Biomedical subjects

Patricia A Miller

Publications and source records attributed to Patricia A Miller.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The Columbia Cooperative Aging Program: an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental approach to geriatric education for medical interns.

Although there is a critical need to prepare physicians to care for the growing population of older adults, many academic medical centers lack the geriatric-trained faculty and dedicated resources needed to support comprehensive residency training programs in geriatrics. Because of this challenge at Columbia University, the Columbia Cooperative Aging Program was developed to foster geriatric training for medical interns. For approximately 60 interns each year completing their month-long geriatric rotations, an integral part of this training now involves conducting comprehensive assessments with "well" older people, supervised by an interdisciplinary team of preceptors from various disciplines, including cardiology, internal medicine, occupational therapy, geriatric nursing, psychiatry, education, public health, social work, and medical anthropology. Interns explore individual behaviors and social supports that promote health in older people; older people's strengths, vulnerabilities, and risk for functional decline; and strategies for maintaining quality of life and independence. In addition, a structured "narrative medicine" writing assignment is used to promote the interns' reflections on the assessment process, the data gathered, and their clinical reasoning throughout. Preliminary measures of the program's effect have shown significant improvements in attitudes toward, and knowledge of, older adults as patients, as well as in interns' self-assessed clinical skills. For academic medical centers, where certified geriatric providers are scarce, this approach may be an effective model for fostering residency geriatric education among interns.

Aging↗

PubMed2003

A quantitative analysis of research publications in physical therapy journals.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Many physical therapists depend on their professional journals for high-quality evidence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the rigor of research and review articles in 4 national physical therapy journals. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: All articles in 6 consecutive issues of the Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, Physical Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Physiotherapy Canada, published between January 2000 and June 2001 (N=179), were reviewed. One trained reviewer identified the type and purpose of each article and assessed the rigor of treatment and review articles according to explicit criteria. RESULTS: The majority of articles reviewed were original studies (56%). The majority of the research articles that dealt with human health care (66%) addressed topics that were not directly applicable to the provision of patient care such as measurement topics and studies on subjects without identified pathologies or impairments. Of the 179 journal articles, 19 met the standards for rigor (11%). The majority of these articles dealt with treatment. The pass rate per journal was as follows: Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 10% (4/42); Physical Therapy, 15% (7/47); Physiotherapy, 12% (4/34); and Physiotherapy Canada, 7% (4/56). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Because such a small percentage of articles in these professional journals were identified as having direct application to patient care, physical therapists should attempt to access other sources of information to find additional high-quality evidence. A larger sample with a greater number of issues per journal may have yielded different results and indicated different trends, and further research appears to be warranted.

Australia↗

PubMed2003

Relationship between nurse caring and patient satisfaction in patients undergoing invasive cardiac procedures.

Cardiac patients (N = 73) undergoing interventional cardiology studies reported perceptions of nurse caring and patient satisfaction with care. A moderately strong relationship (r = 0.53, p = 0.01) between caring and satisfaction was found. Male and female subjects did not differ on perceptions of caring and patient satisfaction. Since caring is considered fundamental to the nature of nursing, practicing nurses must appreciate its connection to outcomes, such as patient satisfaction.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The influence of a move to program management on physical therapist practice.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how a move to program management (PM) from a traditional department structure affected the professional practice of physical therapists in a large Canadian teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: Twenty-five physical therapists participated in 1 of 5 focus groups, and 4 physical therapists participated in individual interviews. METHODS: Focus groups and structured interviews were conducted by an experienced facilitator who was not a physical therapist. All focus groups and interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Using an open-coding technique, 2 investigators undertook line-by-line analysis of each transcript to identify and code specific events related to the physical therapists' experiences. The investigators reached a consensus on all coding categories and then identified themes. RESULTS: Seven themes that addressed issues of affect (a sense of loss, low morale, and positive coping), professional practice (loss of professional development activities, professional advantages, the assuming of multiple roles), and patient care were identified. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Physical therapists who were deployed from a department to a program described both positive and negative effects of the move to PM on their practice. There were reported influences on their personal affect, professional practice, and patient care. Staff and physical therapy administrators need to be aware of potential implications of an organization's move to PM on the professional practice of frontline staff.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Central venous access devices.

Over the years, central lines have evolved from short-term, triple-lumen catheters used to administer medications and fluids to acutely ill patients into central venous access devices (CVADs) designed for long-term use in both hospitalized patients and outpatients. However, complications related to CVADs, especially catheter-related infections, can be costly in terms of patient mortality and health care dollars. Radiologic technologists who have a working knowledge of CVADs can contribute to patient management, reduce complications and provide safe, comfortable care.

Catheterization, Central Venous↗