#chapters 2 and 3 will be coming on an approximately weekly basis

[lavenderteacat]

return, return, return to me - a Witch Hat Atelier fic. 19k total, 7.6k for chapter 1.

The end begins on a beautifully average day, the kind that Qifrey has started tucking away as fond memories before they’re even over, knowing that there can’t be all that many more. OR: Qifrey finds himself trapped in a timeloop he created when trying to find a way to spare Olruggio’s memories. Getting out turns out to be more difficult than he’d ever imagined.

Chapter 1/3 is out!!!

[recentanimenews]

Mitrasphere Beginner's Guide - Quick and Easy Pointers to Get Started

  Written by Mist and Aramitz

  Introduction

  Are you looking for a guide to help you navigate Mitrasphere’s vast and diverse content? There are numerous things to do in Mitrasphere, and you may be wondering what you should be focusing on first.

  This guide aims to provide new players with quick and easy pointers to help optimize your start and allow you to power up swiftly.

  This guide will also give you some tips surrounding combat mechanics to help you feel more comfortable about participating in more advanced content, but we’ll try our best not to overload you with information right off the bat!

  We hope you will find this resource useful and wish you a pleasant read!

    Table of Contents:

Part 1

Starting Your Journey (0 - 1,000 CP)

Advancing the Story (1,000 - 15,000 CP)

Part 2 (COMING SOON)

    Starting Your Journey (0 - 1,000 CP)

  3. Selecting Your Job

    In Mitrasphere, there are a total of five different Jobs to choose from and swap between. There is no best class, and each class plays a distinct role in a party! 

  Swordsman - The king of burst damage and giant swords. The Swordsman is primarily known for its dangerously ruthless single-target damage, sometimes forsaking its defensive capabilities to dish out extreme damage. The Swordsman can also use Magic Twin Blades, allowing them to dish out magic damage with powerful combos.

  Mage - The Mage excels at powerful area-of-effect damage. Where the Swordsman stands king against a single target, the Mage stands alone at dishing high damage to all targets. The Mage also benefits from being able to quickly build up their Dragonkin Gauge, enabling them to burst targets down in swift succession.

  Archer - The Archer is key to bringing the maximum potential of your party out. As a support class that boasts massive buffs and debuffs, as well as bringing some damage to the party, your team will love you for making battles much easier on both the offensive and defensive fronts.

  Cleric - The core party support. A Cleric is needed to upkeep your party's health and cleanse debuffs. This is a mandatory class for difficult content and can also provide buffs, debuffs, and revives.

  Guardian - The defensive wall of the party. A frontline class that is essential for difficult content. The Guardian takes the heat for the party and even helps mitigate the damage everyone else receives. 

  4. The Equipment Grid System

    Mitrasphere supports an equipment grid system as opposed to your standard character ability system in RPGs. To develop your character, you must obtain weapons, armor, and accessories. 

  At the start of your journey, you will be able to equip 10 weapons, 2 armor pieces and 3 accessories in your main equipment grid. 

  Additionally, you may also add 10 weapons, 10 armor pieces, and 10 accessories to your support grid purely for stats and elemental bonuses. As you progress through your journey and obtain more power, you may also add up to 5 more support weapons to your Advanced Support grid for additional stats.

  Please note that your support grid is mainly for stats and elemental bonuses and you will not be able to use your support weapons during combat. 

    Advancing the Story (1,000 - 15,000 CP)

  1. Unlocking Further Content Through Story Completion

  As you continue to uncover the story of Mitrasphere, you will come across points where things may get tough and find yourself in need of stronger gear. It is recommended to complete the various events to help power yourself up, which we will cover more in depth in a later section. But to begin with, we suggest farming Crimson Seeds in Guerrilla to level up your weapons.

    As your Combat Power increases, you will want to specialize in a main Job and obtain gear specific to that Job. Below are the recommended chapters to farm class-specific armor and accessories early on. (Note: These chapters can be cleared on Normal or Hard.)

    Job

Recommended Passives

Chapters

Swordsman      

Physical Damage Dealt UP   

1-6 or 10-6

Mage

Magic Damage Dealt UP

3-6 or 11-2

Archer

Evasion UP

4-6, 7-6, or 9-6

Cleric

Ally HP Recovery UP

11-10 or 13-7

Guardian

Defense UP

5-6 or 12-6

    It is highly recommended to focus on these chapters especially when your daily 100% co-op bonus is active for that chapter to acquire additional Jade Seeds. Eventually, you will want to obtain multiple copies of your gear for limit breaking.

  Please note that if you are looking to farm a specific set of 3-star gear, Hard Mode stages drop the same items as their Normal Mode equivalent but benefit from a higher drop rate. Generally speaking, that makes them a good source for Jade Seeds as well, with more players farming them to get their own equipment

    2. Understanding Core Progression Avenues

a. How Combat Power Unlocks Content

  Combat Power is a key value meant to reflect your progress as well as determine what level of content you can participate in. As you increase your Combat Power, you’ll unlock more content and avenues to further increase your strength. Various event stages open up at different power levels, and you’ll be able to tackle Expert Mode once completing the Hard Mode of a chapter. But keep in mind, power is not everything as some of the toughest stages in the game will restrict your stats down to a stated Combat Power, making it difficult to simply brute force your way through some content! Prepare for difficult challenges regardless of your power.

  b. Powering Up Efficiently

    Starting from approximately 5,000 CP, you may find that keeping your Combat Power up to match what’s required of the Main Story becomes increasingly difficult if you only rely on rewards from clearing chapters.

  The daily occurring Guerrilla event will be your go to at this point and will definitely give you a much needed boost. Guerrilla can be accessed from the Events menu, and is available for one hour at a time, four times a day. It includes four levels of difficulty, and each one gives the added bonus of Sea Crystals for your first clears.

  Its main point of interest, however, are the 2,250 Crimson Seeds per clear of the Advanced stage, which you can enter starting from 5,000 Combat Power. You do not need to worry about being able to clear it by yourself as you’ll find yourself teamed up with others during each run with co-op enabled, and each attempt will zoom by quickly.

  The fourth difficulty, labelled “Extreme”, gives 30,000 Crimson Seeds per run, but requires 30,000 CP to enter and typically requires a full team to complete, including a Cleric and Guardian due to its difficulty. If you are able to clear it within a reasonable amount of time, it will definitely be worth it once you’ve reached its power requirements.

  With the Crimson Seed Guerrilla, you will be able to level both your main and support weapons relatively quickly and get a good amount of Combat Power out of it. By spending around 75,000 Crimson Seeds in early-game weapons, you can level them from level 20 to level 30 or so, and find yourself going from around 5,000 CP to 8,000 CP without a huge time investment.

  Farming Crimson Seeds continues to prove to be a worthwhile opportunity even once your weapons are maxed, as you are able to spend Crimson Seeds on the Crimson Seed Gacha to acquire new weapons for use or for disassembling to obtain Crimson Gems.

  However, please note that Crimson Seed Guerrilla will not drop equipment, and like other event battles, you will not be able to earn Jade Seeds as a co-op bonus.

    The Crimson Seed Guerrilla equivalent for Azure Seeds is a permanent set of events named “Amulet.” You can find them in the Events -> Weekly menu, and each day you will be able to access a different Amulet that drops gear of a specific element.

  Each daily event includes three difficulty levels, the highest being “Advanced,” which you can enter as soon as you reach 5,000 CP. Like the Crimson Seed Guerrilla, you will be automatically matched with other players, and clearing the stage will be easy even with minimal stats. Each clear will grant you 1,125 Azure Seeds.

  Similar to the Crimson Seed Gacha, you will be able to spend Azure Seeds to pull on the Azure Seed Armor Gach, but for an unlimited number of times. Considering you can get 4-star armor from the gacha, or if you’re particularly lucky +Equipment which come with a 20% boost to base stats, farming Amulets will remain rewarding for a long time to come.

  Lastly, the notably higher-than-average 3-star drop rate means Amulets are a fairly good way to Azure and Jade Gems via dismantling. The gear that drops from Amulets is not recommended to be used as equipment as they are not optimized for any particular Job.

  c. Co-op in Your Daily Bonus Zone for Jade seeds

    When it comes to leveling up accessories, acquiring Jade Seeds can be a bit trickier. Unlike with Crimson and Azure Seeds, there are no events dedicated to farming Jade Seeds, and you’ll instead look towards obtaining them via the Zone Co-Op Bonus.

  Clearing a Main Story stage—whether Normal, Hard, or Expert—with others in your party will earn you Jade Seeds. The more players in your party and the higher the rank difference between you, the higher the bonus will become.

  Each day, you will have one Zone that will grant you a 100% boost to the Jade Seeds you earn via co-op. The designated Zone rotates on a daily basis and is not the same for every player. 

  The optimal Jade Seed farming strategy would be to clear stages in your designated Zone with four others, either by forming a private party or by matching with others automatically. It is typically recommended to farm the 6th stage of each chapter (for example, 2-6), as you’ll often find others farming for their Job-specific gear in those stages due to the increased appearance of monsters which amounts to higher chances to acquire drops.

  Considering Jade Seed farming is likely to be slower than acquiring the other seeds, you are advised to focus on upgrading your main gear before considering support gear for maximum efficiency.

  Like Azure Seeds, if you find yourself with an abundance of Jade Seeds, you might consider pulling the Jade Seed Gacha to try your hand at some 4-star accessories. However, please note that 4-star accessories can be farmed fairly easily later in the game once you are able to tackle Expert content, so you are not advised to make this gacha your priority early on. 

  d. General Tips on What Not to Spend Your Resources On

  Keep skill levels for last as gems are hard to obtain and should only be used on gear you will keep for an extended period. Please note that skill levels only affect gear equipped in main slots. Support items do not benefit from an increased skill level.  

Don’t upgrade your accessories too much until you are able to obtain powerful 4-star accessories from the Nekia Trader, the shiny Search spots on the map, or from bosses (Expert / Grand Battle / Extra Battle).  

Any armor or accessory below 3-star should not be upgraded as you may easily obtain these from farming.  

Weapons below 3-star should not be upgraded extensively as you will eventually be able to get 3-star and above weapons for your Job.

  e. Searching Shiny Map Spots

    Have you noticed those shiny spots across the map? Those are called search spots! Clicking them will reward you with a random assortment of goodies, from elemental Pearls that you may redeem at the Nekia Trader to powerful 4-star rainbow accessories. Here is a list of the best places to search for 4-star rainbow accessories based on your class:

  Job

Recommended Accessory

Zones

Swordsman     

Master Scroll

Trading Post (Day) Sanctuary Interior (Day)

Mage

Star Record

Jobari Forest (Day) Jobari Forest (Night) Mt. Stardust Summit (Night)

Archer

Evil-Warding Amulet

Jobari Village (Day) Goddess’s Forest (Night Edol Town (Day)

Cleric

Scapular

Fairy Forest (Day) Fairy Forest Depths (Night) Edol Plains (Day)

Guardian

Guardian’s Cup

Goddess’s Forest (Day) Mt. Stardust Mountain Trail (Night)

  f. Limited-Time Events

  In addition to the permanent avenues of farming, there are always a plethora of events occurring in Mitrasphere. Keep an eye out for them because these events are a great opportunity to reap additional rewards.

  At the moment, we can split limited-time events into a few categories:

    First, Mitrasphere hosts a series of side events where you can enjoy some fun story bits and face stages with relatively low CP requirements. These events will include great rewards for your first clears, including Sea Crystals, and will be your chance to gain exclusive equipment to spruce up your wardrobe. 

  The equipment that drops from these events aren’t typically recommended to be used as your main or support gear as they are more for cosmetics. They are also a decent source of Azure and Jade Gems, allowing you to level up the skills of your main equipment.

    Second are the more challenging events: Grand Battles. Grand Battles revolve around a specific boss. These battles are interesting even for relatively new players, as they will generally include mechanics that can be found in later Expert content, while still being reasonably easy to clear, at least for the first couple difficulties. 

  Like other events, rewards for your first clears are generous, but it can also be very rewarding to farm them for their 4-star armor and accessories. As they offer interesting rewards in a limited time frame, you will be able to find other players to group with quite easily.

