Use of the Online Discussion Board in Health Professions Education: Contributions, Challenges, and Considerations.

Online discussion boards offer opportunities for individualized and interactive learning in higher education and are frequently used in health professions education. This article investigates the ways in which discussion board activities foster cognitive and affective domain learning among health professions students and contribute to the professional competencies that are required of emerging clinicians. In addition, pedagogical challenges, including the need to develop sophisticated interpersonal affective domain skills, promote problem-based learning, and prepare students for standardized examinations, are addressed.

Usability and Efficacy of Neurologic Digital Case Studies to Promote Clinical Decision-Making Skills Among Physical Therapist Students.

Unlabelled: Clinical decision-making (CDM) is essential to professional competency but remains a difficult concept to teach and learn. The purpose of this study was to assess usability and efficacy of digital case studies for development of CDM skills within the neurologic physical therapy curriculum.

Method: A two-part pilot study was designed to: 1) examine the usability and perceived efficacy of digital case studies; and 2) examine the efficacy of case studies upon student CDM skill development.

Developing Affective Domain Learning in Health Professions Education.

The delivery of effective 21st-century multidisciplinary healthcare requires that clinicians focus on patient needs and concerns and are able to communicate compassionately and appropriately so that patient-practitioner trust is engendered. To develop interpersonal skills among healthcare providers, health professions education programs must build student competencies in the affective domain of learning. This paper seeks to investigate the efficacy of some of the contemporary strategies used to present and assess affective domain learning in health professions education, including the think-pair-share technique, reflective journaling, simulation and role play, motivational interviewing, and structured controversy.

A Pivotal Study of Optoacoustic Imaging to Diagnose Benign and Malignant Breast Masses: A New Evaluation Tool for Radiologists.

Purpose To compare the diagnostic utility of an investigational optoacoustic imaging device that fuses laser optical imaging (OA) with grayscale ultrasonography (US) to grayscale US alone in differentiating benign and malignant breast masses. Materials and Methods This prospective, 16-site study of 2105 women (study period: 12/21/2012 to 9/9/2015) compared Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) categories assigned by seven blinded independent readers to benign and malignant breast masses using OA/US versus US alone. BI-RADS 3, 4, or 5 masses assessed at diagnostic US with biopsy-proven histologic findings and BI-RADS 3 masses stable at 12 months were eligible.