Digital Commons Network^™

Fostering Leadership Competency And Professional Identity Formation Through Near Peer Educator Programs, Justin Choi, Gabriela Martin Gonzalez, Tahina Ahmed, Shirley Eisner

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Introduction

Leadership competency development is a pivotal component of physician professional identity formation (PIF), and its instruction across undergraduate medical education (UME) institutions is diverse. Near-Peer Educator Programs (NPEPs) foster experiential leadership development through teaching junior learners. We evaluated the impact of participation in a structured longitudinal NPEP on medical students’ self-reflections of their leadership growth.

Methods

Medical students serving as Near-Peer Educators (NPEs) were invited to complete a baseline survey prior to facilitating any sessions and a follow-up survey after facilitating more than 1 session. The surveys, measured using a 7-point Likert scale, were modeled on a validated clinical …

Resident Scholarly Activity Plan And Scorecard Implementation In Graduate Medical Education, Michele L. Mccarroll, Afsha Rais Kaisani, Joseph Kessler, Tasaduq H. Mir

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Scholarly activity (SA) is a requirement of the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME); however, many programs struggle with interpreting ACGME trainee requirements and lack standardized tools to effectively communicate, document, and track individualized, resident-centered approaches to SA. This educational project aimed to develop a universal educational graduate medical education (GME) SA plan and scorecard tool to establish shared program expectations, provide formative and summative feedback on SA progression, track SA, and support individualized SA pathways aligned with residents’ professional goals.

Methods

In May 2022, faculty, associate program directors, and program directors within the North Texas Division of …

Icare Compassionately: An Innovative Approach To Improving Nursing Education, Lori M. Brodie

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Historically, compassionate care has been briefly introduced in nursing education, without a sustained focus throughout nursing programs. Compassionate care models define the essential qualities needed to deliver meaningful care. Many of the traditional compassionate care models rely on high-level concepts that can be difficult to operationalize in academia. Further, current compassionate care models are typically limited to specific settings and are taught separately from other parts of the nursing curriculum. To address these concerns, a single purpose nursing college created and implemented the iCare Compassionately Model, which emphasizes both measurable behaviors and concepts related to compassion. As a result of …

Novel Strategies To Optimize Individual Performance On The In-Service Training Exam: A Case Series, Julie Zemaitis Decesare, Christina Deangelis, Ana I. Decesare, Elizabeth Teets

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Obstetrics and gynecology residents in the United States take the Council on Residency Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) in-service training exam on an annual basis. Performance on the exam is essential to assess any deficits in a resident’s knowledge as well as to evaluate the probability of passing the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) qualifying board exam. Given the substantial number of residents who experience performance issues during the exam, residency programs and individual learners benefit from the development of personalized learning plans to ensure trainee success. Test-taking anxiety is a big part of these performance …

The Distinguished Humanitarian Society, Ashley Charales, Grace Desrochers, Lakshmi Tatineni, Shane Jenks, Rajeev Raghavan

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

The Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) is a nationally recognized organization present at over 80% of medical schools in the United States to promote humanism, integrity, and volunteerism among students. There is no equivalent national honor society present at the majority of Graduate Medical Education (GME) training programs.

Methods

Our institution created the Distinguished Humanitarian Society (DHS) as a local honor society in 2022 to recognize trainees who exemplified the ideals espoused by GHHS. In January and February 2025, we conducted semi-structured interviews to extract themes regarding inductees’ experiences with the DHS. Both interviewers used the same list of …

Gamification To Improve Emergency Medical Service Personnel Knowledge Of Medical Capacity Determination, Ross Sinicrope, Nasim Motaghedi, Zackary Yates, Elliott Richardson, Stephanie Schiffert, Jacob Wright, Abigail Alorda, Jeffrey Katz, Linh Nguyen, Shayne Gue, Christine Van Dillen, Ayanna Walker

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

As medical education evolves, innovative techniques are being explored to enhance learning and engagement. While existing literature on gamification in medical education primarily focuses on graduate medical education, its application in other fields, such as nursing or emergency medical services (EMS), remains underexplored. This study evaluates the feasibility of using gamification to teach EMS personnel about patient capacity assessment and examines its impact on the frequency of pre-hospital transport.

Methods

A relay race with 3 stations was developed by emergency medicine residents, EMS fellows, and emergency medicine and emergency medical services teaching faculty to teach capacity assessment. Each station …

Optimizing Antibiotic Strategies With A Clinical Pathway Approach: Enhanced Initiation And De-Escalation In Community-Acquired Pneumonia, Ahmad Behzadpour

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a leading cause of hospitalization, mortality, and health care expenditure worldwide. Inappropriate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics contributes to antimicrobial resistance, adverse drug events, and increased costs. Antibiotic stewardship and standardized clinical pathways are key strategies to improve prescribing practices.

