Looking for a bright side: Tales from a recreational therapy virtual service-learning project during a pandemic

The everchanging policies and inability to utilize university students due to COVID-19 impacted both residents living in long-term care as well as the next generation of students pursuing careers in the field. University Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) faculty strategized solutions as restrictions threatened to impact hands-on opportunities for students. Was there a safe and effective solution to offer residents evidence-based programming while also providing students with vital field experience? Simply stated, the answer was yes. Thus, the UWL Happiness Project was born. This session will outline the UWL Happiness Project, a ten-week, telehealth program implemented between a skilled nursing facility in rural Wisconsin and the UWL Therapeutic Recreation Program, an AGHE Program of Merit for Health Professions designated program. The evidence-based curriculum was developed by an emerging UWL graduate student scholar with faculty mentorship. The innovative curriculum focuses on increasing feelings of happiness using PERMA, a theoretical model grounded in positive psychology. During virtual sessions, older adult residents (ages 65-85) and students built connection while working through weekly focus areas (e.g. vitality, mindfulness, friendship). An overview of AGHE competencies addressed within the project, online course demonstration, and assignment development will be discussed along with information about how these connections fostered an opportunity for students to see aging from a different perspective. This is the first time we are presenting results from the newly developed program. In this, we look forward to sharing student measurements and outcomes, as well as lessons learned during this meaningful, stimulating, and insightful educational session.

Critical Comparison Of The Quality And Content Of Integrated Vascular Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, And Interventional Radiology Residency Training Program Websites (Preprint)

BACKGROUND With the move to virtual interviewing, residency websites are an important recruitment resource, introducing applicants to programs across the country and allowing for comparison. Recruitment is highly competitive from a common potential pool between vascular surgery, thoracic surgery and interventional radiology with the ratio of applicants to positions being highest in interventional radiology, followed by thoracic surgery and lastly vascular surgery, as reported by the National Resident Matching Program. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accessibility and availability of online content for those integrated residency programs. METHODS A list of accredited vascular surgery, thoracic surgery, and interventional radiology residencies was obtained from the ACGME. Program websites were evaluated by trained independent reviewers (n=2) for content items pertaining to program recruitment and education (scored absent or present). Statistical analysis was performed in R software RESULTS Of ACGME accredited programs, 56 of 61 (92%) vascular surgery, 27 of 27 (100%) thoracic surgery, and 74 of 85 (87%) interventional radiology programs had functional websites (P=0.122). Vascular surgery websites contained a median of 26 content items (IQR: 20, 32), thoracic surgery websites contained a median of 27 content items (IQR: 21, 32), and interventional radiology websites contained a median of 23 content items (IQR: 18, 27). Two content items considered highly influential to applicant program decision are procedural experience and faculty mentorship, were reported at 32% and 11% for vascular surgery, 19% and 11% for thoracic surgery, and 50% and 15% for interventional radiology (P=0.008 and P=0.751, respectively). Key deficits were work hours, debt management and curriculum for interventional radiology; resident profiles, sample contracts, and research interests in vascular surgery; operative experiences, program director contact and message for thoracic surgery. Interventional radiology deficits were work hours and thoracic surgery deficits were procedural experience. Both IR and CT websites lacked information in evaluation criteria and faculty mentorship. CONCLUSIONS This study has uncovered key differences in availability of online content for residencies recruiting from the same pool of applicants. Thoracic surgery has the most information, followed by vascular surgery, with interventional radiology reporting the least content. In the era of virtual interviewing from the same potential pool of applicants, programs should review and revise their web presence with the aim to increase the availability of online content in order to attract valuable candidates. CLINICALTRIAL n/a

Building institutional capacities for students as partners in the design of COVID classrooms

