Coaching for a Sustainability Transition: Empowering Student-Led Sustainability Initiatives by Developing Skills, Group Identification, and Efficacy Beliefs.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hamann KRS
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8131541 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:IntroductionThere is room for innovation in medical education regarding HIV and modern biomedical preventive strategies such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Previously described undergraduate medical curricular modules address care for HIV patients but do not include PrEP. A graduate medical curriculum concerning HIV has also been described but misses the opportunity for early introduction of HIV risk prevention, an element of primary preventive care. The guiding framework described here provides one mechanism to begin addressing this gap and fosters interprofessional collaboration among students through community engagement.MethodsWe assembled a team of 11 first-year students (medical, physician assistant, podiatry, pharmacy, and health care psychology). The team collaborated to create a training module about HIV risk and PrEP access in Lake County, Illinois. A biopsychosocial perspective on HIV risk and PrEP was employed as the guiding framework. The student team presented the module to care teams at the Lake County Health Department and to the university campus through interactive workshops.ResultsParticipating students completed a self-reflection instrument. Responses were positive in terms of student enjoyment and attainment of new knowledge regarding HIV risk and PrEP. Students also self-reported competency in a selected group of Interprofessional Education Collaborative competencies. Narrative responses were analyzed for context.DiscussionStudent responses suggest that this activity is effective in providing education about HIV risk and PrEP. The framework is novel in that it requires research and modification at each site of implementation. Furthermore, as an extracurricular element, its implementation is flexible.
| S-EPMC6507924 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Abstract The Integrated Graduate Program in Physical and Engineering Biology (IGPPEB) at Yale University brings together Ph.D. students from the physical, engineering, and biological sciences. The main goals of this program are for students to become comfortable working in an interdisciplinary and collaborative research environment and adept at communicating with scientists and nonscientists. To fill a student‐identified learning gap in engaging in inclusive discussions, IGPPEB students developed a communication workshop to improve skills in visual engagement, citing specific content, constructive conversation entrances, and encouragement of peers. Based on short‐ and long‐term assessment of the workshop, 100% of students reported that it should be offered to future cohorts and 63% of students perceived it to be personally helpful. Additionally, 92% of participants reported using one or more of the core skills beyond the course, with skills in “Encouraging peers” and “Constructive conversation entrances” rated the highest in perceived improvement. Based on the highest average rating of 76 ± 24 (on a scale of 0–100), students agreed that the workshop made them feel more welcome in the IGPPEB community. With a rating of 68 ± 13, they also agreed that the workshop had a positive impact on their graduate school experience. Participants provided suggestions for future improvements, such as increasing student involvement in leading discussions of course material. This study demonstrates that a student‐led workshop can improve perceived discussion skills and build community across an interdisciplinary program in the sciences.
| S-EPMC9832528 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSurgical skills training is a recognized vital component of medical education, yet a standardized curriculum does not exist. Early opportunities for skills development and mentorship may increase student interest in pursuing surgery. We evaluated the effects of a student-led, faculty-supervised suture clinic on student comfort level with basic surgical skills and interest in surgery.MethodsA cohort survey study of 103 second-year medical students participating in a surgical skills course was performed between the years 2016-2018. Upon completion of the course, we assessed their comfort level with performing six basic skills as well as their interest in pursuing surgery based on pre- and post-course surveys.ResultsMean age was 25 years and 50.5% were female. Most students (61.2%) had no prior suturing experience. Upon completion of the course, there was a significant improvement (p = < 0.0001) in comfort level for each of the six skills. Most students (81%) reported an increased interest in surgery.ConclusionsEarly implementation of a basic skills workshop can augment student comfort level and promote an interest in surgery. Peer student mentors can effectively lead the workshop and minimize the time commitment needed by surgical faculty. This can serve as a new direction in medical education and an avenue for further studies to analyze the longitudinal effects of the curriculum on career choice and success in surgical residency.
