Undergraduate Training Programs Research Articles

A Cross-Sectional Study of Translator Trainees’ L2 Reading Comprehension Skills and Strategies

In some undergraduate five-year translator training programmes, the first two years are devoted to language training, and the following three years to linguistics and translator training courses. However, there is a growing concern among EFL instructors and translator trainers in Arab university English departments about an apparent decline in their 4th-year and 5th-year trainees’ L2 reading comprehension skills. The question that should be addressed then by both EFL and translation instructors is whether students’ L2 reading skills continue to develop after they proceed from the language training component to their linguistics and translator training courses. This cross-sectional study examines the performance of 32 subjects, drawn from the language training component, and the linguistics and translator training components in the five-year translator training programme at King Saud University, on two L2 reading comprehension tests. The study also examines their reading strategies through the use of the think-aloud technique. Results show that there is no differentiation in strategy use among the different level groups (i.e., Level 4 from the language component, Level 6 from the linguistics component, and Levels 8 and 10 from the translator training component), and that both higher level and lower level groups become entangled in bottom-up lower-level language-based text processing strategies. The macro-textual issues (i.e., top-down higher-level knowledge-based text processing) such as knowledge of text type, anticipation of content, integration of ideas, inferencing, etc. seem to be overlooked in current translator training courses at King Saud University.

The Pipeline Training Program in Maternal and Child Health: Interdisciplinary Preparation of Undergraduate Students from Underrepresented Groups

The Preparing Academically Successful Students in Maternal and Child Health (MCH PASS) training program provided financial support and specialized training to occupational therapy (OT) and speech-language pathology (SLP) undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in maternal and child health. The project assisted undergraduate trainees to matriculate into graduate programs in their respective fields and facilitated application into long-term maternal and child health training programs. Sixteen trainees (8 OT and 8 SLP) participated in an undergraduate training program with an emphasis on interdisciplinary teaming, family mentoring, leadership development, public health and population-based research. Instruction occurred in community and classroom settings through didactic instruction and small group discussions. Fifteen of the trainees applied to and were accepted in graduate programs in their respective fields. Two trainees applied to a long-term MCH training program. Students reported increased knowledge about programs that serve women and children, the effects of poverty on health, interdisciplinary teaming and the daily routines of families who have a child with a special health care need. The MCH PASS program provided a unique opportunity for undergraduate students in OT and SLP to learn about public health with an emphasis on maternal and child health. The specialized preparation enabled students to understand better the health concerns of underserved families whose children have special health care needs.

Factors influencing occupational therapy students' perceptions of rural and remote practice

There is a serious shortage of health professionals in rural and remote areas in Australia and world wide. The purpose of this article was to add to existing information about allied health students, particularly occupational therapy students, and rural and remote practice by reviewing the literature on occupational therapy students' perceptions of rural and remote practice. A variety of influencing factors were identified, as were the main characteristics of rural practice in relation to the future employment of students. The effect of undergraduate rural training programs on students' perceptions was identified. The shortage of rural and remote health practitioners is well documented. Because rural and remote practice is characterised by a diversity of healthcare needs, rural health professionals need a variety of knowledge and skills. This diversity may attract rural health professionals and encourages undergraduate students to consider rural and remote practice. A student's rural background was reported to be one of the strongest factors in their decision to work rurally, and an undergraduate rural program is one useful strategy to overcome the rural health professional shortage. Undergraduate rural programs promote students' positive perceptions of rural and remote practice by exposure to a rural location, and factors such as rural fieldwork experience and fieldwork supervisors are likely to be influential. Negative influential factors include a student's desire to work as a 'specialist', and personal, social and professional factors, such as a lack of professional development opportunities in a rural setting. The relationship between a student's rural background and the likelihood of working in a rural area is evident. However, few studies have examined the influence of the undergraduate program's subjects. Further studies should explore the influence of a student's perceptions of the undergraduate rural program on their decision to work in a rural setting.

Is a web-based concordance test feasible to assess therapeutic decision-making skills in a French context?

