Professional Board Research Articles

Dual System Curriculum in Chemical Engineering Education

Higher education for chemical engineering is required to fulfill several aspects of the required skill and knowledge requested by stakeholders, including professional societies, company partners, accreditation boards, and national standards. Ministry of education of Indonesia under Makarim administration also mandated more liberal practice in Indonesian higher education as jargoned as "Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM)" means "freedom to learn, freedom campus". These several aspects, combined with the current COVID-19 pandemic, bring a massive problem in the curriculum. Herein, we discuss and propose a dual system curriculum to accommodate the government standard's requirement, minimize the gap between education and industry, and the professional association. The initial implementation in two universities is observed and the challenges, future direction and lesson learned are discussed. We expect the curriculum gives the student experience learning in the classroom and a live laboratory in conjunction with MBKM's spirit.

Academic program recommendations for graduate degrees in medical physics: AAPM Report No. 365 (Revision of Report No. 197).

Academic program recommendations for graduate degrees in medical physics: AAPM Report No. 365 (Revision of Report No. 197).

Simulations as a mode of clinical training in healthcare professions: A scoping review to guide planning in speech-language pathology and audiology during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

BackgroundSimulation plays an important role as an alternative method for training of students, particularly in health education. As a result of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions of face-to-face interactions, traditional teaching methods have been disrupted, increasing the need for alternative methods to supplement modes of student clinical training in healthcare programmes.ObjectivesThe scoping review aimed to determine what has been documented about simulation as a mode of clinical training in healthcare professions (HCPs) in order to guide speech-language pathology and audiology (SLP&A) professions during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.MethodA scoping review was conducted. Electronic bibliographic databases including Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus MEDLINE, ProQuest, Google Scholar and WorldCat were searched to identify peer reviewed publications, published in English, between January 2011 and December 2021, and related to the use of simulation in HCPs clinical training programmes.ResultsA total of 32 articles met the inclusion criteria for this scoping review. Three themes emerged when reviewing the studies: (1) face-to-face simulations as a mode of clinical training, (2) virtual reality simulation and telesimulation as modes of clinical training and (3) simulation as a complementary mode of clinical training. Evidence suggests that whilst simulations are cost-effective, accessible and efficacious as clinical training modes, they need to be combined with other modes of training such as the traditional clinical training to yield better learning outcomes.ConclusionsCurrent findings highlight the role and value of simulation as a clinical training mode during COVID-19 and beyond. However, there are aspects that need to be considered to ensure that this mode of clinical training is effective, with endorsement and regulations by the SLP&A Professional Board of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Simulations need to be complemented with traditional clinical training methods. In the context of SLP&A, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), simulation can be used to better prepare students for their clinical placement where clinical training platforms are limited and where simulation combined with teletraining or telesupervision can be utilised to increase access to training.

Developing Parents Plus

In this article, we describe the development and investigation of the social validity of Parents Plus, a parent-implemented intervention for preschool children with developmental language disorder. Parents Plus is a fully online intervention that is delivered through three components: (a) training delivered through an app that educates parents on how to use focused stimulation (FS), a language facilitation strategy; (b) parent implementation of FS during naturally occurring routines; and (c) remote practice-based coaching provided by a coach via Zoom. Parents Plus was developed in three steps: (a) initial content development with input from parents and professional advisory board members, (b) brief field test with five parent–child dyads, and (c) full-length field test with seven parent–child dyads. Throughout the development process, we collected social validity data on the intervention's goals, procedures, content and outcomes. Each step was followed by revisions to Parents Plus. Findings suggest that Parents Plus has strong social validity. Recommendations for early intervention practice are provided based on lessons learned, such as different methods to scaffold learning experiences for parents.

Medical decisions in organ donors and heart transplant candidates with history of COVID-19 infection: An international practice survey.

BackgroundA growing proportion of transplant donors and recipients have a history of COVID‐19 infection. This study sought to characterize clinical practice after recipient or donor COVID‐19 infection.MethodsAn online survey was distributed to heart transplant clinicians through a professional society message board and social media. Responses were collected between September 29 and November 5, 2021.ResultsThere were 222 health care professionals (68% transplant cardiologists, 22% transplant surgeons, 10% other) across diverse geographic regions who completed the survey. While there was significant variation in donor acceptance, as it relates to past and current COVID‐19 infection, the respondents were fairly cautious: 28% would not typically accept a donor with a history of COVID‐19 regardless of the infection course and > 80% would not accept donors who had evidence of myocardial dysfunction during past COVID‐19 infection, or who died of COVID‐19 or its complications. The timing of candidate reactivation on the waiting list after COVID‐19 infection also varied and often diverged from scenarios addressed by social guidelines. Eighty‐one percent of the respondents felt COVID‐19 vaccine should be mandatory before transplant, but this rate varied by geographic region.ConclusionOur results reflect evolving experience of the heart transplant field at a time of lack of high‐quality evidence. In the absence of longer‐term outcome data for donors and transplant candidates with history of COVID‐19 infection, clinicians remain cautious; however, this approach will likely need to be refined as an increasing proportion of the population will continue to be infected with COVID‐19.

