Departmental Conference Research Articles

Water Quality Characterization Using ASTM Methods in an Undergraduate Advanced Instrumental Analysis Laboratory Course

Water analysis is an excellent interdisciplinary topic for project-based learning. An undergraduate course was designed to engage the senior undergraduate chemistry students in a real-life experience. In this course, students developed methodologies based on published American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) methods for the measurement of fluoride, phenols, and metals in real water samples. The procedures were utilized to analyze target analytes in real water samples from various sources, such as seawater, sewage water, swimming pool water, tap water, and drinking water in the eastern province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). These areas are profoundly affected by urbanization. The students analyzed the samples by employing a portable total dissolved solids (TDS) meter, a pH/ion-selective electrode (ISE) benchtop meter, an inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and a gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The ASTM methods allowed the students to gather research-level data and study regional environmental issues. The students prepared and presented their results at the departmental conference. Through the water analysis project, students acquired field and laboratory research skills, performed a quantitative analysis of data sets, developed collaborative interactions, as well as utilized their writing and communication skills. The exposure of students to these research tools provided them with experience in dealing with the limitations of trace level analysis in real samples. The outcome of this study provided the students with an overview of how their theoretical knowledge was connected to the country’s limited water sources and pollution problems.

Structures and Procedures in Organising College-based Departmentalised Continuous Professional Development Programmes for the Academic Staff of Selected Colleges of Education in the Volta Region of Ghana

Houses are built on sound footing and foundation to make them withstand any hardship in times of storms and other external challenges. The case of continuous professional development is no exception. Continuous professional development programmes that have sound footing prosper throughout their implementation. It is based on this universal fact that this research was conducted into discovering the structures and procedures that would favour the conduct of continuous professional development at the colleges of education. The research was qualitative with case study design and pooled participants from 4 selected colleges of education in the Volta Region of Ghana. Interviews were employed in gathering data from 4 Principals and open-ended questionnaire used for seeking information from 4 Vice Principals and 12 College Tutors. In the findings, the major structures needed for effective organisation of departmentalised continuous professional development at the colleges of education were functional departmental heads, professional development committee, academic planning and quality assurance committee, functional department, academic board, and proactive college management. In respect of infrastructure, faculty development fund, departmental conference hall, and internal policy in the domain. The procedures discovered include general sensitization about the programme, need assessment or skill and knowledge audit of staff, identification of competent resource persons, sourcing for funds, organizing professional development sections with effective supervision of components of the programme and conduct of post reviews for further planning. It was recommended that all colleges should have functional departments and departmental heads including departmental continuous professional development coordinators that would see to organisation of sessions of the continuous professional development.

Synovial Metaplasia of the Endometrium

Abstract Introduction/Objective Synovial-like metaplasia is well known to accompany breast implants, but it can also rarely be found in the endometrium, associated with intrauterine devices. We present two cases of endometrial synovial-like metaplasia. Methods The hysterectomy specimens were diagnosed at Northwell Health and reviewed at the departmental Consensus Conference. Immunostains for cytokeratin AE1/AE3 were performed on the endometrium. The histopathologic findings were correlated with the clinical information. Results Both patients had had intrauterine devices placed for birth control. One, a 47-year-old female with a family history of Lynch syndrome and newly diagnosed with a corresponding mutation, underwent prophylactic hysterectomy. The second patient, a 50-year-old female with a history of uterine prolapse, was experiencing stress urinary incontinence, for which she underwent supracervical hysterectomy. Both patients had intrauterine devices in place at the time of hysterectomy. Both uteri showed endometrial synovial-like metaplasia. It was associated with a complete absence of the endometrial surface epithelium. The synovial-like cells were eosinophilic, plump and elongated, were palisaded perpendicular to the endometrial surface and were negative for cytokeratin AE1/AE3, which immunostain also confirmed the absence of the endometrial surface epithelium and the presence of some residual deeper endometrial glands. Conclusion Endometrial synovial-like metaplasia is a rare entity described in patients with intrauterine devices. The mesodermal-derived endometrium is apparently able, when exposed to a semi-mobile foreign body, to develop a way to minimize friction by mimicking synovium, similar to the connective tissue facing breast implants. Such surface must be better at withstanding chronic friction than the regular endometrial epithelial surface, leading to this unusual and fascinating change. Since the resulting surface mimics synovium perfectly, both morphologically and immunohistochemically, and serves a very similar mechanical purpose, we propose to call this phenomenon, wherever it is found, “synovial metaplasia” instead of the current term “synovial-like metaplasia.”

