Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Procedural Memory Following Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Group Performance And Individual Differences On The Rotary Pursuit Task, Arianna Rigon, Nathaniel B. Klooster, Samantha Crooks, Melissa C. Duff

Arianna Rigon

The impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on procedural memory has received significantly less attention than declarative memory. Although to date studies on procedural memory have yielded mixed findings, many rehabilitation protocols (e.g., errorless learning) rely on the procedural memory system, and assume that it is relatively intact. The aim of the current study was to determine whether individuals with TBI are impaired on a task of procedural memory as a group, and to examine the presence of individual differences in performance. We administered to a sample of 36 individuals with moderate-severe TBI and 40 healthy comparisons (HCs) the rotary …

Assessment Of Work-Integrated Learning: Comparison Of The Usage Of A Grading Rubric By Supervising Radiographers And Teachers, Andrew Kilgour, Peter W. Kilgour, Tania Gerzina, Beverly J. Christian

Peter Kilgour

Introduction

Professional work-integrated learning (WIL) that integrates the academic experience with off-campus professional experience placements is an integral part of many tertiary courses. Issues with the reliability and validity of assessment grades in these placements suggest that there is a need to strengthen the level of academic rigour of placements in these programmes. This study aims to compare the attitudes to the usage of assessment rubrics of radiographers supervising medical imaging students and teachers supervising pre-service teachers.

Methods

WIL placement assessment practices in two programmes, pre-service teacher training (Avondale College of Higher Education, NSW) and medical diagnostic radiography (Faculty of …

General Practitioners' Use Of Different Cardiovascular Risk Assessment Strategies: A Qualitative Study, Carissa Bonner, Jesse Jansen, Shannon Mckinn, Les Irwig, J. Doust, Paul Glasziou, Andrew Hayen, Kirsten Mccaffery

Jenny Doust

Objectives: To identify factors that influence the extent to which general practitioners use absolute risk (AR) assessment in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment. Design, setting and participants: Semi-structured interviews with 25 currently practising GPs from eight Divisions of General Practice in New South Wales, Australia, between October 2011 and May 2012. Data were analysed using framework analysis. Results: The study identified five strategies that GPs use with patients in different situations, defined in terms of the extent to which AR was used and the reasons given for this: the AR-focused strategy, used when AR assessment was considered useful for the …

Issues Related To Sentinel Lymph Node Assessment In The Management Of Breast Cancer—What Are Relevant In Pathology Reports?, Patricia Tai, Kurian J. Joseph, Edward Yu

Edward Yu

Most cancer centers now perform sentinel node (SN) biopsies. The limited number of SNs sampled compared with an axillary dissection has allowed more comprehensive lymph node analysis resulting in increased detection of micrometastases. Many node-negative cases are now reclassified as micrometastatic. Recent research on SN biopsy focuses on whether axillary dissection is always necessary when the SN is positive. Some subgroups of patients have a higher risk of more nodal metastases when completion axillary dissections were performed. This paper summarizes the different studies and examines what are the clinically relevant items to report on SN node pathology: volume or size …

Improving Risk Assessment With Suicidal Patients: A Preliminary Evaluation Of The Clinical Utility Of The Scale For Impact Of Suicidality - Management, Assessment And Planning Of Care (Sis-Map), Charles Nelson, Megan Johnston, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Although a number of suicide risk assessment tools are available to clinicians, the high levels of suicide still evident in society suggest a clear need for new strategies in order to facilitate the prevention of suicidal behaviors. The present study examined the utilization of a new structured clinical interview called the Scale for Impact of Suicidality Management, Assessment and Planning of Care (SIS-MAP). SIS-MAP ratings were obtained from a group of incoming psychiatric patients over a 6-month period at Regional Mental Health Care, St. Thomas, Ontario. A canonical discriminant function analysis resulted in a total 74.0% of original grouped cases …

Longitudinal Diagnostic Efficiency Of Dsm-Iv Criteria For Obsessive–Compulsive Personality Disorder: A 2-Year Prospective Study, Carlos M. Grilo, Andrew E. Skodol, John G. Gunderson, Charles A. Sanislow, Robert L. Stout, M. Tracie Shea, Leslie C. Morey, Mary C. Zanarini, Donna S. Bender, Shirley Yen, Thomas H. Mcglashan

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

Objective: To examine the longitudinal diagnostic efficiency of the DSM-IV criteria for obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD).

Method: At baseline, criteria and diagnoses were determined using diagnostic interviews, and blinded assessments were performed 24 months later with 550 participants. Diagnostic efficiency indices (conditional probabilities, total predictive power, and kappa) were calculated for each criterion determined at baseline, using the independent OCPD diagnosis at follow-up as the standard.

Results: Longitudinal diagnostic efficiencies for the OCPD criteria varied; findings suggested the overall predictive utility of preoccupied with details, rigid and stubborn, and reluctant to delegate.

Conclusion: These findings suggest the predictive validity of …