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 posed several challenges to post-secondary institutions, including the move to online learning in a short amount of time. In June 2020, Bishop’s University hired 23 students as online learning and technology consultants (OLTCs) to help faculty prepare for Fall 2020. They underwent training about Students-as-Partners literature, empathetic design, pandemic pedagogy, high-impact practices, and authentic learning design. After their training—which included online modules, simulations, faculty mentorship, and technology training—the program launched in July 2020. In this case study, we deploy SaP literature to solve pedagogical challenges posed by the pandemic, analyze the data collected in the program’s developmental assessment, and share the program’s impact on students, faculty, and the institution more broadly. This program is a key intervention in building institutional capacities for SaP work in a post-COVID higher education context. The outcomes of this case study demonstrate that working with students as partners in the design of COVID classrooms increases students’ social and emotional intelligence, technical and digital literacy skills, critical thinking, project management skills, and other significant learning gains.

Salient Experiences in Student Development: Impact of an Undergraduate STEM Teacher Preparation Program

The need for a comprehensive, high-quality pipeline for the development of undergraduate pre-service teachers, especially those that represent a diverse student body, within STEM disciplines is acute. Here, we studied the NoyceSCIENCE program to determine the most impactful experiences offered to undergraduates through the lens of student development theory. We used qualitative coding to analyze data collected from journals (n = 29) written by students of varying backgrounds, and at varying levels within the program (i.e., the Scholar and Intern level) over a 3-year program running period. We observed that faculty mentorship, the ability of undergraduates to mentor others, volunteer experiences, and learning directly from experts had the greatest influence on student development overall. For Scholars that participate for more than 1 year in the program, access to undergraduate mentoring and volunteering experiences contributed most to student development. We posit that these findings are broadly applicable to other science learning communities and STEM content-focused teacher preparation programs as they are program components that can be integrated in isolation or in their entirety.

Resident Outcomes and Perspectives Over 2 Years of a New Scholarship Curriculum

Background and Objectives: Scholarship is recognized as a challenge in many family medicine residency programs. Among evaluations of scholarship curricula, few describe resident experiences of such interventions. To bridge this gap in knowledge, we measured resident confidence, satisfaction, and participation before and after implementing a new scholarship curriculum. Methods: The redesigned curriculum included a structured project timeline, resident research in progress meetings, faculty mentorship, scholarly skills workshops, and mentored journal clubs. We conducted a curriculum evaluation via surveys of residents prior to implementation and after years 1 and 2, measuring satisfaction with the scholarly environment and opportunities, and confidence and participation in specific scholarly activities using Likert scales from 1 (least confidence) to 5. Results: Compared to baseline (n=28), after 2 years (n=27) of the curriculum, residents reported increased mean confidence in critical appraisal of scientific articles (2.6±1.1 to 3.3±0.7, P=.007), carrying out a scholarly project (2.5±0.8 to 3.4±1.0, P=.005), and writing an abstract (3.0±0.8 to 3.8±0.7, P=.002). As compared to the first year, more residents in the second year participated in quality improvement projects (7.1% vs 29.6%, P=.031) and wrote conference abstracts (10.7% vs 37.0%, P=.022). Over the same period, those very satisfied with the scholarly environment increased from 0 (0%) to 8 (29.6%, P=.017). The June 2020 survey identified increased interest in scholarship because of the antiracism movement (51.9%) and COVID-19 pandemic (40.7%). Conclusions: Implementation of a redesigned scholarship curriculum was associated with increases in family medicine resident scholarship confidence and satisfaction.

A framework for nurturing doctors: systematic review of wellbeing interventions in medical students