    Lastly, Extra Battles are similar to Grand Battles in terms of challenge, except you will fight a boss you can already encounter in the Main Story Expert stages. While they are only available at specific times of the day, similar to the Crimson Seed Guerrilla, they are a great way to benefit from a high drop rate of Job-specific 4-star accessories, and a high concentration of players waiting for a group.

  That’s it for Part 1 of this guide. Stay tuned for Part 2 which will dive into the later stages of the game and mechanics!

  In the meantime, if you have questions about the gameplay or are looking for players to group up with to tackle content, hop on over to the unofficial community Discord!

By: Guest Author

[kristinsimmons]

The Step 1 Score Reporting Change – A Step in the Right Direction for IMGs?

By TALAL HILAL, MD

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1, a test co-sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), has been the exam that people love to hate. For many years, blogs, Twitter feeds, and opinion pieces have been accumulating urging the presidents of the FSMB/NBME to stop reporting a 3-digit score and instead report a pass/fail score. This animosity towards the Step 1 exam originates from the reality that medical schools have increasingly focused their curriculum on teaching what the Step 1 wants you to learn – medical trivia that almost always has no bearing on how to approach a clinical problem.

This “Step 1 Madness” is unhealthy. The reasons for its existence are many: residency and fellowship programs allow it to exist by idolizing higher scores, some believe it is a metric that can predict future quality of care, board pass rates, etc. And some are naïve enough to think that what is tested on the Step 1 is actually useful medical knowledge! It may be due to a combination of the above that the Step 1 has found itself in such a peculiar spot. However, the emphasis on the Step 1 score means that medical students’ fate is being determined by a single test. Nobody wants their fate to be so unmalleable.

Those who were writing vehemently against a 3-digit score rejoiced when the FSMB/NBME announced on February 12 that the Step 1 will finally become a pass/fail test as early as January 2022!

My initial reaction was mixed. I have always felt that Step 1 was the single most important factor in securing a residency interview. The announcement made me think of my path to residency training in the U.S. As an international medical graduate (colloquially referred to as an “IMG”), I went from learning how to shave to becoming a medical student seemingly overnight. For a 17-year-old, medical school felt like American college but without the arts and history, and with frequent visits to the cadaver lab. For various reasons that I will not bore you with, I decided to pursue residency training in the U.S. This meant I had to buy a copy of “First Aid for the USMLE Step 1” – the holy book within which all medical trivia resides. My medical school, being Irish, could not care less about the USMLE, so I was on my own.

I would study the lectures given by my medical school professors and then find their corresponding chapters in the Step 1 books. Little did I know, I was supplementing my medical school curriculum by adding an American twist to it. The Krebs cycle did not only have a rate-limiting step catalyzed by isocitrate dehydrogenase; it was a much more important phenomenon characterized by 8 steps that I now had to memorize. I felt empowered by my knowledge of minutiae. Coupled with my medical schools’ emphasis on physical examination skills, I felt like I had the best of both worlds.

I spent a few sleepless nights before the Step 1 test thinking about what would happen if I failed? Where would I go for my medical training? As an IMG, I was already at a disadvantage with only 50-60% of all IMGs matching. This test, in my mind, had the potential to increase my chances of making it to the U.S.

But did it?

I did well, nothing earth shattering, but certainly a competitive score for an Internal Medicine residency spot at the time. I then took the Step 2 CS and passed. I pursued a clinical elective in the U.S and was able to secure a letter of recommendation from the attending with whom I worked – a short paragraph and a half saying I’m good with patients, or something to that effect. I applied for the residency match without having my Step 2 CK result and did not get a single interview. I thought I had a strong application.

I was devastated. I relied too much on the Step 1 and it got me nowhere.

With the Step 2 CK score added to my profile, I was officially certified by the Educational Commission of Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).  I tried my chances again the following year, received a few interviews and matched! I went on to complete a fellowship in hematology and oncology and the rest, as they say, is history.

For me, what made a difference was the Step 2 CK. Nothing else changed in my application within a year. I remained without scholarly or extracurricular activity (unless you count finishing a 30-hour video game on a weekly basis an extracurricular activity). I still wonder how I made it, and whether I would have invited myself for an interview if I were in the program directors’ shoes reviewing my application.

When I first heard of the announcement to change the Step 1 scoring to pass/fail, I had my reservations, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it may be a blessing in disguise for many IMGs. Sure, those who score 2 SDs above the mean on their Step 1 will be at a disadvantage; they will not stand out anymore, but that will be the case for all applicants – IMGs and non-IMGs alike.

I know of a few IMG colleagues whose scores were off the charts (260 and above) and it seemed that that alone was the catalyst for a steady stream of interview invitations. But I know of more IMGs who took 1-3 years after graduating medical school just to study for the Step 1, many of whom never had the guts to take the exam for fear of scoring low and never matching. A pass/fail test means that this panic-inducing hurdle will be removed. IMGs can focus on the Step 2 CK, which is more relevant anyway, and maybe spend time reading Tolstoy instead of memorizing the names of the rotator cuff muscles and their insertion site on the humeral head.

So, the next logical question is – What will happen to IMGs when this goes into effect?

The answer, I speculate, is nothing. Programs that interview IMGs do so because they need them and/or like them, and maybe to advertise that they are more inclusive and diverse. IMGs represent 25% of licensed physicians in the US, many of whom are working in underserved communities that are not as attractive to American physicians to live and work in. These areas are so desperate for physicians that they have provided incentives for IMGs in the form of tracks for permanent residency in exchange for their service. With the physician shortages driven by an aging population, IMGs will always be needed as long as they pass the Step 1.

It is important to remember that a substantial proportion of programs do not interview or rank IMGs – approximately 40%, no matter how high they score on the Step 1. They don’t, of course, advertise that but we IMGs know who they are.  IMGs applying to these programs will be filtered out by virtue of their IMG status. Nothing will change there.

For IMGs, the Step 2 CK was always important, and since it will remain numerical, it is likely that it will become more important; until test takers take to the street to change it to pass/fail when “Step 2 CK Madness” ensues.

The average IMG Step 1 score is similar to that of a non-IMG. This means that IMGs that stood out have done so not because of the Step 1, but through scholarly activity and U.S clinical experience (i.e. electives). I admit, attaining these new medals can be difficult in places where an infrastructure for research does not exist, and where medical schools limit where and how many electives a student can have, let alone allow them to travel to the U.S. for extended periods of time to work with Dr. Jones (name is made up) at Johns Hopkins University. Funding mechanisms or loan options are limited in countries from which the majority of IMGs come from (e.g. India, Caribbean, Pakistan, Mexico). Nevertheless, many IMGs spend exorbitant amounts of money doing observerships after medical school that have little to no value while they study for their Step 1 aiming for that 260. Those IMGs can now take the test earlier, and spend their money doing electives in medical school.

This announcement is a disruption that has the potential to facilitate improvements in the residency/fellowship program selection processes, and perhaps medical school curricula. It will disadvantage test takers who score 2 SDs above the mean on the Step 1, but that is the trade-off to create a system with one less faulty metric to filter students. 

I Tweeted “If the Step 1 was a pass/fail when I took it, I most likely wouldn’t be where I am today.” All the “Likes” and engagement I received were from IMGs. I may have used hyperbole in that statement, but I suppose the essence of it holds true. Where would any of us be if it wasn’t for some metric or achievement that society collectively decided to value? I just hope that the next metric that comes along is truly valuable.

The post The Step 1 Score Reporting Change – A Step in the Right Direction for IMGs? appeared first on The Health Care Blog.

The Step 1 Score Reporting Change – A Step in the Right Direction for IMGs? published first on https://wittooth.tumblr.com/

[lauramalchowblog]

The Step 1 Score Reporting Change – A Step in the Right Direction for IMGs?

By TALAL HILAL, MD

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1, a test co-sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), has been the exam that people love to hate. For many years, blogs, Twitter feeds, and opinion pieces have been accumulating urging the presidents of the FSMB/NBME to stop reporting a 3-digit score and instead report a pass/fail score. This animosity towards the Step 1 exam originates from the reality that medical schools have increasingly focused their curriculum on teaching what the Step 1 wants you to learn – medical trivia that almost always has no bearing on how to approach a clinical problem.

This “Step 1 Madness” is unhealthy. The reasons for its existence are many: residency and fellowship programs allow it to exist by idolizing higher scores, some believe it is a metric that can predict future quality of care, board pass rates, etc. And some are naïve enough to think that what is tested on the Step 1 is actually useful medical knowledge! It may be due to a combination of the above that the Step 1 has found itself in such a peculiar spot. However, the emphasis on the Step 1 score means that medical students’ fate is being determined by a single test. Nobody wants their fate to be so unmalleable.

Those who were writing vehemently against a 3-digit score rejoiced when the FSMB/NBME announced on February 12 that the Step 1 will finally become a pass/fail test as early as January 2022!

My initial reaction was mixed. I have always felt that Step 1 was the single most important factor in securing a residency interview. The announcement made me think of my path to residency training in the U.S. As an international medical graduate (colloquially referred to as an “IMG”), I went from learning how to shave to becoming a medical student seemingly overnight. For a 17-year-old, medical school felt like American college but without the arts and history, and with frequent visits to the cadaver lab. For various reasons that I will not bore you with, I decided to pursue residency training in the U.S. This meant I had to buy a copy of “First Aid for the USMLE Step 1” – the holy book within which all medical trivia resides. My medical school, being Irish, could not care less about the USMLE, so I was on my own.

I would study the lectures given by my medical school professors and then find their corresponding chapters in the Step 1 books. Little did I know, I was supplementing my medical school curriculum by adding an American twist to it. The Krebs cycle did not only have a rate-limiting step catalyzed by isocitrate dehydrogenase; it was a much more important phenomenon characterized by 8 steps that I now had to memorize. I felt empowered by my knowledge of minutiae. Coupled with my medical schools’ emphasis on physical examination skills, I felt like I had the best of both worlds.

I spent a few sleepless nights before the Step 1 test thinking about what would happen if I failed? Where would I go for my medical training? As an IMG, I was already at a disadvantage with only 50-60% of all IMGs matching. This test, in my mind, had the potential to increase my chances of making it to the U.S.

But did it?

I did well, nothing earth shattering, but certainly a competitive score for an Internal Medicine residency spot at the time. I then took the Step 2 CS and passed. I pursued a clinical elective in the U.S and was able to secure a letter of recommendation from the attending with whom I worked – a short paragraph and a half saying I’m good with patients, or something to that effect. I applied for the residency match without having my Step 2 CK result and did not get a single interview. I thought I had a strong application.

I was devastated. I relied too much on the Step 1 and it got me nowhere.

With the Step 2 CK score added to my profile, I was officially certified by the Educational Commission of Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).  I tried my chances again the following year, received a few interviews and matched! I went on to complete a fellowship in hematology and oncology and the rest, as they say, is history.

For me, what made a difference was the Step 2 CK. Nothing else changed in my application within a year. I remained without scholarly or extracurricular activity (unless you count finishing a 30-hour video game on a weekly basis an extracurricular activity). I still wonder how I made it, and whether I would have invited myself for an interview if I were in the program directors’ shoes reviewing my application.

When I first heard of the announcement to change the Step 1 scoring to pass/fail, I had my reservations, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it may be a blessing in disguise for many IMGs. Sure, those who score 2 SDs above the mean on their Step 1 will be at a disadvantage; they will not stand out anymore, but that will be the case for all applicants – IMGs and non-IMGs alike.

I know of a few IMG colleagues whose scores were off the charts (260 and above) and it seemed that that alone was the catalyst for a steady stream of interview invitations. But I know of more IMGs who took 1-3 years after graduating medical school just to study for the Step 1, many of whom never had the guts to take the exam for fear of scoring low and never matching. A pass/fail test means that this panic-inducing hurdle will be removed. IMGs can focus on the Step 2 CK, which is more relevant anyway, and maybe spend time reading Tolstoy instead of memorizing the names of the rotator cuff muscles and their insertion site on the humeral head.

So, the next logical question is – What will happen to IMGs when this goes into effect?

The answer, I speculate, is nothing. Programs that interview IMGs do so because they need them and/or like them, and maybe to advertise that they are more inclusive and diverse. IMGs represent 25% of licensed physicians in the US, many of whom are working in underserved communities that are not as attractive to American physicians to live and work in. These areas are so desperate for physicians that they have provided incentives for IMGs in the form of tracks for permanent residency in exchange for their service. With the physician shortages driven by an aging population, IMGs will always be needed as long as they pass the Step 1.