Background: At the end of undergraduate medical curriculum, a written simulation-based examination is used in France to assess therapeutic decision-making skills and to rank students for the purpose of matching their training specialties. However, this examination based on a single assessment method remains a subject of debate.Aim: To study the feasibility of a web-based Concordance test for therapeutic decision-making assessment.Methods: A 12 clinical-case Concordance test was developed based on objectives for the undergraduate training program. The test was administered on line to candidates with different levels of clinical experience. Fifteen therapeutic teachers constituted the reference panel. Data analysis included analysis of variance, post-hoc test, and Cronbach's alpha.Results: One hundred and seventy participants (113 students, 34 residents, 23 physicians) fully completed the free-access test on line with no technical problems. Differences between the mean scores for groups were significant (p < 0.001). Significant differences occurred between fourth year students and residents (p < 0.001), fourth year students and physicians (p = 0.001). No difference was found between residents and physicians. Reliability coefficient was 0.67.Conclusion: A web-based Concordance test in the field of therapeutic decision-making was considered feasible in a French learning environment. Further research is warranted to determine its usefulness as a part of the National Examination.

Entrenando a la nueva generación de estudiantes en salud global en una universidad peruana

In July 2007, the Global Health Program in Peru (www.globalhealthperu.org) at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) organized a course entitled “Basic concepts in Global Health” for undergraduate students at UPCH and foreign students. Objective. Report the evaluation of the course. Material and methods. We measured the participants’ knowledge by a pre- and post-test. An end-of-course evaluation was also applied. Finally, a nine-month follow-up evaluation survey was conducted. Results. Twenty-four participants were enrolled in the course. Of 30 questions, the mean % score increased from 45.6 pre test (SD = 8.37) to 68.8 (SD = 14.46) for the post test (P < 0.0001, n = 24). At the end-of-course evaluation, most of the comments (54%) about the course were positive. The main perceived strength of the course was the relevance and the innovation of the topics (31%), and the quality of the speakers (25%). The main perceived weakness was the short time for some presentations (42%) and that some professors/topics were difficult to understand (18%). 92% ranked the course as very good/excellent (22/24), 100% evaluated the utility of the course as useful/very useful. 88% (21/24) would recommend this course to other students. At the nine-month follow-up survey, 88% (15/17) of students put in practice what they learnt during the course. Conclusions. The course increased knowledge of participants and their comments towards the course were positive. The course “Basic concepts in global health” could be a model for other national or international undergraduate training programs.

The quality of oncology education in undergraduate and postgraduate training programs

6617 Background: The proportion of the population living with cancer is expected to continue to increase over the next decade. As a result, there is a need to ensure that current and future healthc...

Surgery in Developing Countries: Lessons from Uganda

The World Journal of Surgery represents a global forumfor general surgical matters in all their dimensions andcomplexity, not the least in the problem of the burden ofsurgical disease and the provision of surgical care. Theburden of surgical disease in developing countries has beenthoroughly assessed by Debas and colleagues [1], whohave quantified surgical burden by world area, using costper disability-adjusted life year (DALY) per 1,000 popu-lation. They found that the surgical burden by area, indescending order of disadvantage, was as follows: Africa,Southeast Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, WesternPacific, and finally the Americas. They went on to definethe requirements and obligations at each of the primary,secondary, and tertiary levels of surgical provision. In2007, at a Conference hosted by the Rockefeller Founda-tion’s Bellagio Centre, surgical focus was brought down tosub-Saharan Africa, and surgical burden and access wasexamined in selected countries there [2]. The participantsdeveloped a program which included advocacy and par-ticularly emphasized evidence building as a roadmap forthe future.Against this background, it is particularly appropriatethat this issue of the World Journal of Surgery carries adetailed and valuable analysis of surgical services inUganda, the first analysis of its kind from that country [3].Uganda is located in Central Africa and has a population of30,262,610 [4]. It is landlocked, and is about the size of theState of Oregon. The economy and population are largelyrural. Its health indicators show a life expectancy of 52years, but a remarkably low (for Africa) HIV prevalence of4.1%. In most ways it reflects the surgical problems ofmany sub-Saharan African countries, and the article issobering reading.The authors calculate that the Ugandan population isserved by 75 specialist-trained general surgeons, with anadditional 12 subspecialists in neurosurgery, plastic sur-gery, and urological surgery. This means there is astaggering surgical ratio of 1/400,000 population. Theauthors then outline the population catchment of nineselected hospitals in Uganda (that includes the main citiesof Kampala and Entebbe). In their outline they provide thenumber of beds and the operations performed, as well asthe make-up of the attending medical staff of the ninehospitals. The information at this point gives a surgeon-reader at this point the first world pause: only four of thenine hospitals have any general surgeons on their staff, twowith one each, and the remaining two with two each. Fivehospitals with over 100 beds and performing several hun-dred operations a year rely entirely on (nonsurgical)medical officers. The problem is that as much as 90% ofthe medical workforce is located in the two cities, thisdespite—in exact contradistinction—the fact that 90% ofthe population is rural. This maldistribution problem res-onates throughout the developing world.The authors identify many challenges to building asurgical workforce: these are the basic and critical trio ofrecruitment, training, and retention. Recruitment to surgeryis challenged by international collaborations and financialsupport for research that draws trainees to the fields ofpublic health and infectious diseases rather than to surgery.It has long been argued that surgical diseases are seen as ‘‘apoor relative’’ of infectious diseases in the assessment,financing, and management of the disease burden in thedeveloping world.Training in medicine has been difficult in Uganda, butimprovements to undergraduate training programs have