Methods

This quality improvement (QI) initiative was conducted at a 240-bed tertiary care teaching hospital from January 2023 through January 2025. A CAP-specific digital clinical pathway was developed using Curbside Health® and integrated into the electronic health record (EHR), accessible through a structured order set to support real-time clinical decision-making. The intervention included provider education and …

Impact Of Innovative Interprofessional Practice And Education Intervention Led By Graduate Medical Education Resident Physicians With School-Based Nursing In 32 School Districts, Christoffer A. Amdahl, Hans Drawbert, Sadra Forati, Tyler Fields, James Mantil, Afsha Rais Kaisani, Marci Ayers, Michele L. Mccarroll Phd

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

School nurses play a critical role in student well-being, underscoring their growing importance in both education and health care systems. Research consistently demonstrates their contributions to individual student care and broader population health.

Methods

This resident-led project explored community-based partnerships to facilitate mutual learning between school nurses and graduate medical education (GME) physicians. Conducted during the 2023–2024 academic year, this quality initiative (QI) involved the Medical City Healthcare (HCA Healthcare) GME programs and North Texas school districts. Educational resources were delivered through in-person teaching sessions led by resident physicians and hands-on medical simulations. School nurses who attended the Continuing …

Establishing Nurse Innovator Competencies: A Collaborative Initiative, Lori M. Brodie, Susan B. Patton, Dara Lanman, Ismail Dilek, Noah R. Zanville, Tracy A. Ortelli

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Rapid advancements in augmented and artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping health care, necessitating a strategic approach to integrating innovation into nursing education and practice. This article details a collaborative initiative between academic and practice partners aimed at the initial steps towards establishing the required knowledge, skills, and abilities for nurses to lead change through the creation of Nurse Innovator Competencies.

Methods

After an extensive review of literature, the team identified the absence of established Nurse Innovator Competencies. Through a collaborative and iterative process involving subject matter experts (SMEs) in both innovation and academia, key domains for the competencies, including …

Improving Scholarly Activity Through A Bundled Intervention Of Resident-Faculty Connection And Research Ideas, Katie Suleta, Norman W. Gill

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Residents report barriers to engaging in scholarly activity despite this being a common requirement across residency programs. Two commonly reported barriers are a lack of mentorship by faculty and a lack of ideas for projects that meet the criteria for scholarly activity. The study objective is to describe the effect of an intervention to address a lack of mentorship and a lack of ideas for scholarly activities.

Methods

A retrospective cohort design was utilized to investigate changes in scholarly activity between 2 academic years. An internal medicine residency program with 30 residents and 17 faculty members participated in an …

Enhancing Resident Preparedness For The American Board Of Surgery Certifying Exam Through Low-Stakes Mock Oral Sessions, Camila R. Guetter, Taylor Locklear, Omar Haque, P Nina Scalise, Saptarshi Biswas, R. Wesley Vosburg

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

The American Board of Surgery (ABS) requires trainees to pass both a written qualifying examination (ABSQE) and oral certifying examination (ABSCE) to achieve board certification. The high-stakes nature of the ABSCE, which assesses knowledge, clinical judgment, and decision-making, necessitates extensive preparation. To address the challenges of the ABSCE format and associated trainee stress, structured mock oral programs have been developed. Here we evaluate the impact of structured mock oral sessions on residents' comfort levels and familiarity with the ABSCE at a single institution.

Methods

A mixed-methods survey was given to 50 general surgery residents in different training years who …

Medical Education As Both Process And Environment For Innovation, Gerald Wickham

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

The promise of better medicine, better health outcomes, and better lives depends on a culture of innovation and implementation in medical education. HCA Healthcare Graduate Medical Education continually strives to achieve this environment, to identify the health breakthroughs of tomorrow by fostering innovation in the daily work of the residents, scientists, and physicians of our enterprise. This special issue highlights some of this important work and shares actionable programs to elevate and inspire the next generation of physicians.

The Nicolay Hours: William H. Hannon Library’S New Medieval Manuscript, Ava Lehrman

Graduate Library Research Awards

No abstract provided.

Between God And Gender: Rereading Śiva As A Proto-Hijra, Brock Herrington

Graduate Library Research Awards

No abstract provided.