Preparing Nurses for Governance of Professional Nursing Organizations: Evaluation of an E-Learning Approach

A descriptive survey project was conducted with the Oncology Nursing Society to determine how professional nursing organizations prepare their nurse members for board roles and evaluate how well prepared Oncology Nursing Society members were to serve on a professional board of directors after completing a board governance e-learning program. While the findings revealed some encouraging results, opportunities exist for professional nursing organizations to prepare nurses for board governance roles and for nurses to gain additional confidence in leading boards. Recommendations based on these results will help leadership development committees refine their strategies for building future leaders.

Vocational Teachers' Interest in Participating in Competency Certification Program from National Professional Certification Board

This study aims to obtain the level of interest of vocational school teachers in the implementation of the competency certification program organized by the National Professional Certification Agency. Moreover, this competency certification is part of what is required in the era of globalization to produce quality graduates. This study uses a qualitative approach with a survey method. This research was conducted at a vocational school in Bekasi. Data was collected using interviews, documents, and questionnaires. The data analysis process uses the Miles and Huberman model through the process of data reduction, data presentation, drawing conclusions and triangulation. The results of the study concluded that there were 40% of schools encouraged teachers to take part in competency certification test training. Teachers need competency improvement activities such as training in mastery of competency certification test materials and also difficulties in keeping up with all developments in knowledge and technology. The table data shows that there are 60% of teachers interested in competency certification and desire to take the competency certification test.

An Analysis of Criminology as a Profession in the Republic of South Africa

The professionalisation of criminology has not been a smooth process in South Africa. The literature reveals that it has been a slow process burdened with numerous challenges. The slow process of professionalising criminology has caused uncertainty about criminology as a profession. Although, South African universities have taken the significant steps towards recognising criminology as an academic discipline. This systematic review studied various sources to justify the inability of relevant structures to professionalise criminology. Moreover, it endeavoured to understand the extent to which criminology has been professionalised in South Africa. This critical analysis confirms that the process of professionalising criminology has been prolonged and that it has been fraught with challenges. Results of this study are relevant for any idea to restructure the criminology, and it is envisaged that appropriate structures may find results useful in altering the vision of the profession. This paper recommends that an independent professional board be established to assist and guide criminologists. Such a board could, for instance, suggest a constructive structure and broadly define the role and functions of criminologists within the South African context.

Large Variation in Heart Transplant Selection Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic

PurposeA growing proportion of transplant donors and recipients have a history of COVID infection. Transplant societies issued guidelines to support decisions regarding donor selection and recipient activation after COVID infection, but outcome data are still limited. This study sought to characterize heterogeneity in current clinical practice and opinions regarding cardiac donation after recipient or donor COVID infection.MethodsAn online survey was distributed to heart transplant clinicians through a professional society message board and social media. Responses were collected between September 29 and October 18, 2021.Results204 healthcare professionals from diverse geographic regions (North and South America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia) completed the survey, including 143 (70%) transplant cardiologists, 42 (21%) cardiac surgeons and 19 (9%) other heart transplant clinicians. 80% of clinicians felt COVID vaccine should be mandatory before transplant. There was significant variation in clinical practice for donor acceptance and recipient management, including several scenarios directly addressed by society guidelines - see Figure 1 for a sample of responses.ConclusionThere is significant variation in the clinical approach to common scenarios following donor or recipient COVID infection. This reflects continued uncertainty with post-transplant outcomes impacted by pre-transplant COVID infection. Granular outcome data are needed to better inform clinical decisions.

Psychiatric pharmaceutical care service across Malaysian hospitals: results from a cross-sectional study

BackgroundPsychiatric pharmaceutical care is the provision of pharmaceutical care services to patients with psychiatric related illnesses or disorders. Several studies have demonstrated the positive influence psychiatric pharmaceutical care on patients’ clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes. This study aimed to examine the extent of psychiatric pharmaceutical care practice in a convenience sample of Malaysian government hospitals and the barriers to the provision of these services.MethodsAn anonymous cross-sectional survey of registered pharmacists working at a convenience sample of government hospitals in Malaysia was undertaken from September 2019 to June 2020.ResultsPharmacists frequently ensured the appropriateness of the dose (55%), dosage form (47%) and dosing schedule (48%) of the dispensed medications. Most pharmacists infrequently worked with patients and healthcare professionals to develop a pharmacotherapeutic regimen and a corresponding monitoring plan (28%). There was no statistically significant difference in the provision of pharmaceutical care services with respect to gender, age, years of practice, and professional board certification. However, the services offered were influenced by the respondent’s education and pharmacy setting. The obstacles perceived by pharmacists included lack of time (89%), shortage of pharmacy staff (87%), the patients’ inability to comprehend medical information (85%), insufficient demand and acceptance by patients (82%), the lack of official policies and standardised practice protocols (78%), inaccessibility to the patients’ medical records (77%) and the lack of structured communication channels between pharmacists and physicians (75%), the pharmacists lack of knowledge/skills and confidence (78%) and insufficient recognition from physicians to the pharmacists’ skills (76%).ConclusionsThis is the first study to explore the extent and barriers of psychiatric pharmaceutical care in Malaysian hospitals; it highlighted the need for mobilising pharmacists to expand these services.