Medical Education in Post-Katrina New Orleans

THE MOST COSTLY NATIONAL DISASTER IN US HISTORY occurred on August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf coasts, and the ensuing breaches in the New Orleans levee system resulted in flooding of approximately 80% of the city. The survival of Tulane University School of Medicine and Louisiana State University School of Medicine at New Orleans (LSU), both located in downtown New Orleans, was severely jeopardized as every major educational and teaching facility flooded following the storm, closing both undergraduate and graduate medical training programs. However, both schools quickly moved their educational programs to new locations and reestablished training for students and residents 1 month later. Tulane and LSU have now returned their educational programs to New Orleans despite faculty losses, closure of some traditional training hospitals, and a diminished population of greater New Orleans. The ability of both schools to survive and thrive has significant long-term implications for the delivery of health care in the region and the ability to train future physicians for the state of Louisiana. Tulane and LSU are situated almost adjacent to each other in downtown New Orleans, but because of the differences in the private and public nature of the 2 schools, the impact of Katrina and the solutions to recovery differed. The effects of Katrina on the educational programs of both schools are summarized in the TABLE. Immediately following Katrina, Tulane moved its medical student programs to Houston, Texas, using facilities at Baylor College of Medicine while LSU moved its preclinical classes to LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center near the main campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Both schools resumed classes within 4 weeks. Communication was one of the earliest challenges. For 6 weeks, Tulane’s electronic communications were unavailable, so students telephoned school administrators and provided notification of a student-created listserv. Baylor College of Medicine subsequently provided a Web site for Tulane to use to disseminate information. LSU installed a new data center with preexisting backup tapes. Housing was another immediate concern. Tulane used an online housing registration system created by Baylor College of Medicine, primarily with housing donated from the Houston community. In Baton Rouge, many LSU students were able to make living arrangements, but others had no access to affordable housing. With support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a Baltic ferry at the Port of Baton Rouge served as home to hundreds of LSU students, residents, staff, and faculty. The emotional and financial toll had a significant effect on all students, but none experienced significant physical harm. Tulane students received mental health support from Baylor College of Medicine mental health personnel, while LSU provided counseling to its students and residents, prioritizing those who remained in hospitals during the evacuation. The DeBakey Foundation, private donors, and students from other medical schools provided more than $200 000 to Tulane students for property losses. Even so, financial losses were a factor in the transfer of 7 students. Similarly, the LSU Alumni Association established an emergency fund to help students and residents with major financial losses. Despite these issues, retention of students was excellent at both schools (Table). Maintaining the admissions process was also challenging. For the first academic year following Katrina, Tulane had no change in applicant numbers and continued its medical school application process by interviewing applicants in Houston. The class of 2010 represented 32 states; however, Louisiana matriculants increased from 28% to 36%. At LSU, application records were lost in New Orleans and the process had to be restarted with an extended deadline; however, the size of the applicant pool, all of whom were Louisiana residents, did not change. There was no change in the quality of incoming matriculants at either school based on mean scores of Medical College Admission Tests and grade point averages (Table). Both schools quickly resumed medical student education without compromising quality. Student performance,

