Anthony J. Silvagni, D.O., Pharm.D., M.Sc., FACOFP dist., who serves as dean at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM), was recently selected as a Fulbright senior specialist scholar. The Fulbright Specialists Program, created in 2000 to complement the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, promotes linkages between U.S. academics and professionals and their counterparts at universities abroad. The program is designed to award grants to qualified U.S. faculty and professionals, in select disciplines, to engage in short-term collaborative two- to six-week projects at higher education institutions in over 100 countries worldwide.
 
Dr. Silvagni is the third NSU-COM administrator to be accorded this honor.

 



Lakeside Medical Center recently welcomed 10 residents from across the country to its new Family Medicine Residency Program. Lakeside Medical Center was accredited earlier this year by the American Osteopathic Association to offer the new program at a time when Palm Beach County, and particularly the rural area of the county known as “The Glades,” is seeing a critical shortage of primary care physicians. The program is funded by a $900,000 grant from the State of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration and will train a total of 15 residency positions over three years.
 
Nearly 80 people attended the event hosted by Lakeside Medical Center and one of its community partners in the program, Nova Southeastern University, College of Osteopathic Medicine. In a moving ceremony, residents one by one donned their white doctor’s coats which were presented to them by Nikerson Geneve, DO, Family Medicine Residency Program Director and Director of Medical Education for Lakeside Medical Center. In his remarks, Dr. Geneve encouraged the residents to always strive for the best in their futures as medical professionals.
 


The road to becoming a physician includes extensive training and development. For medical students from Nova, their journey continues at Bethesda.
 
Teaming up with Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Bethesda Memorial Hospital is providing the clinical setting for 12 medical students during their last two years of medical school. The class of 2013 will be completing their third and fourth year core rotations at Bethesda.
 
Bethesda Memorial Hospital has trained Nova medical students for the past six years. The students will have one- and two-month rotations with members of Bethesda’s Medical Staff in both hospital and office settings. The areas of rotation include: internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatric ER, outpatient pediatrics, family medicine, surgery, psychiatry, geriatrics and emergency medicine.


Prince William and his new bride made headlines when they used a defibrillator to revive a human patient simulator (HPS) at the 21st Century Research and Innovation Centre in Calgary, Alberta on their recent trip to Canada.
 
While you don’t expect to see the royal couple in such a context, simulators are also beginning to be seen in new places. Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale is using the teaching tool normally found in nursing schools to develop skills, update skills and evaluate competency among nurses.
 
Simulator use has become increasingly prominent in highly complex work environments where the consequences of error are costly. The HPS is to the nurse what a flight simulator is to a pilot. As technology advances, simulations have become more realistic to offer a high fidelity instrument providing a realistic clinical environment with an interactive “patient.”
 
Many hospitals and nursing schools find that simulation training is effective and also increases positive patient outcomes. This is in no small part due to its ability to replicate a real-life emergency. By creating a realistic environment, simulation allows nurses to practice techniques as well as learn to communicate better under stress, instill teamwork and manage human reaction in the heat of the moment.
 
In a study published in Computers Informatics Nursing in January 2010, V.M. Howard et al. tested the educational impact of HPS versus interactive case studies among students from baccalaureate, accelerated baccalaureate, and diploma nursing programs. Students in the HPS group scored significantly higher on the examinations after the experience than did the interactive case study group.
 
Our experience with HPS at Holy Cross began in 2007 when we borrowed a simulation from Broward College and ran a "code blue day" in an empty patient room. The response was so positive that Holy Cross Medical Group purchased a HPS which now resides in a room dedicated to running simulations.
 
The Laerdal SimMan® has pre-programmed patient responses with the ability to add more. At Holy Cross, we are currently utilizing the HPS to mimic code blue and code rescues. In addition to increasing a nurse’s comfort level when facing his or her first code blue, our goal is for all of our nurses to recognize the signs of a declining patient and to support critical care nurses called to respond to code blue alerts outside their areas.
 