It is important to remember that a substantial proportion of programs do not interview or rank IMGs – approximately 40%, no matter how high they score on the Step 1. They don’t, of course, advertise that but we IMGs know who they are.  IMGs applying to these programs will be filtered out by virtue of their IMG status. Nothing will change there.

For IMGs, the Step 2 CK was always important, and since it will remain numerical, it is likely that it will become more important; until test takers take to the street to change it to pass/fail when “Step 2 CK Madness” ensues.

The average IMG Step 1 score is similar to that of a non-IMG. This means that IMGs that stood out have done so not because of the Step 1, but through scholarly activity and U.S clinical experience (i.e. electives). I admit, attaining these new medals can be difficult in places where an infrastructure for research does not exist, and where medical schools limit where and how many electives a student can have, let alone allow them to travel to the U.S. for extended periods of time to work with Dr. Jones (name is made up) at Johns Hopkins University. Funding mechanisms or loan options are limited in countries from which the majority of IMGs come from (e.g. India, Caribbean, Pakistan, Mexico). Nevertheless, many IMGs spend exorbitant amounts of money doing observerships after medical school that have little to no value while they study for their Step 1 aiming for that 260. Those IMGs can now take the test earlier, and spend their money doing electives in medical school.

This announcement is a disruption that has the potential to facilitate improvements in the residency/fellowship program selection processes, and perhaps medical school curricula. It will disadvantage test takers who score 2 SDs above the mean on the Step 1, but that is the trade-off to create a system with one less faulty metric to filter students. 

I Tweeted “If the Step 1 was a pass/fail when I took it, I most likely wouldn’t be where I am today.” All the “Likes” and engagement I received were from IMGs. I may have used hyperbole in that statement, but I suppose the essence of it holds true. Where would any of us be if it wasn’t for some metric or achievement that society collectively decided to value? I just hope that the next metric that comes along is truly valuable.

The post The Step 1 Score Reporting Change – A Step in the Right Direction for IMGs? appeared first on The Health Care Blog.

The Step 1 Score Reporting Change – A Step in the Right Direction for IMGs? published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

[russellolacher]

CX Storytime Tale of Have Wine, Might Travel https://ift.tt/1jxl24K

Even when travelling to the most beautiful, exotic destinations, an airline can make, or break your experience. As the first and last chapter in your book of adventure, they have the power to change the narrative.

Stay tuned for a story of changed plans, Airline impacts and new opportunities.

This is the Customer Experience Storytime tale of…. Have Wine, Might Travel

And so it begins…

The Story

ACT ONE:

Summer is an amazing time in British Columbia. It’s one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the world. So, it’s no surprise that its own residence take advantage of their own back yard whenever they get a chance.

Over those warm months, Paul and his wife Clarissa decided they needed to do just that. Not only for a vacation but also to take a breath. Clarissa recently learned she’d have to return to treatment for a reoccurrence of the cancer she’s been fighting for the past seven years. And before they returned to that trial, they wanted a little solitude.

Their choice, a 3 day getaway to the Okanagan, an area of lake-dotted communities in the interior of beautiful British Columbia. Their final destination: the Sparkling Hill Luxury Resort Spa in Vernon. They wanted to relax, and they were very serious about it.

To get them there, their choice of airline was based very much on Clarissa’s experience flying. It was to be Pacific Coastal Airlines. Clarissa travelled for work frequently. Almost on a weekly basis between Victoria and Vancouver. And she always loved the flight – something that could be an annoying trial of patience and frustration, but was in fact a journey made so much easier by the airline’s friendly and efficient service. So it had to be them.

Checking in at the gate in Victoria, the Pacific Coastal airline representative at the desk offered them hot drinks and muffins. Paul joked that she must have been up early to bake the goodies and the staff member joked back that she knew he was going to be on the flight so she made the extra effort.

It was a nice moment before they boarded the plane.

ACT TWO:

Upon arriving in the Okanagan and getting settled at the resort. Paul and Clarissa took a well enjoyed wine tour. By well enjoyed, an example would be their need for a nap while being shuttled back to the hotel after partaking in 6 wineries and several samples. They took with them a hearty bounty of 2-4 bottles from each.

This actually isn’t uncommon.

The local area is renowned for its wineries. It’s why a lot of tourists migrate to there over the summer months. As Canada’s 2nd largest wine producer, with more than 60 grape varieties and home to approximately 120 wineries, the Okanagan Valley is a favourite destination for wine lovers.

It was one of the reasons Paula and Clarissa loved travelling there. One of the reasons they didn’t usually partake in the winery adventure was the fact it was difficult to travel with any more than a few bottles. And with so many great wineries, it was a slippery slope when purchasing wine.

The rest of the vacation consisted of long hours of relaxation at the spa, a great way to take their minds off of some of the stresses soon to come.

The following day, feeling refreshed and relaxed, Paul and Clarrisa packed up their suitcases. This is where the wine challenge surfaced. How were they to transport all that wine, safely? Sure they could wrap it up in their shirts and pajamas to cushion against any baggage handling jostling, but what if they break? The only materials for travelling the wineries and wine tour company provided were a few bags and some well worn cardboard boxes. Great for getting the wine to the car but not through checked baggage and across the province.

How were they as tourists, who are just trying to enjoy the number #1 reason people came to the area, going to get their wine bounty home?

ACT THREE:

It’s a good question. And one that didn’t have an answer until a couple of years ago.

Truthfully, Paul and Clarissa were on the fence as to whether they were going to go to any Okanagan wineries at all. They’d been in this situation before and weren’t interested in the stress of trying to get the wine home.

But, remember that Pacific Coastal airline staff member that had joked about baking them muffins?

While she was checking them in, she had asked if they would be visiting any of the wineries around Kelowna. Paul and Clarissa said they thought they would, but truthfully still weren’t sure.

The staff member suggested they take a wine tour and then let them know the airline would provide them with specifically designed boxes, handled with special care, for any wine they brought home.

This clinched it for the couple on deciding whether to do a wine tour or not. The idea of trying to arrange special transport for wine home just seemed too much until she told them of their free service.

So when the couple arrived at the Okanagan airport to travel home, they made their way to the Pacific Coastal desk and were greeted by another friendly staffer who immediately started to bring out proper carrying boxes to transfer their wine in. Each box holding six wine bottles.

And, on the side of each box, there was a note reminding passengers that 50 pounds of their checked luggage always flies for free, and their wine purchases can be included in that, so enjoy the taste of the Okanagan.

Paul and Clarissa looked at each other and smiled when they saw the boxes. Their relaxation got an upgrade by Pacific Coastal airlines.

And that ends the story of… Have Wine, Might Travel

Customer Perceptions

Through the eyes of this customer, let’s look at the emotional impact of this customer experience.

Paul and Clarissa wanted to have, not only a relaxing vacation, but also to enjoy one of the big reasons visitors travel to the Okanagan. Wine!

The spa and the winery tours did their part, but if the airline drops the ball, that’s going to be their last experience of their trip. Not a great final impression. But thankfully that wasn’t the case at all. They were taken care of.

And to extend that feeling, touch point with the airline company, from the muffin lady at the checkin gate to the woman getting their free wine transportation and finally to the pilots themselves.

When Paul and Clarissa were waiting at the gate to come home, the flight crew came out to welcome the passengers –the pilot and co-pilot led them out to the plane and assisted them as they boarded. They were cheerful and friendly as they chatted with Paul, when he asked them how their day had been. This was their last flight of the day.

The pilot shared their daily travels with flights all over BC, but also how grateful they were to be based in Victoria so they could be home with their families every night. Paul’s impression, was that this was like he was talking to a friend rather than feeling like cargo. And that this was a company that has a good relationship with its employees

That’s a great feeling to be left with.

What Worked or Could Have Been Done Better

From this tale, what’s the one thing your business can take away to better serve your customers.

Be a Great Host for your Customers

1) Take every opportunity to welcome your customers – From offering a warm drink and muffins at checkin, to the informal banter between a staff member and Paul to the pilots helping escorting and helping customers with their baggage, make the experience an experience. Rather than transactional. If you provide a service that has moments of downtime or waiting, what can you do to add value?

2) Solve your customers problems – it had long been a challenge for travellers to bring their wine back from the Okanagan. A general manager at Pacific Coastal airlines had recognized they were part of the whole tourism experience to the area so she brought forward the idea of making it easier with this free wine transport service. She told Paul that it seemed obvious to her because that was why so many people flew there. Look at where you fit in your customer’s journey in the larger customer experience, and how you relate to other stops in that journey. Find ways to be thoughtful and help your customers along.

Morale of the Story:

If you help others, then they will also help you

By being thoughtful and helpful to their customers, they are creating an environment that inspires loyalty. As Paul said after this experience, “I would absolutely choose to fly with them over any other airline whenever possible.”

  Keep up to date with the latest stories from the customer journey with the CX Storytime Podcast. iTunes/Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts You can also find the podcast on Spotify, Overcast or wherever you find your shows.

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PSY172 Introduction to Psychological Health and Wellbeing

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PSY172 Introduction to Psychological Health and Wellbeing

