Connecting University Students, Faculty and Administrators through an Online SMS Service

King Saud University (KSU) created an online Short Message Service (SMS) called “Tawasul”, developed in house, to connect administrators, faculty, and students. The KSU rector, deans, department heads and program coordinators send group season’s greetings and notifications to the mobile phones of faculty members, staff, and students. Instructors can send course notifications to their students regarding exams and other issues. There are currently 380 SMS groups for department staff, T.A.’s, workshop participants, course enrollees and others. Students and faculty surveyed indicated that the KSU online SMS Service is easy to use. It is faster and more efficient than paper memos and e-mails, especially in emergency situations. It helps conserve paper. Students and faculty can be reached anytime, anywhere and 7 days a week. Unused SMS in the user’s account can be added to his/her balance. SMSs are archived. Those interested to join a group can send a message to the group’s mobile number. Students’ mobile phone numbers are entered manually once and saved as a group. However, some faculty indicated that the allocated 200 free SMSs per month are not enough when class enrollees are more than 50. They also indicated that it is not possible to send a reply, a comment, or a query to the sender of the SMS. Sometimes the service cannot be used when it is under maintenance or when there is a technical problem. It is time-consuming to enter students’ mobile phone numbers manually particularly in large classes. Further results and recommendations are given.

Creative and Expressive Arts in a Young Adult Problem-Solving Court and Its Influence on Participant Experience and Outcomes

This research explores the integration of creative and expressive arts in a young adult problem-solving court and the perceived benefits of participation. The Young Adult Diversion Court (YADC) was created to help young adults 17 to 20 years of age complete probation requirements. This qualitative study is informed by interpretive interactionism to examine the lived experience of participants. Ethnographic observations were conducted over 20 months, and interpretive interviews were held with 32 young adult participants and 8 program coordinators. Participants described an engaging programmatic design, and felt cared for and supported by staff in the YADC. The use of the creative and expressive arts and spoken-word practices allowed participants to overcome vulnerabilities through self-expression, regulate emotions and process trauma, and consider possible future selves. This research suggests the potential of alternative approaches in the criminal justice system that intervene in the lives of young adults to promote positive change.

The sexual health education experiences of Eritrean women in Toronto: an evaluation of the raising sexually healthy children (RSHC) Program

Very few studies have focused on the health knowledge and practices of Eritrean women and their children in Canada. The research surrounding Eritrean women and their children’s awareness and exposure to sexual health education is even far more limited. This study aims to fill this gap in immigrant health research though an evaluation of the Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) Project, a sexual health education program for immigrant parents in Toronto. Evaluation is based on the Eritrean women’s experiences of the RSHC Program as well any challenges and benefits they encountered throughout its implementation. Six Eritrean women including four program participants as well as two program coordinators were interviewed. Findings indicated that despite the cultural taboo of discussing issues of sexual health, the women gained a greater sense of confidence, openness, and acceptance towards this topic. The study concluded that the RSHC program was successful in assisting the Eritrean women participants to develop effective sexual health communication with their children, family members, and wider community.

The sexual health education experiences of Eritrean women in Toronto: an evaluation of the raising sexually healthy children (RSHC) Program

Very few studies have focused on the health knowledge and practices of Eritrean women and their children in Canada. The research surrounding Eritrean women and their children’s awareness and exposure to sexual health education is even far more limited. This study aims to fill this gap in immigrant health research though an evaluation of the Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) Project, a sexual health education program for immigrant parents in Toronto. Evaluation is based on the Eritrean women’s experiences of the RSHC Program as well any challenges and benefits they encountered throughout its implementation. Six Eritrean women including four program participants as well as two program coordinators were interviewed. Findings indicated that despite the cultural taboo of discussing issues of sexual health, the women gained a greater sense of confidence, openness, and acceptance towards this topic. The study concluded that the RSHC program was successful in assisting the Eritrean women participants to develop effective sexual health communication with their children, family members, and wider community.

The sexual health education experiences of Eritrean women in Toronto: an evaluation of the Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) Program

Very few students have focused on the health knowledge and practices of Eritrean women and their children in Canada. The research surrounding Eritrean women and their children's awareness and exposure to sexual health education is even far more limited. This study aims to fill this gap in immigrant health research through an evaluation of the Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) Project, a sexual health education program for immigrant parents in Toronto. Evaluation is based on the Eritrean women's experiences of the RSHC Program as well any challenges and benefits they encountered through its implementation. Six Eritrean women including four program participants as well as two program coordinators were interviewed. Findings indicated that despite the cultural taboo of discussing issues of sexual health, the women gained a greater sense of confidence, openness, and acceptance towards this topic. The study concluded that the RSHC program was successful in assisting the Eritrean women participants to develop effective sexual health communication with their children, family members, and wider community.

The sexual health education experiences of Eritrean women in Toronto: an evaluation of the Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) Program

Very few students have focused on the health knowledge and practices of Eritrean women and their children in Canada. The research surrounding Eritrean women and their children's awareness and exposure to sexual health education is even far more limited. This study aims to fill this gap in immigrant health research through an evaluation of the Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) Project, a sexual health education program for immigrant parents in Toronto. Evaluation is based on the Eritrean women's experiences of the RSHC Program as well any challenges and benefits they encountered through its implementation. Six Eritrean women including four program participants as well as two program coordinators were interviewed. Findings indicated that despite the cultural taboo of discussing issues of sexual health, the women gained a greater sense of confidence, openness, and acceptance towards this topic. The study concluded that the RSHC program was successful in assisting the Eritrean women participants to develop effective sexual health communication with their children, family members, and wider community.

