Impact Of Calls Research Articles

Effects of In-House Calls on Medical Students' Perspectives of Surgical Education and Future Career Opportunities.

Background: It has been shown that surgical residents who took few or no in-house calls during medical school felt less prepared for the residency. In this study, our objective was to assess the impact of in-house calls carried out by medical students on their perceptions of medical training, including the influence on specialty choice. Methods: The students were asked to complete an anonymized questionnaire at the first and last day of their general surgery clerkship. Students were asked regarding importance for medical training and education, preparation for the internship, learning opportunities, skills acquisition; negative effects, including fatigue, negative effect over medical training, personal life, and physical and mental health derangements; and the student's perception of the residents' in-house calls and parameters affecting specialty selection: difficulty of the residency, prestige, and future career opportunities. Results: A total of 42 medical students responded to 84 questionnaires. There was a significant difference in the importance of calls among male students before the beginning of the clerkships compared with the end of the clerkship (4.53 versus 4.21, P = .034). At the end of general surgery clerkship, students indicated that the calls less impaired studying during the clerkship (2.5 versus 2.21, P < .05) compared with the beginning of the clerkship. Female students ranked the calls as less demanding at the end of the clerkship (2.53 versus 2.12, P < .05). The impact of the residency difficulty on the selection of their future specialty was rated higher by the students at the end of the clerkship compared with their expectations at the beginning (3.13 versus 2.85, P = .033). Conclusions: In conclusion, our study demonstrates that in-house calls performed by medical students during their general surgery clerkships have a significant influence on their perceptions of medical training and choice of specialty. The study also highlights the importance of gender differences in the students' perception of the importance and impact of calls on their well-being.

Number, nature & impact of incoming telephone calls on residents and their work during evening shifts.

Internal medicine residents are frequently interrupted by phone calls, which may compromise workflow, work quality and job satisfaction. This study investigates the number, nature and impact of calls on residents and their work during evening shifts in the emergency department and ward. This prospective observational study compares measurements from direct observations with subjective data from questionnaires. Residents received 26 resp. 30 (median) calls per shift in the emergency department and ward, with duration of 50 resp. 80 seconds. Residents perceived high burden and impact on quality of work and job satisfaction. Frequent interruptions by phone calls were observed, which resulted in high burden. Our study raises the urgency for finding solutions and provides insights necessary for possible interventions.

Fishing in a Puddle of Doubt and Disbelief?: A Rejoinder to the Speed et al. Commentary.

In the article "Religiously/Spiritually Involved, but in Doubt or Disbelief-Why? Healthy?", Mrdjenovich (in J Relig Health https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0711-2 , 2018) explored the practices of religious attendance and prayer among atheists and agnostic theists. Speed et al. (in J Relig Health https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01109-1 , 2020) offered a commentary regarding Mrdjenovich's (2018) article with attention to moderators of associations between religious/spiritual constructs and health outcomes. In this rejoinder, I review Speed et al.'s (2020) commentary and I identify a number of concerns, both with their observations and ostensive oversights involving qualitative research methodology, the utility of survey data, the domain of belief, and the impact of calls for a pluralistic approach in the religion-heath research field. I conclude that Mrdjenovich does not misunderstand mechanisms of the (non)religion-health relationship as much as Speed et al. seem to misinterpret Mrdjenovich's (2018) purpose, perspective, and default position on the issues. I reiterate that a concerted effort is required to study health outcomes among religious minorities.

Diabetes specialist nurse telephone helpline: A survey of incoming and out-going calls

Background: Numerous telephone calls for advice on diabetes-related issues are received by diabetes specialist nurses (DSNs), but resources required to deal with such calls are rarely formally identified.Aim: To identify the number, duration, nature of calls, type of callers and impact of calls on DSN workload, in order to help plan future requirements of diabetes services.Methods: In preparation for restructuring how diabetes services are provided locally, a record of all calls made in relation to the diabetes clinic’s helpline during June 2007 was collated. Date and time, type of caller, duration and nature of call were recorded.Results: In June 2007, there were 386 calls (mean [range] 18.4 [4–33] calls per day). Duration was recorded for 80 of the calls, which took up 335 minutes in total, giving an average of 4.2 minutes per call. This gives an estimated total call time of approximately 1621 minutes’ (27 h) during the month. Of the 386 calls, 6% were from general practitioners, 10% from practice nurses, 44% from patients, 4% from nursing homes, 4% from care providers/relatives and 32% from others (ward nurses, doctors, dietitians, district nurses, diabetes care technicians and other primary care trust staff).Conclusion: The helpline is heavily used and its impact on DSN workload is considerable. Appropriate resource allocation is necessary when planning for the future requirements of patients with diabetes.

Making the Case for Airline Compassion Fares: The Serial Organization of Problem Narratives During a Family Crisis

Faced with the need to make last minute and thus unexpected travel plans to visit his dying mother, a son searches for discounted and timely airline reservations. His search for compassion fares involves a series of interactions with family members before and after calls to major airlines. We identify specific devices for delicately initiating phone openings with airline agents, making a persuasive case for urgent and affordable assistance and soliciting special understandings regarding the legitimacy of his troubling circumstances. Attention is drawn to the serial organization and cumulative impact of calls over time, one advantage of working with longitudinal data. It is shown how an initial call with the son's mom and dad forms the basis for subsequent problem narratives, the contingent enactment of narratives as progressively built for agents, and a retrospective summary to an aunt whose advice about compassion fares was misinformed. Numerous ironies are identified: unavoidable disjunctures between institutional representatives and lay persons, how the son streamlines his actions as an upshot of learning about the airline system, and ways predictions about imminent death give rise to interactional trajectories susceptible to modification and change.

When the “Amen Corner” Comes to Class: An Examination of the Pedagogical and Cultural Impact of Call–Response Communication in the Black College Classroom

This research sought to examine the communicative impact of the Black English speech pattern, known as call–response, on African Americans within an educational environment. An ethnographic study of an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) classroom was conducted to ascertain the pedagogical and cultural meanings this speech event held for an African American instructor and her African American students. Detailed fieldnotes, videotapes of classroom interactions, participant observation, and in-depth interviews comprised the primary means of data collection for this study. Results of the study indicate that call–response did occur in the university classroom. Particularly, the study yielded data which revealed that call–response is initiated in the classroom through a variety of speaker techniques which are interpreted by the class members as “calls.” It was also found that the performance of Black speech acts in the classroom did not serve as a detriment to students, but that by engaging in call–response, the students and the instructor together forwarded deeply embedded African American cultural values of sharing and uniqueness.