Revolutionary Resistance In Denmark: The Impact Of Grundtvigism On The Danish Resistance To Nazi Occupation, Holland Burd

Young Historians Conference

This paper examines the impact of nineteenth century philosopher and theologian Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig on the Danish resistance during World War II. Born in 1783, Grundtvig established a framework that paved the way for Danish national pride, setting the stage for a united resistance effort against Nazi occupation in October of 1943. His beliefs inspired movement towards the common good and allowed the Danes to reconnect with their cultural identity. Nazi Germany invaded Denmark in 1940, initially preserving an image of peace through a model protectorate. However, the image of peace was destroyed in 1943 after Nazi Germany ordered …

Catholic Syncretism: A Framework For Understanding Post-Colonial Religious Identity, James A. Hennessey-O'Connor

Young Historians Conference

Syncretic Catholicism, the blending of Catholic Christianity with Indigenous, African, and other pre-existing belief systems, represents a recurring and globally consistent pattern of religious adaptation arising from colonial encounters. This essay examines syncretic Catholic traditions across three regions: Latin America, Asia, and North America. In Latin America, where Spanish and Portuguese colonization imposed Christianity through force, syncretism functioned as a strategy of cultural survival. In Asia, where early Catholic missions relied more on persuasion than conquest, syncretism relied on voluntary negotiation and creative religious blending, producing hybrid traditions. In North America, African-derived traditions demonstrate that syncretic adaptation operated as a …

Heavenly Righteousness: How Religion Facilitated The Rise Of The Order Of The Knights Templar, Morgan M. Henderson

Young Historians Conference

The Order of the Knights of the Temple of Solomon, commonly known as the Knights Templar, was a critical organization in the Christian occupation of the Holy Land during the 11th to 14th centuries. This paper explores how the Templars’ relationship with the papacy and the Catholic Church enabled the order to amass its power. Through its doctrine, papal grants, and founding council, the Templars structured their order to be a military force used to attack the Muslim infidel. Religion was the unique element that enabled the Knights Templar to become the most significant military order of their time, greatly …

The Revolutionaries Of Mt. Tabor: Religion, Radicalism, And Propaganda Of The Taborites In Hussite Bohemia, India L. Black-Mitchell

Young Historians Conference

This paper explores the formation of the radical Hussite group, the Taborites, in fifteenth century Bohemia, and their eventual decline and absorption into other religious groups. Tabor was founded in the rural countryside of Bohemia, populated by an impoverished working class, Under the leadership of Jan Zizka, and the influence of Jan Hus and Bishop Nicholas Biskupec of Pelhrimov, Tabor was able to establish itself as a highly successful military and religious force despite the opposition of the powerful Catholic Church. Tabor promoted literacy in the Bible to its working class members, including women, which set them apart from their …

The Library Of Michael H.R. Tolkien (1920-1984): Dispersal, Reconstruction And Partial Bibliography, Bradford Lee Eden

Journal of Tolkien Research

This article details the dispersal and reconstruction of the library of Michael H.R. Tolkien (1920-1984) and provides a partial bibliography of the known contents of this library.  The author has been collecting the books from Michael's library for a number of years and lists these items along with books owned by other collectors.  It is hoped that this bibliography will add to knowledge regarding the reading and collecting interests of both Michael specifically and the Tolkien family in general, as many of the books were given as gifts by his father, brothers, sister, and others.  This bibliography also adds knowledge …

Increasing The American Commitment To Multilateral Climate Action From The Bottom Up: An Assessment Of U.S. States’ Federally Protected Capacity To Increase Compliance With International Climate Commitments, Brynne H. Robbins

Bates College Undergraduate Law Review

With comprehensive domestic rollbacks to environmental protections, environmental federalism is more important now than ever. Can states’ prerogatives under federalism be channeled into international institutions in a way that affects meaningful change and mitigates the federal government’s inaction? Are states able to elicit greater compliance with the U.S.’s former commitments to international agreements like the Paris Agreement? And how has their sphere of international influence changed under a second Trump administration?

This article will assess the degree to which subnational actors, protected by federalism, can mitigate federal inaction on climate by examining five different ways states have extended their influence …

Beyond Tacit Consent: Rethinking Immigrant Membership In Locke’S Social Contract, Claire A. Orfield

Bates College Undergraduate Law Review

This thesis considers the tension in Locke’s writings between universal natural-rights obligations required of a state and the exclusion of foreigners from the potential to become express consenters, thereby becoming permanent members of a state and receiving more than just baseline legal protection. Although other scholars certainly acknowledge this tension, most of them utilize it to support the abandonment of Locke’s framework of tacit and express consent altogether. This thesis, on the other hand, conducts an immanent critique of John Locke’s theory of consent by demonstrating that his own conceptual framework contains the resources for a more expansive understanding of …

A Constitutional Black Box: Critically Assessing The Constitutional And Algorithmic Implications Of The Netchoice Cases, Sam Merkatz

Bates College Undergraduate Law Review

In 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States jointly heard Moody v. NetChoice, LLC and NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton, cases challenging Florida and Texas statutes that restricted the capacity of social media platforms to moderate content. While remanding the cases, the Court reaffirmed that content moderation and curation qualify as protected expression under the First Amendment. This paper critically assesses the Court's majority opinion and its nonbinding dicta regarding the expressive nature of algorithmic moderation.

