Shawn Davis

Designing research with hospice and palliative care populations.

Research in palliative care and hospice populations is important for improving quality of care, quality of life, and provider understanding of individuals at the end of life. However, this research involves many potential challenges. This review seeks to inform and assist researchers targeting to design studies targeting hospice and palliative care patients by presenting a thorough review of the published literature. This review covers English-language articles published from 1990 through 2009 listed in the PsycInfo, Medline, or CINAHL research databases under relevant keywords. Articles on pediatric hospice were not included. Issues discussed include study design, informed consent, and recruitment for participants. Synthesized recommendations for researchers in these populations are presented.

A 1-Day Course to Improve the Teaching Effectiveness of Health Professions Faculty Members

Objective. To determine the effect of a 1-day teaching-methods course for pharmacy and nursing faculty members on teaching proficiency and perceptions of effective teaching. Design. A 1-day teaching-methods course was created and presented to 12 pharmacy and nursing faculty members. Participants’ teaching sessions were video-recorded pre- and post-course. Assessment. A panel of educators evaluated pre- and post-course video-recorded teaching presentations to assess teaching effectiveness. Participants completed pre- and post-course self-evaluations and surveys. Panelists’ assessments confirmed significant improvement in 7 of 10 domains. Perceptions of teaching efficacy and proficiency to teach effectively improved after completion of the course. Conclusion. A 1-day teaching-methods course, requiring minimal resources, is a valuable development resource that can improve teaching effectiveness through enhanced communication and teaching techniques. Because effective teaching is positively correlated with students’ learning, training seminars can be integral to comprehensive quality improvement.