The Relationship Between Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Experience and Interprofessional Attitudes in Students from Health Professions.

Interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) can be achieved through purposeful interprofessional education of healthcare students within a clinical environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between past participation of students in IPCP with interprofessional attitudes of students, as measured by the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale (IPAS). It further examined differences in IPAS based on profession. A Pearson correlation examined association of IPCP experience with IPAS scores. An analysis of covariance evaluated group differences, with post-hoc tests examining pairwise differences. Participants (n=170) consisted of students from medicine, physical therapy, social work, nursing, and pharmacy. A positive relationship existed for IPAS scores and IPCP experiences for medical students and pharmacy students, but no other profession. Medical students scored lower on interprofessional attitudes when compared with other professions. Further, when controlling for IPCP experience, IPAS scores differed between medical students and all other professions for total score as well as the teamwork, roles and responsibilities subdomain. Results indicate that the volume of IPCP experience may have a relationship with interprofessional attitudes among health professional students. Evidence supports the need for continued strategic curricular design to cultivate interprofessional behaviors in students through implementation of greater amounts of IPCP experiences for students.

Yoga and Cutaneous Functional Unit Recruitment for a Patient with Cervical and Upper Extremity Burn Scar Contracture: Case Report.

Burn scar contracture greatly limits function for burn survivors, particularly when the scarring crosses multiple joints. Previous research has identified fields of skin recruited during single joint motion, called cutaneous functional units (CFU), indicating that impairments may be seen distal to the injured tissue. This case report connects the principles of CFU and yoga-inspired therapy modalities in improving clinical outcomes for a burn survivor. The patient is a 38-year-old male who sustained deep partial-thickness electrical burns to his neck, chest, and bilateral upper extremities, presenting with significantly decreased range of motion. The patient attended physical therapy 4 days a week, where he performed a specific yoga asana program during each session. Outcomes including standard range of motion measures, the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS), and the Neck Disability Index (NDI), which were recorded every 10 sessions. CFUs of cervical extension and shoulder flexion were analyzed via photographs comparing cutaneous position during specified yoga poses and resting anatomical position in standing. Over 30 visits, cervical and shoulder range of motion increased, although the VSS and NDI did not show significant improvement. Yoga poses showed overall cutaneous recruitment distal to the targeted joints, and burned skin was recruited similarly to nonburned skin in positions of stretch. Incorporating multijoint approaches for stretching, like yoga, appears to contribute to improved clinical range-of-motion outcomes when paired with traditional burn-rehabilitation interventions. Yoga poses involving multiple joints align with the principle of CFUs, warranting continued investigation.

The Legal Foundation of Student Dismissal in Professional Education Programs.

Professional education programs are bound to ensuring that their graduates meet both academic and professional standards of performance. These standards are often set through disciplinary expectations, professional associations, accrediting bodies, and/or licensure. Due to the association of post-graduate sanctions of licensed providers with professional conduct issues at the pre-licensure or pre-graduate level, academic programs should be concerned with modeling, monitoring, and assessing these standards of their students. However, literature suggests that professional programs are not always acting on their concerns of student performance in these domains due to concern of legal action. Therefore, the purpose of this commentary is to offer a synopsis of the legal foundations and guiding principles that support the decision-making of professional education programs and its faculty. With proper structure and guidance though interpretation of existing case law, professional education programs are best positioned to not only evaluate cognitive ability, but also non-cognitive behaviors and professional expectations of students in their professional education programs.