scholarly journals Impact of a training program on the performance of graduating Canadian residents on a national urology exam: Results of the last 20 years

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naji J. Touma ◽  
Darren T. Beiko ◽  
Andrew E. MacNeily ◽  
Michael J. Leveridge

Introduction: Many factors impact the performance of graduating residents on certification exams. It is thought that most factors are related to the individual candidate’s ability, motivation, and work ethic. Less understood, however, is whether a training program has any impact on the preparation and performance of its graduates on certification exams. We present 20 years of results of a national preparatory exam that all graduating residents complete about three months before the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) qualifying urology exam. This exam, known colloquially as QUEST, aims to simulate the RCPSC exam with written and oral components. We aimed to analyze the impact of a training program on the performance of its residents. Methods: A retrospective review of exam results from 1997–2016 was conducted. During that time, 495 candidates from all 12 Canadian urology training programs undertook the exam. The performance of graduating residents from each individual program was grouped together for any given year. The different programs were anonymized, as the aim of this study is to assess the impact of a training program and not to rate the different programs. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA was conducted. Results: All training programs fall within one standard deviation of the mean for the written component, the oral component, and the overall score. The residents of four training programs had statistically better scores than the overall mean of the written component. The residents of three out of these four training programs also had statistically better scores than the overall mean of the oral component and the overall results of the exam. Conclusions: Most Canadian training programs prepare their residents adequately for this simulated certification exam in urology. However, there are some training programs that consistently prepare graduating residents to outperform their peers.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Chih Chen ◽  
Ai-Mei Chang ◽  
Ming-Shan Tsai ◽  
Yen-Hua Huang ◽  
Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei ◽  
...  

AbstractSince 2013, a high incidence of bilateral symmetrical alopecia has been observed in free-ranging Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) in Mt. Longevity, Taiwan. We hypothesized that stress induces alopecia in this population. To verify our hypothesis, we evaluated the histopathological characteristics of skin biopsy and used a validated enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) analysis, which act as an indicator of stress experienced by the individual. Follicular densities were lower (2.1–3.0 mm2) in individuals with symmetrical alopecia than in those with normal hair conditions (4.7 mm2). Furthermore, anagen to catagen/telogen ratios were lower in individuals with alopecia (0–1.4) than in those with normal hair (4.0). The histopathological characteristics of alopecia were similar to those of telogen effluvium, which indicates that stress is one of the possible etiologies. On the basis of the analytical and biological validation of EIAs for FGM analysis, 11β-hydroxyetiocholanolone was considered suitable for monitoring adrenocortical activity in both sexes of Formosan macaques. The mean concentrations (standard error; sample size) of 11β-hydroxyetiocholanolone were 2.02 (0.17; n = 10) and 1.41 (0.10; n = 31) μg/g for individuals with and without alopecia, respectively. Furthermore, the results of logistic regression analysis show that 11β-hydroxyetiocholanolone (p = 0.012) concentration was positively associated with alopecia. Thus, stress was the most likely to trigger symmetrical alopecia in Formosan macaques in Mt. Longevity. Although stress can decrease the fitness of an individual, considering the population status of Formosan macaques in Taiwan is stable and alopecia was only observed in our study area, which is isolated from other populations, the impact on the total population of Formosan macaque in Taiwan is limited. Nonetheless, stress-induced immunosuppression and alopecia might affect the local abundance and increase zoonosis risk due to frequent human–macaque contact in Mt. Longevity. Future studies are suggested to focus on the causative factor of stress and the effects of stress and alopecia on the health and welfare in the Formosan macaques.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 418-424
Author(s):  
Stefan Koppert ◽  
Michael Weibenbacher ◽  
Andreas Wieser ◽  
Christoph Zelger ◽  
Markus Hermann ◽  
...  

Background: With the intention to quantify the importance of a medical journal, the Impact Factor (IF) was introduced. It has become a de facto fictive rating instrument of the importance of medical journals. Also, it is often used to assess the value of the individual publications within the specific journal. The aim of the present study was to analyze publication trends over 20 years in five high-ranked anesthesiology journals. Methods: The Medline (NCBI) database PubMed was used for analysis which was restricted to the following journals: 1. Anesthesiology; 2. British Journal of Anaesthesia; 3. Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology; 4. Anesthesia & Analgesia; and 5. Anaesthesia. Specific publication parameters (IFs, number of pages and authors, etc.) were retrieved using the PubMed download function and imported into Microsoft Excel for further analysis. Results: The mean IF of the five journals analyzed increased significantly within the study period (1991 vs. 2010; +61.81%). However, the absolute number of case reports decreased significantly by 54.7% since 1991. The journals Br J Anaesth (12.2%), J Neurosurg Anesthesiol (51.9%), and Anesth Analg (57.2%) showed significant increases in the number of publications per year. The mean number of authors increased significantly in all the journals from 1991 to 2010 (3.0 vs. 4.3; +43.3%). Conclusions: The IF, as well as the number of articles per year and the number of authors per article, increased significantly. In contrast, the number of pages per article remained comparable during the period analyzed.


Author(s):  
Carles Grijalbo ◽  
Rafael Martínez-Gallego ◽  
José F Guzmán

In this study we analysed the differences in verbal behaviour of coaches during matches. A total of 9739 verbal behaviours issued by 26 male handball coaches in 26 matches, 1 for each coach, were classified into the categories established by the Coach Analysis and Intervention System (CAIS). These behaviours in turn were grouped according to the type of coping expressed by the coach (task-oriented, emotional positive and emotional negative). Coaches were then classified into high or low emotional intelligence, and high or low self-determined motivation, using the mean of these scores. Differences in verbal behaviour percentages were analysed by Chi-square based on coach membership in groups of emotional intelligence and self-determined motivation. Coaches with greater self-determined motivation and emotional intelligence used more verbal behaviours showing positive emotional coping. Results are discussed based on the impact on the health and performance of athletes, as well as possible interventions to improve the leadership of the coach in a match situation.


