Objectives: The objective was to evaluate the association between hospital census variables and emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS). This may give insights into future strategies to relieve ED crowding.Methods: This multicenter cohort study captured ED LOS and disposition for all ED patients in five hospitals during five 1-week study periods. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine associations between ED LOS and various hospital census parameters.Results: Data were analyzed on 27,325 patients on 161 study days. A significant positive relationship was demonstrated between median ED LOS and intensive care unit (ICU) census, cardiac telemetry census, and the percentage of ED patients admitted each day. There was no relationship in this cohort between ED LOS and ED volume, total hospital occupancy rate, or the number of scheduled cardiac or surgical procedures. Conclusions:In multiple hospital settings, ED LOS is correlated with the number of admissions and census of the higher acuity nursing units, more so than the number of ED patients each day, particularly in larger hospitals with busier EDs. Streamlining ED admissions and improving availability of inpatient critical care beds may reduce ED LOS.ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2009; 16:597-602 ª

We thank Alan Fiske and several anonymous reviewers for very helpful suggestions. We also thank Chris Camp and Jane Zaretzke for their assistance with data collection and coding.

The early stage of partner selection is conceptualized as a decision-making process amenable to at least two types of influence: contextual and procedural. An example of contextual influence is the asymmetric dominance effect. According to this effect, introduction in a twoperson field of eligibles of a third eligible, who is domi nated (i.e., is inferior) on an attribute by the first eligible but not by the second one, will tip the scale toward selecting the first eligible. An example of procedural influence is the prominence effect. According to this effect, participants will be more likely to select in choice rather than in matching the eligible who is superior on an attribute important to the participants. On the other hand, participants will be more likely to select in matching rather than in choice the eligible who is superior on an attribute unimportant to the participants. Two experiments demonstrated these contextual and procedural influences.

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At a time when higher education is undergoing great challenges and diminished public support, the civically engaged university holds the promise of reclaiming the meaning and the purpose of higher education, where contributions toward promoting democratic public life through research and education become central institutional priorities. The civically engaged university that takes its scholarly leadership seriously is one that is committed to higher education as an institution within the public sphere and whose mission is to embrace difficult questions about our values and responsibilities, about our past, present, and future, about our differences and alternative worldviews, and about enhancing democracy and inclusion. This piece takes this charge seriously as the authors outline what educational scholarship should or could be as scholars move toward educational policy—related scholarship in the civically engaged university.

To validate a scale to assess pediatric providers' resuscitation and escalation of care selfefficacy and assess which provider characteristics and experiences may contribute to self-efficacy. METHODS: Cross-sectional cohort study performed at an academic children's hospital. Pediatric nurses, respiratory therapists, and residents completed the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and Pediatric Resuscitation Self-Efficacy Scale (PRSES) as well as a survey assessing their experiences with pediatric escalation of care. RESULTS: Four hundred participants completed the GSES and PRSES. A total of 338 completed the survey, including 262 nurses, 51 respiratory therapists, and 25 residents. Cronbach a for the PRSES was 0.905. A factor analysis revealed 2 factors within the scale, with items grouped on the basis of expertise required. Multiple logistic regression analyses controlling for GSES score, number of code blue events participated, number of code blue events activated, number of rapid response team events participated, number of rapid response team response events called, performance on a knowledge assessment of appropriate escalation of care, and years of experience demonstrated that PRSES performance was significantly associated with GSES scores and number of escalation of care events (code blue and rapid response) previously participated in (R 2 5 0.29, P , .001). CONCLUSIONS: The PRSES can be used to assess pediatric providers' pediatric resuscitation selfefficacy and could be used to evaluate pediatric escalation of care interventions. Pediatric resuscitation self-efficacy is significantly associated with number of previous escalation of care experiences. In future studies, researchers should focus on assessing the impact of increased exposures to escalation of care, potentially via mock codes, to accelerate the acquisition of resuscitation self-efficacy.