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Results for “Informal learning”

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At least 1,405 records · Page 78Linked to original sources

PubMed2001

Cognitive compromise following exercise in monozygotic twins discordant for chronic fatigue syndrome: fact or artifact?

This study examined the effects of exhaustive exercise on cognitive functioning among 21 monozygotic twin pairs discordant for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The co-twin control design adjusts for genetic and family environmental factors not generally accounted for in more traditional research designs of neuropsychological function. Participants pedaled a cycle ergometer to exhaustion; maximum oxygen output capacity (VO2max) as well as perceived exertion were recorded. Neuropsychological tests of brief attention and concentration, speed of visual motor information processing, verbal learning and recognition memory, and word and category fluency were administered with alternate forms to participants pre- and postexercise. The preexercise neuropsychological test performance of CFS twins tended to be slightly below that of the healthy twin controls on all measures. However, twins with CFS did not demonstrate differential decrements in neuropsychological functioning after exercise relative to their healthy co-twins. Because exercise does not appear to diminish cognitive function, rehabilitative treatment approaches incorporating exercise are not contraindicated in CFS.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Methodologic and logistic issues in conducting longitudinal birth cohort studies: lessons learned from the Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research.

In anticipation of the National Children's Study, lessons can be learned from the smaller birth cohort studies conducted by five Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The populations studied are diverse in ethnicity and social class and reside in urban and rural environments. Although almost all of the centers chose to enroll participants through medical care facilities, they had to develop independent staffs and structures because of the overburdened medical care system. Some of the lessons learned by the centers include the importance of continuous funding, building community partnerships to conduct culturally appropriate research, hiring bilingual and bicultural staff from the community, prioritizing research goals, developing biorepositories to ensure future utility of samples, instituting quality control procedures for all aspects of specimen and data collection, maintaining frequent contact with study participants, ensuring ethical conduct of the research in a changing medical-legal climate, and communicating results in a timely and appropriate manner to participants and the wider community. All centers underestimated the necessary start-up time, staff, and costs in conducting these birth cohort studies. Despite the logistical complexity and added expenses, all centers emphasize the importance of studying the impact of environmental exposures on those children most at risk, those living in minority and low-income communities. These centers present barriers encountered, solutions found, and considerations for future research, with the hope that the lessons learned can help inform the planning and conduct of the National Children's Study.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Nurse managers in Australia: mentoring, leadership and career progression.

Identification of those leadership qualities which nurses believe led to their successful attainment of a nursing management position may help in understanding how to identify and foster leadership potential amongst nursing staff. This study asked nurse managers to indicate the important factors which influenced and facilitated their entry to management positions with a particular reference to the development of leadership characteristics. The results suggest that the leadership qualities we expect nurse managers to display evolve in a largely random way. Additionally, there is evidence that the development of leadership skills and attainment of management positions remains fragmented and random in nature. Because of this, individual nurse managers develop leadership skills almost by default using informal strategies to learn and develop. These findings should provide direction to educational providers and senior managers who seek to develop future leaders and managers.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2002

Cognitive dysfunction in multiple sclerosis: natural history, pathophysiology and management.

Cognitive dysfunction is a major cause of disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The prevalence of cognitive dysfunction is estimated at 45 to 65%. Natural history studies suggest that once cognitive dysfunction develops in a patient with MS, it is not likely to remit. Unlike physical disability in MS, cognitive disability correlates weakly with T2 lesion burden on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). More robust correlations exist with magnetisation transfer imaging and MRI measures of brain atrophy. Patients with MS who have cognitive impairment most commonly display deficits in the cognitive domains of memory, learning, attention and information processing. In diagnosing cognitive dysfunction in a patient with MS, it is important first to recognise and treat the common comorbidities of fatigue and depression. The first step in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction is to delay disease progression, and there are currently five such disease-modifying agents approved for the treatment of MS (two preparations of interferon-beta-1a, interferon-beta-1b, glatiramer acetate and mitoxantrone). Nonpharmacological measures, such as cognitive rehabilitation, occupational therapy and psychotherapy, are the mainstays of symptomatic treatment. Pharmacological symptomatic therapy centres on the treatment of comorbid fatigue and depression. There are currently no effective pharmacological agents approved as symptomatic therapy of cognitive dysfunction in MS.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

PubMed1998

Reaction of new Soviet immigrants to primary health care services in Israel.

The post-1989 immigration wave from the former U.S.S.R. has increased the Israeli population by over 12 percent, seriously affecting the host health care system. This study draws on semi-structured interviews with the immigrants visiting outpatient clinics in the Tel-Aviv area in order to explore organizational and cultural aspects of their encounter with the Israeli medical services. While instrumental aspects of care were seen as an improvement over the Soviet standards, communication between providers and clients was seriously flawed, reflecting both a language barrier and diverse cultures of illness and cure. Many interviewees complained of the impersonal, "technical" attitude of Israeli physicians toward patients and the lack of holism in care, which they allegedly enjoyed before emigration. Some immigrant patients feel deprived of the paternalism of the Soviet medical system, complaining that Israeli providers "forego responsibility" for patients' health. A consumerist approach to medical services is also a novelty, and immigrants have to learn to be informed and assertive clients. Most problems are experienced by the elderly patients; overall, women seem to adjust to the new system better than men.