Unethical Practices in Nigerian Construction Industry: Prospective Engineers’ Viewpoint

This paper is an attempt to survey some unethical practices in the Nigerian construction industry. To carry out this study, a twentyitem questionnaire tagged “Engineering Ethics Scale” EES was designed. The questionnaires were administered to 200 prospective civil and structural engineering students at the University of Benin, Nigeria. Their response pattern was analyzed, and the unethical practices that ranked highest in descending order were 1. Contractors obtain vital information on a contract by paying agreed sums of money to officials of the awarding organizations. 2. A contractor must include a “kickback” in his tender or else he will not win the contract. 3. Contract officers engineers, quantity surveyors, etc. have a vested interest on the jobs they are advising on. 4. Subcontracting to multiple vendors is a common practice that leads to the abandonment of projects in Nigeria. 5. Winning a contract depends on how well in advance a bidder negotiates for the “kickbacks.” These findings clearly indicate that unethical practices are prevalent in Nigeria’s construction industry. This result signifies the urgent need for an intervention program to be carried out through seminars and workshops. A course on construction management ethics should be introduced and emphasized in the undergraduate training program so that scientists and engineers will go into the construction industry with a new, positive outlook on the maintenance of engineering ethics. This will enable the country to experience the technological growth desired in our construction industry. This study will evolve affirmative action and policies in the field of engineering practice.

Accreditation of undergraduate medical training programs: Practices in nine developing countries as compared with the United States

Undergraduate medical training program accreditation is practiced in many countries, but information from developing countries is sparse. We compared medical training program accreditation systems in nine developing countries, and compared these with accreditation practices in the United States of America (USA). Medical program accreditation practices in nine developing countries were systematically analyzed using all available published documents. Findings were compared to USA accreditation practices. Accreditation systems with explicitly defined criteria, standards and procedures exist in all nine countries studied: Argentina, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines and South Africa. Introduction of accreditation processes is relatively recent, starting in 1957 in India to 2001 in Malaysia. Accrediting agencies were set up in these countries predominantly by their respective governments as a result of legislation and acts of Parliament, involving Ministries of Education and Health. As in the USA, accreditation: (1) serves as a quality assurance mechanism promoting professional and public confidence in the quality of medical education, (2) assists medical schools in attaining desired standards, and (3) ensures that graduates' performance complies with national norms. All nine countries follow similar accreditation procedures. Where mandatory accreditation is practiced, non-compliant institutions may be placed on probation, student enrollment suspended or accreditation withdrawn. Accreditation systems in several developing countries are similar to those in the developed world. Data suggest the trend towards instituting quality assurance mechanisms in medical education is spreading to some developing countries, although generalization to other areas of the world is difficult to ascertain.

Development of strategic international industry links to promote undergraduate vocational training and postgraduate research programmes

After centuries of protectionism in international trade, the course is inexorably set for trade amongst nations without borders. More and more countries are joining the World Trade Organization and companies are repositioning themselves for the conduct of their activities in an environment free from physical borders and national legislative restrictions. Commercial activity is as old as humanity itself and touches every aspect of human endeavour. The raison d’être for academic institutions, which provide skills training for the labour force of the community of nations, lies, to a large extent, in fulfilling the requirements of commercial activity. Any profound change in the manner in which commerce is conducted, logically, requires an equally profound change in the philosophy of developing the skills of the labour force. This paper therefore discusses the challenges which academic institutions face in restructuring their curricula to meet the demands of the globalized economy of the future. The paper describes the general principles necessary to develop the attributes of a globally employable graduate and reports, in particular, on activities already being undertaken by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), in association with industry partners within and outside Australia to meet these challenges. The prime mover of these activities is a programme called the RMIT International Industry Experience and Research Program (RIIERP), which was established in 1992 by the author.

