Neal Whitman

A Study of a Self-Care Rehabilitation Program in Pediatric Asthma

The Self-Care Rehabilitation in Pediatric Asthma (SCRPA) project was designed to ascertain (1) the level to which children with asthma are able to acquire the asthma knowledge and skills presented in a self-management training program conducted by the American Lung Association of Utah and (2) the effect of such training on the asthma experience. The preschool SCRPA Curriculum (ages 2-5) consisted of six 1-hour classes scheduled twice a week for 3 weeks. The first and last classes were for one or both parents only, and the middle four sessions were for the child and parent(s). The school-age SCRPA curriculum (ages 6-14) consisted of eight 90-minute classes for both child and parent(s) scheduled twice a week for 4 weeks. Private physicians referred 21 preschool children and 38 school-age children into the program. The school-age children were randomly assigned to a study or control group, and the preschool children served as their own controls. A comparison of asthma episodes during the 3 months before and after training showed a statistically significant decrease in the number of episodes but no change in severity in the preschool, school study, and school control groups. The decrease in episodes for the control groups suggest that the family record keeping required of all subjects may have a beneficial effect, a phenomenon worth further investigation. Also, the school-age group, in pre- and posttesting, demonstrated that the SCRPA curriculum increased knowledge and skills in the study group, changes not found in the control group.

A management skills workshop for chief residents.

A needs assessment was used to plan a national workshop on management skills for chief residents. Of replies from 1,256 residency programs, 50 percent of the respondents reported a high likelihood of attending such a workshop. The three skills that the respondents considered should be given high priority in such a workshop were giving feedback, delegating duties, and building teamwork. Based on these responses, the author designed and conducted a two-day workshop in June 1987 that was attended by 180 chief residents from 138 programs in 21 specialties from 36 states. Each skill was taught by presenting a lecture and a small-group exercise to apply the skill; these small groups were led by trained faculty members. The participants rated the workshop as 4.21 (on a 5-point scale in which 5 = very helpful). The workshop will be offered annually.

Evaluation of a Model Clinical Therapeutics Curriculum for Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner Education in the United States

In response to broadly increased prescription privileges of physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) in the United States and the need for training programmes to effectively teach and document the competencies of their students in clinical therapeutics, seven regional health science centers formed a consortium to construct a clinical therapeutics model curriculum. The consortium designed a problem-based curriculum with objectives matched to cases designed to reflect three levels of responsibilities commonly delegated to PAs and NPs: (1) initiating and managing therapy, (2) monitoring and following up care, and (3) delivering emergency care. A survey on training programmes that had access to the model curriculum indicates that it has been helpful to them and their students and that the c should be offered in other content areas.

Book/Video reviews

Fluids and Electrolytes: A Conceptual Approach. By E. Kinsey M. Smith, 1991, New York: Churchill Livingstone,

The physician as teacher

19.75. Making Presentations (Video) and Making Presentations (Guidebook). Edited by Jane Westberg and Hilliard Jason, 1991, Boulder, CO: Center for Instructional Support,

Student stress : effects and solutions

150 (video),

Residents As Teachers: A Guide to Educational Practice

15 (guidebook). Bulk rates are available for the guidebook.