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Biomedical subjects

L J Gross

Publications and source records attributed to L J Gross.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Scoring and setting pass/fail standards for an essay certification examination in nurse-midwifery.

Examination for certification or licensure of health professionals (credentialing) in the United States is almost exclusively of the multiple choice format. The certification examination for entry into the practice of the profession of nurse-midwifery has, however, used a modified essay format throughout its twenty-year history. The examination has recently undergone a revision in the method for score interpretation and for pass/fail decision-making. The revised method, described in this paper, has important implications for all health professional credentialing agencies which use modified essay, oral or practical methods of competency assessment. This paper describes criterion-referenced scoring, the process of constructing the essay items, the methods for assuring validity and reliability for the examination, and the manner of standard setting. In addition, two alternative methods for increasing the validity of the pass/fail decision are evaluated, and the rationale for decision-making about marginal candidates is described.

Certification↗
PubMed1990

Periodic solutions to nonautonomous difference equations.

A technique is presented for determining when periodic solutions to nonautonomous periodic difference equations exist. Under certain constraints, stable periodic solutions can be guaranteed to exist, and this is used to compare the analogous behavior of a nonautonomous periodic hyperbolic difference equation to that of the nonautonomous periodic Pearl-Verhulst logistic differential equation.

Mathematics↗
PubMed1989

Intermolecular contacts within sickle hemoglobin fibers.

By combining X-ray crystallographic co-ordinates of sickle hemoglobin (HbS) molecules with three-dimensional reconstructions of electron micrographs of HbS fibers we have synthesized a model for the structure of the clinically relevant HbS fiber. This model largely accounts for the action of 55 point mutations of HbS whose effect on fiber formation has been studied. In addition, it predicts locations at which additional point mutations are likely to affect fiber formation. The number of intermolecular axial contacts decreases with radius until, at the periphery of the fiber, there are essentially no axial contacts. We suggest that this observation accounts for the limited radial growth of the HbS fiber and that a similar mechanism may be a factor in limiting the size of other helical particles. The methodology for the synthesis of the fiber model is applicable to other systems in which X-ray crystallographic and electron microscopic data are available.

Crystallography↗
PubMed1989

Relationship between test performance in ocular therapeutics and year of graduation.

Practitioner performance on a national, standardized examination in ocular therapeutics was analyzed. The majority of the practitioners were from one state and had graduated from the same college of optometry. The homogeneity of their background fostered an analysis of the relationship between year of graduation and test performance. The data indicated that less recent graduates did not perform as well as more recent graduates, but that the best performance was attained by practitioners with considerable clinical experience.

Education, Medical, Continuing↗
PubMed1975

Drug-induced handwriting changes: an empirical review.

Since handwriting is a highly complex, coordinated motor activity, handwrits of pharmacological agents. Its potential has been most evident in research involving therapeutic administrations of anti-psychotic an anti-Parkinsonian drugs, from which consistent and systematic handwriting changes have been observed. This relationship has been found to be particularly significant among the anti-psychotics, since the onset of these graphomotor alterations appear to mark the optmal dose of the drug. Consistent and systematic handwriting changes have not been as evident in inivestigations of drugs used in a nontherapeutic atmosphere. Psychiatric assessments of subjects in ths type of research provided data which indicated that psychological stability may be a factor influencing the susceptibility of one's handwriting to drug induced changes.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Criterion-referenced competency assessment and the national certification examination in nurse-midwifery.

The paper presents an overview of the recent change from norm-referenced to criterion-referenced score interpretation for the ACNM certification examination for entry level practice in nurse-midwifery. The advantages of criterion-referenced interpretation are presented. A successful adaptation of the Nedelsky method for the calculation of the minimum pass index, based on the identification of acceptable error, is discussed. Implications for the nurse-midwifery profession and for the national certification examination in nurse-midwifery are considered.

Certification↗