Implementation and Assessment of a New Program Requirement to Promote Professional Development

Purpose: Requiring students to complete and record professional development type activities similar to the requirements of certified athletic trainers may help promote the values and behaviors associated with life-long learning in the evolving practice of athletic training, as well as prepare students more practically for the expectations of credential maintenance. We sought to design, implement, assess, and improve a new professional development program requirement in a professional-level athletic training program that closely mirrored the process and re-certification requirements for certified athletic trainers. Methods: a quasi-experimental mixed-methods approach was used. Data were collected over two consecutive years at a private university in the Midwestern United States. A convenience sample of students enrolled in a professional athletic training program participated in the study. Student-rated perception of the new professional development requirement and qualitative student perceptions were mined from various data sources. Results: Participants in the study reported positive, self-reported progress toward achieving program outcomes. Major benefits as identified by the participants included socialization opportunities, exposure to emerging practices and techniques, and appreciation of the process for credential maintenance. Feedback given by students was integrated into the professional development program requirement where appropriate between years one and two of the study, and changes were received well by participants. Conclusions: Athletic training students in the current study benefitted from participation in overt pedagogy in professional development. Establishment and cultivation of a professional development requirement may benefit athletic training programs for the best preparation of athletic trainers before they transition to practice.

Delivering the Nuclear Promise Through Effective ISE and IST Programs for Dynamic Restraints

Delivering cost reductions via the Nuclear Promise can appear to be at odds with the safe operation and maintenance of nuclear facilities. However, In-Service Examination (ISE) and In-Service Testing (IST) programs can deliver significant gains in efficiency and effectiveness with proper application of the ASME O&M code. Along with scheduled maintenance prescribed by the manufacturer, Dynamic Restraints (snubbers) require periodic visual inspection and testing to ensure the installed population will perform its safety function during seismic events or dynamic operational transients. Methods prescribed in the ASME O&M Code Subsection ISTD are effective in identifying bad actors and verifying the operational readiness of the population, but can come at a significant cost when not properly utilized, especially when the penalty for a failed test or inspection is applied to the ISE or IST campaign. The Nuclear Promise can be realized in a snubber ISE or IST program with a thorough understanding of the intent of the prescribed testing and the mechanics of the safety functions to be verified. With this understanding, legacy requirements that were grandfathered into a program can be examined as to their relevance, and procurement specifications and testing procedures can be written that are pertinent and current to industry best practices. This paper, through the lens of a snubber manufacturer and ASME certificate holder, examines some common and uncommon examples found in industry that add significant cost, time, or dose to a snubber ISE/IST program, and the basis for eliminating them. The methodology used to evaluate an ISE/IST program requirement and determine its effectiveness in verifying a snubber’s safety function while satisfying the O&M code could be used for other components under the jurisdiction of the O&M code. In this manner, the Nuclear Promise can be safely delivered in an ISE/IST program that does not compromise the intent or integrity of Code requirements. Paper published with permission.

Impact of Out-of-pocket Costs on Varenicline Utilization and Persistence

Background: Varenicline is a smoking cessation medication. Objectives: We analyzed patients’ out-of-pocket costs and utilization of and persistence with varenicline. Methods: De-identified claims data in the MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters Database were analyzed retrospectively. Participants were all patients at least 18 years of age continuously enrolled in plans during 2009. Plans were categorized according to restriction (no coverage; prior authorization; smoking cessation program requirement; no restrictions) and out-of-pocket cost for a 30-day supply (low: <US$12; medium: US$12–24.99; high: ≥US$25). The main outcome measures were utilization (defined as presence of a drug claim) and persistence (according to days’ supply and number of days to discontinuation). Generalized linear models and time-to-event analyses were conducted. Results: There were 142,251, 458,966 and 222,241 individuals in the low, medium and high out-of-pocket cohorts, respectively. The reference group for all comparisons was the cohort with no access restrictions and low out-of-pocket costs. Higher out-of-pocket cost was associated with a lower likelihood of varenicline initiation for both the prior authorization (odds ratio [OR]=0.10, p<0.001) and smoking cessation program requirement (OR=0.19, p<0.001) groups, versus the no restriction cohort. Within the no access restriction cohort, subjects in the high out-of-pocket group were half as likely to complete a varenicline course versus the low out-of-pocket group (OR=0.47; p<0.002). Conversely, for the smoking cessation program requirement cohort, compared to the low out-of-pocket no restriction cohort, subjects who were in the high out-of-pocket group were more likely to complete a varenicline course (OR=0.70; p=0.13) than those in the low out-of-pocket group (OR=0.38; p=0.04). Conclusions: Higher varenicline out-of-pocket costs were generally associated with lower utilization of and persistence with treatment. These findings have implications for coverage policies in health plans and employers seeking to encourage smoking cessation.