Aged↗

PubMed1982

Effects of verbal and written labeling on selective attention of mildly retarded children.

Despite the fact that mentally retarded children have frequently been characterized as being deficient in selective attention, this characteristic has seldom been considered in the development of instructional media for the handicapped. To determine the influence of verbal and written labels on the selective attention to visual materials, retarded children were tested. Under treatment conditions, retarded and normal children located an object more quickly, looked at the object longer, and recognized more of the treatment objects on a recognition-memory task. Information regarding the learning characteristics of retarded children may be simply and effectively applied to development of materials.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

The cAMP cascade in the nervous system: molecular sites of action and possible relevance to neuronal plasticity.

Many intercellular messages regulate the activity of their target cells by altering the intracellular level of cAMP and, as a consequence, the phosphorylation state of proteins which serve as substrates for cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Such regulation plays a crucial role in neuronal development, neuronal function, and neuronal plasticity (e.g., elementary learning mechanisms). Ample information has been accumulated in recent years on the enzymes that regulate the level of cAMP or respond to it, on the regulation of cAMP synthesis by neurohormones, neurotransmitters, ions, and toxins, on neuronal-specific substrate proteins that are phosphorylated by the cAMP-dependent kinase, and on the interaction of the cAMP-cascade with other second-messenger systems within neurons. Such data, obtained by a combination of molecular-biological, biochemical, and cellular approaches, shed light on the detailed mechanisms by which modulation of a ubiquitous molecular cascade leads to a great variety of short-term as well as long-term specific neuronal responses and alterations.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Improving nursing education classroom environments.

This study describes the first use of a classroom environment questionnaire with a class in nursing education. An instructor of nursing students monitored classes using such a questionnaire. The questionnaire used was the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory and it was used to obtain practical and useful information about the learning environment in two different classes. Collaborative changes were made in the classes to improve the classroom environment and consequently the learning situation. Any instructor of nursing students could use this same process with this instrument.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

The vision of a nurse-coroner. A "protector of the living through the investigation of death".

1. The coroner must possess medical knowledge to make judgments based on symptomatology, history, post-mortem appearance, toxicology, and other diagnostic studies combined with evidence revealed by other aspects of the investigation. 2. One role of the nurse-coroner is providing the families of the deceased what they need to survive the death in terms of factual information, accuracy in the determination of cause and manner of death, and psychological and, sometimes, physical support. 3. Nurse-coroners are the facilitators of information that is learned from the dead, so that living members of society will have healthier, happier, longer lives.

Autopsy↗

PubMed1994

Developing competency in the neonatal intensive care unit: a hospital training program.

There are few specialized programs available to train occupational therapists and physical therapists to treat competently in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), yet hospitals are trying to fill such positions, and the need for advanced training is essential. A hospital-based program that provides clinical NICU training to therapists from other hospitals is presented. The program is short-term and highly individualized and emphasizes learning pertinent medical information, nonintrusive evaluation skills, and therapeutic intervention with advanced clinical judgment.

California↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Handwriting instruction in elementary schools.

OBJECTIVE: Classroom teachers teach handwriting, but when problems arise, students are referred to occupational therapy for remediation. This study, conducted by occupational therapists, reviews handwriting instruction by classroom teachers in one school district. METHOD: Teachers from kindergarten through grade 6 were asked to complete an open-ended questionnaire regarding handwriting instruction. RESULTS: Teachers differed in their methods of instruction, including in the programs and paper used, and practice provided. Teachers of grades 5 and 6 had to continue to review handwriting instruction, because all students could not fluently use handwriting as a tool of expression. CONCLUSION: Elementary students need structured instruction to develop the motor skill of writing. School-based occupational therapists can support effective handwriting instruction by interpreting information from motor learning theory pertaining to instruction and practice, which supports acquisition, transfer, and retention of handwriting skills. They also need to be cognizant of prior handwriting instruction when addressing handwriting difficulties.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2000

The role of the thalamic reticular neurons in alpha- and gamma-oscillations in neocortex: a mechanism for selective perception and stimulus binding.