Author(s):  
Edward M. Mone

Performance management, a critical business process, is discussed in this chapter as a framework for driving continuous learning at the individual, team, and organizational levels, with an emphasis on the manager–employee relationship. The concepts of learning, continuous learning, and performance management are introduced, defined, and framed, setting the foundation for the subsequent discussion of each key component of the performance management process—goal setting, feedback, development, and appraisal—and its role in driving continuous learning. The discussion emphasizes the importance of goal cascading and alignment, the impact and influence of both performance and development goals on defining directions for continuous learning, understanding the conditions that enable the positive impact of feedback, knowing the factors that can promote employee development and continuous learning, and knowing how to use both informal and formal performance appraisals to identify, define, and plan for continuous learning. The chapter closes with a summary reinforcing the role of performance management as a framework for driving continuous learning in organizations.


2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Conrad

AbstractTo assess the impact of training programs, including a visualization test for hand disinfection, we monitored the hand-alcohol consumption of medical staff. The consumption increased steadily from 5.7 L of hand alcohol per capita per year in 1990 to 9.1 L in 1998. There was no significant increase in skin problems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1702-1705
Author(s):  
Perada Vasavi ◽  
Mahesh Kumar Usha ◽  
Anurag Yadav

Background: Blood is a vital and limited resource with a lifesaving therapeutic benefit.  Knowledge of standard transfusion practices to be followed is important in delivering quality transfusion services. The present study aims at assessing the knowledge of transfusion practices among undergraduate medical students, train them, and to assess the impact of this type of training sessions in improving the outcome. Materials and methods:  82 undergraduate MBBS students participated in the study. The students were asked to attempt a pre-test and a post-test questionnaire before and after the training program. The training session comprised of audiovisual lecture and handout material given to the participants. The mean scores, percentage of both the tests, and percentage of improvement in scores from pre to post-test were analyzed. Results: The mean score in the pre-test was 8.3 with a minimum score of 3 and a maximum of 13 out of 15. The post-test mean score was 10.7 with a minimum score of 6 and a maximum score of 14 out of 15, which was significantly high. The training program helped in the overall improvement of the knowledge in various aspects of blood transfusion like indications, cross-matching, shelf life, transfusion practices, and management of adverse reactions. The p-value obtained was 0.003 (<0.05) which was significant. Conclusions: Knowledge of blood transfusion practices among the undergraduates was low. Training sessions helped improve the immediate knowledge and overall orientation toward the practices. Hence, blood transfusion syllabus should be included in the undergraduates' competency curriculum.


Author(s):  
Aeshah N. Alqahtani ◽  
Rana H. Almaghrabi ◽  
Mohammed M. Albaadani ◽  
Khalid Almossa

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of various training programs and guidelines on improving the healthcare quality and patient. The training programs that we have explained in this study are related to Hand Hygiene compliance, Improving clinical outcomes and reducing financial burden and Preventing healthcare associated infection, This study Applied to many health institutions and healthcare employees in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, It is from this analysis that improve quality of healthcare through control training program, IPC training program improve hand hygiene compliance and reduces the HAIs prevalence, improves patient outcomes and reduces healthcare costs, training of all the persons involved in primary healthcare may fill the IPC gaps.


Author(s):  
Atallah Khalaf Alenezi

Introduction: Training program is believed to enhance nursing students’ knowledge and performance in observational skills, which can be an essential factor in their future practice as nurses working in a psychiatric institution. Aim: This study aimed to assess the effect of training program for psychiatric nursing students to improve their observational skills. Materials and Methods: This study used an interventional design. The study sample included 80 nursing students undergoing clinical practice in psychiatric nursing during 2019-20 (10 months). The tools used for data collection were questionnaire to assess nursing student’s knowledge and an observational checklist to measure the performance. Percentage distribution, chi-square, and correlation coefficient were used to determine influence of training program on nursing students. Results: The training program imparted to students was effective as indicated by a highly significant difference between pre/post-training programs in all items of psychiatric nursing students’ knowledge. Furthermore, a highly significant difference between pre/post-training programs in all elements of students’ observational rating scale was also evident. Conclusion: The training program improved nursing students’ knowledge and performance. Particularly, their observational skills have brought confidence in their exposure and boast their ability in caring for their patients.


Author(s):  
Jan Kotlarz ◽  
Sylwia Nasiłowska ◽  
Karol Rotchimmel ◽  
Katarzyna Kubiak

Drought periods have an adverse impact on the condition of oak stands. Research on different types of ecosystems has confirmed a correlation between plant species diversity and the adverse effects of droughts. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes which occurred in an oak stand (Krotoszyn Plateau, Poland) under the impact of the summer drought in 2015. We used a method based on remote sensing indices from satellite images in order to detect changes in the vegetation in 2014 and 2015. A positive difference was interpreted as an improvement, whereas a negative one was treated as a deterioration of the stand condition. The Shannon-Wiener species diversity was estimated using an iterative PCA algorithm based on aerial images. We observed a relationship between the species indices of the individual forest divisions and their response to drought. The highest correlation between the index differences and the Shannon-Wiener indices was found for the GNDVI index (+0.74). In addition, correlations were observed between the mean index difference and the percentage shares in the forest divisions of species such as Pinus sylvestris (+0.67 &plusmn; 0.08) and Quercus robur (-0.65 &plusmn; 0.10). Our results lead us to infer that forest management based on highly diverse habitats is more suitable to meet the challenges in the context of global climatic changes, characterized by increasingly frequent droughts.


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