COVID-19 and Cancer Center Operations: Lessons Learned From the NCCN Best Practices Committee

The NCCN Best Practices Committee, which is composed of senior physician, nursing, and administrative leaders from NCCN Member Institutions, evaluated the status of cancer center operations after 1 year of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two major initiatives stood out: the increase in the utilization of network sites, and the gains made in telemedicine operations and reimbursement. Experts from NCCN Member Institutions participated in a webinar series in June 2021 to share their experiences, knowledge, and thoughts on these topics and discuss the impact on the future of cancer care.

The Degree Academic and Administrative Leaders Practice Knowledge Management at Al Al-Bayt University in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

The study aims to know the degree of academic and administrative leadership practice knowledge management at Al Al-Bayt University in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the effect of variables (gender, educational qualification, years of experience, stage, and job title) on that. The study sample consists of (375) faculty and administrative members. To achieve the goals of the study, a tool was built to measure the degree of knowledge management practice, which consists of (37) items distributed into four areas, namely (knowledge organization, knowledge generation, knowledge sharing, and application of knowledge). Validity and reliability were verified, and the descriptive survey method was used. The results of the study show that the degree of academic and administrative leaders’ practice of knowledge management at Al Al-Bayt University in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, from the viewpoint of their colleagues, came with a medium degree in all fields. The results also show that there were statistically significant differences between the averages of the responses of the study sample individuals due to the gender variable, and the differences are in favor of males in all fields. The results also show that there are statistically significant differences attributable to the variable of the academic qualification in the fields of sharing and applying knowledge, and the differences are in favor of the qualification of (Bachelor). The presence of statistically significant differences attributable to the variable of years of experience in the areas of knowledge sharing and application; the absence of statistically significant differences is attributable to the job title in all fields. In light of the results, the study presents a set of recommendations, the most important of which are training academic and administrative leaders on the application of knowledge management; training academic staff on teaching and evaluation methods that help to raise the levels of performance in the educational learning process.

Obstacles to Applying the Principle of Disclosure and Transparency in Higher Education Institutions: An Exploratory Study in Private Universities in the Sultanate of Oman

The study aimed to explore the obstacles to applying the principle of disclosure and transparency in higher education institutions in private universities in the Sultanate of Oman. The qualitative method was used through in-depth interview as a tool to reveal the opinions of the study sample about the obstacles to applying the principle of disclosure and transparency in private universities, Oman. The sample consisted of (12) individuals from the administrative leaders in the universities under study. The study results reported a number of obstacles to the application of disclosure and transparency in Omani private universities, where (83%) of the sample agreed that there was weak disclosure transparency in the university's budget and the spending items. In addition, (50%) of the sample agreed that there was weakness of credibility and transparency when applying policies, internal work controls, subjective evaluation of the employee’s performance by his direct manager, and weak awareness of the importance of disclosure and transparency among managers. Therefore, the study recommended activating disclosure and transparency mechanisms in private universities in Oman by adding the principle of disclosure and transparency as an independent measure within the standard of governance and management to obtain institutional accreditation, and by providing electronic systems with integrated services and functions.

Administrative Leaders ’Awareness of Emotional Intelligence and its Role in the Effectiveness of Leadership at King Saud University: وعي القيادات الإدارية والأكاديمية بالذكاء العاطفي ودوره في فاعلية القيادة بجامعة الملك سعود

This study aimed to identify the administrative leaders 'awareness of emotional intelligence and its role in the effectiveness of leadership at King Saud University in Riyadh and to identify the extent of administrative and academic leaders 'familiarity with the concept and elements of emotional intelligence, it also aimed to recognize the role of emotional intelligence in the effective leadership. In this study, the researcher used the descriptive-analytical method, she also used the questionnaire as the study tool, which was distributed to the study community, which consisted of administrative and academic leadership at King Saud University in Riyadh, the number reached (151) questionnaires suitable for analysis, the results showed that the administrative and academic leadership at King Saud University have awareness of the concept and elements of emotional intelligence to an acceptable degree, where social skills and motivation came in a higher degree for leaders, followed by self-awareness after that empathy and in the last emotional management. The results showed the leadership effectiveness has a strongly acceptable degree. The results also showed that there is a strong direct correlation between the awareness of administrative and academic leaders, with the concept and elements of emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness. The study recommended the need for administrative leadership at King Saud University to pay attention to emotional intelligence in its five elements, to reach a distinguished level of performance and distinguished leadership of the university's administrations, especially after the university's independence. In addition to conducting training courses that help increase the emotional intelligence skills of both managers and employees, especially training them to manage their feelings and recognize the feelings of others, so that emotional intelligence becomes part of the organizational culture of the university.