The long-term objective is to understand how large masses of neurons in the brain process information during various learning and memory paradigms. Both time- and space-dependent processes have been identified in animals through computer-based analytic quantifications of event-related extracellular potentials. New nonlinear analyses have been introduced that presume that the fine-grain variation in the signal is determined and patterned in phase-space. Some neurons in the primary visual cortex manifest gamma-band oscillations. These cells show both a nonspecific phase-alignment (response synchrony) and a specific tuning (orientation tuning) when stimuli are presented to their receptive fields. This dual regulation of the sensory cells is proposed to underlie stimulus binding, a theoretical mechanism for "object" perception. Nonlinear analytic results from gamma-activities in a simple model neuropil (olfactory bulb) suggest that neuroplasticity may arise through self-organization, a process in which a nonlinear change in the dynamics of the oscillatory field potentials is the hallmark. This self-organization may follow simple dynamical laws in which global cooperativity among the neurons is transiently brought about that, over trials, results in enduring changes in the nonlinear dynamics of some neurons. In conclusion, the sculpturing of the synaptic throughput in the sensory cortex (stimulus binding) may be associated with the irregular phases of the gamma-activities and may result from both specific and nonspecific systems operating together in a nonlinear self-organizing manner.

Alpha Rhythm↗

PubMed2006

Educational mentor program in a Web-based doctor of pharmacy degree pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a successful educational mentor program for the Web-based doctor of pharmacy pathway at Creighton University, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions. DESIGN: A recruitment process was established and the educational mentor's responsibilities were identified. The roles of faculty instructors, the Office of Information Technology and Learning Resources, the Office of Faculty Development and Assessment, and Web-based Pharmacy Pathway Office as it pertains to the training of educational mentors were clearly delineated. An evaluation process for all key aspects of the program was also put in place. ASSESSMENT: Student, instructor, and mentor evaluations showed overall satisfaction with the program. Persistent areas of concern include the difficulty in motivating students to participate and/or engage in learning with the mentors. Many students remain unclear about mentors' roles and responsibilities. Lastly, in regards to mentors, there is a limited utilization of provided online resources. CONCLUSION: The educational mentor program has become an invaluable component of the Web pathway and has enhanced the interactions of students with the content and mentor.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Efficacy of computer-based HIV/AIDS education for injection drug users.

OBJECTIVE: To compare computer-delivered to therapist-delivered HIV/AIDS education among opioid-dependent, injection drug-users (IDUs). METHODS: We randomly assigned IDUs to receive either computer-based or counselor-delivered HIV/AIDS education. RESULTS: Participants who received the computer-based intervention learned significantly more information about HIV prevention, retained significantly more information at a 3-month follow-up, liked the teaching medium significantly more, and requested additional information about HIV/AIDS at the end of the intervention with greater frequency than did the comparison group. Individuals in both conditions reported significant reductions in HIV risk behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrated that computer-delivered HIV/AIDS education may provide an innovative and efficacious intervention for IDUs.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Medical group practices today and tomorrow. Key challenges and opportunities. Roundtable discussion.

McManis Associates, a nationally known health care consulting firm, and MGMA sponsored a round table for executives from leading medical groups across the country in May 1997. The purpose of the session was to share thoughts and insights related to creating successful medical groups, with a special focus on how medical groups approach partnerships and what makes those partnerships successes or failures. This article briefly profiles the round table participants and their organizations, summarizes the highlights of the discussion that took place and synthesizes the information into lessons learned that may be applicable to others.

Delivery of Health Care, Integrated↗

PubMed1987

Employee orientation.

What is so important about orientation? Drucker identifies productive work, feedback information and continuous learning as the three prerequisites required to enable the worker to achieve and take responsibility for his or her job. The provision of these activities are primarily tasks and responsibilities of those in management, although the involvement of the employee is crucial. For new employees to become productive, responsible department members, a structured orientation must be provided for them. The structure for your departmental orientation is set once you have developed the statement of purpose, objectives, content, and a method for evaluation. This structure is needed, regardless of the size of your department, the amount of content to be covered, or the length of orientation. Having these components in place facilitates the orientation process and allows for more consistency as new employees are hired.

Central Supply, Hospital↗

PubMed1987

Evaluation of OTC self-medication reports as an instructional strategy for clinical education.

A novel instructional strategy for clinical education, the "Pharmacist Assisted Self-Medication Case Report," was introduced into a community practice externship in 1982. The purpose was to create an experimental tool which developed informational and problem solving skills of pharmacy students in the area of OTC self medication. The case report requires that the student conduct a patient interview, evaluate the patient's condition, decide on an appropriate recommendation and provide appropriate consultation. Students must complete four reports during their externship experience. The instructional method was evaluated by review of 132 consecutive reports, by evaluation of their content and by review of student and perceptor evaluations. Case reports were found to be an effective strategy which provided valuable information about experiential learning and allowed for consistent evaluation of student clinical experience. Content data were also helpful in evaluating didactic preparation for clinical experiences.

Clinical Clerkship↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Group practices say growth good but tough.

McManis Associates, a health care consulting firm, in conjunction with MGMA, sponsored the fourth annual roundtable for executives from leading medical groups across the country. This event is structured to capture key insights related to the success of medical group, with a special focus on medical group growth strategies. This article briefly profiles the roundtable participants and their organizations, summarizes the highlights of the discussion that took place and synthesizes the information into lessons learned that are applicable to other medical groups.

Catchment Area, Health↗