Assessment of clinical competence in therapeutic radiography: A study of skills, characteristics and indicators for future career development

Purpose The aim of this study was to measure the competence of one national (United Kingdom) cohort of newly qualified therapeutic radiographers ( n = 62) following completion of their undergraduate training programme and examine skills and characteristics which might indicate future career development. Method Questionnaires comprising 14 assessable skill areas/characteristics were sent to all UK radiotherapy departments. Each department agreeing to participate in the study identified the number of staff who were eligible and agreed to take part. The 14 assessable areas were completed by senior therapeutic radiographers with a working knowledge of the radiographer being assessed. Assessment grades were allocated to each skill/characteristic using a validated set of performance descriptors. Conclusion Analysis of the levels of competence achieved demonstrated that the majority (59/62) of newly qualified therapeutic radiographers were judged by senior staff to be competent in clinical practice, although many responders commented that newly qualified staff benefited greatly by an additional period of post-registration supervision in order to consolidate clinical skill development. A small number of radiographers ( n = 6) were judged to be highly competent. They achieved grades which were indicative of an exceptionally high standard across all 14 skill areas. The skills and characteristics demonstrated by this subset include adaptability, a well-placed self-confidence, high level of clinical skill and evidence of effective critical thinking and reflection. This first post-registration year is a critical time for future career development. Those lacking in confidence to deal with patients or operate equipment or those requiring additional clinical support must be supported and mentored in order to achieve the required levels of competence. Those radiographers, who clearly demonstrate high standards of competence and possess skills more usually seen with experience, should be encouraged and supported early in their careers to maximise their potential across the range of career pathways within the profession.

Knowledge and perception of operation and maintenance practitioners in Hong Kong about sustainable buildings

PurposeTo investigate the knowledge and perception of serving and prospective operation and maintenance (O&amp;M) practitioners about the key aspects of sustainable buildings, and to study the contribution of the current education and training means to their knowledge level.Design/methodology/approachA self‐administered questionnaire survey was conducted on full‐time practitioners attending continuous professional development (CPD) courses related to building services engineering (BSE) or facilities management (FM); full‐time practitioners studying part‐time on undergraduate BSE/FM courses; and full‐time undergraduate BSE/FM students. A total of 168 responses were collected and analysed.FindingsThe respondents were largely unaware of the initiatives for promoting building environmental performance and sustainability. Their knowledge level about sustainable buildings was generally low and bore little correlation with their work experience, attendance to CPD training and undergraduate studies that they attended. Good O&amp;M for buildings was perceived by both O&amp;M practitioners and building designers to be highly relevant to sustainable buildings.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is required to study how the education and training means should be revamped and coordinated to tailor for the O&amp;M practitioners. More stringent CPD requirements by relevant professional bodies would help motivate the practitioners to continuously acquire knowledge which is essential for making buildings sustainable.Practical implicationsThe findings have unveiled the need for tailor‐made undergraduate and CPD training programmes to effectively enhance the knowledge of O&amp;M practitioners.Originality/valueThis paper presents an unpopular but important research which uncovered the state of knowledge and perception of O&amp;M practitioners, who play a crucial role in realizing the goal of sustainable buildings.

Report on Ambulatory Teaching : A Japanese Look at the Canadian Educational System

BACKGROUND Japanese medical education has undergone dramatic changes over the last 5 years. Clinical exercises and ambulatory-care training are now stressed to prepare medical students and residents for work in primary and continuing-care settings. For comparative purposes, we conducted a review of the undergraduate and residency training programs for ambulatory care at the University of Toronto in Canada. This report will examine the problems of training programs for ambulatory care in Japan by comparing the Canadian and Japanese models. METHOD From December 2004 to March 2005, the first author observed the ambulatory training systems at the University of Toronto. OUTLINE OF CANADIAN AMBULATORY TRAINING PROGRAMS : There are three typical types of ambulatory training programs in Canada : community-office based programs for undergraduate students in family and community medicine; hospital/clinic based programs for junior residents in internal medicine; and consultation service programs for senior residents in internal medicine. Undergraduate and residency training programs are largely consistent with each other. The current trend in medical education is towards increased consolidation and efficiency in teacher and student training systems, with a reduction in the number of teaching hospitals and integration of teaching staff and curricula. Moreover, team-based training for ambulatory care appears effective. DISCUSSION To improve the Japanese ambulatory training system, it is desirable to increase communication and contact between undergraduate-program educators and residency-training program educators in order to achieve integration and consistency between programs.

