Curriculum Revision: Student Stress and Lessons Learned.

Background: Curricular revision and engaging students in learning are important aspects of preparing students for a complex health care environment. The purpose of this study was to identify student perceptions of active learning practices incorporated into the junior year of a new curriculum.

Method: A descriptive qualitative design using focus group interviews for data collection was used to explore student perceptions of stress, engagement, and self-directed learning in an active learning environment.

Ripples from a stone skipping across the lake: a narrative approach to the meaning of Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurogenetic disorder that has a 50% inheritance rate. The ability to have 100% confirmation of the illness became a reality with the discovery of the gene in 1993. The effect of confirmatory testing and the issues faced by the individual and the family facing diagnosis have not been addressed.