Out of the Closet: Nurse Practitioner Faculty Knowledge, Comfort and Willingness to Incorporate LGBTQ2SA Content into the Curriculum

Background To improve the health of LGBTQ2SA individuals, nurse practitioners need to increase their knowledge related to the health needs of sexual and gender minorities. However, nurse practitioners often feel unprepared as a result of a lack of content in their educational training. In order to better understand the current state of nurse practitioner education around sexual and gender minorities, it is critical to assess educational preparedness and faculty knowledge teaching the content. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and experience of nurse practitioner faculty in Ontario around LGBTQ2SA health and their comfort level teaching this material in the nurse practitioner program. Methods This quantitative descriptive study used purposeful sampling to recruit faculty from the Ontario Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program. Data was collected using a modified survey administered on the Opinio platform. Results Twenty-three individuals completed the study. Most participants felt that LGBTQ2SA health content was important, but rarely or never taught. The most frequently identified strategies to promote faculty readiness to integration of LGBTQ2SA health topics into the curriculum included faculty development seminars, reviewing curriculum to identify gaps and partnering and utilizing LGBTQ2SA specific agencies as clinical sites. Conclusions Results indicate that barriers exist at the faculty level which may limit the extent to which LGBTQ2SA health topics are incorporated into the curriculum. Supporting faculty to develop their knowledge and comfort with this topic will allow them to better educate students to care for LGBTQ2SA clients.

COVID-19 Myth Busters: Comparing knowledge and perceptions amongst the dental workforce at an institution in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

Background Currently, world is suffering from a respiratory disease names as COVID-19. This is a novel coronavirus (n-CoV), a new strain which has not been previously identified in humans and it has spread in more than 100 locations internationally due to which it is termed as “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization So far, no study done as yet to assess whether the dental workforce is aware about the facts and myths related to Covid-19 awareness. Objective This study aims to analyze and compare the level of awareness about the facts and myths related to COVID-19 amongst faculty, dental students and prep year students of the College of Dentistry (COD) as part of an awareness campaign. Methods An awareness test about COVID-19 was designed using information from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Myth Busters Awareness webpage. The questionnaire was administrated online to faculty and students, of the College of Dentistry and preparatory year students who had applied for the admission to the dental college using a secure enterprise online assessment platform (Blackboard). The tests were administered over a period of three months from March to June 2020. A written informed consent was obtained. Results The online COVID-19 awareness test was administered to 810 participants, out of which 325 (40%) were prep year students, 429(53%%) were dental students, and 56 (7%) were faculty members. Analysis of the results showed that 86% of the Faculty were able to correctly identify the facts and the myths related to COVID-19 followed by 81% of the prep year students and 74% of the dental students. Preparatory year student’s knowledge related to COVID-19 was found to be high when compared to dental students (26.47±4.27, 23.67±6.2). Student to faculty knowledge score did not differ significantly (p = 0.808). Conclusion This study reports about a successful pilot test conducted to assess the perceived knowledge about facts and myths related to corona virus amongst the dental workforce.

A Systematic Approach to Supporting Faculty Knowledge Development in Nursing and Health Informatics

Using a systematic communication strategy the knowledge of nursing/health informatics amongst Faculty members has been developed resulting in the inclusion of informatics across the curriculum as part of the essential role of nurses and other healthcare practitioners in all areas of practice.

Faculty Knowledge of Services for Students with Disabilities and Attitudes toward Academic Accommodation

The current study aimed to discover the extent of faculty members knowledge of the services provided to students with disabilities, in addition to identify their attitudes towards providing academic accommodations to students with disabilities. The study investigated the differences in participants' responds attributed to gender, college, academic rank, and years of experience. The researcher used the descriptive approach, using the questionnaire as a data collection tool. The study sample consisted of 213 faculty members at King Saud University. The results showed deficiency of knowledge in the faculty members of procedures and services provided to students with disabilities in university, however, they showed positive attitude towards providing accommodations for students. The results did not show any statistically significant differences in the mean of participants' responses related to current study variables. The study introduced some recommendations that would support university education for students with disabilities. Keywords: Higher education; students with disabilities; academic accommodations; King Saud University

