Evaluation of Interprofessional Education on Effective Communication Between Pharmacy and Physician Assistant Students.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) on student self-perceived competencies and perceptions of interprofessional (IP) communication and teamwork in a clinical case review activity. TeamSTEPPS is an evidence-based curriculum that is used to enhance and support IP healthcare communication. METHODS: A repeated-measures, pretest/posttest study evaluated physician assistant students' and student pharmacists' perceptions of TeamSTEPPS. Students completed Performance Assessment for Communication and Teamwork (PACT) surveys, evaluating teamwork, knowledge, attitudes, and skills perceptions before and after a TeamSTEPPS lecture and associated activity with peer feedback. RESULTS: Overall, 87.4% (n = 429) completed pre- and post-PACT surveys. Apart from the Mutual Support domain (p = .898), all changes were significantly positive (p < .004), with the greatest improvements occurring in the Attitudes and Perceived Skills domains. CONCLUSION: TeamSTEPPS IP education, application, and peer feedback improved students' perceptions of multiple domains, including effective communication. Using TeamSTEPPS tools in IP formats enabled the students to safely practice and collaborate in preparation for clinical practice.

MDM2 polymorphism, survival, and histology in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer.

PURPOSE: MDM2 is a negative regulator of p53. The MDM2 309T/G polymorphism has been associated with differential MDM2 expression levels and inhibition of the p53 pathway. We hypothesized that the MDM2 G/G genotype may be associated with worse survival outcomes in lung cancer, especially in squamous cell cancers where p53 abnormalities are more common. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated the relationship between MDM2 polymorphism status and overall survival (OS) among patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with surgical resection at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1992 to 2000. Kaplan-Meier methods and the log-rank test were used to compare survival by polymorphism status. Cox proportional hazards models were used to adjust for possible confounding variables. RESULTS: There were 383 patients in the analysis. In the early-stage population as a whole, the G/G genotype seemed to be associated with worse OS on adjusted analysis (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.57; 95% CI, 1.03 to 2.40; P = .04). Among patients with squamous histology, OS was significantly worse among those with the G/G genotype (P = .0001 by log-rank test), with 5-year survival rates among the genotypes of 59% for T/T, 53% for T/G, and 7% for G/G. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the G/G genotype of the MDM2 polymorphism is associated with worse OS among early-stage NSCLC patients, particularly those with squamous cell histology.