Impact of urology simulation boot camp in improving endoscopic instrument knowledge

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishwanath Hanchanale ◽  
Mithun Kailavasan ◽  
Sanjay Rajpal ◽  
Philip Koenig ◽  
Marina Yiasemidou ◽  
...  

ObjectiveEducation and training of surgeons has traditionally focused on the development of individual knowledge, technical skills and decision making. Knowledge about endoscopic instruments is one of the core elements of urological training. We assessed the precourse knowledge of newly appointed urology trainees and the impact of boot camp in improving their knowledge.MethodsNewly appointed specialty trainees in urology took part in a pilot 5-day urology simulation boot camp (USBC). The aim of the USBC was to improve their confidence, procedural performance and non-technical skills, with one of the modules looking at the trainees’ knowledge about common endoscopic instruments in urology. Delegates were first asked to identify and assemble the instruments, followed by one-to-one teaching about the instruments. An Objective Structured Assessment Tool was used to assess their knowledge in the identification and assembly of the cystoscope, resectoscope and optical urethrotome, before and at the end of the course.ResultsData of two successive boot camps were collected to assess knowledge of instruments of newly appointed urology trainees. Majority of the trainees had good precourse knowledge of the cystoscopy kit, with 84% able to correctly identify the parts. Seventy-six per cent of candidates were able to identify the resectoscope equipment, but only approximately a third of trainees were able to correctly identify the urethrotome kit. The assembly of cystoscope, resectoscope and urethrotome was performed correctly in 74%, 42% and 32% at baseline and 94%, 90% and 77% postcourse, respectively. Overall performance improved significantly in the postcourse assessment (<0.001).ConclusionThis urology boot camp has addressed gaps in trainees’ core equipment knowledge and guided them to improve their knowledge with respect to identification and assembly of cystoscope, resectoscope and urethrotome.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Khai Lim ◽  
Risza Rusli ◽  
Azizul Buang ◽  
Taram Satiraksa Wan Abdullah

The importance in identifying safety critical task in high-risk industries for competence assessment is greatly emphasised to ensure the personnel is well equipped with high level of competence and assurance in certain safety critical tasks. Lack of competency had resulted in various accidents in oil and gas industry. Failure in escape, evacuation, and rescue (EER) operation in history has led to tragic consequences associated with high number of fatalities, such as Alexander L. Kielland platform collapse, Piper Alpha disaster and tragedy of Ocean Ranger. Although competency assessment is widely implemented in offshore industry, accident still occur which indicates that reliable competency assessment is highly essential. In this research, a technical competency assessment tool is developed to assess the technical skills of each individual in emergency response team during EER activities. Case studies are selected to evaluate the designed Emergency Response Team Technical Competency (ER2TC) assessment tool where a range of different inputs and parameters are designed and tested on the designed tool. Analysis is conducted to identify how the overall output is affected by the uncertainty from the designed tool’s input and discover the impact of potential errors in the tool towards the output generated from the tool. The ER2TC assessment tool overcomes personal subjectivity and biasness of assessors, thus, producing reusable and reliable tool for decision makers in the evaluation of candidates. This tool has also implemented stricter assessing criteria to evaluate the performance of candidates in EER activities. This is seen as necessary due to the critical nature and the must to ensure the successful for EER operations as any failure could potentially results in loss of lives. Thus, this ER2TC assessment tool has indeed sufficient to assess the technical skills of personnel in ensuring the success of EER operations in offshore installations.


2003 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia A. Kempinen ◽  
Megan C. Kurlychek

Although previous research has found the disciplinary model of correctional boot camps to be ineffective in reducing recidivism, the impact of a rehabilitative model is still unclear. The current study addresses this issue through an outcome evaluation of Penn-sylvania's Motivational Boot Camp Program, which uses a multidimensional approach to its rehabilitative programming. The authors predict that this program model should be more effective than traditional prison in reducing recidivism and that this effect will be particularly strong for certain high-risk offenders (i.e., those who are young and/or have a prior criminal record). The results from their logistic regression analyses indicate no significant differences in the recidivism of offenders graduating from the boot camp and those released from prison. However, tests for interactions indicate that this program performs better than prison for offenders with a prior record. This particular finding has important policy implications for targeting appropriate offenders for such programs.


Author(s):  
Emma-Jane Goode ◽  
Eirian Thomas ◽  
Owen Landeg ◽  
Raquel Duarte-Davidson ◽  
Lisbeth Hall ◽  
...  