An Innovative Approach for Familiarizing Surgeons with Malpractice Litigation

Familiarize surgery residents with medicolegal knowledge and skills required when facing the prospect of being sued through a simulation session. The general surgery residency, hospital risk management, and malpractice attorneys collaboratively organized an educational intervention, consisting of an introductory lecture followed by a mock lawsuit. Two medical malpractice attorneys acted as defense and plaintiff attorneys while an attending surgeon experienced in litigation acted as defendant. Experience, attitudes, and preintervention/postintervention competency were evaluated via retrospective self-assessment. Weekly departmental educational conference. Forty residents and attending surgeons. Among the participants, 27.5% had been named in a law suit before. Most surgeons (70.0%) are worried about malpractice. Physicians who had been sued were no more likely to worry about malpractice (18.6 vs 25.0%, p = 0.82) than their colleagues who had never been sued. Results from the retrospective preintervention/postintervention competency assessmentsdemonstrated significant improvement in all measured competencies after the mock lawsuit. In comparison with attending faculty, residents obtained greater improvements in understanding the essential elements of a medical claim (1.9 vs 1.1, p = 0.03), gaining confidence doing a deposition for medical litigation (1.9 vs 0.9, p < 0.01) and understanding the do's and don'ts when named in a lawsuit (2.0 vs 1.1, p = 0.01). The novel educational format effectively familiarized surgery faculty and residents with the process of litigation and improved their confidence and mental preparedness when facing the prospect of a lawsuit. It is a valuable educational tool that can be incorporated in residency training and faculty development curricula.

Systems-based practice: learning the concepts using a teamwork competition model

BackgroundSystems-based practice (SBP) is a core competency of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) that must be integrated into residency training. We sought to develop a method to improve resident understanding using a teamwork competition model. MethodsThe residents were given a pretest to assess their understanding of SBP followed by a didactic lecture. They were then divided into teams to solve a programmatic “problem” in the residency. Each team had to prove that their solution best fulfilled the expectations of SBP. Their solutions were then presented at a departmental conference followed by a post-test to evaluate knowledge. ResultsIn the pretest, 33% of the residents understood what SBP meant and only 15% knew the components of SBP. In the post-test, this increased to 85% and 89%, respectively. ConclusionsSBP is a competency mandated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in residency training. Using a novel approach, we were able to improve the residents' understanding of SBP.

Valuing the Education Mission: Implementing an Educational Value Units System

Valuing the Education Mission: Implementing an Educational Value Units System

Student-Facilitated Radiology-Pathology Correlation Conferences: An Experiential Educational Tool to Teach Multidisciplinary Patient Care

The aim of this study was to provide an experiential educational activity during the fourth-year radiology clerkship through a student-facilitated radiology-pathology correlation conference held as part of the radiology departmental conference to increase students' exposure to the longitudinal, multidisciplinary care of a patient and to enhance undergraduate medical education in radiology, pathology, and oncology. During July 2006, a formal radiology-pathology correlation conference held by medical students was added to the core curriculum for residents and fellows. A total of 141 students, in groups of 3 to 5, collaborated with an attending radiologist to choose an interesting case with radiology and pathology correlation and subsequently met with a fellow or attending physician in the pathology department to review the slides and pathologic diagnosis. A 1-hour departmental conference in the fourth week of the clerkship was devoted to the students' presentations. Formal evaluation was performed from March 2007 to March 2008, through completion of an anonymized questionnaire evaluating the logistics and content of this educational activity. One hundred seventeen students (83%) felt that the session taught them about the longitudinal care of patients. A majority of the students, 118 (84%), preferred the student-facilitated format to a resident-run conference. In addition, 124 (88%) thought that this type of activity should continue to be part of the clerkship, and 119 (84%) thought that this type of exercise would be a valuable addition to other core clerkships. Student-facilitated radiology-pathology departmental conferences are an effective means to provide students an opportunity to integrate imaging into the longitudinal care of patients and to expose students to the multidisciplinary approach to patient care.