AimsUK medical students report high levels of stress, in particular within the coronavirus pandemic: 46% have a probable psychiatric disorder; almost 15% consider suicide; 80% describe support as poor or moderately adequate. Our aim was to propose a novel conceptual framework for the implementation of effective interventions to reduce their stress and support wellbeing.MethodA systematic review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CINAHL databases was undertaken with appropriate search terms, supplemented by reference searching. Published quantitative and qualitative primary research was included. Findings were reported in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses.ResultRecords identified through database searching 2,347; additional records 139; records following removal of duplicates 1,324. Full text studies included 41: ‘Curriculum and Grading’ (n = 4); ‘Mindfulness and Yoga’ (n = 11); ‘Stress Management/Relaxation’ (n = 13); ‘Behavioural Interventions’ (n = 3); ‘Cognitive & Self-awareness Interventions’ (n = 2); Mentorship (n = 3); ‘Education, Screening and Access to care’ (n = 3); ‘Multifaceted Interventions’ (n = 2).Effective interventions include those that reduce academic stress through grading changes and supporting transition to clinical training; resilience enhancing interventions such as mindfulness, yoga, CBT, group based exercise and relaxation; peer mentorship; faculty mentorship when actively engaged by the mentor; reducing stigma; improving detection; and improving access to treatment.Outcomes for clinical year students were less promising, suggesting interventions may be insufficient to combat clinical stressors.ConclusionWe propose a framework for implementing these effective interventions through ‘Ecological and Preventative’ paradigms. The former highlights an individual's interaction with their sociocultural environment, recognising multiple levels of influence on health: individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and national. At each level the framework of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention can be applied.Primary Prevention (intervening before health is impacted): reducing academic stress; resilience interventions; mentorship; peer support; brief interventions to avoid progress to established disorders.Secondary Prevention (reducing prevalence of disorder): early detection through staff training and screening; treatment referral pathways; reciprocal arrangements if peers are placed within local settings.Tertiary Prevention (reducing impairment): reasonable adjustments, communicated between placementsThis recognises that medical students require a range of interventions at multiple levels to reduce stress, promote wellbeing and manage the spectrum of mental health difficulties they may encounter. The ecological framework also acknowledges the reciprocity of individuals being influenced by and influencing their environment, which aligns with the concept of co-production.

QEP is HIP: A Case Study Implementing an Institution-wide Undergraduate Research Community of Practice for a Small, Private College Setting

Piedmont College’s quality enhancement plan (QEP) emphasizes a developmental and progressive integration of high-impact practices (HIPs) into the academic and social fabric of the institution. The QEP is HIP initiative provides students with multiple opportunities to deepen learning and leadership skills, which leads to improvements in student success, persistence, and retention. However, the institution grappled with how to effectively engage students in effective, meaningful research-based experiences. During the 2nd year of its QEP implementation, a campus-wide undergraduate research symposium was launched to showcase students’ research and creative inquiry in an effort to (a) gain full institutional participation in this crucial HIP and (b) offer the underserved student population (defined as ethnic minority, Pell-eligible, and first-generation students) an opportunity to participate in professional socialization and experience faculty mentorship. This case study shows the initial influences of this HIP on student success (in terms of grade point average [GPA]), students’ perceptions of their own learning, students’ persistence (measured with the Grit Scale), and retention from the 2018–2019 to the 2019–2020 academic year. Specifically, this study compared students who presented their research at the undergraduate research symposium to students who did not. While the immediate influence of this HIP on student persistence/perseverance (grit scores) remains undetermined, the retention rates and GPA appear to have been higher for students who presented, in both the dominant and underserved populations. Furthermore, students reported an increase in perceptions of their own learning. These findings are significant and affirm that undergraduate research communities can be considered a HIP for students, including those of underserved populations.

Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs

Building an effective mentoring program for community college faculty is a complex and multifaceted task. There are multiple layers of stakeholders and levels of involvement, which at times makes navigating the mentoring relationships challenging and complicates the decision of what types of information to provide to the faculty as part of their mentorship. A strategy for developing a successful mentoring program is creating a community of practice among faulty members to provide support, create dialogue, exchange best practices, and hopefully, create a process of collective learning in a community of practice, where faculty are open to receiving guidance and willing to engage in the process as part of the mentoring program with minimal resistance to learning. This article describes the practices and processes of a newly-formed faculty mentoring program at Wake Technical Community College and the aims to add to the body of literature of community college faculty mentoring, vocational training, learning resistance, and faculty development.