Internship: A recruitment and selection perspective.

In this study, we examined internship as a recruitment and selection process. On the basis of impression management theory, we hypothesized that both organizations and interns make efforts to impress the other party during the internship if they intend to hire or be hired. Using longitudinal data collected at 3 points from 122 intern–supervisor dyads in the United States, we found that 60% of internships turned into job offers from the host organizations. Interns wishing to be hired were more likely to use self-promotion and ingratiation, which increased the likelihood of job offers. Organizations wishing to hire appeared to be more open to interns' creativity, which increased interns' application intentions. For interns who indicated prior to their internship that they were not interested in working in their host organizations after graduation, supervisory mentoring did not influence their subsequent intentions to apply for full-time employment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internship Workshops on Psychopathology: Bridging the Academic-Clinical Gap.

Reports on a brief orientation program designed to familiarize new interns with some of the major signs of psychopathology they will encounter and to help bridge gaps in training for individual interns. The orientation consists of four 1-day workshops focusing on the areas of depression, suicide and hospitalization, schizophrenia, and neuropsychological problems. Completing these intensive workshop experiences provides a brief overview of psychopharmacology and a short introduction to the evaluation process of child problems. The workshops are regarded as important both for the interns and the staff. As the interns become more curious and less defensive about beginning their clinical rotations, the staff become less frustrated about handling the interns' anxieties concerning their lack of preparation for the internship year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multicultural competencies of doctoral interns at university counseling centers: An exploratory investigation.

In this study the multicultural competencies of 141 doctoral interns at university counseling centers were explored. Results indicated that some educational variables were predictive of multicultural competencies. Interns who had received supervision for a multicultural counseling situation, attended more multicultural workshops, or taken more multicultural course work, reported greater multicultural knowledge and skills than did interns who had no such supervision, fewer workshop hours, or less course work. Only supervision provided to interns in a multicultural setting correlated significantly with multicultural awareness, thus accounting for only 3% of the variability in interns' multicultural awareness. No significant relationships were found between multicultural competencies and demographic variables. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of training for doctoral interns and future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cost effectiveness of internship training programs: Clinical service delivery through training.

Internship training programs require a substantial investment of the host agency's resources. Such investment must be justified, in part, by an analysis of the cost effectiveness of the services delivered by interns. A means by which training staff can determine the average cost per intern trained is presented, along with a formula for comparing the cost of direct services offered by interns with that of services offered by senior staff psychologists. The formula was applied to a university counseling center training program with 6 interns. We demonstrated that interns' direct service hours were half the cost of senior staff's direct service hours, and clients' perceptions of the quality of services received from interns and staff did not show a difference in reported satisfaction. The data support the conclusion that intern training programs can be highly cost effective, as well as provide valuable nonmonetary benefits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluation of undergraduate research experience: Perceptions of undergraduate interns and their faculty mentors.

This study evaluated the extent to which 14 research skills were enhanced by science undergraduates' participation in an undergraduate research experience (URE). Fifty-seven undergraduates self-rated their ability to perform the skills at the beginning and end of the URE. Faculty mentors' ratings of their respective interns' skills served as an objective measure of intern skill level. Mentor and intern data revealed that the URE enhanced some skills better than others. At the end of the URE, female interns rated their ability to understand concepts in their field significantly lower than did male interns. Female interns also tended to perceive less of an increase in their ability to formulate research hypotheses than did male interns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intern final oral examinations: An exploration of alternative models of competency.

The training committee of an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited VA internship program implemented oral examinations as a method of assessing interns' readiness for independent practice. Performance criteria for the examinations were constructed using four models of professional competency: (a) APA Benchmarks/Cube, (b) California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP; Petti, 2008), (c) American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) Clinical Psychology, and (d) the local internship performance rating system. Two to three interns were assigned to each model, and examiners rated competencies during an oral case presentation. All interns passed according to the summary criterion for their assigned model. On postexamination process inquiry, interns and examiners were most satisfied with the CSPP model and least satisfied with the ABPP model. Clarity of expectations was noted to be lowest in the APA model. Seven of 10 interns favored establishing an oral exam requirement. Two of the three interns who recommended discontinuance of the examination were examined using the ABPP model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family practice residency behavioral science training: influence on graduate practice activity