Ethnic and Sex Diversity in Academic Orthopaedic Surgery: A Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction:Although the diversity in orthopaedic residency programs has been studied, the diversity within academic orthopaedics has not.Methods:The board of specialty societies, five leading journals and the National Institutes of Health RePORTER tool, and three accreditation organizations were explored.Results:The board of directors comprised 220 (72%) Caucasians, 36 (12%) Asians, 4 (1%) Hispanic/Latinos, 29 (9%) African Americans, and 18 (6%) Other individuals; 250 (81%) were men, and 57 (19%) were women. The editorial boards comprised 288 (77%) Caucasians, 62 (16%) Asians, 14 (4%) Hispanic/Latinos, 8 (2%) African Americans, and 4 (1%) Other individuals; 341 (91%) were men, and 35 (9%) were women. The National Institutes of Health grant recipients comprised 117 (64%) Caucasians, 58 (32%) Asians, 4 (2%) Hispanic/Latinos, and 3 (2%) African Americans; 128 (70%) were men, and 54 (30%) were women. On average, Caucasians, Asians, Hispanic/Latinos, and African Americans received $776,543, $439,600, $420,182, and $494,049, respectively. On average, men and women received $759,426 and $419,518, respectively. The accreditation boards comprised 45 (82%) Caucasians, 6 (11%) Asians, and 4 (7%) African Americans; 45 (82%) were men, and 10 (18%) were women.Conclusions:Academic orthopaedic surgery does not resemble the United States. Residency, fellowship committees, and professional organization boards need to become aware of these disparities.

Obituary Dr Christine Costello: MBChB, DRCOG, FRCP, FRCPath 29 August 1945-31 December 2021.

Obituary Dr Christine Costello: MBChB, DRCOG, FRCP, FRCPath 29 August 1945-31 December 2021.

Appropriateness and Economic Analysis of Conventional Circulating Biomarkers Assessment in Early Breast Cancer: A Real-World Experience from the E.Pic.A Study.

The risk of relapse for early breast cancer (BC) patients persists even after decades and to date, no specific and sensitive effective circulating biomarker for recurrence prediction has been identified yet. The international guidelines do not recommend the assessment of the serum tumor markers CEA and CA15-3 in the follow-up of asymptomatic early BC patients. In our institute, IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) “Dino Amadori”, as part of the E.Pic.A study, which was designed to assess the economic appropriateness of integrated care pathways in early BC, the use of CEA and CA15-3 as circulating tumor biomarkers in early BC patients was evaluated in 1502 patients one year after surgery, from 2015 to 2018, with an overall expense of EUR 51,764. A total of EUR 47,780 (92%) was used for execution of circulating tumor markers in early BC patients with stage 0, I and II tumors, neglecting the current guidelines and considered inappropriate by our professional board. We found that no patients with stage I BC experienced relapse in the 365 days after surgery, and in any case examination of the circulating markers CEA and CA15-3 was considered crucial for diagnosis of relapse. Our findings suggest that this inadequacy is a low-value area, supporting the reallocation of economic resources for interventions of a higher value for patients.

Elevating Health Disparities Education Among Trainees and Physicians

Health disparities disproportionately affect patients in racial and ethnic minority groups, and these disparities are linked to economic, environmental, and social disadvantage. It is widely known that health disparities impact patients with allergic and immunologic conditions, yet universal and comprehensive training in health disparities is lacking. More robust educational opportunities are needed to fully equip trainees with tools to recognize and develop effective strategies to reduce the burden of health disparities. Also, there are no universal standards or requirements for professional medical boards in their respective maintenance of certification programs that will ensure ongoing training for practicing providers that will help them identify and manage individual or societal issues such as social determinants that contribute to health disparities. Further, the long-term impact of systematic discrimination, implicit and overt bias, and medical mistrust among populations most often affected by disparities compounds the complexity of the methods and types of training that is desperately needed to overcome health disparities. We provide a commentary on important topics that should be addressed during allergy and immunology training and beyond. We further highlight strategies and tools that should be used to tackle this important issue affecting millions of patients under our specialty care. It is past time for us to go beyond the bedside and comprehensively integrate health disparities training in our fellowship programs and in our practices.