AbstractEvery year, numerous environmental disasters and emergencies occur across the globe with far-reaching impacts on human health and the environment. The ability to rapidly assess an environmental emergency to mitigate potential risks and impacts is paramount. However, collating the necessary evidence in the early stages of an emergency to conduct a robust risk assessment is a major challenge. This article presents a methodology developed to help assess the risks and impacts during the early stages of such incidents, primarily to support the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism but also the wider global community in the response to environmental emergencies. An online rapid risk and impact assessment tool has also been developed to promote enhanced collaboration between experts who are working remotely, considering the impact of a disaster on the environment and public health in the short, medium, and long terms. The methodology developed can support the appropriate selection of experts and assets to be deployed to affected regions to ensure that potential public health and environmental risks and impacts are mitigated whenever possible. This methodology will aid defensible decision making, communication, planning, and risk management, and presents a harmonized understanding of the associated impacts of an environmental emergency.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1134
Author(s):  
Annabeth Aagaard ◽  
Mirko Presser ◽  
Tom Collins ◽  
Michail Beliatis ◽  
Anita Krogsøe Skou ◽  
...  

The use of digital technologies such as Internet of Things and advanced data analytics are central in digitally transforming manufacturing companies towards Industry 4.0. Success cases are frequently reported, and there is clear evidence of technology interventions conducted by industry. However, measuring the impact and effect of such interventions on digital maturity and on the organizational adoption can be challenging. Therefore, the research aim of this paper is to explore how the combination of the different methods of Industrial Internet Playground (IIP) pilots, Shadow Infrastructure (SI) and digital maturity assessment can assist in conducting and documenting the technical, as well as organisational, impact of digital interventions. Through an elaborate literature review of existing digital maturity assessment tools and key dimensions in digital transformation, we have developed a digital maturity assessment tool (DMAT), which is presented and applied in the paper to identify digital development areas and to evaluate and document the effects of digital interventions. Thus, the paper contributes with new knowledge of how the IIP pilot and SI combined with digital maturity assessment can support effective, transparent and documented digital transformation throughout an organisation, as explored through theory and a practice case.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S684-S684
Author(s):  
Victoria Konold ◽  
Palak Bhagat ◽  
Jennifer Pisano ◽  
Natasha N Pettit ◽  
Anish Choksi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To meet the core elements required for antimicrobial stewardship programs, our institution implemented a pharmacy-led antibiotic timeout (ATO) process in 2017 and a multidisciplinary ATO process in 2019. An antibiotic timeout is a discussion and review of the need for ongoing empirical antibiotics 2-4 days after initiation. This study sought to evaluate both the multidisciplinary ATO and the pharmacy-led ATO in a pediatric population, compare the impact of each intervention on antibiotic days of therapy (DOT) to a pre-intervention group without an ATO, and to then compare the impact of the pharmacy-led ATO versus multidisciplinary ATO on antibiotic days of therapy (DOT). Methods This was a retrospective, pre-post, quasi-experimental study of pediatric patients comparing antibiotic DOT prior to ATO implementation (pre-ATO), during the pharmacy-led ATO (pharm-ATO), and during the multidisciplinary ATO (multi-ATO). The pre-ATO group was a patient sample from February-September 2016, prior to the initiation of a formal ATO. The pharmacy-led ATO was implemented from February-September 2018. This was followed by a multidisciplinary ATO led by pediatric residents and nurses from February-September 2019. Both the pharm-ATO and the multi-ATO were implemented as an active non-interruptive alert added to the electronic health record patient list. This alert triggered when new antibiotics had been administered to the patient for 48 hours, at which time, the responsible clinician would discuss the antibiotic and document their decision via the alert workspace. Pediatric patients receiving IV or PO antibiotics administered for at least 48 hours were included. The primary outcome was DOT. Secondary outcomes included length of stay (LOS) and mortality. Results 1284 unique antibiotic orders (n= 572 patients) were reviewed in the pre-ATO group, 868 (n= 323 patients) in the pharm-ATO and 949 (n= 305 patients) in the multi-ATO groups. Average DOT was not significantly different pre vs post intervention for either methodology (Table 1). Mortality was similar between groups, but LOS was longer for both intervention groups (Table 1). Impact of an ATO on DOT, Mortality and LOS Conclusion An ATO had no impact on average antibiotic DOT in a pediatric population, regardless of the ATO methodology. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1548
Author(s):  
Suresh Marahatta ◽  
Deepak Aryal ◽  
Laxmi Prasad Devkota ◽  
Utsav Bhattarai ◽  
Dibesh Shrestha