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The educational efficacy of family practice residency behavioral science training and how various educational approaches might influence graduate practice activity are poorly understood. In this study, we compare a traditional didactic and clinical block rotation approach to a problem-based learning (PBL) and clinical, experiential behavioral science curriculum. METHODS: Surveys of pre- and post-intervention cohorts were used to assess graduates' perceptions of their understanding of broad behavioral science concepts, their competence to manage specific behavioral conditions, and their behavioral science practice activity. The two cohorts were University of California, Irvine family practice residency program graduates from 1984-1988 (58) and residency graduates from 1993-1995 (27). American Board of Family Practice (ABFP) In-service Training Examination scores were also compared. RESULTS: No significant differences were detected in self-perceived competence and ABFP examination performance. Residency graduates in the post-intervention cohort more often included depression, marital counseling, and eating disorders in their practice and reported more frequent practice activity for situational stress and sexual dysfunction. The post-intervention group reported less involvement with alcohol and substance abuse problems. This group also reported practice activity that exceeded perceived levels of competence for attention deficit disorder, learning disorders, and eating disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Participants in a PBL-clinical experiential curriculum reported higher levels of practice activity for several common behavioral problems. It seems unlikely that these differences were due to curriculum changes. Further investigation of the influence of educational and other factors on residency graduate practice activity is needed.     

Family physicians' involvement with dying patients and their families. Attitudes, difficulties, and strategies

OBJECTIVE: To determine family physicians' perceptions of the difficulty in caring for dying patients and how prepared they are to provide such care relative to strategies used with difficulties encountered, personal need for support and development, and cooperation with other caregivers. DESIGN: Exploratory. SETTING: Physicians' offices. SUBJECTS: Thirty-five randomly selected family physicians (doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathy) representative of family physicians practicing in Franklin County, Ohio. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAJOR OUTCOME MEASURES: A semistructured interview guide corresponding to a three-dimensional theoretical model developed prior to the study was used to determine family physicians' perceptions regarding care of dying patients and their families. The three dimensions include family physicians' involvement with dying patients and their families, their personal needs and development, and their cooperation with other caregivers. RESULTS: Participants agreed that the care of dying patients and their families is an important and special component of practicing family medicine. Generally seeing themselves as adequately prepared, they still found such care difficult and desired more education and training to increase comfort of their patients and of themselves. Their perceptions regarding the care of dying patients and their families could be categorized in terms of communication as part of the care process, family issues, legal and ethical issues, coordination of care, physicians' feelings, and physicians' influence and support. CONCLUSIONS: Family physicians require formal training in death issues and need to find a way to maximize learning through personal experiences. Discussion of cases in a support group may be beneficial.     

Memorable everyday events in college: Narratives of the intersection of ethnicity and academia.

The purpose of this study was to bring together research on youth’s developing life stories and research on ethnic variations in educational experiences by exploring diverse students’ narratives of ethnicity-related college experiences. A total of 280 college students attending a public university in California recounted a story about a time in which they felt their ethnicity played a role in the academic experiences. Six main themes were identified among the event narratives: learning about culture, sharing culture, experience of prejudice, difficult dialogues, awareness of diversity, and support and connection. The frequency of these themes varied by ethnic group, which suggests that college students from different ethnic backgrounds face different issues pertaining to the intersection of ethnicity and academics and thus face unique experiences and challenges that must be integrated into their life stories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research: promoting positive attitudes through education

This paper outlines a study which was undertaken to explore the relationship between nurses' attitudes towards research and their educational experience. A Likert-type attitude questionnaire, using statements derived from themes emerging within the literature, was used prior to, and following, 61 students' learning experiences on research modules at diploma and degree levels. Teaching and learning strategies adopted within the modules focused on overcoming some of the main barriers to utilization of research findings identified within the literature. The results obtained identified a significant shift towards more positive attitudes to research following the modules. The conclusions exhort nurse educators to not only include research into curricula, but also to reflect on the teaching and learning strategies adopted.     

Spindle cell (Kaposiform) hemangioendothelioma with Kasabach-Merritt syndrome in an infant: successful treatment with alpha-2A interferon

Typically, the primary instructional method for ambulatory care education is direct interaction between a preceptor and a learner during a patient encounter. This paper describes instructional strategies teachers and learners can use in ambulatory care training that can occur before or after scheduled clinic hours, thus providing instruction without disrupting a preceptor's busy clinic. First, they describe how preceptors and clerkship or residency-program directors can orient learners prior to their arrival at assigned sites, so that learners are better prepared to assume their patient-care responsibilities. Then they discuss strategies for making use of various types of conferences and independent learning activities to enhance learners' clinical experiences. Conferences and independent study projects that occur before clinic hours can help learners bring a higher level of thinking and clinical sophistication to their role in the ambulatory care site; conferences and independent study activities that occur after clinic hours give learners an opportunity to reinforce and expand on what they have learned during clinic. In this way, learners' educational experiences are enhanced, the best use is made of preceptors' time and expertise, and clinic efficiency is not disrupted.     