1 PSY172 Introduction to Psychological Health and Wellbeing

Unit Information and Learning Guide Semester 2, 2018 This information should be read in conjunction with the online learning materials, which can be found on your MyUnits page. Unit coordinator Dr. Brianne Hastie School of Psychology and Exercise Science 440.1.009 (SS1.009) Brianne.Hastie@murdoch.edu.au This unit guide was originally written by John Gardiner, 2009; revised by Davina French, 2017; Brianne Hastie, 2018. © Published by Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, July 2018 This publication is copyright. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act no part of it may in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or any other means be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or be broadcast or transmitted without the prior written permission of the publisher. 2 Contents Unit information Information about the unit 3 Contact details 5 How to study this unit 7 Resources for the unit 9 Study schedule 10 Assessment 12 Learning guide Tutorial 1 18 Tutorial 2 19 Tutorial 3 20 Tutorial 4 21 Tutorial 5 23 Tutorial 6 24 Tutorial 7 25 Tutorial 8 27 Tutorial 9 29 Tutorial 10 30 Self-Management Project 31 Guide to Project Outline 36 Guide to the Self-Management Project 37 3 Information about the unit Unit description Psychology has an important role in designing systems that make people happy, healthy and productive. This unit will critically examine the concepts of ‘health’, ‘wellbeing’ and ‘happiness’, and will demonstrate how to add quality to people’s lives, through researchguided practice and the application of behaviour change principles. Topic areas include: coping with and overcoming psychological pain and stress, addictions and disabilities; in addition to promoting healthier behaviour in the community. Prerequisites There are no set prerequisite units for this unit but you are expected to be familiar with the basic concepts of science, knowledge of the university library, and the APA style. Aims of the unit The broad aims for this unit are to: 1. Introduce students to traditional and contemporary conceptualisations of health and wellbeing from different psychological perspectives. 2. Introduce students to a research-guided natural science approach to facilitating happier, healthier and more productive lifestyles for individual, specific groups and populations. 3. Provide students with the opportunity to critically evaluate the evidence for the validity and utility of psychological interventions that are applied to a diverse range of socially valid behavioural problems. 4. Provide students with experience in designing, implementing and evaluating a selfmanaged behaviour change program. Learning outcomes for the unit On successful completion of the unit you should be able to: 1. List and describe the key differences between the cognitive /medical disease models and a natural science perspective in understanding and facilitating behaviour change. 2. List and define the principles of behaviour that account for why particular behaviours are maintained, increased or decreased in frequency. 3. Describe the application of the principles of behaviour used to facilitate personal, and community, health and wellbeing. 4. Apply understanding of the basic theoretical and practical behavioural principles for the design, implementation and evaluation of a personal behaviour change program. 5. Report the results of a psychological study using the conventional formats for the discipline. 4 Graduate Attributes of the Australian Undergraduate Psychology Program This unit aligns with the graduate attributes specific to our discipline in the following areas: Graduate Attribute Learning Outcomes 1: Knowledge and Understanding of Psychology  Knowledge and understanding of some core topics as they apply to health psychology, including o biological bases of behaviour o learning o lifespan developmental psychology o motivation o social psychology 2: Research Methods in Psychology  Demonstrate practical skills in laboratory-based and other psychological research.  Describe the key principles for designing, implementing and evaluating programs of behaviour change.  Locate, evaluate and use information appropriately in the research process.  Design and conduct basic studies to address psychological questions 3: Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology  Apply knowledge of the scientific method in thinking about problems related to behaviour and mental processes.  Question claims that arise from myth, stereotype, pseudo-science or untested assumptions.  Evaluate the quality of information, including differentiating empirical evidence from speculation.  Identify and evaluate the source and context of behaviour. 4. Values in psychology  Exhibit a scientific attitude in critically thinking about, and learning about, human behaviour.  Promote evidence-based approaches to understanding and changing human behaviour. 5: Communication Skills in Psychology  Write a standard research report using American Psychological Association (APA) structure and formatting conventions. 6: Learning and the Application of Psychology  Describe health psychology  Apply psychological concepts, theories, and research findings to solve problems in everyday life and in society.  Demonstrate insightful awareness of one’s feelings, motives, and attitudes based on psychological principles. 5 What you need to know Generic information that students need to know is available at the What you need to know web page, which is linked from the unit LMS page. The information includes:  links to the Assessment Policy  a description of Academic Integrity  Information about Examinations; Non-discriminatory language; Student appeals; Student complaints; Conscientious objection and assessment policy  Information on the determination of grades from components/marks  information for equity students Contact details Unit Coordinator’s contact details Dr. Brianne Hastie School of Psychology and Exercise Science 440.1.009 (SS1.009) brianne.hastie@murdoch.edu.au Phone: +61 8 9360 7206 Unit Coordinator’s consultation times The unit coordinator will be available without an appointment at the following times: Thursdays 11.00am – 12.00pm in teaching weeks, by appointment in study breaks. Contact via email, and by appointment at other times. Tutor contact details Wednesday 8.30am, 9.30am, 10.30am, & 1.30pm Trish Cain p.cain@murdoch.edu.au Monday 3.30pm All Tuesday tutes Susana Hernández Díaz Susana.HernandezDiaz@murdoch.edu.au Wednesday 12.30pm Thursday 1.30 & 2.30pm Mirella Wilson mirellawilson@gmail.com 6 Administrative contact details The Psychology and Exercise Science administration team can be contacted on PESadmin@murdoch.edu.au. You can also email them regarding enrolment issues For technical difficulties with Moodle or Echo access contact the IT Service Desk: Email: ITservicedesk@murdoch.edu.au or Phone: 9360 2000 7 How to study this unit This unit requires a regular commitment of time each week to achieve a passing grade:  Read the relevant text book chapters before the weekly lecture (2 hours)  Attend or view the recorded lecture (2 hours)  Review the content by completing the additional readings and online tasks (1 hour)  Prepare and attend your tutorial group (2 hours)  Self-Management project requires weekly tasks (approximately 2 hours) Contact time Lectures – 11 lectures of 2 hours each (Mondays 1.30 – 3.30pm) Tutorials – 10 tutorials of 1 hour each (check your activities timetable) Time commitment As this is a 3 credit point unit, we expect you to spend on average 8-10 hours per week for the total weeks of this teaching period (or 150 hours overall) working on this unit. Attendance requirements Lectures The lectures are scheduled for 2 hours. There is a ten minute break in approximately the middle – between the two topics listed in the schedule below. The lectures will help you to better understand the readings and the unit material. They provide opportunities for added interpretation of the material and examples, as well as a more detailed explanation of the subject matter covered in PSY172. The lectures do not simply repeat the information found in the text book. Attendance is not compulsory and if you do not attend a lecture, Echo recordings will generally be available. However, due to copyright restrictions some video clips that are shown in the “live” lectures will not be made available online. Since this unit is not available for external enrolment, any failures in recording technology will result in the lecture being unavailable. Of the 11 lectures, 6 will be in ECL1, and 5 will be online only. Both in person lectures and online lectures will be available via Echo in LMS. Tutorials There are a total of 10 tutorials, one every week, at 1 hours each. The tutorials start in Week 2. Tutorial places are allocated on a first come first served basis. Placement numbers are administratively set in advance to ensure that the tutorials are well managed for both tutors and students. If you are having difficulties enrolling in a tutorial online, please contact the unit 8 coordinator. Please be aware that changes to class allocations may not be possible in all cases. The tutorials are structured in two parts. The first part is dedicated to a guided discussion of the readings and/or tasks for the specified topics (see study schedule). Your tutor will be asking you to comment on the selected study questions for the relevant topic readings and activities. This is to ensure an equitable process in allocating marks for tutorial participation. The second part of your tutorial is dedicated to your behaviour change self-management project. It is structured progressively so you will be provided with guidance on choosing a feasible project and the know-how to begin data collection for each component stage of your project. Your tutor will also provide you with information on the structure and format for each section of your written report. In essence, you will be working on your project as you go and the write-up is the final outcome. The benefit of doing the self-management project is that you will gain direct experience with applying the principles of behaviour to help a “typical” adult client (namely you) improve their health and well-being. Also your efforts to increase your own healthy behaviours may provide you with insights into the contextual variables that influence whatever it is that you do, and inform how to change whatever it is that you do. Small group and interactive teaching and learning activities Tutorial attendance is very important as more than half of your final grade for this unit is related to activities carried out and/or explained in tutorials. In the end of semester exam you will be assessed on your understanding of the unit material as a whole, so the remaining part of your final grade is directly related to your understanding of the lectures, essential readings and tutorial activities. If you are unable to attend your assigned tutorial group you will need to notify your tutor, who will nominate a time for you to make up your missed tutorial. Unit changes in response to student feedback The unit has developed in scope and student numbers since it commenced in 2009. The student feedback has consistently indicated that the unit is challenging but rewarding in that it deals with issues that will affect all of us at some stage. One of the issues identified early in the unit’s history was the need to get started on the self-management project as early as possible and thus we now have the project outline as a scheduled task. The size and scope of the textbook is often highlighted as a concern, so last year the assessment changed from an essay exam to multiple-choice only, to help you to manage the amount of information that you will need to know. This resulted in higher average final grades and a lower fail rate. 9 Resources for this unit To undertake study in this unit, you will need: Essential textbook Morrison, V., Bennett, P., Butow, P., Mullan, B., & White, K. (2012). Introduction to Health Psychology in Australia (2nd ed). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Publishing. Copies are available in the reserve collection, but note also that the online quiz is an open book test based on the textbook, so if you plan to purchase a copy, it is worth doing so early in the unit. The textbook is also available electronically: Vital Source E-text $60 http://www.pearson.com.au/9781488618192 180 Day Digital Rental $50 http://www.pearson.com.au/9781488659324 Online resources Readings for the tutorials and additional readings to support the text will be located on the LMS. As well as the textbook, there are required readings for some of the tutorials which are located on LMS in a section headed ‘Tutorial Readings’. For the final tutorial, ‘reading’ will be replaced by the requirement to view/listen to selected media broadcasts. For each teaching week there are also one or more resources, often videos, provided on LMS to support your learning. These are not compulsory; they are there to support some of the more difficult concepts, and to provide a break from reading. The following will be provided during the teaching period (technology permitting):  lecture slides on the LMS system  lecture recordings via Echo 360  links to relevant readings on the LMS 10 Study schedule Week (lecture date) Lecture content, linked to Textbook Chapters. Lecturer Tutorial activities Assessments Week 1. Monday 30/07/18 Introduction to the unit Ch 1: What is health? Brianne Hastie NO TUTORIALS Week 2. Monday 06/08/18 Ch 2: Health inequalities Advice on writing the Project Outline Brianne Hastie 1. Introduction & discussion of Chapter 1 2. Self-management project: Introduction to the project. Week 3. Monday 13/08/18 Ch 3: Health-risk behaviour Ch 4: Health-enhancing behaviour Fleur van Rens ONLINE 1. Discussion of Chapters 2 – 4 2. Self-management project: Choosing your interventions, measures and outcomes. Design issues. Week 4. Monday 20/08/18 Ch 5: Predicting health behaviour Ch 6: Reducing risk – individual approaches Fleur van Rens ONLINE 1. Discussion of Chapters 5-6. 2. Self-management project: Writing project outline. APA style. Project Outline Due 11.55pm Sunday August 26th 2018 Week 5. Non-teaching week Online Quiz, textbook chapters 1 – 6 opens 9.00am Monday August 27th 2018 Week 6. Monday 03/09/18 Ch 7: Population approaches to public health Ch 8: The body in health and illness Brianne Hastie 1. Discussion of Chapters 7 – 8. 2. Self-management project: Refining ideas about interventions. . Online Quiz, textbook chapters 1 – 6 Closes 11.59pm Sunday September 9th

2018 Week 7. Monday 10/09/18 Ch 9: Symptom perception, interpretation & response Ch 10: The consultation and beyond Brianne Hastie 1. Self-management project: Undertaking your project. Baseline period. 11 Week 8. Monday 17/09/18 Ch 11: Stress, health and illness: theory Ch 12: Stress and illness moderators Fleur van Rens ONLINE 1. Discussion of Chapters 9 – 10 2. Self-management project: Intervention period. Week 9. Non-teaching week Week 10. Monday 01/10/18 Ch 13: Managing stress Fleur van Rens ONLINE 1. Discussion of Chapters 11-13 2. Self-management project: Analysing and presenting your data. Week 11. Monday 8/10/18 Ch 14: The impact of illness on quality of life Ch 15: The impact of illness on patients and their families Fleur van Rens ONLINE 1. Discussion of Chapters 14 – 15 2. Self-management project: Writing the report I Week 12. No lecture: use the extra time to work on your project report 1. Discussion of recent media broadcasts related to health 2. Self-management project: Writing the report II Final questions Selfmanagement

project Written report due 11.55pm Sunday October 21st 2018 Week 13. Monday 22/10/18 Ch 16: Pain Vance Locke 1. Discussion of Chapters 16 – 18 2. Exam preparation Week 14. Monday 29/10/18 Ch 17: Improving health and quality of life Ch 18: Futures Exam information Brianne Hastie NO TUTORIALS Study break 5 th – 9 th November 2018 Semester 2 exam period (begins 10th November 2018) Exam date/venue to be provided. Examination 12 Assessment Assessment for this unit is conducted in accordance with the Assessment Policy. There are no mandatory pass components. Schedule of assessment items You will be assessed on the basis of: Assignment Description Aligned Learning Outcomes (p. 4) Psychology Graduate Attributes (p. 5) Value Due Date Online Quiz One hour, openbook, multiple choice quiz on textbook chapters 1 to 6; two attempts will be permitted. 1, 2, 3 1, 3, 6 10% Opens 9.00am Monday August 27 th 2018 Closes 11.59pm Sunday September 9th