Impact of the First COVID-19 wWave on Surgical Training in Flanders: Are we Losing Competence?

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously impacted the healthcare system and residency programs worldwide. Surgical residents were redeployed to COVID-19 units whereas education and scientific didactics were reduced. The aim of this study is to identify the impact of COVID-19 on Flemish surgical residents’ education, personal life and volume of performed surgeries.METHODS: A cross-sectional retrospective survey on educational and personal impact during the first COVID-19 wave was administered anonymously to all surgical residents in Flanders. A quantitative comparison of performed surgeries during this period and the same period a year earlier was conducted. RESULTS: 193 surgical residents (46%) completed the survey. 63% of residents were no longer admitted to multidisciplinary oncologic meetings and 107 (55%) residents had no longer any scientific meetings at all. 46% of the residents indicated more than 50% reduction in time in the operating theater. 31% of residents was involved in care for COVID-19 positive surgical patients. 78% of the residents experienced a negative impact on their surgical training and 41% experienced a negative influence on their private situation. Performed surgical cases during the COVID-19 period were on average 40% less for second, third- and fourth-year residents.CONCLUSION: Surgical residents perceived a high negative impact on personal and professional lives during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Flanders. Education and training programs were cancelled and volume of performed surgeries decreased tremendously. Policymakers and surgical program coordinators should ensure surgical education during further evolution of this and future pandemics.

59 Impact of A Mature Burn Telemedicine Program On Inpatient, Outpatient, and Aftercare Programs During COVID19.

Introduction In 2014, a multidisciplinary burn telemedicine program was developed in order to increase access of burn specialists and improve care. This proved to be beneficial in the face of the pandemic through utilization of existing programs and development of new processes. Methods The basis of this burn telemedicine program utilizes a partnership approach. Visit types include inpatient and outpatient consultation, with visits occurring in in-patient settings, emergency departments, out-patient clinics, and in patient’s homes. During the COVID 19 pandemic, a weekly meeting was held with telemedicine program and clinic leadership, program coordinators, and our burn surgeon to triage patients to telemedicine or inpatient visit types. This often required the nursing staff to contact the patients to obtain more information about the injury and help them to securely upload photographs. The telemedicine visits were primarily video visits occurring either in clinic settings or the patient’s home. The burn psychotherapist and occupational therapists also utilized telemedicine for patient care. In addition, aftercare support groups, which originally were held twice each month onsite, transitioned to video and increased to three times. Telemedicine is also being utilized for school re-entry programming and the annual burn camps. The program is also tracking reimbursement for telemedicine activities. Results The pandemic resulted in a significant increase of telemedicine visits as compared to in person clinic visits often occurring directly into the patient’s homes. A greater number of burn patients were seen overall than previous to this process. Attached graphs show the comparison of in person visits compared to telemedicine visits during this time frame. Additional data will be presented showing the breakdown of visit location, provider (psychotherapist versus surgeon for example), and usage with aftercare programming. Conclusions This telemedicine program with established processes and partnerships, allowed transitioning alternative care due to the pandemic to be less stressful event. Benefits to patient care included the ability of the multidisciplinary burn team to see more patients safely via video especially in their own homes and allowed continuation and expansion of aftercare support. Challenges experienced included needing additional staff to ensure patients were triaged appropriately, scheduling of visits, and technology training for patients and families, and to ensure that patients were receiving medications and dressings as needed. The increased volume of patients seen could be attributed to more frequent visits and an increased volume of burn injuries.

Caffeine Consumption Among Orthopedic Residents Is Higher Than the General Population

Background: Orthopaedic surgery residency can be quite demanding at times and leads many residents to consume stimulants, caffeine, to perform their work duties. Question/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate caffeine consumption among orthopedic surgery residents. We hypothesized that compared to the general population, residents will consume more caffeine. Patients/Methods: An electronic survey consisting of 13 multiple-choice questions was created to query residents on their caffeine consumption. The survey link was e-mailed to all residency program coordinators in the United States who then forwarded the survey to their residents. A subgroup analysis was performed based on respondents’ post-graduate year (PGY), to identify variations in caffeine use. Results: We received 209 surveys which represents 5.4% of orthopedic residents in the country. Of those 209 residents, 189 (90.4%) indicated regular caffeine usage. Of those who consume caffeine 59.8% indicated that they need caffeine to perform their work while 64.6% indicated that they are dependent on caffeine. Nearly one-fourth (24.3%) of respondents indicated that they consume more than 400 mg of caffeine/day. There were no significant relationships across resident PGY groups. Conclusion: We have demonstrated a large proportion of orthopedic surgery residents consume caffeine. When used in moderation, caffeine can be beneficial by improving efficiency, alertness and memory however, in high doses it may have undesirable side effects. Level of Evidence: Level IV evidence