Objective. To evaluate the impact of a single, half-day interprofessional education (IPE) simulation on disclosing medical errors, and to compare the impacts on pharmacy students with those on students from other health professional programs. Methods. A mixed methods approach was used to provide a comprehensive understanding of the immediate and persistent outcomes of a realistic medical error disclosure simulation. Anonymous preand post-simulation quantitative data were collected using a validated attitudinal survey instrument administered at the time of the simulation. To assess more sustained impacts of the simulation, uniprofessional focus groups were held several months following the simulation. Results. The survey analysis showed that a significant positive change in attitudes towards teamwork, roles and responsibilities occurred in students in most of the professions represented, with pharmacy students experiencing positive changes across a wider range of interprofessional attitudes. The focus group results showed that there were persistent impacts across all professions on learners' knowledge, skills, attitudes, and confidence in disclosing medical errors in interprofessional teams. Conclusion. Mixed methods analysis of a high-fidelity IPE error disclosure simulation demonstrated that single IPE activities, if realistic, can have significant positive impacts on students' interprofessional attitudes and competencies, and increase confidence in conducting team-based error disclosures.
State, public, academic, and special libraries are conducting and publishing the results of studies aimed at showing the value of their services and resources. Librarians must be prepared and proactive so when asked to justify budget allocations they have the tools to show their library's value and understand the importance of expressing value in terms familiar to the administrators. By identifying stakeholders and obtaining their buy in, librarians can turn data into evidence of the organization's return on investment (ROI) in the library. ROI is a powerful tool to use when establishing credibility, accountability, and evidence demonstrating the library's value.
The objective of this paper is to describe the focus group process used with hospital librarians in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Southwest Region (NN/LM/PSR), in order to illustrate how focus groups can be effectively used in the library setting to plan programmes around identified needs. This paper explores the focus group methodology, a qualitative research technique, by discussing why it is used and the process involved in its use. Aspects of the methodology that are discussed include participant selection, question development, data analysis, and use of results in programme planning. The focus group findings assisted NN/LM/PSR in understanding the needs of hospital librarians related to integrating electronic resources into library services. The focus group data were used to determine the forum, content and speakers for a day-long symposium and subsequent planning meeting. The use of the focus group technique to assess the needs of a specific group on a specific issue resulted in activities and programmes that met these needs successfully. Based on the experiences detailed in this paper, the authors are confident that focus groups are an effective tool for programme planning, needs assessment and decision-making for all types of libraries.
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