Outpatient antimicrobial stewardship programs in pediatric institutions in 2020: Status, needs, barriers

Objective: To assess current resources, interventions, and obstacles of pediatric outpatient antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP). Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Institutions from the Sharing Antimicrobial Reports for Pediatric Stewardship OutPatient collaborative (SHARPS-OP). Participants: Antimicrobial stewardship leaders from the above institutions. Methods: An investigator-developed survey was deployed online in September 2020 to antimicrobial stewardship leaders in SHARPS-OP institutions. The survey was divided into 4 sections: (1) basic information, (2) status of pediatric outpatient ASP in the institutions including financial support, (3) outpatient ASP interventions undertaken by the institutions, and (4) needs and SHARPS-OP collaborative goals. Results: Of 56 invited institutions, 45 participated, achieving an 80% response rate. Only 5 sites (11%) had allocated financial support for an outpatient ASP, compared to 42 (95.6%) for their inpatient ASP. The most widely used outpatient ASP interventions included antimicrobial guidance (57.8%), education (46.7%), and quality improvement projects (37.8%). Time was identified as the biggest barrier to expanding outpatient ASPs (91.1%), followed by financial support (53.3%), development of meaningful reports (51.1%), and administrative support (44.4%). Important goals of the collaborative included seeking learning opportunities and developing clear metrics for pediatric outpatient ASP benchmarking. Program needs included securing operational support (35.8%) and strengthening data analysis (31.6%). Conclusions: Very few pediatric institutions with robust inpatient ASPs have devoted time and financial support to advance outpatient efforts. To promote appropriate antibiotic prescribing in the outpatient arena, time and resource funding by administrative leaders are necessary to develop a robust, sustainable stewardship infrastructure.

Changing the Culture of Coastal, Ocean, and Marine Sciences: Strategies for Individual and Collective Actions

Geoscience is plagued with structural and systemic barriers that prevent people of historically excluded groups from fully participating in, contributing to, and accruing the benefits of geosciences. A change in the culture of our learning and working environments is required to dismantle barriers and promote belonging, accessibility, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in our field. Inspired by a session organized at the 2020 Ocean Sciences Meeting, the goal of this paper is to provide a consolidated summary of a few innovative and broadening participation initiatives that are being led by various stakeholders in academia (e.g., students, faculty, administrative leaders) at different institutional levels (e.g., universities, professional societies). The authors hope that the strategies outlined in this paper will inspire the coastal, ocean, and marine science community to take individual and collective actions that lead to a positive culture change.

Health System Strengthening Using Problem Solving for Better Health in Lesotho

Background Problem Solving for Better Health ® (PSBH ® ) is a system-strengthening workshop designed to empower healthcare workers (HCWs) to solve problems. We report on the perspectives of HCWs trained in PSBH to better understand the impact and challenges of PSBH in Lesotho, a country with among the highest prevalence of HIV and tuberculosis in the world.Methods HCWs who attended PSBH workshops in 2018 – 2019 were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide developed from a hybrid conceptual framework that captured the HCWs’ personal, interpersonal, and systemic levels of experience. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the framework matrix analysis method using NVivo. Results We interviewed 22 of the 86 HCWs who participated in PSBH workshops in 2018-2019. Twenty out of 22 interview participants reported that they initiated a project that was planned during the PSBH workshop. Participants reported that PSBH provided them with a new way of viewing, addressing, and solving everyday problems that can have a tangible impact on the function of healthcare facilities and the health of the community. Trainees were motivated to see the impact of their work in their jobs and in the work of subordinates as a sustained ripple effect favoring quality improvement. Participants suggested that training of district administrative leaders in PSBH would facilitate successful dissemination and help overcome the challenge of adding more work for the already-overburdened HCWs.Conclusions HCWs in Lesotho report that PSBH assists them in solving problems in their everyday work. This led the national Ministry of Health Quality Assurance Unit to request that PSBH workshops be conducted to train Ministry personnel to allow them to oversee national dissemination of PSBH, thereby fulfilling a component of the National Quality Assurance Strategic Objectives.