Back to the future: teaching medical students clinical procedures

Over the last decade undergraduate training in clinical procedures has moved from ‘learning on patients' towards simulation-based training. Simulation was intended to be an adjunct rather than a replacement for experiential learning and several initiatives have emerged to redress this balance. With these initiatives in mind, we evaluated the impact of our undergraduate skills training programme and considered the need to change our teaching and learning strategy in this area.Outcomes-based data was accrued from the performance-based assessment of 64 medical students in four key procedures. Attitudinal data was gleaned from 130 responses to an electronic questionnaire and student self-efficacy ratings taken immediately before assessment. Students performed best in venepuncture. Performance in the other skills revealed 1 in 3 did not reach competence in IV cannulation and more than 1 in 2 were below standard when measuring a BM stix and priming an IV giving set. The data on self-efficacy and competence was analysed and a Spearman's Rank Correlation coefficient of 0.36 calculated. Students in final year were poor self-assessors and unaware that their skills often fell below standard. These results suggest a need to increase students' self-awareness and promote ward-based learning. This article considers how these objectives might be achieved.Practice pointsOur undergraduate skills training encourages good communication and an understanding of how to avoid needlestick injuries.However, students performed less well in the domains of infection control and safe practice.Students are poor self-assessors in clinical procedures.Simulation-based training has an important role to play in undergraduate medical education but should be an adjunct to an essentially clinical experience.

Stakeholder views regarding cultural diversity teaching outcomes: a qualitative study.

BackgroundCultural diversity teaching is increasingly present in both undergraduate and postgraduate training programmes. This study explored the views of stakeholders in medical education about the potential outcomes of cultural diversity teaching and how they thought cultural diversity programmes might be effectively evaluated.MethodsA semi-structured interview was undertaken with 61 stakeholders (including policymakers, diversity teachers, students and users). The data were analysed and themes identified.ResultsMany participants felt that clinical practice was improved through 'cultural diversity teaching' and this was mostly as a result of improved doctor-patient communication. There was a strong view that service users need to participate in the evaluation of outcomes of cultural diversity teaching.ConclusionThere is a general perception, rather than clear evidence, that cultural diversity teaching can have a positive effect on clinical practice. Cultural diversity teaching needs to be reviewed in undergraduate and postgraduate medicine and better evaluation tools need to be established.

Increasing General Dentists’ Provision of Care to Child Patients Through Changes in the Undergraduate Pediatric Dentistry Program

Reduced caries rates and an increased percentage of children with dental insurance have made it more difficult for dental schools to provide undergraduates with sufficient numbers of pediatric dental patients requiring restorative procedures. This may result in graduates who are not competent and are reluctant to treat children after graduation. To ensure the quality of the undergraduate clinical training program, the Division of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Manitoba changed from a comprehensive-based clinic to a block system in 1998-99. Specific communities with limited access to dental care (neighboring core area schools and Hutterite colonies) were specifically targeted as potential sources for child patients. This format increased the exposure of students to patient management as well as to complex pediatric dentistry procedures. To assess the learning experiences before and after the changes to the clinical pediatric dentistry program, sixty general dentists who had graduated from the University of Manitoba were randomly selected using the Manitoba Dental Association Directory. Surveys were sent to twenty general dentists who graduated in each of the following years: 1993, 2000, and 2002. Forty-five dentists responded, fifteen from each of the three surveyed classes. Dentists who graduated after the changes to the program (2000, 2002) reported that they performed a greater number of complex pediatric dentistry procedures and treated more toddler and preschool children than the group that graduated before the changes (1993). Referrals to pediatric dentistry specialists were higher in the 1993 group than in the 2000 and 2002 groups. In conclusion, an adequate pool of pediatric patients is critical to provide dental students with sufficient learning experiences. The dentists who graduated from the program after the changes were implemented are providing more comprehensive treatment to younger children.

