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Biomedical subjects

Carol Mitchell

Publications and source records attributed to Carol Mitchell.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

The advantages of becoming a clinical site for ultrasound schools.

The field of echocardiography is facing critical staffing shortages. As the field continues to grow and practicing sonographers begin to retire, the need to produce more qualified sonographers is critical. In addition to job openings because of growth, some job openings will arise from the need to replace sonographers who leave the occupation permanently. One way echocardiographers can address this issue is to have their institutions become clinical sites for local accredited ultrasound schools.

Allied Health Personnel↗
PubMed2004

Effects of multivitamins and low-dose folic acid supplements on flow-mediated vasodilation and plasma homocysteine levels in older adults.

BACKGROUND: Hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with aging, endothelial dysfunction, and increased risk of coronary heart disease in older adults; however, the effects of homocysteine-lowering therapy on vascular reactivity in older persons are unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of multivitamins (MV) and folic acid (FA) supplements on flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) in older adults. METHODS: Individuals > or =70 years old with homocysteine levels > or =10 micromol/L were recruited for this 40-week, prospective, single-blinded study. All subjects were treated sequentially, with each of the following daily therapies for 10 weeks: (1) placebo, (2) MV (400 microg FA, 6 mg vitamin B6, 25 microg vitamin B12), (3) placebo, then (4) MV + FA (total FA, 1400 microg). FMD, folate intake, and laboratory values were measured at each visit. Investigators were blinded to subject treatment phase when measuring vessel diameters and calculating FMD. RESULTS: Twenty subjects (mean +/- SEM age, 78.0 +/- 1.2 [range, 70 to 88] years, 9 women) completed the MV and 17 completed the MV + FA interventions. FMD was impaired at baseline (2.0% +/- 1.2%). During the 40-week study, homocysteine levels decreased by 1.4 +/- 0.9 micromol/L (p(trend) = 0.034) from a baseline of 12.8 +/- 0.6 micromol/L; however, FMD did not change significantly (p(trend) = 0.874). FMD did not improve after therapy with MV alone (3.0% +/- 0.9% [week 10] vs 2.4% +/- 1.1% [week 20], P =.716) or with MV + FA (2.6% +/- 0.9% [week 30] vs 1.9% +/- 0.7% [week 40], P =.484). CONCLUSIONS: At doses commonly prescribed in clinical practice, MV and FA supplements did not improve FMD in older adults with hyperhomocysteinemia.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Going provincial: preceptoring and mentoring revisited in the health sciences. Part II--The evaluation.

Part I of this two part series, which was published in the Spring 2003 issue of Healthcare Management FORUM, described the Preceptor & Mentor Initiative for Health Sciences in BC, a provincial strategy to facilitate preceptoring and mentoring. Activities included creation of an educational web site and a UBC Continuing Studies preceptor course, and provincial workshops on preceptoring and mentoring. The purpose of this second article is to outline the philosophy, framework, results and interpretation of the Preceptor & Mentor Initiative's evaluation component.

Benchmarking↗
PubMed2003

Going provincial: preceptoring and mentoring revisited in the health sciences. Part I.

This article describes the Preceptor & Mentor Initiative for Health Sciences in BC, a provincial strategy to facilitate preceptoring and mentoring. A web site was developed with a comprehensive preceptor/mentor framework and resources, based on best practices and applicable to all health sciences. Informal feedback indicates this Initiative is effective in supporting health sciences preceptoring and mentoring in BC. A formal evaluation will be conducted by March 2003 and reported in a future FORUM article.

Benchmarking↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The RN-BSN distance education experience: from educational limbo to more than an elusive degree.

This study describes a qualitative study designed to gain an understanding of professional growth as experienced by RN-BSN students taking their program by distance delivery. A convenience sample of senior students enrolled in an RN-BSN program, taking their classes either by live televised broadcast or by online instruction, volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected through the use of online student discussions that took place over a 2-week period. The discussion was guided by the use of a semistructured interview schedule and facilitated by one member of the research team. Interview questions were posted every 2 to 3 days; additional questions were posted as threads as discussion board comments warranted. RN-BSN students described their pursuit of a BSN as a journey of being and becoming a professional. Although students already felt "professional," the impetus for the journey could be traced to the overriding theme of "falling short as a professional." RN-BSN students described their beginning journey toward the baccalaureate degree as an "educational limbo," out of which they moved with discovery of the RN-BSN distance program. What began as pursuit of an elusive degree that was expected to produce minimal change became more as RN-BSN students evolved as professionals along many dimensions. The implications of these findings for the development and design of curricular and pedagogical approaches to better serve the needs of this unique group of learners will be addressed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Does public health nurse home visitation make a difference in the health outcomes of pregnant clients and their offspring?

Public health nurses (PHNs) at Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department have used the Care Pathway tool to track client progress. Conceptually similar to critical pathways used in hospital settings, the Care Pathway is used by the PHN to document milestones of progress by trimester of pregnancy. Data for this research was gathered from chart review of 55 prenatal clients. Study results demonstrate that subjects who had from five to nine home visits by a PHN during pregnancy showed a higher average hemoglobin for the mothers and a higher average birthweight for the babies than those visited four or fewer times. None of the low birthweight babies was born to mothers in the "more visits" category. Furthermore, more breastfeeding was recorded for those who had received more PHN visits. This documentation enabled us to describe better the referent population and to begin to estimate the effect of PHN home visitation on the health outcomes of clients. In essence, we addressed the questions: (1) "Does PHN home visitation make a difference in health outcomes of clients and their families?" and (2) "If so, how can effects be measured?"

Adolescent↗