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Project description:Statistical accounting of the impacts of citizen-led energy initiatives is absent, despite their impact on increased energy self-sufficiency and ramping up of renewable energies, local sustainable development, greater citizen engagement, diversification of activities, social innovation, and acceptance of transition measures. This paper quantifies the aggregate contributions of collective action in pursuit of the sustainable energy transition in Europe. We estimate the number of initiatives (10,540), projects (22,830), people involved (2,010,600), installed renewable capacities (7.2-9.9 GW), and investments made (6.2-11.3 billion EUR) for 30 European countries. Our aggregate estimates do not suggest that collective action will replace commercial enterprises and governmental action in the short or medium term without fundamental alterations to policy and market structures. However, we find strong evidence for the historical, emerging, and actual importance of citizen-led collective action to the European energy transition. Collective action in the energy transition is experimenting successfully with new business models in the energy sector. Continued decentralization of energy systems and more stringent decarbonization policies will increase the importance of these actors in the future.
| S-EPMC9981751 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionThe ability to apply knowledge gained in neuroscience coursework to a clinical scenario is found to be difficult by many medical students. Neuroscience is both important for future clinical practice and an area frequently tested on USMLE Step 1 examinations.MethodsSecond-year medical students created a peer-led flipped classroom to help first-year students practice applying medical neuroscience course information to clinical situations and demonstrate how that information might be tested in board-style questions. The second-year students designed a series of board-style questions that included explanations for both the correct and incorrect answers. We divided the first-year students (n = 80) into small groups during the flipped classroom sessions, where they were led by second-year medical students in discussion about the questions and clinical situations.ResultsStudents reported agreement that the session addressed gaps in their knowledge and provided them with useful critical thinking skills for approaching board-style questions (83% and 81% agreed or strongly agreed, respectively).DiscussionThe flipped classroom improved student confidence in both applying neuroscience concepts to clinical scenarios and to board-style vignette questions.
| S-EPMC8015634 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Choking stands as the fourth leading cause of unintentional injury deaths. This research aimed to evaluate the ability of young schoolchildren to grasp and remember choking-management techniques, as well as to compare the effectiveness of instructors. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of choking training on young children. We randomly selected 180 children aged 4-8 years and divided them into a training group (120 children) and a control group (60 children). We evaluated the students' response to a choking incident with a specific scenario one day before, one day after, and two and seven months after the training, as well as once to the control group. Before the training, there was no significant difference between the groups. However, after the training, the training group's scores showed a significant increase compared to their pre-training scores and those of the control group. Even at two- and seven-month post-training, the training group's scores had decreased but remained higher than their pre-training scores and those of the control group. Choking training can benefit young children. Our research highlights the equal importance of both regular classroom teachers and specialized personnel in imparting these essential skills. However, further research is necessary to confirm these observations and explore methods for sustaining the acquired knowledge from the training.
| S-EPMC10969126 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Professional burnout among medical trainees has been identified as a national concern in need of attention. A significant challenge for residency programs is designing and implementing effective strategies to promote resident wellness and reduce burnout. Emerging evidence highlights the importance of developing organizational changes targeting physician burnout. METHODS:To address this critical need, Harvard South Shore (HSS) Psychiatry Residency Training Program aimed to assess burnout among residents, identify areas for wellness-related growth, and implement strategies for organizational change to reduce burnout and increase wellness. We aligned closely to the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) 2.0 guidelines to systematically approach planning, conducting, and evaluating this quality improvement effort. We developed a wellness action team and assessed burnout using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). We also conducted a survey to investigate high opportunity areas for wellness-related growth and using this data we designed and implemented four organizational initiatives to (i) improve residents' on-call experience, (ii) increase social activities, (iii) support preventative care, and (iv) promote wellness education. We then re-assessed burnout 1?year after implementation and performed two-sample t-tests to compare CBI scores. We additionally gathered and analyzed feedback from residents on the implemented organizational initiatives' relevance to wellness and their well-being. RESULTS:There was an overall clinically meaningful reduction in burnout averaged among all residents that participated. Participants indicated that fitness-oriented activities were most likely to lead to change in wellness habits. CONCLUSION:Our implemented wellness program was resident-led and involved continuous feedback from both residents and leadership. Given that there may be multiple factors that affect resident burnout, future studies involving a control group could help reveal whether our intervention contributed to the change in burnout scores we observed.