The Instructional Effectiveness of a Web-Based Audiometry Simulator

With distance learning becoming more of a reality than a novelty in many undergraduate and graduate training programs, web-based clinical simulations can be identified as an instructional option in distance education that has both a sound pedagogical foundation and clinical relevance. The purpose of this article is to report on the instructional effectiveness of a web-based pure-tone audiometry simulator by undergraduate and graduate students in speech-language pathology. Graduate and undergraduate majors in communication sciences and disorders practiced giving basic hearing tests on either a virtual web-based audiometer or a portable audiometer. Competencies in basic testing skills were evaluated for each group. Results of our analyses of the data indicate that both undergraduate and graduate students learned basic audiometric testing skills using the virtual audiometer. These skills were generalized to basic audiometric testing skills required of a speech language pathologist using a portable audiometer.

Borczon, R. (2004). Music therapy: A field work primer. Gilsum, NH: Barcelona. 149 pages. ISBN 1-891278-21-5. $21.00

Borczon, R. (2004). Music therapy: A field work primer. Gilsum, NH: Barcelona. 149 pages. ISBN 1-891278-21-5. $21.00 Ronald Borczon, MT-BC, has published Music therapy: A fieldwork primer, a text designed for students who are training in therapy fieldwork experiences and internships. The author has an admirable reputation as a clinician and educator: nearly 25 years as a professional therapist as noted in this book. He has to his credit a previous text, also published by Barcelona, titled Music therapy: Group vignettes (1997), which is used widely in English speaking undergraduate and graduate training programs around world. A stated focus for current handbook is to assist students in . . process of developing helping skills (p. xiii). Toward this aim Borczon provides supportive advice, brief clinical scenarios with various intervention suggestions, descriptions of a group of verbal techniques with examples of usage, an explanation of documentation procedures, and encouragement for students to embrace supervision opportunities. Cursory descriptions of musical techniques and methodological procedures are found, but these are few and are admittedly not intention of book. A final chapter is devoted to quotes from experienced therapists that were provided in to author's request for helpful thoughts to share with less experienced therapists. In very beginning of text (second page) I was struck by Borczon's acknowledgement of the two most influential therapy educators in my life, Ken Bruscia and Jayne Standley (p. x). Personally, I found it difficult to envision two more noteworthy yet distinctive professionals after whom one might model oneself as a therapist. Bruscia is known world-wide as a therapist steeped in psychodynamic traditions. His important work in clinical improvisation, Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), and qualitative research methodologies is quite dissimilar to that of Standley, whose equally renowned pioneering work in medical and school-based settings has its foundations firmly in behaviorism. And while Bruscia's academic success may be traced to training of students in a diversity of clinical orientations, Standley's academic program has been similarly well-regarded and attended for its unwavering ethos of behaviorism. Consequently, my curiosity was instantly piqued for what rest of this fieldwork primer held. From which clinical orientation will guiding notions be drawn? Will in therapy process be conceived as a reinforcer for client behaviors or will students be encouraged to hear clients' in an interpretive fashion from which insights to unconscious motivations may be gained? Will students read that client responses must be evaluated through quantifiable means or will recognition be afforded to value of qualitative and subjective observations? And what value will be ascribed to process of developing therapeutic relationships and relative therapeutic importance thereof? Although above observations and curiosities may initially appear peripheral to intent and content of this text, reader is well advised to hold notion of clinical polarities in mind while absorbing Borczon's recommendations for successfully facilitating therapy. The book has a principal slant toward behaviorism, particularly where clinical technique is concerned. Behavioral therapy terms such as contingency, reinforcement, and incompatible response abound as does notion that treatment is most successfully evaluated through quantifying client responses. In a chapter titled Intervention Strategies for Difficult Client, a preponderance of behaviorally grounded suggestions is put forth for 'managing client behaviors/ Conversely, Borczon advises students in their first clinical encounter Io Think of client as a piece of that is constantly flowing and changing in time. Your role is to help this symphonic outline embodied in human form discover meaning and health through their music (p. …

Robert T. Simpson (1938–2004)

Robert T. Simpson (1938–2004)