Implementing an Outcome-Based Assessment Portfolio

This case study examines the introduction of an ePortfolio requirement as a means of assessing student learning and program effectiveness. The Communication and Performance Studies major at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, began piloting the use of an assessment ePortfolio in the spring of 2003 and has since fully implemented it as a program requirement. Although the potential of ePortfolios is still being realized, research suggests the benefit of involving students in program assessment. Case studies are helpful to further define and articulate the emerging literature on assessment ePortfolios. Using qualitative research methods, strengths and weaknesses of this ePortfolio implementation are identified, and areas of improvement are discussed.

Calibration of a Hopkinson Bar with a Transfer Standard

A program requirement for field test temperatures that are beyond the test accelerometer operational limits of −30° F and +150° F required the calibration of accelerometers at high shock levels and at the temperature extremes of −50° F and +160° F. The purposes of these calibrations were to insure that the accelerometers operated at the field test temperatures and to provide an accelerometer sensitivity at each test temperature. Because there is no National Institute of Standards and Technology traceable calibration capability at shock levels of 5,000–15,000 g for the temperature extremes of −50° F and +160° F, a method for calibrating and certifying the Hopkinson bar with a transfer standard was developed. Time domain and frequency domain results are given that characterize the Hopkinson bar. The National Institute of Standards and Technology traceable accuracy for the standard accelerometer in shock is ±5%. The Hopkinson bar has been certified with an uncertainty of 6%.

Curriculum for the Training of Astronomers: Comments

In this first international meeting on the teaching of astronomy, we should not only look at many specific techniques and approaches but also examine the overall process. In doing so, several general problems come to light and need to be commented upon:1.Introductory astronomy course lab exercises are often lacking in rigor, compared to labs in other physical sciences. Students are often asked to do simple, qualitative exercises like drawing the moon or constellations – projects that bear more resemblance to 19th-century astronomy than to the work of modern science. Lab programs should be modernized, taking advantage of modern telescopes and ancillary instrumentation.2.A survey taken of U.S. astronomy department chairs, in preparation for an American Astronomical Society roundtable discussion, revealed a wide spectrum of approaches to undergraduate astronomy instruction. The one single obvious result of the survey was the recognition of a need for an international survey, with the results distributed and discussed by the participants. The dispersion of programs may also suggest another need ....3.The astronomy instructional community lacks a central journal for the publication of pedagogical articles. The physicists have the American Journal of Physics and the Physics Teacher for advanced and lower-level articles, respectively. While astronomical articles appear in these from time to time (as well as in other publications), there is no single publication that educators can depend upon to contain important articles. While there is probably too little material available to form a new journal or newsletter, perhaps educational sections could be started in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Mercury, or Sky & Telescope.4.Astronomy students (majors) are often told to “get a physics (undergraduate) degree” in preparation for becoming an astronomer, yet strongly desire to take astronomy courses. This dual-program requirement results in either larger course loads (to include the astronomy), or the possibility of losing them to other disciplines. Students can perhaps be kept interested by involving them in astronomy research while they are learning their basic math and physics.

The Minnesota Program for Prevention of Foodborne Illness: An Evaluation

The Minnesota Quality Assurance Program for the Prevention of Foodborne Illness is a voluntarily attended, statewide education program to train foodservice owners. operators and managers in the methods of foodborne illness prevention. The education is conducted in 1-day seminars by trained sanitarians and foodservice personnel. It prepares the student to write a Quality Assurance (QA) program for his/her establishment to assure that there is no possibility of a foodborne disease outbreak. Certification is based on the approval of the Quality Assurance program. An evaluation after 9 months of operation indicates that most instructors performed adequately. Course content, including microbiological training, was well received. The QA written program requirement was supported by both instructors and students. Students strongly supported a recommendation that the QA document he mandatory for all foodservices and used as the basis for regulatory inspections.