Assessment of ITP Learners’ English: A Needs Analysis

This study is to seek out learners’ needs of International Training Program (ITP) English course (batch 58) at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in India. Thirty participants involved in the survey come from nine different countries. The questionnaire-based survey is designed with a focus on two main categories: Target situation analysis (TSA) and Present situation analysis (PSA), which is based on the adaptation of the theoretical frameworks of Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) and of Hutchinson and Waters (1987). The result of TSA has shown that Office job and Social communication are learners’ main purposes for this English course. Two most important elements that the learners expect to develop from this course are oral communication and listening skills, and linguistic knowledge of grammar and pronunciation. Meanwhile, the finding of PSA has indicated vocabulary as their most difficult element. The majority of learners perceive that they are at the third current level of English proficiency, whereas speaking skills are most frequently used in the workplace. Finally, this study has indicated the proportional relation of the elements of PSA to those of TSA. The overall finding contributes to the design for a proper English specific course for learners’ needs in the future.

The decline of amniocentesis and the increase of chorionic villus sampling in modern perinatal medicine

ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to determine the rate of change by type of diagnosis by transabdominal chorionic villus sampling (TA-CVS) vs. amniocentesis for aneuploidy and to describe a successful and intensive international training program for TA-CVS in ongoing pregnancies.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of all deliveries from 2010 to 2018 in Sardinia. All invasive diagnostic procedures are conducted at a single regional perinatal referral center. Descriptive statistics were used to compare data across groups, and inter-correlations between variables were investigated by Pearson’s correlation coefficient. We subsequently describe the international trainee experiences in TA-CVS over a 35-year period.ResultsA total of 101,025 deliveries occurred over 9 years. The number of deliveries (13,413–9143, P < 0.0001) and total invasive diagnostic procedures (1506–858 per year, P = 0.019) declined over this period. The percentage of deliveries undergoing invasive diagnostic procedures remained steady (mean: 12.2%). In 2010, TA-CVS made up 32.3% of all invasive diagnostic procedures, while amniocentesis made up 67.7%. By 2018, TA-CVS made up 61.3% of the invasive diagnostic procedures, and amniocentesis, only 38.7%. The rate of TA-CVS increased over 9 years, while the rate of amniocentesis declined. A total of 236 trainees from 39 different countries and 5 different continents rotated through this site. The average length of stay was 2.4 weeks.ConclusionWe demonstrate an increasing prevalence of TA-CVS vs. amniocentesis in the current era of prenatal testing and underscore the importance of continuing to train specialists skilled in TA-CVS. Our global operative experience is feasible and sustainable and will have a lasting impact on physicians conducting invasive fetal procedures.