McCarthy Family Foundation

Effective interprofessional collaborative practice is critical to maximizing patient safety and providing quality patient care; incorporating these strategies into the curriculum is an important step toward implementation. This study assessed whether TeamSTEPPS training using simulation could improve student knowledge of TeamSTEPPS principles, self-efficacy toward interprofessional collaborative practice, and team performance. Students (N = 201) demonstrated significant improvement in all of the targeted measurements.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) negatively impacts long-term survival. However, little is known about the likelihood of death within the first year following hospital discharge. This study examined mortality among a representative sample of 3679 persons within 1 year of being discharged from any of 62 acute care hospitals in South Carolina following TBI and identified the factors associated with early death using a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. The mortality experience of the cohort was also compared with that of the general population by using standardized mortality ratios for selected causes of death by age, adjusted for race and sex.

Our goal was to evaluate the image quality, contrast characteristics, and possible clinical utility of STIR images obtained using a fast SE (FSE) technique. The signal and contrast characteristics of FSE STIR images were evaluated using a lipid/water phantom and normal volunteers. Based upon these results, optimal FSE STIR imaging parameters were chosen. Conventional STIR and FSE STIR images were then obtained (while maintaining an equal number of section locations between the two sequences) in a series of 14 patients with known musculoskeletal abnormalities. These images were compared side by side by two experienced MR radiologists for image quality and lesion detection. There were no statistically significant differences between the FSE STIR images and conventional STIR images in lesion detection, image quality, motion artifact, or final diagnosis. STIR imaging provides optimal contrast for detection of many pathologic abnormalities. This is especially true for musculoskeletal tumors and infection. The long imaging time and reduced number of sections obtainable with conventional SE (CSE) STIR sequences limit their routine use. Our results show that FSE STIR images of the musculoskeletal system can be obtained up to seven times more rapidly than CSE STIR images without compromising lesion detection or image quality.