951. Virtually the Same: Our Experience Teaching Abx Before and During the Pandemic

Background Understanding core principles of empiric antibiotic (abx) therapy is essential for abx stewardship. Pre-pandemic, the “Abx 101” workshop taught students an initial approach to empiric abx. Due to the pandemic, the session became virtual. We hypothesized that the face-to-face version (FTF) would be more effective and more positively reviewed by students compared to the virtual. Methods For the FTF, 3 faculty facilitated workshops of 50 3rd year medical students. The intro reviewed the typical microbiota of body areas (or common pathogens for community-acquired disease in sterile spaces). Student small groups were assigned a category of abx coverage (e.g. “MRSA drugs”), and completed a worksheet to identify abx in the assigned category from a reference list of abx. Groups taught back to the class (jigsaw technique) about abx for their respective categories. Next, faculty facilitated a large group discussion in which they matched initial abx therapy for each body area’s typical microbiome or pathogens. Finally, groups presented cases to the class and identified likely diagnosis, most likely organisms, and appropriate empiric abx to target those organisms. For the virtual version, the format was adapted for a 1 hour online interactive session with 1 MD facilitator, 20-25 students, and no breakout groups/jigsaw technique. The content was unchanged other than fewer cases. Results 26 of 140 (19%) students completed the survey (n=13 FTF, n=13 virtual). An independent-samples t-test compared FTF and virtual overall satisfaction scores. There were no significant differences in satisfaction from the FTF (M=8.54, SD=1.04) and virtual sessions (M=8.62, SD=1.94); t(24)=-.126. p=0.901. 100% of both groups rated the session as quite/extremely relevant to their training and 100% of respondents in both groups deemed the format of the sessions appropriate for the content. In the FTF group, 76% of respondents felt the session was quite/extremely effective for learning about abx spectra of activity, compared to 69% in the virtual group (X2 (1, N = 26) = .195, p = .658). Conclusion “Abx 101” was relevant, effective, and formatted well for learning about empiric abx, in FTF and virtual versions. These findings suggest that this curriculum is effective overall and adapts well for in-person and remote learning. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Principles for deliberative processes in health technology assessment

Deliberative processes are a well-established part of health technology assessment (HTA) programs in a number of high- and middle-income countries, and serve to combine complex sets of evidence, perspectives, and values to support open, transparent, and accountable decision making. Nevertheless, there is little documentation and research to inform the development of effective and efficient deliberative processes, and to evaluate their quality. This article summarizes the 2020 HTAi Global Policy Forum (GPF) discussion on deliberative processes in HTA.Through a combination of small and large group discussion and successive rounds of polling, the GPF members reached strong agreement on three core principles for deliberative processes in HTA: transparency, inclusivity, and impartiality. In addition, discussions revealed other important principles, such as respect, reviewability, consistency, and reasonableness, that may supplement the core set. A number of associated supporting actions for each of the principles are also described in order to make each principle realizable in a given HTA setting. The relative importance of the principles and actions are context-sensitive and must be considered in light of the political, legislative, and operational factors that may influence the functioning of any particular HTA environment within which the deliberative process is situated. The paper ends with suggested concrete next steps that HTA agencies, researchers, and stakeholders might take to move the field forward. The proposed principles and actions, and the next steps, provide a springboard for further research and better documentation of important aspects of deliberation that have historically been infrequently studied.

The Impact of Using Small Group Discussion Technique on Enhancing Students’ Performance in Speaking Skill: A Case Study of Benghazi University

This study aims to investigate the impact of using small group discussion technique on enhancing students’ speaking skill in English language department at Faculty of Arts and Science Kufrah –Benghazi University. The review of relevant literature revealed that previous researchers presented the advantages of small group discussion technique in teaching English around the world. So, the researcher believed that the use of small group discussion technique might promote students’ performance in speaking skill. The review of literature undeniably revealed that large group discussion technique mostly used by EFL lecturers to teach speaking skill were not solid enough. The advantage of the small group discussion technique over the large group discussion technique was investigated by testing the hypotheses and research questions set after conducting the literature review. The quasi-experimental research design as used in this study. English language department at Faculty of Arts and Science Kufrah was chosen for experimental study with 30 students. A teacher- made task was used as an instrument of the study. The results proved that, the mean performance of the students exposed to small group discussion technique is higher than that of those exposed to the large group discussion. Based on the results, recommendations were made on the need to adopt small group discussion to ameliorate students’ performance in speaking skill in Libyan universities.

Weather Wanderings

We propose weather wanderings as a critical and postdevelopmental intervention (Blaise, 2010) into a developmentally appropriate or child-centred approach to walking. A developmentally appropriate approach emphasises an autonomous, white, able-bodied, middle-class, and developing boy child that discovers and explores the natural world as an external thing to ‘know’ and control. A developmental approach is concerned with discovery and conquest; legacies of settler colonialism. All too often, in early childhood education, when (and if) children and teachers leave the preschool to go on walks, these quickly turn into destination- and education-focused events that are full of regulation and control (Springgay & Truman, 2019). During these kinds of walks, teachers attend to children’s behaviour, safety, and physical capacity, all understood as developing along a linear trajectory of progress towards being able to navigate the world as a capable and competent adult. Planning for a child-centred weather walk usually begins with a large group discussion about the weather as external to a child’s body and external to the learning space. Weather is always outside. Children might be asked to recall what the weather felt like on their way to preschool or to look outside the window to determine if it is ‘sunny’ or ‘rainy’. Often, if these weather conditions are considered to cause discomfort (it’s too windy, it’s too cold, it’s too hot, etc.) then a decision is made to stay inside.

Introduction to the Program

This chapter introduces the Yes, I Can (Sí, Yo Puedo [SYP]) curriculum and program for bilingual Spanish-English speaking mental health professionals who want to offer psycho-educational groups in direct practice settings. The term graduate licensed mental health professional is used interchangeably with the term group facilitator throughout the SYP program manual/book. A discussion on how the SYP curriculum and program emphasizes cultural factors is addressed. An introduction to the group population—immigrant Latina women—and the challenges to accessing services are reviewed. This chapter also reviews the SYP curriculum and program as a type of group-format prevention and intervention program that community-based agencies with mental health professionals can use among immigrant Latina women. This chapter describes the SYP curriculum goals and outcomes. A table depicts the three parts of the SYP curriculum, weekly topics, types of large-group discussion for group facilitators, and self-reflection drawing and writing exercises for participants.

Does political discourse matter? Comparing party positions and public attitudes on immigration in England

The 2015 UK General Election campaign was mostly dominated by the issues of immigration, public debt, and income inequality. While most political parties adopted austerity-led programmes in order to reduce the level of public deficit, their stances on immigration vary significantly despite the two main parties converging on a welfare chauvinist frame. This article compares party positions to policy recommendations formulated by participants in a democratic forum as part of the ‘Welfare States Futures: Our Children’s Europe’ project in order to determine whether recent party pledges on immigration are being used by citizens in a large group discussion over the future of welfare policy in the United Kingdom. The analysis shows that while participants are committed to tougher policies in order to reduce existing levels of net migration, most of the policy priorities formulated do not match those of the two mainstream parties (i.e. the Conservative Party and the Labour Party) but rather those of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). It also demonstrates that participants’ individual political preferences do not seem to match their own positions on immigration and that there is little difference between left-leaning and right-leaning voters.