Specifically, drawing on Justice Alito’s concurrence in judgement only, this paper argues that the Court fails to account for fundamental differences between traditional …

Public Opinion And State Abortion Policy, Gender, Age, And Ideology: Agreement With Dobbs Vs. Jackson Women’S Health Organization (2022), Jack Mcroberts

Bates College Undergraduate Law Review

No abstract provided.

Chicago, Arbitrary Detention And Torture: An Examination Of Human Rights Violations And Legal Responses Under The Second Trump Administration, Gianna Keuer

Bates College Undergraduate Law Review

This paper uses a human rights-based analysis to explore the legal implications of the second Trump administration’s deportation policies, using frameworks enacted by international legal organizations and state-level bodies. Drawing upon the Convention Against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and established state policies, the paper identifies important jus cogens norms against arbitrary detention and torture. With Chicago serving as a case study, the paper explores different avenues that have been employed to counter violations of prohibitions of arbitrary detention and torture, ultimately concluding that state-level policy responses and impact litigation cases serve as a more efficacious …

How Maine Beat Strict Scrutiny, Nicholas Glover Esq.

Bates College Undergraduate Law Review

No abstract provided.

Understanding Government Regulation On Food And The Constitutionality Of Banning High Fructose Corn Syrup For National Defense, Charlotte Bernhard

Bates College Undergraduate Law Review

The following work explores a hypothetical scenario in 2029 where President Gavin Newson  hopes to decrease obesity to increase the number of Americans eligible for the draft. As tensions rise in North Korea, the President considers sending around 200,000 troops to South Korea and Japan, yet with high levels of obesity in the United States, a low number of eligible Americans for deployment may put unnecessary strain on troops. Therefore, the President considers banning high fructose corn syrup-containing products to decrease obesity rates.

This work explores how the President and American government can constitutionally limit foods containing high fructose corn …

An Interdisciplinary, Case Study-Based Approach To Teaching The Un's Sustainable Development Goals, Allison Bellaire, Meghan Mcdonough, Becky Tugman, Julia Sherry, Claire Dancz, Jim Strickland

Land-Grant Press — Teaching Section

Collaborative learning across disciplines can be advantageous. A Creative Inquiry (CI) course paired Animal and Veterinary Sciences and Public Health Sciences students to compete in a Global Solution Competition. This CI challenged the student pairs to develop solutions toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a low-income nation. Course participants reported a deeper understanding of SDGs through collaborating with non-discipline peers, as reflected in survey and focus group findings.

Lost In The Fine Print: A Phenomenological Inquiry Of Adhd, Student Loans, And Scarcity, Gaurav R. Sinha, Lakshya Kadiyan, Leon Banks, Kannappa V. Shetty

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The primary objective of this phenomenological study was to explore the cognitive and affective challenges faced by individuals experiencing ADHD and their student loans, particularly through the lens of “scarcity theory”. We analyzed 250 posts (~86 pages/67,000 words) from an online community on Reddit, where individuals experiencing ADHD shared experiences related to student debt. Thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes in these posts. Four key themes emerged: (1) ADHD and baseline mental bandwidth, highlighting preexisting executive functioning challenges that limit cognitive and affective capacity; (2) demands of student loan debt, which intensify stress through complex repayment systems and …

Exploring Interventions And Policies To Boost Financial Aid Application Completion Rates: An Integrative Review, Stephanie M. Haines

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Applying for financial aid can be a significant hurdle for students who want to attain a college degree. This integrative literature review synthesizes recent studies that explore interventions and policies that seek to increase financial aid application completion rates and related student outcomes. A thematic analysis suggests that interventions can be successful at the individual level, especially for students with marginalized identities, under certain conditions; however, policy shifts are necessary for structural change. Limitations and suggestions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.

Some Promises Are Worth More Than Others: How “Free Community College” Programs Impact Postsecondary Participation, Destinations, And Degree Completion, David Monaghan, Elizabeth Hawke

Journal of Student Financial Aid

“Free college” programs are widespread in American higher education.  They are discussed as addressing college access, affordability, inequality, and skills shortages.  Many are last-dollar tuition guarantees restricted to use at single community colleges.  Using student-level data spanning the transition to college, we investigate how two similar local community college tuition guarantees in Pennsylvania affected college-going outcomes.  We estimate that the Morgan Success Scholarship has large impacts on any college enrollment, community college attendance and associate degree attainment, but also diverts students from four-year colleges and reduces bachelor’s attainment. Meanwhile, we find scant evidence that the Community College of Philadelphia’s 50 …