Resident Remediation in Family Medicine Residency Programs: A CERA Survey of Program Directors

Background and Objectives: Identifying underperforming residents and helping them become fully competent physicians is an important faculty responsibility. The process to identify and remediate these learners varies greatly between programs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the remediation landscape in family medicine residency programs by investigating resident remediation characteristics, tools to improve the process, and remediation challenges. Methods: This study analyzed responses from the Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance (CERA) national survey of family medicine program directors in 2017. Survey questions included topics on faculty remediation training, remediation prevalence, tools for remediation, and barriers to remediation. Results: Two hundred sixty-seven of 503 program directors completed our survey (53% response rate). Most residency programs (245/264, 93%) had at least one resident undergoing remediation in the last 3 years. A majority (242/265, 91%) of residents undergoing remediation were successful within 12 months. The three most important tools to improve remediation were an accessible remediation toolkit (50%), formal remediation recommendations from national family medicine organizations (20%), and on-site faculty development and training (19%). The top-two challenges to the remediation process were a lack of documented evaluations to trigger remediation and a lack of faculty knowledge and skills with effective remediation strategies. Conclusions: Residents needing remediation are common, but most were successfully remediated within 12 months. Program directors wanted access to a standardized toolkit to help guide the remediation process.

Is academic medicine prepared to teach about the intersection of childhood experiences and health across the life course? An exploratory survey of faculty

PurposeChildhood experiences affect health across the lifespan. Evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies targeting early-life stress are emerging. Nevertheless, faculty physicians’ preparation to incorporate this science into practice has not been well studied. The purpose of this study was to explore medical faculty knowledge and beliefs, timing and route of knowledge acquisition, perceived relevance and application of topics, and any associated faculty characteristics.MethodThe research team developed and administered a 39-question survey to faculty from six departments at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and Rush Medical College in Chicago. The team employed quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze responses.ResultsEighty-one (8.8%) eligible faculty completed the survey. Of respondents, 53 (65.4%) achieved a high score on knowledge questions, 34 (42.0%) on beliefs questions, and 42 (59.1%) described high concept exposure, but only six (7.4%) through a formal route. Although 78 (96.8%) respondents indicated that survey concepts are relevant, only 18 (22.2%) reported fully incorporating them in their work. Respondents reporting full incorporation of concepts were significantly more likely to attain high concept exposure scores than those not fully incorporating concepts (17 respondents, 94.4%, vs. 25 respondents, 39.7 %, P < .001), whether reporting formal or informal exposure. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis highlighted limited awareness among respondents of trauma prevalence among healthcare workers, lack of familiarity with interventions, and challenges in addressing childhood experiences given time and resource constraints.ConclusionsMost respondents had some familiarity with the impact of childhood experiences on health and perceived the relevance of this science. Nonetheless, many identified the need for additional coaching. Because results suggest that exposure supports full application of concepts, intentional faculty development and establishment of medical education competencies is pivotal to prepare faculty to include these crucial topics in patient care and teaching.

Assessing the Educational Climate: Transgender Content in Medical Imaging Curricula

Objective: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to gather benchmark data on curricular content related to imaging of transgender patients. In addition, the intent was to explore program directors’ opinions on the need to include this content in the curriculum. Material and Methods: An online survey was emailed to all directors (n = 982) of accredited imaging programs in the United States. Results: In total, 331 (34%) program directors participated in the survey. Fifty-six percent currently do not include this content in their curriculum and 67% reported no discussion of adding the material. There was a modest and significant positive correlation between the program directors’ perceived level of knowledge, regarding imaging transgender patients, and their perceived importance of including this material in the curriculum ( r = 0.370; P < .001). Positive (55%), negative (7%), and neutral themes (38%) emerged from the qualitative data analysis. Conclusion: These findings were consistent with literature regarding a lack of curriculum specific to transgender patients. Program directors recognized the need to include this content, although barriers exist related to readiness to implement, limited faculty knowledge with the material, and lack of educational resources. Program directors are seeking strategies and resources to guide the integration of this material into the curriculum.