Competency framework of school psychologists in Vietnam schools

A competency framework points out the requisite skills and knowledge of a particular occupation. A competence framework enables institutions to easily identify areas where remedial training may be required; thereby training quality and ultimately public safety could be improved also. This study was conducted to build up a competency framework for school psychologists in Vietnamese. 91 school psychologists, lecturers, and psychologists from Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong Province, Long An Province, Vinh Long Province, Can Tho Province in Vietnam participated in the survey process. The findings of our study showed that the competency framework for school psychologists in Vietnam includes three main components: (1) professional knowledge, (2) counseling skills, and (3) attitude and moral qualities.

Knowledge and Application of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Guidelines among Family Physicians: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Family physicians (FPs) play an important role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). AIM: This study aims to assess the determinants of FPs’ knowledge and application of cardiovascular preventive management guidelines at primary health-care setting in Ukraine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study conducted among the 226 FPs in Kharkiv Region, Ukraine. A self-administrated questionnaire was administered, exploring demographic, job characteristics, knowledge of CVD prevention guidelines, and application of CVD guidelines’ questions about the essential items related to diagnosis and management of CVD according to the international/local guidelines. RESULTS: The results show a very low level of knowledge of guidelines among FPs with 85.8% scoring below the acceptable knowledge level. The guidelines were applied below the acceptable level with 51.3% scoring below the cutoff point. The results indicate that both average scores were below the minimum acceptable level. Lack of knowledge of the CVD preventive care was considered the biggest barrier (62.8%). Lack of counseling skills was the second major barrier (37.9%). Subjectivity of the questions was considered to be the third barrier (32.6%). Lack of counseling skills was the second major barrier (37.9%). Subjectivity of the questions was considered to be the third barrier (32.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Recognizing the low level of knowledge and application of guidelines among primary care providers and working toward minimizing this problem can be through education, training, and monitoring of the application. This can potentially improve CVD preventive management among patients.

The Use of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Pharmaceutical Advertisements in Televised and Print Formats as a Teaching Tool in a Pharmacy Curriculum

The overall goal of this study was to employ direct-to-consumer advertisements (DTCAs) as a teaching tool in a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. The objectives of this pilot study were to investigate the following questions: 1. Do DTCAs generate student curiosity about the advertised drug and associated disease? 2. Can DTCAs help students understand and reinforce various pharmacological aspects of the drug? 3. How do students perceive DTCAs? A DTCA-based teaching tool was employed in a pharmacology course taken by P2 (second professional year) PharmD and final year (U4) Bachelor of Science (BS) in Pharmacology–Toxicology students. A voluntary online survey was administered to students to determine the effectiveness of this tool. Survey data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. 70–85% of responding students indicated that this teaching tool was an effective visual aid for learning pharmacology and correlating the drug to disease state, mechanism of action, and adverse effects. Moreover, themes identified from the qualitative analysis suggest that this teaching tool may be useful to enhance patient counseling skills in students. The initial implementation of this DTCA-based teaching tool proved to be successful, and a similar approach can be easily implemented in other pharmacotherapy and laboratory courses. Further studies are needed to determine if this approach can improve patient counseling skills.

Assessing Crisis Chat Visitors' Capacity to Regulate Thoughts Related to Suicide

Background: Regulation of suicidal thoughts may be defined as a person's beliefs about their capacity to control affective and cognitive processes related to suicide. The inability to regulate suicidal thoughts is related to persistent suicidal thoughts, intentions, attempts, and suicide. Aims: The purpose of this study was to validate a scale that counselors could use to assess chat visitors' capacity to regulate suicidal thoughts. Method: The validity and reliability of the Regulation of Suicidal Thoughts Scale (RSTS) was evaluated using two different samples ( n = 1,162, n = 241). Results: All items correlated with the theoretical construct regulation of suicidal thoughts, and the structural model showed the RSTS predicted perceived certainty to attempt suicide. Construct and criterion validity were inferred from a decrease in visitors' ability to control their thoughts of suicide from pre-chat to post-chat (Cohen's d = 91). Greater regulation in thoughts was also related to less certainty to attempt suicide. Limitations: Additional evidence is needed to validate the RSTS, especially among diverse populations. Conclusion: Counselors could use RSTS pre-chat scores to match counseling skills with specific affective and cognitive processes related to visitors' suicidal thoughts.