Quality-Based Evaluation of Patient-Facing Online Education Materials Regarding Facial Filler Procedures.

Injectable facial fillers have become tremendously more popular in recent years, and the Internet offers a proportional amount of consumer-facing educational material. This study sought to explore the quality of these online materials. The top 20 Web sites offering educational materials about facial filler were identified via Google search and sorted by source: Medical Professional Boards, Hospitals and Providers, Medical News and Reference, and Fashion. The materials were assessed for overall quality with the validated DISCERN instrument. The authors also assessed understandability and actionability (Patient Education Material Assessment Tool - PEMAT), accuracy, comprehensiveness, and readability (Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Flesch Reading Ease). The mean DISCERN score was 46.9 ± 7.6, which is considered "fair" quality educational material; above "poor," but below "good" and "excellent." Understandability and actionability scores were low, particularly with respect to visual aids. The materials were generally accurate (76-99%), but scored poorly in comprehensiveness, as 15% failed to mention any risks/adverse effects and only 35% mentioned cost. On average, readability was at an 11th grade level, far more complex than ideal (< 6th grade level). Information disseminated from seemingly reputable sources such as professional boards and hospitals/providers were not of higher quality or superior in any of the above studied domains. In conclusion, online educational materials related to injectable facial fillers are of subpar quality, including those from academic and professional organizations. Visual aids were particularly weak. The facial rejuvenation community should make a concerted effort to set a higher standard for disseminating such information.

Development and Roll-Out of A Coronavirus Disease 2019 Clinical Pathway for Standardized Qualified Care in Public Hospitals in Korea.

Despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination roll-out, variant-related outbreaks have occurred repeatedly in Korea. Although public hospitals played a major role in COVID-19 patients’ care, difficulty incorporating evolving COVID-19 treatment guidelines called for a clinical pathway (CP). Eighteen public hospitals volunteered, and a professional review board was created. CPs were formulated containing inclusion/exclusion criteria, application flow charts, and standardized order sets. After CP roll-out, key parameters improved, such as increased patient/staff five-point satisfaction scores (0.41/0.57) and decreased hospital stays (1.78 days)/medical expenses (17.5%). The CPs were updated consistently after roll-out as new therapeutics drugs were introduced and quarantine policies changed.

Career transitions: Reflections of former chairs and academic health center leaders

The 2022 Association of Pathology Chairs Annual Meeting included a live discussion session and a pre-meeting recorded panel webinar sponsored by the Senior Fellows Group (former chairs of academic departments of pathology who have remained active in the Association of Pathology Chairs). The presentation was focused on transition planning for academic health center leaders. Each of the discussion group panelists had served as a pathology department chair as well as in more senior leadership positions, and they provided perspectives based upon their personal experiences. It was noted that such positions are often “at will” appointments of indeterminate length and that those above department chair generally carry greater risks and less stability. Becoming “addicted” to a leadership position was not considered beneficial to the individual or to the institution served and makes transitioning more difficult. Ongoing organizational succession planning was deemed helpful to mitigate such addiction and facilitate personal transition planning. Modes of transitioning discussed included those planned (e.g., voluntary retirement, resignation, administrative advancement) and unplanned (e.g., being “fired”; unexpected personal, health, or family issues). Unplanned transitions were felt to be more difficult, while anticipating when it is time to go and planning for it provided greater personal fulfillment after transition. Many career options were identified after serving in a leadership position, including a return to teaching, research, and/or clinical service; writing; mentoring; becoming more active in professional organizations and boards; philanthropic work; and “reinventing oneself” by moving to another career entirely.

THE NATIONAL LICENSING EXAMINATION: A COMPARISON WITH OTHER MAJOR MEDICAL LICENSING EXAMINATIONS AND PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR WIDER ACCEPTANCE

THE NATIONAL LICENSING EXAMINATION: A COMPARISON WITH OTHER MAJOR MEDICAL LICENSING EXAMINATIONS AND PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR WIDER ACCEPTANCE

“Vaccination needs to be easy for the people, right ?”: a qualitative study of the roles of physicians and pharmacists regarding vaccination in Switzerland

ObjectiveVaccination in pharmacies has been a key component of national vaccination strategies to facilitate vaccination access. Qualitative data on the perspectives of professional stakeholders on vaccination in pharmacies and on...

Multistakeholder perspectives on the strengthening and embedding of mandatory continuing medical education in Georgia: a qualitative study

ObjectiveContinuing medical education (CME) is a vital component of health systems. Setting up a CME system is a complex task, requiring involvement of stakeholders including educators, learners, institutions and policy...