Story of a conference: Distance education students' experiences in a departmental conference

This case study examines the impact of a program-wide event on the sense of community in a distance education program. The departmental conference examined in this study is intended to help students gain experience in sharing their ideas and plays a large role in building a sense of community among residential students and faculty. This study examines an effort to extend this community-building role to students enrolled in the department's fully online Distance Masters and Certificate programs. The study explores whether these students felt a need for such community-building experiences, what they gained from this experience, and what can be learned from what went well and what could be improved in the organization of the conference. Findings indicate that active participants felt an increased sense of community, but that not all students were interested in this type of community-building activity.

Barriers to use of simulation-based education

Barriers to simulation-based education in postgraduate and continuing education for anesthesiologists have not been well studied. We hypothesized that the level of training may influence attitudes towards simulation-based education and impact on the use of simulation. This study investigated this issue at the University of Toronto which possesses two sites equipped with high-fidelity patient simulators.A 40-question survey of experiences, perceptions, motivations and perceived barriers to simulation-based education, was distributed to 154 anesthesiologists attending a departmental conference. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and associations between responses were assessed using either the Chi-Square statistic or a one-way analysis of variance.The rate of response was 58%. Residents had experienced simulation-based education (96%) more often than staff (58%) and fellows (36%), (P < 0.001 respectively). Residents had also attended more simulation sessions than staff and fellows (mean 2.8 vs 1.05 and 1.04, P < 0.001 respectively). Residents and fellows found simulation-based education more relevant for their training than staff (88% vs 65%, P < 0.05). Eighty-one percent of the respondents identified at least one significant barrier that prevents or limits them from attending simulator sessions. Staff anesthesiologists perceived multiple barriers and identified 'time' and 'financial issues' as significant barriers.Anesthesiologists' level of training influences their attitudes towards and their perceptions of simulation-based education. This survey has identified perceived barriers that may limit a wider utilization of simulation. These results may be used to implement targeted actions such as course design, incentives, and information strategies, which could improve access and future use of simulation.

A Research-Based Sophomore Organic Chemistry Laboratory

The incorporation of a component into a sophomore organic chemistry laboratory sequence is described. The students prepare a proposal, perform the planned two-step synthesis, and present their as a poster at a departmental research conference. The evolution and application of this approach to the organic chemistry laboratory are discussed.

Two Tips for Users of Bullard[trade mark sign] Intubating Laryngoscope

Two Tips for Users of Bullard[trade mark sign] Intubating Laryngoscope

On Standard Definitions: 33 Years Hence

The lack of consensus on definitions of basic dermatologic lesions is a barrier to effective communication between physicians. Watt and Jillson stated the problem in theArchivesin 1964: It is surprising that standard definitions of most primary lesions have never been agreed upon by dermatologists. This became apparent to us in a recent departmental conference, when members of the same institution disagreed on the meanings of such elementary terms as macule, papule, nodule, tumor, vesicle, and bulla. Indeed, when we turned to various textbooks for substantiation, we found there was no unanimity of thought among several authors as to the exact definitions of these 'primary lesions.'¹ We recently reviewed 20 current reference books and textbooks of dermatology and found disparate definitions for the basic dermatologic lesions. The terms<i>macule, papule, patch, and plaque should instantly</i>convey a distinct morphologic character to a colleague. However, depending on various published

Departmental Conference in Mathematics

Departmental Conference in Mathematics