Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Education Prescription: Exploring The Potential Of Patient Education To Reduce Mental Health Issues In Hormonal Contraceptive Users, Maria Abraham

Nursing | Senior Theses

The many birth control options available impact a woman’s life, as hormonal contraceptives are commonly used but often misunderstood. These contraceptives, which contain progestin only, or estrogen and progestin combined, can come in various forms such as pills, implants, IUDs, injections, the vaginal ring, and skin patches. They offer benefits such as reduced menstrual cramps and ectopic pregnancy risk. However, they may lead to adverse side effects which can include increased blood pressure, nausea, headaches, breakthrough bleeding, and a higher risk of blood clots, with research indicating a potential link between oral contraceptive use and a decline in the user’s …

Bridging Mental Healthcare, Kristin L. White

MSN Capstone Projects

Nurses have an important role in the care given to mental health patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Without expectations or encouragement toward growth or continued education, the quality of care and the therapeutic ability for care are crippled, as evidenced by nurses' knowledge/competency deficits and negative attitudes. Through ongoing/continued education, the cultivation of a therapeutic culture toward patients that present to the ED for mental health complaints could result. Additionally, these improvements in care, in turn, could promote not only the closure of gaps that exist for quality mental healthcare but may also lead to an increase in …

Medical Schools Ignore The Nature Of Consciousness At Great Cost, Anoop Kumar

Journal of Wellness

The essential question of the relationship between consciousness and matter is ignored in medical school curricula, leading to a machine-like view of the human being that contributes to physician burnout and intellectual dissatisfaction. The evidence suggesting that the brain may not be the seat of consciousness is generally ignored to preserve the worldview of the primacy of matter. By investigating new frameworks detailing the nature of consciousness at different levels of hierarchy, we can bring intellectual rigor to a once opaque subject that supports a fundamental reality about our experience: We are human beings, not only human bodies.

Improving Suicide Risk Management In Military Primary Care, John A. Hoyos

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Background: In the military, completed suicides and attempt rates have risen across the services since 2001 by 82% per 100,000 in spite of various intervention programs. The literature suggests that absent and inadequate suicide assessments may be part of the problem. Primary care providers are often not prepared for risk assessment and management of suicidal patients.

Aim/Purpose of Project: The project sought to improve the consistency of providers in conducting adequate risk assessments and providing crisis hotline information to patients who were cleared to return home after an encounter, as required by NPSG 15.01.01.

Project Plan Process: This evidenced-based project …

Leadership Considerations For Executive Vice Chairs, New Chairs, And Chairs In The 21st Century., Elisabeth J.S. Kunkel, Jon A. Lehrmann, Michael J. Vergare, Laura Weiss Roberts

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

The need to fulfill academic goals in the context of significant economic challenges, new regulatory requirements, and ever-changing expectations for leadership requires continuous adaptation. This paper serves as an educational resource for emerging leaders from the literature, national leaders, and other “best practices” in the following domains: 1. Mentorship; 2. Faculty Development; 3. Promotion; 4. Demonstrating value in each of the academic missions; 5. Marketing and communications; and 6. Barriers

Psychometrics Of The Scale Of Attitudes Toward Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration: A Study With Medical Students., Mohammadreza Hojat, John Spandorfer, Gerald A. Isenberg, Michael J. Vergare, Reza Fassihi, Joseph S. Gonnella

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Despite the emphasis placed on interdisciplinary education and interprofessional collaboration between physicians and pharmacologists, no psychometrically sound instrument is available to measure attitudes toward collaborative relationships.

AIM: This study was designed to examine psychometrics of an instrument for measuring attitudes toward physician-pharmacist collaborative relationships for administration to students in medical and pharmacy schools and to physicians and pharmacists.

METHODS: The Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration was completed by 210 students at Jefferson Medical College. Factor analysis and correlational methods were used to examine psychometrics of the instrument.

RESULTS: Consistent with the conceptual framework of interprofessional collaboration, three underlying …

Supporting Clubhouse Members In Their Role As Parents: Necessary Conditions For Policy And Practice Initiatives, Beth Hinden, Toni Wolf, Kathleen Biebel, Joanne Nicholson

Joanne Nicholson

OBJECTIVE: Given that the majority of adults with mental illness are parents, it is likely that a substantial number of members in the Clubhouse community are parents. Supporting members in their role as parents presents meaningful, philosophical and practical challenges for both individual Clubhouses and the Clubhouse movement. Supporting parents within the Clubhouse, however, is a necessary and logical step, consistent with the Clubhouse emphasis on rehabilitation and recovery. The current study explored the conditions necessary for supporting members in the parenting role in an existing Clubhouse. METHODS: A grounded-theory, ethnographic approach was used to collect data from multiple stakeholders …

Family Options For Parents With Mental Illnesses: A Developmental, Mixed Methods Pilot Study, Joanne Nicholson, Karen Albert, Bernice Gershenson, Valerie Williams, Kathleen Biebel

Joanne Nicholson

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to provide a description of Family Options, a rehabilitation intervention for parents with serious mental illnesses and their children focusing on recovery and resilience, and to report the findings from a pilot study at 6-months post-enrollment for participating mothers. METHODS: A developmental design, and mixed quantitative and qualitative methods facilitate an in-depth understanding of Family Options and its impact on parents early in the implementation process. RESULTS: Participating families faced significant challenges, including long-term mental health conditions in adults, and emotional and behavioral difficulties in children. Data from mothers (n = 22) demonstrate …

The Invisible Children's Project: Key Ingredients Of An Intervention For Parents With Mental Illness, Beth Hinden, Kathleen Biebel, Joanne Nicholson, Liz Mehnert

Joanne Nicholson

This study used a collective case study design to identify key ingredients of the Invisible Children's Project, an intervention program for families in which a parent has a mental illness. Data were obtained from interviews with parents and service providers, and from family file records. Qualitative analyses were used to generate hypotheses regarding key ingredients and targeted outcomes, and to develop a testable intervention model. Key ingredients were defined as core processes, essential services, and mediators. Strong convergence across parents and providers suggested core processes defined by family-centered, strengths-based, emotionally supportive, and comprehensive approaches; essential services including family case management, …

The Devil Is In The Third Year: A Longitudinal Study Of Erosion Of Empathy In Medical School., Mohammadreza Hojat, Michael J. Vergare, Kaye Maxwell, George Brainard, Steven K. Herrine, Gerald A. Isenberg, John Veloski, Joseph S. Gonnella

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

PURPOSE: This longitudinal study was designed to examine changes in medical students' empathy during medical school and to determine when the most significant changes occur.

METHOD: Four hundred fifty-six students who entered Jefferson Medical College in 2002 (n = 227) and 2004 (n = 229) completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy at five different times: at entry into medical school on orientation day and subsequently at the end of each academic year. Statistical analyses were performed for the entire cohort, as well as for the "matched" cohort (participants who identified themselves at all five test administrations) and the "unmatched" …

Academic Performance Of Psychiatrists Compared To Other Specialists Before, During, And After Medical School., Frederick S. Sierles, Michael Vergare, Mohammadreza Hojat, Joseph S. Gonnella

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to compare psychiatrists with other physicians on measures of academic performance before, during, and after medical school.

METHOD: More than three decades of data for graduates of Jefferson Medical College (N=5,701) were analyzed. Those who pursued psychiatry were compared to physicians in seven other specialties on 18 performance measures. Analysis of covariance was used to control for gender effect.

RESULTS: Compared to other physicians, psychiatrists scored higher on measures of verbal ability and general information before medical school and on evaluations of knowledge and skills in behavioral sciences during medical school, but they scored lower …