This study aims at analysing the impact of climate change (CC) on the river hydrology of a complex mountainous river basin—the Budhigandaki River Basin (BRB)—using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model that was calibrated and validated in Part I of this research. A relatively new approach of selecting global climate models (GCMs) for each of the two selected RCPs, 4.5 (stabilization scenario) and 8.5 (high emission scenario), representing four extreme cases (warm-wet, cold-wet, warm-dry, and cold-dry conditions), was applied. Future climate data was bias corrected using a quantile mapping method. The bias-corrected GCM data were forced into the SWAT model one at a time to simulate the future flows of BRB for three 30-year time windows: Immediate Future (2021–2050), Mid Future (2046–2075), and Far Future (2070–2099). The projected flows were compared with the corresponding monthly, seasonal, annual, and fractional differences of extreme flows of the simulated baseline period (1983–2012). The results showed that future long-term average annual flows are expected to increase in all climatic conditions for both RCPs compared to the baseline. The range of predicted changes in future monthly, seasonal, and annual flows shows high uncertainty. The comparative frequency analysis of the annual one-day-maximum and -minimum flows shows increased high flows and decreased low flows in the future. These results imply the necessity for design modifications in hydraulic structures as well as the preference of storage over run-of-river water resources development projects in the study basin from the perspective of climate resilience.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thami Croeser ◽  
Georgia E. Garrard ◽  
Freya M. Thomas ◽  
Trinh Duc Tran ◽  
Ian Mell ◽  
...  

AbstractNature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly at the centre of urban strategies to mitigate heatwaves and flooding, improve public health and restore biodiversity. However, on-ground implementation has been slow, inconsistent and often limited to demonstration sites. A broad literature consistently highlights institutional barriers as a major reason for the observed implementation gap. In this study, we developed and deployed an assessment tool to identify barriers to NBS delivery on a European Commission Horizon 2020 project spanning seven cities. We found that practitioners were effectively navigating challenges in the areas where they had significant control, including community engagement, strategy development and technical skills. The greatest barriers were outside the influence of project teams: understaffing, a lack of intra-organisational processes, and risk-averse organisational cultures. These findings emphasise that after cities embrace NBS at the strategic and political level, it is vital that executives follow through with the necessary pragmatic reforms to enable delivery.


Author(s):  
M Stavrakas ◽  
G Menexes ◽  
S Triaridis ◽  
P Bamidis ◽  
J Constantinidis ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective This study developed an assessment tool that was based on the objective structured assessment for technical skills principles, to be used for evaluation of surgical skills in cortical mastoidectomy. The objective structured assessment of technical skill is a well-established tool for evaluation of surgical ability. This study also aimed to identify the best material and printing method to make a three-dimensional printed temporal bone model. Methods Twenty-four otolaryngologists in training were asked to perform a cortical mastoidectomy on a three-dimensional printed temporal bone (selective laser sintering resin). They were scored according to the objective structured assessment of technical skill in temporal bone dissection tool developed in this study and an already validated global rating scale. Results Two external assessors scored the candidates, and it was concluded that the objective structured assessment of technical skill in temporal bone dissection tool demonstrated some main aspects of validity and reliability that can be used in training and performance evaluation of technical skills in mastoid surgery. Conclusion Apart from validating the new tool for temporal bone dissection training, the study showed that evolving three-dimensional printing technologies is of high value in simulation training with several advantages over traditional teaching methods.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 2123
Author(s):  
Daniela Pollakova ◽  
Aikaterini Andreadi ◽  
Francesca Pacifici ◽  
David Della-Morte ◽  
Davide Lauro ◽  
...  

A protective effect of vegan diets on health outcomes has been observed in previous studies, but its impact on diabetes is still debated. The aim of this review is to assess the relationship between vegan diets and the risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) along with its effect on glycemic control and diabetes-related complications. In accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta–Analyses) guidelines, Pubmed and Cochrane library databases were systematically searched for all relevant studies. Seven observational and eight randomized controlled (RCTs) studies were included. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool for observational cohort and cross-sectional studies and the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for RCTs. We found that a vegan diet is associated with lower T2D prevalence or incidence and in T2D patients decreases high glucose values and improves glucose homeostasis, as reported from the majority of included studies. This approach seems to be comparable to other recommended healthful eating models, but as it may have potential adverse effects associated with the long-term exclusion of some nutrients, appropriate nutritional planning and surveillance are recommended, particularly in specific groups of diabetic patients such as frail elderly, adolescents, and pregnant or breastfeeding women.


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