Active Listening as A Basic Skill of Efficient Communication Between Teachers and Parents: An Empirical Study

This study deals with active listening as a basic skill of efficient communication used by teachers in their communication with their students’ parents. Two hundred and twenty-two teachers and thirty-three principals of primary education school units participated in this empirical study. Teachers mention that they use active listening in their communication with parents with attention and observation, they accept parents’ words, they maintain a neutral position and they show empathy to share their reflections and feelings. Moreover, during the use of active listening as an active skill of efficient communication between teachers and parents, teachers mention the contribution of their verbal intervention. In this way they ask open-ended and closed-ended questions for clarifications, and they repeat the parent’s main views without expressing their personal opinion. During their verbal positioning, teachers first mention to parents the good characteristics of their children, then they focus on their learning weaknesses.

Flank sucking in a Doberman pincher

Flank sucking is a behavioural abnormality of compulsive nature that occurs almost exclusively in Doberman pinchers and is frequently accompanied by other abnormal behaviours, such as aerai lick dermatitis, blanket sucking and pica. A 2.5-year old, intact male, Doberman pinscher was presented because of a two-month long history of persistent right flank sucking. The dog was up-to-date with vaccinations and lived exclusively outdoors with his mother. The onset of the problem coincided with a period of crate restraining, where a short chain was used to avoid copulation with his mother, when she was in oestrus. Since then, the abnormal behaviour occurred on a daily basis and was not associated with neurological signs. In addition, the dog presented blanket sucking and pica that had first appeared during puppy hood. No clinical abnormalities were detected and the dog did not show signs of anxiety, aggression or fear during physical examination and blood sampling. Later-on and while remaining calm in the waiting room of the Clinic, the dog started chasing, chewing and sucking his right flank for over three minutes, but stopped immediately after his owner's verbal intervention. Primary diagnosis was compulsive flank sucking; differential diagnosis included Trichuris vulpis infestation, allergic dermatitis and psychomotor seizures. Results of haematological and serum biochemical examinations were unremarkable, whereas serological examination for Leishmania and faecal parasitological examination did not reveal significant results. Suggested treatment included administration of an anthelminthic combination (praziquantel, pyrantel and febantel), orally, for 4 consecutive days and clomipramine, at the dose of 1 mg/kg of body weight, every 12 hours, orally, for a long period of time, along with instructions to avoid the causative and triggering factors. Two months later, the owner reported that, although clomipramine had not been administered, the abnormal behaviour disappeared when the dog had been relocated to a new environment with no other animals and was free to roam. However, flank sucking reappeared after the dog had been moved back to the initial environment and chained.

The Agitated Psychotic Patient: Guidelines to Ensure Staff and Patient Safety

Patient-perpetrated violence is a serious problem that affects large numbers of nursing and healthcare staff. Incidents of assaultive behavior can lead to patient and staff injury, loss of productivity, and increased stress and burnout among healthcare professionals. The use of restraints for aggressive or assaultive behavior is governed by guidelines of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Guidelines for dealing with the acutely agitated patient have recently been published by an expert consensus panel. All three sources agree that the use of nonphysical forms of behavior management (e.g., verbal intervention or show of force) is the appropriate first-line strategy. If medication is required, the current recommendation is the use of oral forms rather than intramuscular (IM) preparations, such as haloperidol and lorazepam, which have been the standard of care for many years. The primary disadvantages of injectables are the potential for injury and trauma to the patient, which is of special relevance for patients with paranoia, confusion, or previous assaults. Recent results suggest that oral formulations of atypical antipsychotics (e.g., risperidone) in combination with oral benzodiazepines (e.g., lorazepam) are as effective as similar IM treatments (e.g., haloperidol) in reducing psychotic agitation. Although additional large-scale studies are needed, early findings suggest that these oral formulations offer a less traumatic form of treatment than conventional IM drugs. For patients who will not accept oral medication, IM formulations of newer drugs are under investigation. These drugs (e.g., olanzapine, ziprasidone) may offer lower risk of side effects compared with older medications like haloperidol.