2018 SelfManagement

Project Project Outline Completed on the template provided (maximum 500 words excluding references and appendices). 2, 3, 4, 5 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 10% Electronic submission Due 11.55pm Sunday August 26th 2018 Written Report A written project report in APA format (maximum 2500 words excluding figures, references and appendices). 2, 3, 4, 5 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 30% Electronic submission Due 11.55pm Sunday 21 st October 2018 Tutorial Participation Demonstrate engagement with and contribution to tutorial activities. 1, 2, 3 1, 3, 4, 6 10% Refer to the study schedule for tutorial activities. End of Semester Exam Two hour closedbook multiple choice exam 1, 2, 3 1, 3, 6 40% Please check your exam timetable. 13 Assessment details 1. Tutorial Participation (10% of the total assessment) The purpose of the tutorials is to enable you to reach a deeper understanding of the material covered in the unit through a variety of activities in which all students participate. Demonstrate engagement with the essential readings by contributing to guided tutorial discussions based on the study questions, which are listed under the relevant sections of your learning guide. You will be expected to have prepared answers to the questions posed and be able to discuss your answers in a wellreasoned manner. An important part of participation in tutorials is the ability to listen actively to others so that you can respond and build upon their comments – rather than simply repeat them. By preparing for tutorials and doing the study questions, you will have an opportunity to receive feedback on your understanding of the unit materials throughout the semester. As a guide to the tutors’ expectations, the following marking rubric is provided. Your tutor will assess your performance in each tutorial using this rubric. You will receive a mark out of 4 after the first four tutorials, to enable you to adjust your performance if necessary. A total mark out of 10 will be posted to the LMS at the end of semester: Mark out of 1.0 Grade Broad description of required quality of participation 0 Fail Non-attendance, passive attendance, or contributions creating the impression that the student has not prepared adequately. or ‘Token’ participation at a level which suggests inattention, lack of thought and/or preparation. Attendance without participation is not sufficient to pass 0.5 P One or two worthwhile comments, answers or other contributions. 0.6 C Several worthwhile contributions. 0.8 D One or two contributions of a high order, for instance, showing careful preparation or developing or linking elements presented in the discussion so far. 1.0 HD Several such high order contributions demonstrating clear understanding of the readings As the tutors are graduate psychologists or educators, you will need to be sure not to dominate the group or engage in other inappropriate group dynamics as these will result in lower marks. The ability to listen and respond to others comments is valued highly! 14 2. Self-Management project outline and written report (40% of the total assessment) 40% of the total assessment is allocated to a behaviour change self-management project. The project will be fully explained in your tutorials and you will have feedback on your project outline to guide you. The project outline (worth 10%) is a short document describing what you plan to do. It is written on a template which is provided on the LMS. Please use the margins and spacing that are provided and submit it as a Word document. It should be no longer than 500 words excluding references and appendices. The final written report of the project should be a maximum of 2500 words in length, not including references, figures or appendices. Please use 12-point font and doublespacing, and submit your report as a Word document. Note: you do not need an abstract for this assignment. This report is worth 30% of your grade and requires a significant amount of time to prepare adequately (i.e., don’t leave it till the last week to start writing up your project!). As per university policy, extensions may only be granted with written documentation from a medical or allied health professional related to a personal illness, condition, or a medical problem that required the longer term care of a dependant family member. Notify the unit coordinator as soon as possible when you anticipate that you will require an extension – extensions must be sought before the due date for an assignment. Please ensure that your medical certificate specifies the number of days that your illness has prevented you from studying. 3. Online Quiz (10% of the total assessment) This is a multiple choice test. It will be open for two (2) weeks and will assess the material in the first 6 chapters of the text book. It is essentially an open book exam of the material covered to this point. You will receive your mark upon completion of the quiz and may take two (2) attempts, but you will not be able to access the second attempt until 24 hours after the first. Each attempt will be limited to one (1) hour. 4. End of semester exam (40% of the total assessment) You will be required to complete a two hour closed-book multiple choice exam. This exam will be assessing your understanding of the unit materials as a whole. Examination The end of semester exam is a two-hour closed book exam. While I have no more information about this year’s exam timetable than you do, you should be aware that last year the exam was timetabled for the very last day of the exam period. It would therefore be very unwise to book an early vacation or return overseas before the timetable becomes available. 15 If you have a disability or medical condition, you can apply for alternative exam arrangements to ensure that you are able to sit exams on an equitable basis. You should contact the Disability Support Office on 9360 6084, email: equity@murdoch.edu.au. If you are unable to sit exams because of a serious illness or other exceptional personal circumstances, you can apply through the Exams Office to defer sitting an exam. For further information, please refer to http://our.murdoch.edu.au/Student-life/Getorganised/About-exams/Deferred-assessment/ Assignment submission Your proposal outline and final self-management project report should be submitted online through the LMS, as WORD documents (.doc or .docx). In order to submit you will be asked to confirm that you have complied with the University’s policies on academic integrity. LMS assignment submission now passes through software called Urkund. Urkund is pattern-matching software that enables you to check your work for inadvertent plagiarism. You can submit as many drafts as you wish in advance of the assignment due date to help find places where your referencing may be inadequate or incorrect. Urkund will provide you with reports for this purpose. You should then be sure to (re)submit your final assignment by the due date, keeping in mind that the final Urkund report will also be available to the marker. The assignment dropbox will only take one file at a time, so all elements of your submission must be contained within a single document, and you will need to delete any earlier submission before you can upload a new file. At busy times some Urkund reports can take a very long time to appear – several hours and in some cases more than a day. Your submission will be timed as the time that you upload your assignment and submit it – an Urkund report that is returned after the deadline does not make your submission late, but it does mean that you cannot amend your work without incurring a late penalty. To ensure fairness and equity across students, penalties will be applied to late submission of assignments. There will be a 10% deduction for each day the assignment is overdue for up to five working days, unless an extension has been granted. If your assignment is more than five days late it will receive no marks. Extensions will only be granted if written documentation can be provided. There are strict word limits for both of your written assignments. It is School policy that your assignments must not exceed the published word limit; markers will not read beyond the word limit, so you are likely to lose marks for incomplete work. These are limits though, not targets. Many of the project reports that received HDs last year were around 2000 to 2200 words. 16 Attendance/participation requirements It would be advantageous to attend ALL lectures and tutorials. Remember 50% of your final PSY172 grade is related to activities undertaken as part of the tutorials. If you are unable to attend a tutorial you must inform your tutor who will advise you on the possibility of making up the missed tutorial. Make-up tutorials will normally only be granted under the following conditions: (1) a medical excuse from a health professional related to an illness that caused you to be absent on the day of the tutorial, or that required the care of a dependent family member, or (2) a legal document attesting to your participation in a legal proceeding. Deferred assessments may be granted in cases of extenuating personal circumstances such as serious personal illness or bereavement. Any student who believes he/she has a disability for which accommodations within the education environment are needed should contact the Disability Support Office on 9360 6084, email: equity@murdoch.edu.au. Accommodations will be made once written documentation from the Disability Support Officer has been received. Determination of the final grade Your final grade for PSY172 will be based on performance. The weighting for each component is provided in the assessment schedule and in most cases the total marks available for a piece of work are equal to that value, so that your mark for a piece of work represents exactly the number of marks that you have earned towards your total unit mark. The exam is an exception since it is marked out of 100 but weighted at 40%. See Section 11 of the Assessment Policy regarding grades http://www.murdoch.edu.au/admin/policies/assessment.html#11 for further information in regard to grade allocation procedures. Notation Grade Percentage Range HD High Distinction 80 – 100 D Distinction 70 – 79 C Credit 60 – 69 P Pass 50 – 59 N Fail Below 50 DNS Fail Below 50, did not submit any assignments after HECS census date. S Supplementary Assessment 40 – 49* *The award of the grade of S shall be at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator. The grade descriptors are provided in the Murdoch University Handbook and Calendar at http://www.murdoch.edu.au/admin/policies/assessment.html#11 17 Learning Guide: Tutorial activities Introduction The following guide first outlines the study questions that will be discussed in tutorials. You will be expected to demonstrate engagement with the essential readings by contributing to guided tutorial discussions based on these study questions. You will be expected to have prepared answers to the questions in advance and to be able to discuss your answers in a well-reasoned manner. Where a chapter number is given this is a chapter of the Course Textbook: Morrison, V., Bennett, P., Butow, P., Mullan, B., & White, K. (2012). Introduction to Health Psychology in Australia. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Publishing. 18 Tutorial One – Week 2 Chapters 1 Chapter 1: Think of someone you know that you would describe as being ‘very healthy’ and write down the reasons and a brief descriptor of the person (age, gender etc.). 19 Tutorial Two – Week 3 Chapters 2 – 4 Chapter 2: 1. Read the ‘The Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey: findings to date on adolescents’ (available on LMS). What are the factors that the authors consider to be likely to influence health and wellbeing? 2. Which risk factors are significant to this population? Chapter 4: What is one “health enhancing behaviour” that you engage in? What maintains that behaviour? 20 Tutorial Three – Week 4 Chapters 5 – 6 Chapters 5 – 6: I’m thinking about joining an exercise class and have even gone as far as filling out the application form… What stage would I be in? (e.g. Pre-contemplation? Action?) What suggestions would you make to me that would help me move to the next stage? Read the paper by Leanne Hides et al. (2014) (available on LMS). This is a protocol paper, this is, it describes a study that has yet to take place. It is an Australian study comparing different interventions for alcohol use in young people. If you are short of time you only need to read through to the end of the section on ‘psychological interventions’ on page 6. 1. What is the setting for this study, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of choosing this setting to try to change behaviour? 2. Which core components of motivational interviewing are described in the paper? 21 Tutorial Four – Week 6 Chapters 7 & 8 Chapter 7: Think of one public health campaign (e.g., related to smoking, alcohol usage, healthy eating, exercise) and describe any particular component of a sociocognitive model that has been addressed in the campaign. Chapter 8: Think about a specific illness and answer the following questions: a) What might be issues for people suffering from this illness? Are there differences between subgroups of individuals in these issues (e.g., gender or age differences)? 22 b) How could Health Psychologists (or Psychologists in general) assist people with this particular illness? c) What could be some of the challenges for Health Psychologists working with people suffering from this particular illness? 23 Tutorial Five – Week 7 Self-management project You should now be preparing to commence your self-management project: 1. How will you go about incorporating the feedback on your project outline into your project? 2. Do you have any questions about undertaking the project? 3. Do you have any questions about writing up the project? 24 Tutorial Six – Week 8 Chapters 9 & 10 Chapter 9: Read the article by Judith Finn et al (available on LMS) as well as the textbook chapter. List five reasons why some people delay in seeking help for their health conditions? Chapter 10: After reading the chapter and the recommended reading “An evidence-based perspective on greetings in medical encounters” (Makoul, Zick & Green, 2007 available on the LMS) how would you define what makes a good bedside manner? Think of your last encounter with a health professional, and evaluate the interaction based on the criteria from the article. 25 Tutorial Seven – Week 10 Chapters 11 – 13: The Student Stress Scale The scale below is an adaptation of Holmes and Rahe’s 1967 study (The Social Readjustment Rating Scale). Each event is given a score that represents the amount of readjustment a person has to make in life as a result of the change. People with scores of 300 and higher have a high health risk. People scoring between 150 and 300 points have about a 50-50 chance of serious health change within two years. People scoring below 150 have a 1 in 3 chance of serious health change. Event Life-Change Units Death of a close family member 100 Death of a close friend 73 Divorce between parents 65 Jail term 63 Major personal injury or illness 63 Marriage 58 Being fired from a job 50 Failing an important course 47 Change in health of family member 45 Pregnancy 45 Sex problems 44 Serious argument with close friend 40 Change in financial status 39 Change of major 39 Trouble with parents 39 New girl- or boyfriend 38 Increased workload at school 37 Outstanding personal achievement 36 First quarter/semester in college 35 Change in living conditions 31 Serious argument with instructor 30 Lower grades than expected 29 Change in sleeping habits 29 Change in social activities 29 Change in eating habits 28 Chronic car trouble 26 Change in number of family get-togethers 26 Too many missed classes 25 Change of college 24 Dropping of more than one class 23 Minor traffic violations 20 Add up your points to get your Total Life Change Score ___________ 26 Questions: 1. Which of these “stressors” do not apply in your current context? 2. What other “stressors” are not included but would be in the top 20? 3. What else would you need to know in order to predict who would develop a health condition in the next few months? (see chapter 12) 27 Tutorial Eight – Week 11 Chapters 14 & 15 Complete the General Health Questionnaire below Complete the General Health Questionnaire below Please consider the last four weeks and answer the following questions by selecting and circling one of the four answer options. Question 0 1 2 3 1. Been able to concentrate on what you’re doing More so than usual Same as usual Less so than usual Much less than usual 2. Lost much sleep over worry Not at all No more than usual Rather more than usual Much more than usual 3. Felt you were playing a useful part in things More so than usual Same as usual Less so than usual Much less than usual 4. Felt capable of making decisions about things More so than usual Same as usual Less so than usual Much less than usual 5. Felt constantly under strain Not at all No more than usual Rather more than usual Much more than usual 6. Felt you couldn’t overcome your difficulties Not at all No more than usual Rather more than usual Much more than usual 7. Been able to enjoy your normal day-today activities More so than usual Same as usual Less so than usual Much less than usual 8. Been able to face up to your problems More so than usual Same as usual Less so than usual Much less than usual 9. Been feeling unhappy and depressed Not at all No more than usual Rather more than usual Much more than usual 10. Been losing confidence in yourself Not at all No more than usual Rather more than usual Much more than usual 11. Been thinking of yourself as a worthless person. Not at all No more than usual Rather more than usual Much more than usual 12. Been feeling reasonably happy, all things considered More so than usual About the same as usual Less so than usual Much less than usual General Health Questionnaire Scoring Scoring – Likert Scale 0, 1, 2, 3 from left to right, then add them up. 12 items, 0 to 3 each item, Score range is therefore 0 to 36. Scores vary by study populations but scores about 11-12 are typical. 28 Questions: 1. Where would a screening instrument such as this be useful? 2. Would it be a useful indicator of a person’s overall “Quality of Life”? 3. What else would you want to include? 4. What sort of definition of “General Health” is being adopted here? 29 Tutorial Nine – Week 12 Health behaviour in the media A study was published recently on the value of fitness trackers in a weight loss program. The original article is posted on the LMS. Reading the article is optional – but if you do, don’t be put off by the document being 57 pages long – the article is only the first 10 pages. Your required preparation is to listen to one of two radio programs on which the study and its authors were featured: ABC Radio National’s Health Report on September 26th 2016, where a transcript is also available if you prefer to read the material http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/wearable-fitness-trackers-mayhinder-not-help-weight-loss/7877858 or ABC Radio National’s Life Matters on September 27th 2016 http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/activity-trackers-are-not-the-secretto-weight-loss/7878520 Be ready to discuss the following questions: 1) Was there anything you wanted to know about the study that wasn’t mentioned in the radio program? 2) What reasons did the study’s authors suggest for the main outcome – that the participants who were given a fitness tracker actually did worse? 3) Which of the reasons do you find most convincing, or do you have any other suggestions? 30 Tutorial Ten – Week 13 Chapters 16 – 18 1. Consider the statement: ”health psychology has provided many answers to the question of why people do or do not engage in healthy behaviour”. Is the predominantly individualistic focus of health psychology sufficient? 2. Consider the statement: ”health psychology has identified individual cognitions and coping behaviours that are amenable to interventions aimed at improving illness outcomes”. What ways could some of these interventions be introduced into the healthcare system? 3. Consider the statement: ”health policy has no relevance for health psychologists”. Does this hold in light of recent governmental campaigns or policy changes, in for example, smoking bans in public places, health screening, and immunisation policy? 31 Self-Management Project Guidelines All submitted assignments must be typed (with the exception of graphs). Please use 2.5cm margins; double-space your work and use size 12 fonts and APA 6th Edition style for citation (Murdoch site http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/find/citation/apa.html and the manual is in closed reserve). Step 1: Identify your health/wellbeing goal and target behaviour. Think about and try to identify these before your first tutorial Look at your lifestyle, and after reviewing the first chapter of the textbook, think about what aspects you could change to increase your level of health and wellbeing.  Identify one goal (for example, increasing physical fitness or improving your emotional wellbeing etc.).  Next, identify one or more specific target behaviours that relate to achieving your goal (for example, increasing exercise and eating more vegetables). Think about which of these is most achievable FOR YOU. Here we define health very broadly – your overall physical and mental health, productivity at work or university, your relationships, your financial security and so forth. Here are some potential health targets from which you can choose. You are welcome to choose some other behaviour not on the list, pending tutor’s approval. Physical health behaviours – often best tackled with a reward schedule Role functioning (being better at what you do) – may respond to rewards or to a time management/problem solving intervention Eating habits (e.g. junk food – fruit & veg – sugar) Reduce recreational screen time Reduce alcohol or tobacco consumption Decrease Phone calls/texts/twitter/facebook Drink more water or less coffee Increase productive work habits Improve sleeping habits Increase reading before class Exercise Mental health/ emotional wellbeing – often best tackled with a meditation or relaxation intervention Other individual goals – best intervention will vary Improve mood Increase frequency of a desired behaviour e.g. musical instrument practice Reduce stress Decrease swearing Reduce anger Decrease excessive shopping Decrease road rage/driving stress Paying down debt or Start saving 32 Step 2: Defining and Changing Behaviour  Define your dependent variable. This is the behaviour you identified above, it is the thing you hope to change. Consider the following when selecting your behaviour change target:  Can you improve it in 5-7 days? o This is a very short intervention so identify a variable that you can change immediately, not your long term goal. For example, you may wish to lose weight, but in one week you won’t see much change. Instead target a behaviour that you can observe immediately – eating less fat, sugar or calories. Your variable will then be what you eat, grams of fat or number of calories, not your weight.  Set one small target o Be realistic about what you can achieve in the time available – if you take no exercise now, then you may not be able to achieve a 5km run every day with a short self-administered intervention. Target only one thing: don’t try to change the world.  Make sure you can measure your target daily o This means that having regular dental check-ups (an important health behaviour) will not work for you, nor will going to the gym three times a week or aiming to drink less alcohol if you only drink at weekends anyway. It must be a daily behaviour.  Choose a target without floor and ceiling effects o If you already take a lot of exercise, you may not be able to improve it very much – this is called a ceiling effect. If you already consume almost no fat, then you may not be able to show much reduction in your intervention phase – this is called a floor effect. Choose something with room to change.  Choose something that you can talk and write about in a public space o Keep it legal – for example illicit drug use is an important behaviour to try to change, but choose something else for class. o Keep it safe – do not try to tackle serious mental health problems without professional support. o Avoid embarrassment – condom use is a common behavioural target in the published literature, but you may not want to talk about it in class (and remember, your target behaviour must occur daily!)  Define your independent variable. This is what your research leads you to think will be effective for changing your health/wellbeing behaviour. This must be a psychological variable. Use techniques that have been shown by empirical research to be effective in meeting your goal, or have been used with similar goals. These behaviour change techniques (interventions) fall into three broad categories – again it is important that each of them can be executed every day of your intervention phase.  Reward/Punishment interventions: These work best for health behaviour change – e.g. eating and exercise. You might reward/punish yourself with money (e.g. $1 “fine” to savings for every 33 hour of television watching) or activities (e.g. for every hour of study you could reward yourself with a 5 minute facebook session). Research suggests that rewards are generally more effective than punishments, but there are individual differences – choose something that will be motivating for you.  Meditation or relaxation interventions: If you target stress or mood, then an intervention like this might be suitable, but also think about how you will complete it – for example set aside a time and place. Exercise (which for some people will be the thing they want to improve) can also be effective as an intervention for improving mood.  Scheduling/problem-solving interventions: Sometimes your suboptimal health behaviour can be the result of poor planning or time-management, and the best intervention can be one that provides you with the time or information to meet your goals. For example do you eat too much takeaway food? For some people the best intervention will be a reward for eating more healthily, but for others the best approach might be to make a shopping and cooking plan ahead of time with recipes easily to hand – this is a problem-solving approach and is based on identifying for yourself the main barriers to changing your behaviour. Such an approach can also be a stress-buster.  Keep your project simple – one target behaviour (DV) and one intervention strategy (IV). Step 3: Measuring Behaviour  Decide how you will measure your behaviour (diary sheets, rating forms, paper or electronic etc.). If you are targeting mood or stress then suitable published measures are readily available. Remember – your measurement must be taken daily. Some measures will be taken several times a day but reported as a daily average. Step 4: Outline Submission  Submit an outline of your project, using the template provided. In it you will define quite precisely what you are going to do.  While your outline is with your tutor for assessment, try out your observation recording process over a few days to see if it works, and whether the data is relatively “stable” over the period. A stable baseline may have some fluctuations (i.e. go up and down from day to day) but there should be no discernible trend – either going up (ascending) or going down (descending) as this will confound your results.  You may need to modify your dependent variable (e.g., you might want to change how many minutes walked to how far walked on a daily basis using a pedometer) or recording sheet as required. 34 Step 5: Completing Phase A  Once you are happy that you have a clear research plan and method, move on to this step, but think about how you will incorporate your tutor’s feedback on your outline into your study.  Continue with your measurements and decide when your baseline observations are stable: for example, the observation of 5-4-5-5-4-5 would be identified as a horizontally stable pattern; which simply means that there is no evident trend in the date and any differences in this series of numbers are likely to be only a result of random variation. Your goal is to have horizontal stability (only random variation) in the baseline data.  Once you have good observation methods and a stable baseline established, it is time to implement your behaviour change strategy (step 6 below). Do not move on to step 6 before you have received feedback from your tutor.  At the same time (or earlier) get on top of the literature research. You don’t need to wait for the results of your study to start writing the introduction. You will already have done some research to identify your intervention method – start collecting relevant references to support your introduction. You will need to describe your goals and targets, why they are important for health and wellbeing, and what past research has shown about the effectiveness of the intervention that you have chosen. Steps 6 – 8: Phase B and further  Implement the intervention (behaviour change) strategy and continue to collect data on the behaviour during the intervention. Continue for at least five days.  Reverse it according to your design.  Make sure that you consider intervention integrity (How will the reader of your report know that you rewarded or punished yourself as you said you would? How will you record this, and any lapses in behaviour or recording?)  Keep writing. Outline the procedures for the conduct of your project. Specify when data will be collected, and when consequences will be delivered. State the contingency as clearly as possible (and make sure you implement it). Describe the design of your study as clearly and succinctly as you can.  Create a graph of your baseline data and show it to your tutor. Step 9: Final analysis and write-up of your project It is now time to complete the assignment by writing up the project. Remember the written report should be a maximum of 2500 words in length (with text in 12-point font and doublespaced), not including references, figures or appendices. It is important to include the appropriate sections in your report (Introduction; Method; Results; and Discussion) and to properly cite your references. It is important that you include sufficient detail so that somebody could not only replicate your project but also improve upon it, for example state and clearly define the target behaviour. Be sure to report and discuss  Analysis of your data – 35  Visual analysis of trend lines for means  Descriptive statistics (e.g. mean of baseline period/s vs mean of intervention phase)  Any unexpected outcomes  Evaluate the effectiveness of your intervention in relation to improvement over baseline.  Evaluate the effectiveness of your intervention in relation to whether the objective was met within the time line you specified.  Evaluate the effectiveness of your intervention in relation to previous findings using similar methods.  Describe what you would do differently in implementing future self-management projects. Self-Management Project Related Readings A significant part of the project is to locate research literature related to your topic using your library skills and assistance from the librarians. There are a number of books and articles on EReserve and on LMS to help you with the design, implementation and reporting of your project but you will need additional references in the introduction section of your project report. Online resources are also useful, some examples are listed below. As a general rule, websites maintained by governments, universities, professional bodies and major not-forprofits such as Beyond Blue or the Heart Foundation offer reliable advice and information, but be selective about your sources of information online. Beyond Blue – (http://www.beyondblue.org.au) for examples of mood monitoring and self-management interventions for “reducing stress”, “reducing alcohol consumption..”, “sleeping well”, “keeping active” and other simple interventions. Centre for Clinical Interventions – (http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/doctors.cfm) for simple interventions covering Anger Coping Strategies, Assertive Communication, Problem Solving, etc. Australian Dietary Guidelines – https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/ As a concrete example of the need to be discerning when searching online, take the issue of safe alcohol consumption. Sites include: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-topics/alcohol-guidelines Guidelines from the Federal Government – a good source of information. http://alcoholthinkagain.com.au/ Health information from the WA State Government – has many links to the Federal site above and interesting examples of intervention strategies – a good source of information and examples. https://drinkwise.org.au/about-us/about/# The site for Drinkwise Australia; a not-forprofit run by the alcohol industry! Also has links to the Federal site above, but offers advice, for example, on ‘how to drink properly’! A trap for the unwary – not a reliable source of health information. 36 A Guide to the Self-Management Project Outline (worth 10% of your final grade): A template for this assignment will be available on the LMS, but the headings are provided below for your information; note that these are the headings for the outline only – the actual project report will require different headings, in line with APA format. The word limit is 500 words excluding references (section 5) and appendices. The guidelines below explain exactly what is required in each section. 1. Dependent variable (2 marks) In this section describe the emotional or behavioural outcome that you will be trying to change. If you have a broader goal (e.g. to get fit or improve grades) then mention this as well, but be clear about which specific behaviour is your target – the one you will be measuring. If there are health relevant guidelines, give this information as well, e.g. your health target will be 10,000 steps per day or 5 serves of vegetables. Citations may be used but are not expected. 2. Independent variable (2 marks) In this section describe your intervention. Describe what you will be doing e.g. introducing a reward or implementing a time management plan, and why you think it will work for you. Be clear about the timing of your intervention, e.g. the reward will be delivered at the end of each day, or the meditation will take place each morning upon rising. Again, citations may be used but are not expected. 3. Data collection method (2 marks) Describe how will you collect and record your daily data. If you are using a published scale, for example to measure stress, then you should provide a citation for it. If you have designed your own recording sheet or scale, attach a copy. 4. Design (2 marks) State what sort of research design you will use. For example ABAB or ABA. Show that you understand what this will require in practice and include the length of time you anticipate for each phase (this may change of course). 5. References (2 marks) Provide a list of at least three references relevant to your project, you may or may not have used them in the sections above. They must be in APA format (6th edition) and should demonstrate that you have searched an appropriate literature. There are several guides to APA style on the LMS.

