scholarly journals Implementation of a volunteer university student research assistant program in an emergency department: the nuts and bolts for success

CJEM ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 586-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick E. Steadman ◽  
Johanna Crudden ◽  
Kathy Boutis
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
University Student ◽  
Minimal Risk ◽  
Monetary Incentives ◽  
Research Assistant ◽  
Student Research ◽  
Patient Screening ◽  
Risk Research ◽  
University Course ◽  
Research Studies

AbstractProspective research studies often advance clinical practice in the emergency department (ED), but they can be costly and difficult to perform. In this report, we describe the implementation of a volunteer university student research assistant program that provides students exposure to medicine and clinical research while simultaneously increasing the capacity of an ED’s research program. This type of program provides 15 hours per day of research assistant coverage for patient screening and enrolment for minimal risk research studies, and screening for higher risk studies. The latter is true without the added burden or costs of co-administering university course credit or pay for service, which are common features of most of these types of programs currently in operation. We have shown that our volunteer-based program is effective for an ED’s research success as well as for its student participants. For other EDs interested in adopting similar programs, we provide the details on how to get such a program started and highlight the structure and non-monetary incentives that facilitate a program’s ongoing success.

scholarly journals LO028: Prospective validation of an iOS app to evaluate tremor in patients with alcohol withdrawal syndrome

CJEM ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (S1) ◽  
pp. S39-S39 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Borgundvaag ◽  
S.L. McLeod ◽  
T.E. Dear ◽  
S.M. Carver ◽  
N. Norouzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Observational Study ◽  
Alcohol Withdrawal ◽  
Withdrawal Syndrome ◽  
Prospective Observational Study ◽  
Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome ◽  
Research Assistant ◽  
Rater Agreement ◽  
Objective Indicator ◽  
Expert Assessments

Introduction: Ideal management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) incorporates a symptom driven approach, whereby patients are regularly assessed using a standardized scoring system (Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-Revised; CIWA-Ar) and treated according to severity. Among the domains assessed by the CIWA-Ar, tremor is the most objective indicator of withdrawal severity, however, the ability of clinicians to reliably quantify tremor is highly dependent on experience. The objective of this study was to prospectively validate an objective, reliable tool to standardize and quantify the severity of alcohol withdrawal tremor using the built-in accelerometer of an iOS application. Methods: A prospective observational study of patients ≥18 years presenting to an academic emergency department in alcohol withdrawal was conducted from Oct 2014 to Aug 2015. Assessments were videotaped by a research assistant and subsequently reviewed by 3 clinical experts, blinded to the primary clinical assessment. Tremor severity was scored using the 8-point CIWA scale (0=no tremor, 7=severe tremor). Accelerometer derived results were compared to expert assessments of each video. Inter-rater agreement was estimated using Cohen’s kappa (k) statistic. Results: 76 patients with 78 tremor recordings were included. Accelerometer derived tremor scores matched exactly with expert assessor scores in 36 (46.2%) cases, within 1 point for 73 (93.6%) cases and differed by ≥ 2 points in 5 (6.4%) cases. The overall kappa for agreement within 1 point for tremor severity was ‘very good’ 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86, 0.99). Conclusion: iOS accelerometer based assessment of the tremor component of the CIWA-Ar score is reliable and has potential to more accurately assess the severity of patients in alcohol withdrawal. We anticipate this resource will be easily disseminated and will impact and improve the care of patients with alcohol withdrawal.

scholarly journals Review: necessary for protection even in minimal-risk research

Nature ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 458 (7237) ◽  
pp. 404-404
Author(s):  
David B. Resnik
Keyword(s):  
Minimal Risk ◽  
Risk Research

scholarly journals Acceptability of older patients’ self-assessment in the Emergency Department (ACCEPTED)—a randomised cross-over pilot trial

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 875-880
Author(s):  
Valérie Boucher ◽  
Marie-Eve Lamontagne ◽  
Jacques Lee ◽  
Pierre-Hugues Carmichael ◽  
Julien Déry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Pilot Trial ◽  
Research Assistant ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Clinical Frailty Scale ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Standard Assessment ◽  
Patient Self Assessment

Abstract Background patient self-assessment using electronic tablet could improve the quality of assessment of older Emergency Department(ED) patients. However, the acceptability of this practice remains unknown. Objective to compare the acceptability of self-assessment using a tablet in the ED to a standard assessment by a research assistant (RA), according to seniors and their caregivers. Design randomised crossover pilot study. Setting The Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus (CHU de Québec–Université Laval) (2018/05–2018/07). Subjects (1) ED patients aged ≥65, (2) their caregiver, if present. Methods participants’ frailty, cognitive and functional status were assessed with the Clinical Frailty scale, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Older American Resources and Services scale and patients self-assessed using a tablet. Test administration order was randomised. The primary outcome, acceptability, was measured using the Treatment Acceptability and Preferences (TAP) scale. Descriptive analyses were performed for sociodemographic variables. TAP scores were adjusted using multivariate linear regression. Thematic content analysis was performed for qualitative data. Results sixty-seven patients were included. Mean age was 75.5 ± 8.0 and 55.2% were women. Adjusted TAP scores for RA evaluation and patient self-assessment were 2.36 and 2.20, respectively (P = 0.08). Patients aged ≥85 showed a difference between the TAP scores (P < 0.05). Qualitative data indicates that this might be attributed to the use of technology. Data from nine caregivers showed a 2.42 mean TAP score for RA evaluation and 2.44 for self-assessment. Conclusions our results show that older patients believe self-assessment in the ED using an electronic tablet as acceptable as a standard evaluation by a research assistant. Patients aged ≥85 find this practice less acceptable.

scholarly journals INSIGHTS INTO TECHNICAL TRANSLATION COURSE DESIGN

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 196-235
Author(s):  
Marie-France Guénette
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
French Translation ◽  
Research Assistant ◽  
Canadian Higher Education ◽  
Technical Translation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
University Course

This article offers theoretical and pragmatic insights into the nature of technical translation course design. In so doing, I first provide a definition of specialized translation based on a survey of the literature in this field, conducted collaboratively with a research assistant. Then, I present a comparative table sourcing how technical translation has been taught, as a university course, across Canadian higher education institutions. Following this, I offer a rationale for student-oriented ways of teaching this course, all the while giving concrete steps to co-explore novel topics with undergraduate and graduate students. Finally, I generate a series of considerations and questions for further inquiry into the instruction of technical translation in Canada and worldwide. Keywords: technical translation, specialized translation, English-French translation, translation pedagogy, course design

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