Evaluation of a staff training programme to reimplement a comprehensive health assessment.

Background: Health information systems with applications in patient care planning and decision support depend on high-quality data. A postacute care hospital in Ontario, Canada, conducted data quality assessment and focus group interviews to guide the development of a cross-disciplinary training programme to reimplement the Resident Assessment Instrument-Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS) 2.0 comprehensive health assessment into the hospital's clinical workflows.

Use of Standardized Assessment Tools to Improve the Effectiveness of Palliative Care Rounds: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

Background: Optimal care for patients in the palliative care setting requires effective clinical teamwork. Communication may be challenging for health-care workers from different disciplines. Daily rounds are one way for clinical teams to share information and develop care plans for patients.

Comparison of physical therapy anatomy performance and anxiety scores in timed and untimed practical tests.

Students in health care professional programs face many stressful tests that determine successful completion of their program. Test anxiety during these high stakes examinations can affect working memory and lead to poor outcomes. Methods of decreasing test anxiety include lengthening the time available to complete examinations or evaluating students using untimed examinations.

Extinction of care-induced vocalizations by a desensitization routine on a palliative care unit.

Vocalizations during care occur frequently in patients with dementia, and are not uncommon in the palliative setting. Underlying trigger factors may include pain during movement, fear of being turned, startle reflex, attempts at verbal communication, environmental factors such as cold water, and other possible etiologies. A case of a 92 year old female who screamed and called out during bathing is presented.