37 A Guide to the Self-Management Project (worth 30% of your final grade): A template for this assignment will be available on the LMS, but the headings are provided below for your information; note that these are the headings for the project report (they differ from the project outline), in line with APA format. The word limit is 2500 words excluding references (section 5) and appendices. The guidelines below explain exactly what is required in each section. 1. Introduction (6 marks) A clear title should summarize the main topic of the report and identify the variables (e.g. the effect of X on Y). A good introduction should address the importance of the problem, e.g. cost to the community or the individual, and provide evidence that the chosen intervention strategy is appropriate and likely to be effective. Previous literature should be clearly described such that a person unfamiliar with the topic can understand it. Terms should be clearly defined and abbreviations spelled out at first use. The introduction is expected to refer to at least five peer-reviewed sources (journals/books other than text), and may additionally use appropriate web sites, e.g. government or university sources. It should conclude with a clear statement of the research question or hypothesis. 2. Method (6 marks) The method should be divided into subsections:  Design identified as single case/subject with reversal/other.  Participant demographic information (gender, age, fitness, etc.).  Measures described in enough detail that a researcher could obtain or reproduce the same items (e.g. copy of recording sheets in appendix).  Procedure described in sufficient detail that the study could be replicated. 3. Results (6 marks) One or more graphs (figures) should be the focus of this section. The figure(s) should include a concise caption, clear axis labels and appropriate scale, and an accurate representation of data. This should be accompanied by a description of major findings. Further means may be provided, as well as an explanation of missing data or unexpected events. 4. Discussion (6 marks) The first para. should give a clear statement of the outcome – was the hypothesis supported? The results should then be discussed in relation to previous research findings. 38 At least 2 limitations should be mentioned, for example reliability/ validity of the measures, sources of bias in self-report, ethical problems. Future research recommendations should be made. A concluding paragraph should summarise the outcome and consider its implications for the individual or the community. 5. Presentation/Style (6 marks) The paper should be logically organized and build a coherent argument, with transitions used to connect ideas and link paragraphs. The paper should be correctly formatted in APA style, employ correct spelling and grammar, and use a clear and scientific writing style, but it may be written in the first or third person.