| S-EPMC6880512 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundGrant funding often drives innovative programming in efforts to enhance diversity in biomedical fields, yet strategies for sustainability of grant-funded biomedical intervention are not well understood. Additionally, as funding agencies shift toward supporting institutional change to biomedical training, less is known about the extent to which sustainability strategies can support long-term institutionalization of the original goals of the grant-funded initiative. The purpose of this study is twofold: to identify strategies used by grant-funded programs for promoting sustainability, and to examine the interrelations between the concepts of sustainability and institutionalization during early stages of grant-funded biomedical career training efforts.MethodsWe employed a multiple case study design and cross-case analysis using interviews of program administrators and participants from 10 undergraduate institutions that received Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) awards funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).ResultsBUILD sites engaged in the following strategies to develop program sustainability: 1) scaling and adapting to expand programmatic impact, 2) identifying additional funding and cost-cutting measures, 3) developing and maintaining infrastructure and structural operations, 4) leveraging relationships and with intra-and inter-institutional partners, and 5) and addressing hiring, policies, and reward systems at the institution. Senior administrative support supported program sustainability and early institutionalization, although we also identified situations where participants felt that they were on track for sustainable changes without administrative support or institutional change. Of the strategies identified, those that involve organizational and infrastructural changes contribute to early stages of institutionalization.ConclusionsThis study contributes to literature on organizational change by providing evidence of distinctions and interrelations between program sustainability efforts and institutionalization of change efforts in that some sustainability strategies can overlap with strategies to move toward institutionalization. The findings indicate the importance of program administrators developing early sustainability plans that also lead to institutionalization, as well as an opportunity for funding agencies to develop technical assistance on sustainability, organizational change, and institutionalization as a resource to support program administrators' efforts toward making lasting, structural change on their campuses.
| S-EPMC8091701 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundUnderstanding sustainability is one of the significant implementation science challenges. One of the big challenges in researching sustainability is the lack of consistent definitions in the literature. Most implementation studies do not present a definition of sustainability, even when assessing sustainability. The aim of the current study was to systematically develop a comprehensive definition of sustainability based on definitions already used in the literature.MethodsWe searched for knowledge syntheses of sustainability and abstracted sustainability definitions from the articles identified through any relevant systematic and scoping reviews. The constructs in the abstracted sustainability definitions were mapped to an existing definition. The comprehensive definition of sustainability was revised to include emerging constructs.ResultsWe identified four knowledge syntheses of sustainability, which identified 209 original articles. Of the 209 articles, 24 (11.5%) included a definition of sustainability. These definitions were mapped to three constructs from an existing definition, and nine new constructs emerged. We reviewed all constructs and created a revised definition: (1) after a defined period of time, (2) a program, clinical intervention, and/or implementation strategies continue to be delivered and/or (3) individual behavior change (i.e., clinician, patient) is maintained; (4) the program and individual behavior change may evolve or adapt while (5) continuing to produce benefits for individuals/systems. All 24 definitions were remapped to the comprehensive definition (percent agreement among three coders was 94%). Of the 24 definitions, 17 described the continued delivery of a program (70.8%), 17 mentioned continued outcomes (70.8%), 13 mentioned time (54.2%), 8 addressed the individual maintenance of a behavior change (33.3%), and 6 described the evolution or adaptation (25.0%).ConclusionsWe drew from over 200 studies to identify 24 existing definitions of sustainability. Based on these definitions, we identified five key sustainability constructs, which can be used as the basis for future research on sustainability. Our next step is to identify sustainability frameworks and develop a meta-framework using a concept mapping approach to consolidate the factors and considerations across sustainability frameworks.
| S-EPMC5581411 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Globally, urban populations are growing rapidly, and in most cases their demands for resources are beyond current limits of sustainability. Cities are therefore critical for achieving national and international sustainability objectives, such as greenhouse gas reduction. Improving sustainability may also provide opportunities for urban population health co-benefits by reducing unhealthy exposures and behaviours. However, there is currently sparse empirical evidence on the degree to which city characteristics are associated with variations in health-related exposures, behaviours and sustainability. This paper examines the feasibility of aggregating empirical data relating to sustainability and health for global cities. An initial scoping review of existing English-language datasets and networks is performed. Resulting datasets are analysed for data types, collection method, and the distribution of contributing cities across climates, population sizes, and wealth. The review indicates datasets are populated using inconsistent methodologies and metrics and have poor overlap of cities between them. Data and organisations tend to be biased towards larger and wealthier cities, and concentrated in Europe and North America. Therefore, despite vast amounts of available data, limitations of reliability, representativeness, and disparate sources mean researchers are faced with significant obstacles when aggregating data to analyse the sustainability and health of globally representative samples of cities.
| S-EPMC6614042 | biostudies-literature