Overactive Bladder Symptoms in Female Health Profession Students: Bladder Diary Characteristics and Impact of Symptoms on Health-Related Quality of Life.

INTRODUCTION: There is limited information on overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms, their association with bladder irritants, or the effect of OAB on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in young women. We evaluated these issues in a group of young female health profession students. METHODS: All female students (n = 964) attending a university in the Pacific Northwest were recruited via email or an in-person informational meeting to participate in this descriptive cross-sectional study. Outcome measures included the OAB-questionnaire, a 4-day bladder diary, and a demographic questionnaire. OAB was diagnosed if a participant reported an average of at least one episode of urgency per day on the bladder diary. Participant characteristics, bladder diary results, and HRQoL were compared using chi square, Fisher's exact test, and t-tests. RESULTS: With a response rate of 21.2%, the average participant age was 25.5 years and 21.7% of participants were identified as having OAB. Participants with OAB consumed more caffeine (mean [standard deviation [SD] 2.0 [1.5] vs. 1.5 [1.2], p = 0.016), more carbonated beverages (mean [SD] 0.5 [0.6] vs. 0.3 [0.5], p = 0.047), more total units of bladder irritants (mean [SD] 3.1 [2.0] vs. 2.1 [1.6], p = 0.002), and had significantly worse HRQoL (p = 0.001) than those without OAB. No differences were found for other parameters measured. CONCLUSION: Participants with OAB consumed more bladder irritants than participants without OAB. Future research should address larger groups of young women from different backgrounds, as well as other factors or characteristics that could be associated with OAB.

Preparing physical therapy students for the role of clinical educator: a case study report.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this case report was to describe an innovative model for transforming physical therapist students into clinical instructors with the use of a pro bono clinic. This model may assist other academic programs in creating effective approaches to transition entry-level students into future quality clinical instructors. PARTICIPANTS: Third year physical therapist students served as clinical instructors for second year students. METHODS: Peer and self assessments were collected to assess intended objectives. RESULTS: Second year students were made more aware of the role of the clinical instructor and were able to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical teaching and third year students appreciated the impact of clinical teaching and increased their desire to become clinical instructors in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Student self and peer assessments reveal that this experiential model is an effective way of transitioning entry-level physical therapist students into the role of clinical instructor.

A survey of current physical therapy practices in wound care.

Few standardized treatment protocols are available to guide physical therapists through the rapidly changing area of wound care. To assess current physical therapy practices and to determine relationships between specific demographic data and evaluation/intervention techniques utilized in wound care, a questionnaire was developed that used a Likert scale (1 to 5) for responses, offering choices from "always" to "never." The questionnaire was sent to physical therapists at 170 clinical sites used by the University of Mary Program in Physical Therapy in Bismarck, ND. The final return rate was 48.1%. The most commonly used evaluation and intervention techniques were determined. Use of the rubor of dependency test, sharp debridement, enzymatic debridement, compression dressings, and autolytic debridement was found to have a significant (P < .05) relationship to the reported percentage of compromised wound care patients in a clinician's practice; whereas, years of clinician experience has a significant (P < .05) relationship to the use of monofilament testing and the use of electrical stimulation. Reasons for the differences observed, including the role of guidelines, need to be explored.