[physicsatthecastleonthehill]

Socrative Lesson Plan: Work and Power

Teacher: Suzanne Fredericks

Grade Level: 11th and 12th grade

Introduction: 

This is a lesson geared towards 11th and 12th grade honors students. This lesson will most likely take 1 and ½ class periods. Work and Power is a topic in physics that comes during the second quarter of the school year. Students are becoming effective problem solvers and are feeling comfortable participating in class discussions. This lesson begins with an overview of work and power. A short lab will follow that allows students to calculate their work and power walking and running up the stairs.

Learning Goals:

To understand that in order to do work a force must be applied to an object and the object must move some distance. To understand that power is the time rate of doing work. To be able to solve complex word problems in Physics class and in the real world.

Objectives:  

1. Understand that work is equal to a force times a distance.

2. Understand how to calculate work and power.

3. Define Work and Power.

4. Determine the SI units of Work and Power.

Standards:

3.2.12.B6 CONSTANCY/CHANGE -Compare and contrast motions of objects using forces and conservation laws.

NETS (for students)1. Basic Operations and Concepts: a. Demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems. b. Are proficient in the use of technology.

Student Characteristics:

The lesson plan is for my Honors Physics classes. Being an honors class, the students are all accelerated junior and senior students with very good math and science skills. The class never has students with learning disabilities. The typical class size of my Honors Physics classes is 15 to18 students. However, sometimes I have a very small number of students (4 to 6) in one section of the class. The class may have a student or two that are gifted in which case their GIEP must be followed. Classroom management is usually not a problem because of the quality of student that takes Honors Physics.

Prior Knowledge:

Before this lesson, students will have learned about forces and motion. They will have read the class reading assignment about work and power. They will have mastered calculating the force of gravity which is a key concept in all of physics. Students will understand the importance of the SI System of Units. Students will be good problem solvers at this point. Students will know how to properly complete a formal science lab write up in their lab notebooks since they will be completing lab write ups on a weekly basis.

Materials:  

Calculators, iPads, lab notebooks, stopwatches, meter sticks.

Lesson Procedures:

1. Go over the Vocabulary of this Chapter. Work (Joules) is a scalar quantity that is equal to a force times a distance that the force moved an object. Power (Watts) is a scalar quantity that is equal to the timed rate that work is done.

2. Write the definitions, equations and SI units of work and power on the white board.

3. Instruct students to determine their mass in kg and write this information in their lab notebooks. I will model how to do this on the board by finding my mass in kg using my approximate weight in pounds. (Weight in pounds/2.2 = Mass in kg)

4. Tell students that today we will be calculating the work and power done in walking up and running up the stairs from the ground floor to the third floor.

5. Have students measure the height of one step in meters and count the number of steps from the ground floor to the third floor. Using these two values have students come up with an approximate height from the ground floor to the third floor. Tell students to write this information in their lab notebooks.

6. Have students use their stopwatches to determine the time that it takes for them to walk up the steps and run up the steps. Tell students to write this information in their lab notebooks.

7. Using the data collected and the equations for work and power, have students calculate the work done in walking and running up the stairs in units of (Joules); and the power that they generated in walking and running up the stairs in units of (Watts). Instruct students to write all calculations and results in their lab notebooks.

8. Have volunteers write their results on the white board and discuss the similarities and differences with the class.

9. Instruct students to get their iPads out and to go to the Socrative Website for an in class short ten question Quiz on Work and Power.

10. Instruct students to complete a formal lab write-up and to hand it in at the beginning of the next class period.

Closure:

Five minutes before students are dismissed, I will instruct my students to conduct online research to determine the relationship between watts and horsepower. (1 horsepower = 746 Watts) Students will then be instructed to convert their power running up the stairs from (watts) into (horsepower). They will be instructed to write a one page paper about the history of a “horsepower”.

Assessments:

1). Students will be formally assessed during the work/power lab.

2). Students will be formally assessed while they are answering the Socrative multiple choice questions.

3). Lab notebooks will be graded. This will be a summative assessment.

[itsourtimenow]

Rules

Every group has them and while this is a small group that allows writing outside of it, we still have rules. So please follow them! 1. RESPECT: this is number one because honestly I cannot express how important is it! You must respect not only me as your owner but your fellow group members as well. We are all here to write and have a good time but disrespectful behaviors will not be tolerated. Any drama there is must strictly be in character because anything out of character could result in you losing your roles. This is is considered to be your first warning, I only give two. 2. ACTIVITY: this one is important, now while I understand we all have real lives, myself included and those should be prioritized first, but when you join a group that too should become a priority. Therefore there will be some rules in regards to activity. As of right now, I ask that you try to get something out each week. The more you write, the happier I will be. Your participation in the group writing blog is required on a weekly basis (details on participation requirements can be found on the respective blog, do know that you need to be in there often because it’s the main way we will be having the storylines progress.) With that being said, this does NOT mean you can neglect writing with members outside of the blogs. If any concerns rise from myself or other members in regards to your activity levels you will receive a warning, if you do not improve within the following week, you will be dismissed from the group. 3. SOCIAL MEDIA: the only form of social media that is required at this time si AIM, at some point it will switch over to kik or line but right now I’m unsure as to which one to use. AIM writing (roleplay in the form of semi-para and up) is 1000% encouraged and it is counted towards your activity levels, this doesn’t mean you can not write with people on the site though, you still have to write on the site. This is just a quick and easy way to stay active. From personal experience AIM is also an easy way to develop and further storylines. Any other forms of social media such as tumblr and twitter are also good outlets to use to enhance and build your character with. ASK.FM is also another form of social media you can have but is not required, if you use it, you are using it at your own discretion. People tend to become cruel when an anonymous button is placed in front of them and unfortunately I have no control over that. 4. PROFILE: all I want is for you to have a neat profile with links that work, allowing other group members to be able to contact you. Biographies are also a must and they must be up and visible on your page. You can take what I have written up for the characters but you must add to them. In regards to friends, you are not restricted on who you add to your friends list nor to who you write with, but you MUST put your groups and group members first. If you are seen writing with others and neglecting your group, you will be cut. Last but certainly not least, in your headline you must have Our Time or It’s Our Time Now, so people know that you are affiliated with the group. 5. STORYLINE: progression in storylines is expected considering nobody likes to be stuck at a dead in in their writing. Group progression with take place withing the writing blogs and should be incorporated into your writing with members. Progression will include different (non-playable) guests entering the parties or rooms (this will be explained further in the blog.) Individual character storyline progression is allowed but within limitation. Any major character life events such as marriages, pregnancies, illness or anything like that must be approved. But please note that approval is not always guaranteed because everyone is starting out as freshman in college. 6. DRAMA: while this was mentioned above it was brief, so I would just like to reiterate that it is important you know out of character drama is NOT tolerated. In character drama, however, is expected and highly encouraged. Let’s be honest, all of these people are strangers and coming into their own, there is bound to be some sort of drama. 7. BLOGS: in this group we will be writing together as a group in the blog, each blog will e up for as long as it needs to be to get the writing done. I would like each blog to be finished within a two week span, if it goes on longer we will all grow bored of the storlyine and no one wants that. It’s why we ask you to stay actively writing in the blog. 8. WRITING: we will be setting up seasons and episodes or books and chapters, however you would like to word it is fine with me. Each season will have approximately twelve - twenty episodes/chapters, and four seasons complete a whole years cycle. The seasons correlate with the seasons Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.

with love, Luna

I know, I know, I sent you these rules before I sent you the information pertaining to the roles but i need you to sign them appropriately here as well from the page you are using. Also if for any reason you leave this group, we ask that you leave your page and account up as is, if you deleted your page or changed it from the character after leaving, it would throw the blog writing off.

Failure to sign and follow these rules will result in your dismissal from the group. By signing you are acknowledging that this is your one and only warning and that you will not delete or change your account.

[kristinsimmons]

The Step 1 Score Reporting Change – A Step in the Right Direction for IMGs?

By TALAL HILAL, MD

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1, a test co-sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), has been the exam that people love to hate. For many years, blogs, Twitter feeds, and opinion pieces have been accumulating urging the presidents of the FSMB/NBME to stop reporting a 3-digit score and instead report a pass/fail score. This animosity towards the Step 1 exam originates from the reality that medical schools have increasingly focused their curriculum on teaching what the Step 1 wants you to learn – medical trivia that almost always has no bearing on how to approach a clinical problem.

This “Step 1 Madness” is unhealthy. The reasons for its existence are many: residency and fellowship programs allow it to exist by idolizing higher scores, some believe it is a metric that can predict future quality of care, board pass rates, etc. And some are naïve enough to think that what is tested on the Step 1 is actually useful medical knowledge! It may be due to a combination of the above that the Step 1 has found itself in such a peculiar spot. However, the emphasis on the Step 1 score means that medical students’ fate is being determined by a single test. Nobody wants their fate to be so unmalleable.

Those who were writing vehemently against a 3-digit score rejoiced when the FSMB/NBME announced on February 12 that the Step 1 will finally become a pass/fail test as early as January 2022!