Radio-sensitive murine thymoma cell line 3SB: characterization of its apoptosis-resistant variants induced by repeated X-irradiation

This paper describes public health nurses' perceptions of changes in their practice. The participants were 28 public health staff nurses from six Alberta, Canada health units serving urban and rural populations. Data were collected in 1993-94 using individual and focus group interviews. Content analysis was used to identify the following themes: "pulling back", "from hands on to arms length", "handing over responsibility", "developing working partnerships", and "doing less surveillance". These themes are discussed in terms of their implications for population health and for public heath nursing, using as a point of reference the principles of Primary Health Care. Continuing research is needed to chronicle further changes in public health nursing practice that will result from health care restructuring and health system reform.     

A survey of interns' preferences and plans for postdoctoral training.

What are interns' plans and preferences for postdoctoral training? In this survey, most interns indicated they preferred an informal postdoctoral experience rather than a formal one, and half of them obtained a position before the end of their internships. Interns based their choices for positions more on personal and practical considerations and indicated that obtaining a postdoctoral position was less stressful than obtaining an internship. Interns had adequate knowledge of the required length of postdoctoral experience for licensure, but most were unsure about the parameters for supervision. Half of the interns were willing to pursue postdoctoral psychopharmacology training, especially if it could be completed within 2 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epithelial hyperplasia of usual type expresses both S100-alpha and S100-beta in a heterogeneous pattern but ductal carcinoma in situ can express only S100-alpha in a monotonous pattern

The menstrual and premenstrual experiences of black Zimbabwean women were examined. Twenty-five professional women and twenty-five domestic workers were interviewed using semistructured, open-ended interviews designed to explore their experiences. An analysis of consensual data indicated a number of predominant themes, including secrecy associated with menstruation, the negativity surrounding menarche, the breakdown of the traditional family network that passes on information about menstruation, and the acceptance of menstrual cycle experiences by the women. The main differences between the two groups concerned explanations of the functions and purpose of menstruation and the reporting of physical and affective symptoms. These differences are suggestive of the impact of educational level on experiences of menstruation.     

The short tandem repeat loci hTPO, THO1 and FGA

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of quality of life (QOL) of Hispanic patients with cancer pain. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: This qualitative pilot study is guided by the conceptual framework of pain and QOL. From interviews with 17 Hispanic patients with cancer pain, data on perceptions of QOL were analyzed and are reported here. RESULTS: The study demonstrated the influence of culture on perceptions of QOL and the impact of pain on QOL. Several themes were identified for each domain of QOL, including physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being. The role of the family and faith in God were important components of QOL for all patients. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: It is important for clinicians to devote greater attention to cultural assessment and to include cultural beliefs in cancer care to improve QOL for Hispanic patients. The role of the family and religious beliefs should be included in the planning and evaluation of each patient's care.     

Mycobacterium ulcerans infection in a child from Angola: diagnosis by direct detection and culture

The purpose of this study is to listen to and interpret the experiences of independent older women in the community regarding their medication use. Their experiences were examined regarding medication information, sources of information, types of medication used, relationships with health care professionals and social support systems. The techniques used for data collection included guided qualitative semistructured interviews based on the principle of empowerment and notions of ideal and nonhierarchical communication. The emergent themes show that for these older women general practitioners were important in their medication experiences. Whilst trusted as carers in the acute care setting, registered nurses did not play a role in the medication experiences of these older women. Registered nurses are perceived as 'traditional carers' associated with medical and acute care settings. Although medication issues emerged that ideally required attention, the older women in this study generally perceived themselves to be capable of actively managing their health and medication use.     

The educational needs of myocardial infarction patients

Over the last 20 years, the educational needs of myocardial infarction (MI) patients have been addressed from the points of view of health care providers and patients. However, most teaching is based on the health care providers' perceptions of patients' educational needs. Little emphasis has been placed on patients' perception of educational needs. This article identifies the MI patients' perceived learning needs in the coronary care unit, in the post-coronary care unit, and at home, and evaluates the extent of the effectiveness of various types of cardiac rehabilitation programs. Recommendations for educating first-time MI patients during each phase of cardiac recovery and for conducting future research studies are discussed.