This article reports the findings of a survey-based study conducted in 2006 to determine graduating dental hygiene students' attitudes toward ethical dilemmas in eight areas of practice: substandard care, overtreatment of patients, scope of practice, fraud, confidentiality, impaired professionals, sexual harassment, abuse, and health status. The findings, based on responses from 1,165 students at 141 U.S. dental hygiene programs, indicate that many dental hygiene students do not understand what behaviors in the patient care environment are consistent with ethical practice and which are not. Responding students believed that hygienists have a strong duty to report, intercede, or educate in areas of abuse, sexual harassment, detection of cancer, and smoking cessation. However, they were less likely to report concerns about ethical transgressions such as fraud, inadequate infection control, exceeding practice scope, and failure to diagnose disease when such disclosures could potentially threaten their employment status. Based on the results, we recommend that dental hygiene programs explore curriculum enhancements to improve students' comprehension of what constitutes fraud and other ethical transgressions and the proper reporting mechanisms.
The aims of this study were to investigate the feasibility of an experiential learning initiative led by minority exercise science undergraduates and to observe the adaptations after a 10-week high-intensity functional training (HIFT) program in 34 underrepresented, hypertensive, and overweight/obese professional firefighters (PFF; age: 36.8 ± 11.0 years, body weight: 97.3 ± 21.5 kg, height: 181.7 ± 6.6 cm; BMI: 29.2 ± 4.9 kg/m2). Data were analyzed for muscular strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, body composition, agility, flexibility, and readiness for change. The PFFs trained two to three times weekly during their work shifts at vigorous intensity for 40 min. Their resting diastolic blood pressure and resting heart rate significantly decreased. Improvements in agility, muscular strength, and readiness for change were observed. This HIFT experiential learning initiative was feasible and beneficial and improved the PFFs’ health and physical fitness with limited resources. Accredited programs in exercise science participating in low-cost initiatives may aid in mitigating public service workers’ compensation and injury rates to better respond to occupational demands.
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