in White, and 3% difference in African American), LOS (interquartile range difference in 1.5 days), and discharge dispositions (~0 difference in home, 2% difference in expired, and 2% difference in others). There were no significant differences in the patient demographics and outcomes between the 2 groups.ConclusionsManagement of NICU-admitted patients typically requires multidisciplinary care teams. Understanding collaboration structures can provide fine-grained evidence to potentially refine or optimize existing teamwork in the NICU.

Adaptation Trajectories of Dismissed Workers: A Critical Case Study of the Lithuanian Radio-Electronics Sector

This article explores why some dismissed workers adapt successfully to the changing structure of an economy, while others remain trapped in low-quality jobs and experience deskilling. The associated case study relies on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 50 former employees of four bankrupt radio-electronics factories in Lithuania. It is found that workers with ‘inherited’ skills that are deep and technical are able to enter high-quality jobs when new firms emerge, recombining the physical, financial and human assets of destitute factories for new productive uses. However, if such economic opportunities are scarce, workers with inherited broad skill sets are relatively more successful in transitioning to services from manufacturing. Further, in line with the literature of the sociology of work, women and older workers are found to face more acute challenges in adapting to the economic shock associated with dismissal.

Updating the Marketing Research Course to Prepare the Marketing Generalist

This exploratory research suggests that undergraduate marketing research textbooks and courses have not kept pace with the changes in the marketing research world over the past two decades. Two studies, one a review of marketing research syllabi and another a content analysis of online job postings, explore this phenomenon. The results imply that, in contrast to the historical context of marketing research course, most advertised entry-level marketing jobs requiring marketing research skills are not in marketing research firms. Indeed, contemporary marketing research is more likely a function embedded within an array of generalist job duties that also require soft skills and the ability to analyze and present data to upper management. As a result of this research, educators should have a heightened awareness of the following: (a) the disconnect between the marketing research curriculum and current industry needs, (b) the changing role of marketing research as diffused throughout the organization, and (c) the broader set of skills and techniques required of entry-level marketing graduates. As a possible solution to these issues, this research proposes an integrated model whereby instructors can help their students navigate the current landscape by choosing an appropriate pedagogical path to assist students in their career goals.

Moving forward: Recommendations to overcome existing structural racism

A critical need exists to address structural racism within academic and community medicine and surgery and determine methods that will serve to repair its long-standing effects and alleviate the associated negative consequences. Because of our broad skillset and the populations we serve, vascular surgeons are uniquely positioned to identify and address the effects of structural racism in our places of work and for the populations we treat. Our goal is to discuss the effects of racism on healthcare outcomes and provide recommendations on how to combat these through equitable practices such as the diversification of the vascular surgery workforce, inclusivity as partners and leaders, and the promotion of improved outcomes among our most vulnerable patients from racial and ethnic minority groups. It is imperative that we stand for antiracism within our field through our societies, journals, clinical trials, training programs, clinical practice groups, and leadership.

An Inexpensive 3D-Printable Do-It-Yourself Visible Spectrophotometer for Online, Hybrid, and Classroom-Based Learning

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled the field of education to swiftly redesign courses for hybrid and online teaching environments. The lack of in-person learning prompted professionals to rapidly incorporate unique and previously never-seen teaching practices in numerous different fields. One of the biggest challenges that educators have been facing during these difficult times is the lack of hands-on technology-based teaching activites under hybrid and online environments. To mitigate this issue, a small, affordable, and 3D-printed visible spectrophotometer (SpectroBox) was developed to allow instructors to rapidly create a portable instrument and provide a hands-on learning experience for students. SpectroBox is mainly a do-it-yourself at-home platform specifically designed for rapid implementation; thus, instructors can deploy SpectroBox under various learning environments, such as remote and hybrid practices. Included parts are in a small package and are transportable via standard parcel delivery; consequently, students can get access to these spectrometric units rapidly and easily. In this work, detailed design, schematics, and step-by-step instructions are presented for instructors to easily incorporate this system. The SpectroBox project was implemented and tested during the Fall 2020 semester, and student assessment data indicated that the theoretical and practical aspects of visible spectroscopy were better understood by 67% of students with this hands-on learning exercise. The final learning outcome of this project was a broad skillset possessed by students, including 3D printable object design, spectrometer assembly, principles of optical spectroscopy, exploration of design components, basic electronics, data acquisition and processing. SpectroBox helped students to fully understand the fundamentals of visible spectroscopy and ultimately improved their expertise in the field of spectroscopy.

Jacks (and Jills) of all Trades: The Gentle Art of Policing Rural Iceland

ABSTRACT Rural police officers confront unique professional challenges and opportunities. Little research exists on these dynamics, and most empirical knowledge of rural policing comes from the United States, Britain, and Australia. This study helps to address this gap by examining what rural police officers in Iceland present as their main professional challenges and opportunities. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 23 police officers. The interviewees framed understaffing, overwork, an extensive range of tasks with little to no backup, and a blurring of work-life boundaries as the main challenges of rural policing. Working in tight-knit rural communities, however, offers rural police officers opportunities to develop a broad skillset, innovate, and mobilize the community’s social capital. Most importantly, rural police officers must master the art of soft policing, which requires superior communication skills centred on extensive dialogue, negotiation, de-escalation, and minimal use of force to build trust and consensus. Iceland’s egalitarian and tight-knit society, which fosters public trust in the police, cooperation, and informal social control, helps officers in this regard. The findings reveal a distinct ‘rural police professionalism’ that extends beyond the workplace and overlaps with and complements ‘urban police professionalism’.

Application of HPC and big data in post-pandemic times

We lay out the ramifications of the 2020 pandemic for all people in geosciences, especially the young, and argue for significant changes on training and career development. We focus primarily on its devastating impact in USA and compare with that in other countries especially China. We review the potential effect for the next four years or so on the aspirations of an academic career versus more realistic career goals. We urge people in mid-career about the need to reassess previous goals. We stress the need for students or researchers to acquire technical skills in high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics, artificial intelligence, and/or visualization along with a broad set of technical skills in applied computer science and mathematics. We give advice about hot prospects in several areas that have great potential for advancement in the coming decade, such as visualization, deep learning, quantum computing and information, and cloud computing, all of which lie within the aegis of HPC. Our forecast is that the pandemic will significantly reshape the job landscape and career paths for both young and established researchers and we discuss bluntly the dire situation facing junior people in geosciences in the aftermath of the pandemic around the world until 2024.

A Review of Interior Layout and Furniture Fit out Strategies of Bringing Greenery Indoors

Interior design is a of study of designers in crafting spaces that anticipate human needs and appeal to their emotions while pulling from a broad set of skills and technical knowledge. Recently, Green building development has become a worldwide popular topic in building industry. As an indispensable phase of a building project, interior decoration has an unavoidable impact on the environment and public health. Currently, there have been several green building evaluation standards for interior decoration. However, there is no specific evaluation standard, which is complied with the domestic situation of Malaysia, for green interior decoration. This study aims to develop an assessment standard for green interior decoration in the context of Malaysia. To start with, a compilations review of existing green interior building rating tools and focus group were held to filter the assessment items and to determine the basic framework of the proposed assessment standard. It applies not only on the availability of green product but also applies in term of interior spaces form, spatial layout and also in the application of furniture.