Defining a set of common interprofessional learning competencies for health profession students.

INTRODUCTION: Increasingly recognized as a core component of contemporary health profession education, interprofessional learning outcomes remain difficult to define and assess across disciplines. The aim of this study was to identify a single set of interprofessional learning competency statements with relevance to all health professions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Six national and international interprofessional competency frameworks were reviewed and combined to give a total of 165 competency statements. Following a process of mapping and grouping these statements into common content areas, duplicate content was removed. In addition, content deemed as a core competency for one or more individual health professions was removed. A round table of experts reviewed the remaining statements and agreed a final set of eight. Each statement was expressed as a specific learning outcome that could be assessed and which described behaviors and practices that students could routinely expect to engage with, and participate in, during the course of their study. CONCLUSION: Identifying specific interprofessional competencies that students of all health professions require will enable more effective implementation of interprofessional learning activities and assessment within the core curriculum.

Bilateral cavernous sinus thrombosis following community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection: a case report and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES: We describe a case of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) skin infection leading to bilateral cavernous sinus thrombosis (CST) and subsequent left eye blindness in a previously healthy, immunocompetent woman. A secondary objective is to document all published cases of MRSA induced CST. DATA SOURCE AND STUDY SELECTION: To identify all relevant publications on MRSA-induced CST in adults. RESULTS: Seven publications were included in this review describing patients age 19 or older. Together, with the case included in this publication, a total of 8 cases of MRSA induced CST have been documented since 2003. Of interest, to our knowledge this is the first reported case of CA-MRSA CST temporally associated with nasal H1N1 vaccination. CONCLUSION: In selecting empiric antibiotic coverage for septic CST, the practitioner should use antibiotics that are active against CA-MRSA to help prevent morbidity and mortality.