Interference mitigation in wireless mesh networks through radio co-location aware conflict graphs

Wireless Networks - Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) have evolved into a wireless communication technology of immense interest. But technological advancements in WMNs have inadvertently spawned a...     

Changes in medical students' perceptions of family practice resulting from a required clerkship

BACKGROUND: Career choice research has shown that exposing medical students to family medicine, through a special medical school emphasis or a required clerkship, correlates with an increased rate of selection of family practice. It has been hypothesized that actual exposure to family medicine mitigates the negative stereotypes held by many medical students. METHODS: This study used a qualitative strategy to examine how a family medicine clerkship altered medical students' perceptions and attitudes toward this specialty. A series of 12 focus groups were conducted with the students who had just completed a required family medicine junior core clerkship at our institution. RESULTS: Focus group findings confirmed the existence of negative stereotypes about family practice among medical students and provided additional information on their nature and origins. In addition, student comments indicated that a third-year family medicine clerkship experience dispelled this negative stereotyping and instilled in students a greater respect for and interest in family practice. CONCLUSION: Third-year clerkships can enhance students' perceptions of family practice by dispelling negative stereotypes and by providing medical students with a more accurate portrayal of the nature of this primary care specialty.     

Curriculum trends in nurse-midwifery education. Views of program directors

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which nurse-midwifery education programs are addressing the practice competencies that have been recommended by the Pew Health Professions Commission and others as essential for effective practice in the 21st century. This study was part of a larger survey of eleven health professions education programs. The 56 nurse-midwifery program directors whose names and addresses were provided by the American College of Nurse-Midwives were surveyed by mailed questionnaire, with a response rate of 59% (n = 33). The study sought to identify current and ideal emphasis placed on 33 broad topics, most important curriculum topics, and barriers to curriculum change as perceived by respondents. Findings revealed that nurse-midwifery program directors would like to see greater emphasis placed on every topic except one (tertiary/quaternary care). Desired increases ranged from .04 to 1.36. The overall mean rating for all topics was 3.51 for current emphasis (5-point scale) and 4.18 for ideal emphasis, both of which were higher than any other survey group. The greatest desired increases (> 1.00) were for "primary care," "managed care," "use of electronic information systems," and "business management of practice." Respondents identified "primary care," "health promotion/disease prevention," and "accountability for cost-effectiveness and patient outcomes" as the most important topics. The top three barriers to curriculum change were identified as "already crowded curriculum," "inadequate funding," and "limited availability of clinical learning sites," the last being statistically significant compared with other survey groups. Findings indicate that nurse-midwifery program directors perceived that they are adequately addressing most of the curriculum topics, while continuing to focus on the need for curriculum change as the health care environment changes.     

Academic deans' perceptions of current and ideal curriculum emphases

This study assessed the current and ideal for dental curriculum emphasis of thirty-three curriculum topic areas and evaluated barriers to curriculum change. A forty-six item survey was mailed to the academic deans of all U.S. dental schools with an 86 percent e response rate (n = 57). The means of their responses for current curricular emphasis and ideal emphasis on the thirty-three topic areas were compared. "Health promotion/disease prevention," "primary care," and "effective patient-provider relationships/communication" were the three topic areas rated most highly (for ideal emphasis) by the academic deans. "Case management," "outpatient/ambulatory care," and "continuous quality improvement" also received high mean scores for ideal emphasis. The most significant barrier to curriculum reform was "an already crowded curriculum." The academic deans reasserted the traditional emphasis in dentistry on primary care. There also appears to be considerable support for educational programs that will foster better patient relationships and greater quality assurance and control.