Interprofessional collaboration requires that health professionals think holistically about presenting concerns, particularly for multimodal problems like sexual dysfunction. However, health professions students appear to receive relatively little sexual health education, and generally none is offered on an interprofessional basis. To assess current degree of interprofessional thinking in sexual health care, 472 health professions students in Georgia, United States, were presented with a sexual dysfunction vignette and asked to rate the relevance of, and their familiarity with, interventions offered by several professionals. They also were asked to identify the most likely cause of the sexual dysfunction. Students rated relevance and familiarity with interventions as highest for physicians and lowest for dentists, with higher ratings of nurses by nursing students. More advanced students reported greater familiarity with mental health, physician, and physical therapy interventions. Finally, nursing students were less likely to attribute the dysfunction to a physical cause. These findings indicate that students may prioritize biomedical approaches in their initial assessment and may need additional supports to consider the spectrum of biopsychosocial factors contributing to sexual functioning. To encourage interprofessional critical thinking and prepare students for interprofessional care, sexual health curricula may be improved with the inclusion of interprofessional training. Specific recommendations for curriculum development are offered.
Recognizing the impact of healthcare professional (HCP) burnout has led to vigorous interest from organizations and individuals regarding how to most effectively promote HCP well-being. The present paper reviews the literature on HCP well-being and describes factors that impact well-being at various levels (i.e., system, institution, program, interpersonal, and individual). We propose that change must occur at all levels to have the greatest impact. Further, we highlight opportunities to advance research on HCP well-being (e.g., being more inclusive regarding study populations and designing longitudinal intervention studies).
This study applied the Stress/Health Model to examine a novel approach for promoting stress management among 67 caregivers of persons with multiple sclerosis, who often face unique caregiving challenges. Hierarchical regressions indicated that caregiver distress (i.e., emotional burden) and engagement in other health-promoting activities (i.e., controlling alcohol use) were the best predictors of caregiver stress management. Communication with the MS care recipient's health provider about caregiver engagement in health-promoting activities was associated with caregiver stress management, but not significantly more so than explained by the other factors (i.e., caregiver distress and engagement in health-promoting behaviors). A more controlled study would be indicated to further explain how to encourage, within the medical setting, caregiver engagement in self-care activities.
Background and Objectives: The Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD) Physician Wellness Task Force released a comprehensive Well-Being Action Plan as a guide to help programs create a culture of wellness. The plan, however, does not offer a recommendation as to which elements may be most important, least resource intensive, or most feasible. This study sought to identify the most essential components of the AFMRD’s Well-Being Action Plan, as rated by expert panelists using a modified Delphi technique.
Methods: Sixty-eight selected experts were asked to participate; after three rounds of surveys, the final sample included 27 participants (7% residents, 38% MD faculty, 54% behavioral science faculty).
Results: Fourteen elements were rated as essential by at least 80% of the participants. These components included interventions at both the system and individual level. Of those elements ranked in the top five by a majority of the panel, all but one do not mention specific curricular content, but rather discusses the nature of a wellness curriculum.
Conclusions: The expert consensus was that an essential curriculum should begin early, be longitudinal, identify a champion, and provide support for self-disclosure of struggles.
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