My initial reaction was mixed. I have always felt that Step 1 was the single most important factor in securing a residency interview. The announcement made me think of my path to residency training in the U.S. As an international medical graduate (colloquially referred to as an “IMG”), I went from learning how to shave to becoming a medical student seemingly overnight. For a 17-year-old, medical school felt like American college but without the arts and history, and with frequent visits to the cadaver lab. For various reasons that I will not bore you with, I decided to pursue residency training in the U.S. This meant I had to buy a copy of “First Aid for the USMLE Step 1” – the holy book within which all medical trivia resides. My medical school, being Irish, could not care less about the USMLE, so I was on my own.

I would study the lectures given by my medical school professors and then find their corresponding chapters in the Step 1 books. Little did I know, I was supplementing my medical school curriculum by adding an American twist to it. The Krebs cycle did not only have a rate-limiting step catalyzed by isocitrate dehydrogenase; it was a much more important phenomenon characterized by 8 steps that I now had to memorize. I felt empowered by my knowledge of minutiae. Coupled with my medical schools’ emphasis on physical examination skills, I felt like I had the best of both worlds.

I spent a few sleepless nights before the Step 1 test thinking about what would happen if I failed? Where would I go for my medical training? As an IMG, I was already at a disadvantage with only 50-60% of all IMGs matching. This test, in my mind, had the potential to increase my chances of making it to the U.S.

But did it?

I did well, nothing earth shattering, but certainly a competitive score for an Internal Medicine residency spot at the time. I then took the Step 2 CS and passed. I pursued a clinical elective in the U.S and was able to secure a letter of recommendation from the attending with whom I worked – a short paragraph and a half saying I’m good with patients, or something to that effect. I applied for the residency match without having my Step 2 CK result and did not get a single interview. I thought I had a strong application.

I was devastated. I relied too much on the Step 1 and it got me nowhere.

With the Step 2 CK score added to my profile, I was officially certified by the Educational Commission of Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).  I tried my chances again the following year, received a few interviews and matched! I went on to complete a fellowship in hematology and oncology and the rest, as they say, is history.

For me, what made a difference was the Step 2 CK. Nothing else changed in my application within a year. I remained without scholarly or extracurricular activity (unless you count finishing a 30-hour video game on a weekly basis an extracurricular activity). I still wonder how I made it, and whether I would have invited myself for an interview if I were in the program directors’ shoes reviewing my application.

When I first heard of the announcement to change the Step 1 scoring to pass/fail, I had my reservations, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it may be a blessing in disguise for many IMGs. Sure, those who score 2 SDs above the mean on their Step 1 will be at a disadvantage; they will not stand out anymore, but that will be the case for all applicants – IMGs and non-IMGs alike.

I know of a few IMG colleagues whose scores were off the charts (260 and above) and it seemed that that alone was the catalyst for a steady stream of interview invitations. But I know of more IMGs who took 1-3 years after graduating medical school just to study for the Step 1, many of whom never had the guts to take the exam for fear of scoring low and never matching. A pass/fail test means that this panic-inducing hurdle will be removed. IMGs can focus on the Step 2 CK, which is more relevant anyway, and maybe spend time reading Tolstoy instead of memorizing the names of the rotator cuff muscles and their insertion site on the humeral head.

So, the next logical question is – What will happen to IMGs when this goes into effect?

The answer, I speculate, is nothing. Programs that interview IMGs do so because they need them and/or like them, and maybe to advertise that they are more inclusive and diverse. IMGs represent 25% of licensed physicians in the US, many of whom are working in underserved communities that are not as attractive to American physicians to live and work in. These areas are so desperate for physicians that they have provided incentives for IMGs in the form of tracks for permanent residency in exchange for their service. With the physician shortages driven by an aging population, IMGs will always be needed as long as they pass the Step 1.

It is important to remember that a substantial proportion of programs do not interview or rank IMGs – approximately 40%, no matter how high they score on the Step 1. They don’t, of course, advertise that but we IMGs know who they are.  IMGs applying to these programs will be filtered out by virtue of their IMG status. Nothing will change there.

For IMGs, the Step 2 CK was always important, and since it will remain numerical, it is likely that it will become more important; until test takers take to the street to change it to pass/fail when “Step 2 CK Madness” ensues.

The average IMG Step 1 score is similar to that of a non-IMG. This means that IMGs that stood out have done so not because of the Step 1, but through scholarly activity and U.S clinical experience (i.e. electives). I admit, attaining these new medals can be difficult in places where an infrastructure for research does not exist, and where medical schools limit where and how many electives a student can have, let alone allow them to travel to the U.S. for extended periods of time to work with Dr. Jones (name is made up) at Johns Hopkins University. Funding mechanisms or loan options are limited in countries from which the majority of IMGs come from (e.g. India, Caribbean, Pakistan, Mexico). Nevertheless, many IMGs spend exorbitant amounts of money doing observerships after medical school that have little to no value while they study for their Step 1 aiming for that 260. Those IMGs can now take the test earlier, and spend their money doing electives in medical school.

This announcement is a disruption that has the potential to facilitate improvements in the residency/fellowship program selection processes, and perhaps medical school curricula. It will disadvantage test takers who score 2 SDs above the mean on the Step 1, but that is the trade-off to create a system with one less faulty metric to filter students. 

I Tweeted “If the Step 1 was a pass/fail when I took it, I most likely wouldn’t be where I am today.” All the “Likes” and engagement I received were from IMGs. I may have used hyperbole in that statement, but I suppose the essence of it holds true. Where would any of us be if it wasn’t for some metric or achievement that society collectively decided to value? I just hope that the next metric that comes along is truly valuable.

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CX Storytime Tale of Have Wine, Might Travel https://ift.tt/1jxl24K http://bit.ly/2qls9J4

Even when travelling to the most beautiful, exotic destinations, an airline can make, or break your experience. As the first and last chapter in your book of adventure, they have the power to change the narrative.

Stay tuned for a story of changed plans, Airline impacts and new opportunities.

This is the Customer Experience Storytime tale of…. Have Wine, Might Travel

And so it begins…

The Story

ACT ONE:

Summer is an amazing time in British Columbia. It’s one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the world. So, it’s no surprise that its own residence take advantage of their own back yard whenever they get a chance.

Over those warm months, Paul and his wife Clarissa decided they needed to do just that. Not only for a vacation but also to take a breath. Clarissa recently learned she’d have to return to treatment for a reoccurrence of the cancer she’s been fighting for the past seven years. And before they returned to that trial, they wanted a little solitude.

Their choice, a 3 day getaway to the Okanagan, an area of lake-dotted communities in the interior of beautiful British Columbia. Their final destination: the Sparkling Hill Luxury Resort Spa in Vernon. They wanted to relax, and they were very serious about it.

To get them there, their choice of airline was based very much on Clarissa’s experience flying. It was to be Pacific Coastal Airlines. Clarissa travelled for work frequently. Almost on a weekly basis between Victoria and Vancouver. And she always loved the flight – something that could be an annoying trial of patience and frustration, but was in fact a journey made so much easier by the airline’s friendly and efficient service. So it had to be them.

Checking in at the gate in Victoria, the Pacific Coastal airline representative at the desk offered them hot drinks and muffins. Paul joked that she must have been up early to bake the goodies and the staff member joked back that she knew he was going to be on the flight so she made the extra effort.

It was a nice moment before they boarded the plane.

ACT TWO:

Upon arriving in the Okanagan and getting settled at the resort. Paul and Clarissa took a well enjoyed wine tour. By well enjoyed, an example would be their need for a nap while being shuttled back to the hotel after partaking in 6 wineries and several samples. They took with them a hearty bounty of 2-4 bottles from each.

This actually isn’t uncommon.

The local area is renowned for its wineries. It’s why a lot of tourists migrate to there over the summer months. As Canada’s 2nd largest wine producer, with more than 60 grape varieties and home to approximately 120 wineries, the Okanagan Valley is a favourite destination for wine lovers.

It was one of the reasons Paula and Clarissa loved travelling there. One of the reasons they didn’t usually partake in the winery adventure was the fact it was difficult to travel with any more than a few bottles. And with so many great wineries, it was a slippery slope when purchasing wine.

The rest of the vacation consisted of long hours of relaxation at the spa, a great way to take their minds off of some of the stresses soon to come.

The following day, feeling refreshed and relaxed, Paul and Clarrisa packed up their suitcases. This is where the wine challenge surfaced. How were they to transport all that wine, safely? Sure they could wrap it up in their shirts and pajamas to cushion against any baggage handling jostling, but what if they break? The only materials for travelling the wineries and wine tour company provided were a few bags and some well worn cardboard boxes. Great for getting the wine to the car but not through checked baggage and across the province.

How were they as tourists, who are just trying to enjoy the number #1 reason people came to the area, going to get their wine bounty home?

ACT THREE:

It’s a good question. And one that didn’t have an answer until a couple of years ago.

Truthfully, Paul and Clarissa were on the fence as to whether they were going to go to any Okanagan wineries at all. They’d been in this situation before and weren’t interested in the stress of trying to get the wine home.

But, remember that Pacific Coastal airline staff member that had joked about baking them muffins?

While she was checking them in, she had asked if they would be visiting any of the wineries around Kelowna. Paul and Clarissa said they thought they would, but truthfully still weren’t sure.

The staff member suggested they take a wine tour and then let them know the airline would provide them with specifically designed boxes, handled with special care, for any wine they brought home.

This clinched it for the couple on deciding whether to do a wine tour or not. The idea of trying to arrange special transport for wine home just seemed too much until she told them of their free service.

So when the couple arrived at the Okanagan airport to travel home, they made their way to the Pacific Coastal desk and were greeted by another friendly staffer who immediately started to bring out proper carrying boxes to transfer their wine in. Each box holding six wine bottles.

And, on the side of each box, there was a note reminding passengers that 50 pounds of their checked luggage always flies for free, and their wine purchases can be included in that, so enjoy the taste of the Okanagan.

Paul and Clarissa looked at each other and smiled when they saw the boxes. Their relaxation got an upgrade by Pacific Coastal airlines.

And that ends the story of… Have Wine, Might Travel

Customer Perceptions

Through the eyes of this customer, let’s look at the emotional impact of this customer experience.

Paul and Clarissa wanted to have, not only a relaxing vacation, but also to enjoy one of the big reasons visitors travel to the Okanagan. Wine!

The spa and the winery tours did their part, but if the airline drops the ball, that’s going to be their last experience of their trip. Not a great final impression. But thankfully that wasn’t the case at all. They were taken care of.

And to extend that feeling, touch point with the airline company, from the muffin lady at the checkin gate to the woman getting their free wine transportation and finally to the pilots themselves.

When Paul and Clarissa were waiting at the gate to come home, the flight crew came out to welcome the passengers –the pilot and co-pilot led them out to the plane and assisted them as they boarded. They were cheerful and friendly as they chatted with Paul, when he asked them how their day had been. This was their last flight of the day.

The pilot shared their daily travels with flights all over BC, but also how grateful they were to be based in Victoria so they could be home with their families every night. Paul’s impression, was that this was like he was talking to a friend rather than feeling like cargo. And that this was a company that has a good relationship with its employees

That’s a great feeling to be left with.

What Worked or Could Have Been Done Better

From this tale, what’s the one thing your business can take away to better serve your customers.

Be a Great Host for your Customers

1) Take every opportunity to welcome your customers – From offering a warm drink and muffins at checkin, to the informal banter between a staff member and Paul to the pilots helping escorting and helping customers with their baggage, make the experience an experience. Rather than transactional. If you provide a service that has moments of downtime or waiting, what can you do to add value?

2) Solve your customers problems – it had long been a challenge for travellers to bring their wine back from the Okanagan. A general manager at Pacific Coastal airlines had recognized they were part of the whole tourism experience to the area so she brought forward the idea of making it easier with this free wine transport service. She told Paul that it seemed obvious to her because that was why so many people flew there. Look at where you fit in your customer’s journey in the larger customer experience, and how you relate to other stops in that journey. Find ways to be thoughtful and help your customers along.

Morale of the Story:

If you help others, then they will also help you

By being thoughtful and helpful to their customers, they are creating an environment that inspires loyalty. As Paul said after this experience, “I would absolutely choose to fly with them over any other airline whenever possible.”

  Keep up to date with the latest stories from the customer journey with the CX Storytime Podcast. iTunes/Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts You can also find the podcast on Spotify, Overcast or wherever you find your shows.

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