We have replaced the didactic module of the nurse residency program with a four-hour simulation that runs our nurses through code blues and code recues to define their roles, expectations and the health care they should provide. The simulation lab is also open to night shift nurses, those most likely to experience these codes, from midnight to 4 a.m. at scheduled times throughout the year. Plans for the future are to increase the use of simulation to develop and implement evidence based practice as it relates to the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of critically ill patients. 


We have all heard the saying “learning is a life-long process.” This is especially true in today’s complex and challenging healthcare environment. Recently there has been high interest regarding the importance of professional development or continuing education for healthcare managers. Although most professional groups within healthcare fields require at least some minimum level of CE activities in order to maintain a minimum level of competency for practice, continued licensure, and re-certification, there is no formal requirement that healthcare management executives obtain CE. However, based on a nationally representative survey of hospital CEOs, conducted in 2009 by Stephen Walston and Amir Khaliq, it was found that a majority of hospital CEOs viewed CE as being increasing important and on average, obtained about 45 hours of CE each year. Although the reasons for seeking CE are varied, the participating hospital CEOs reported that their primary reasons for seeking CE were (1) to understand the changes occurring within the field, (2) to stay current with new developments, and, (3) as a way to solve problems.
 
Professional growth and development is critical in healthcare administration. The profession has become more difficult with changing regulations, technological advances, and increased demands. Healthcare organizations must demonstrate constant learning and development of their managers to meet current and future demands to provide accessible, integrated, effective, patient-centered, and error-free health services. Organizations attempt to achieve professional development of their managers through different continuing education means, such as financially supporting formal degree and/or self-study programs, or providing on-site training, skills building workshops, job rotations, and hands-on experiences.
 
Appropriate continuing education and professional development benefit organizations by allowing for individual growth, longer tenure, and planned successions, which all further the entities’ strategic goals.
My colleagues and I recently published our findings regarding the participation of healthcare managers in professional development activities, the reasons for seeking professional development and the perceived support of their organizations. We found that across all settings, position, age, gender and perceived organizational support, individuals seek professional development which suggests that managers recognize the value associated with continuing education and engage in these activities in the absence of employer reimbursement. However, our study’s findings also suggested that women healthcare managers are less likely to pursue professional development activities than their male counterparts even when the outcome is associated with career advancement and salary increases. Further, men are more likely than women to attend multiple continuing education programs when paying out of pocket.
 
The decision to participate in professional development activities is voluntary and therefore intrinsic to the individual’s professional functioning, or professionalism. The appreciation of lifelong learning was identified by Peter Drucker over forty years ago as a characteristic of the knowledge worker, i.e., workers who own the means of production: their own brainpower. The knowledge healthcare manager appreciates that learning and work are not distinct and that success means not only keeping current with developments in the field but also keeping personal knowledge, skills and competencies current through professional development. In addition, healthcare organizations must actively promote, facilitate, and reward the development of their managers. For only with a knowledgeable workforce will healthcare organizations succeed in meeting the healthcare demands of today and in the future.
 
Since most professional development is voluntary, healthcare managers must choose to participate in continuing education activities. This choice to participate is influenced by organizational as well as personal/professional factors. At the macro level, an organization needs to provide the organizational support that facilitates continuous professional development or life-long learning among its managers.
The value an organization places in investing in their employees’ personal and professional development has been shown to be a significant factor why individuals participate in continuing professional education. At the micro level, individuals must value, commit and seek opportunities for personal and professional growth. Professional affiliation and recognition may play a significant role in shaping an individual’s personal values towards professional development. Research has shown that reinforcement by significant others, such as employers and other professionals, of previous professional development is a strong motivator for future development through continuing education activities.
 
With increasing demands to redesign the overall U.S. health delivery system, healthcare leaders must assure that both individuals and organizations possess the requisite traits to adapt and respond. Successful adaptation will require continuous professional and organizational growth. Healthcare managers need to remain current, updating their knowledge, skills and competencies. Likewise, organizations must “learn” to adapt and respond as well as to support the development of managerial staff.