Meeting The Mentorship Needs Of International Students In The United States

Mentorship of international students is an enriching experience because international students studying in the United States enhance inclusion and diversity within the university environment by contributing their unique cultural and societal experiences and perspectives. International students have unique needs regardless of their country of origin and exposure. This paper provides the perspectives of international students on recommendations and strategies that mentors could employ to meet some of the identified needs of international students

Scope of Practice, and Certification and Licensure of Medical Assistants in the United States

Medical assistants (MAs) are an important part of the healthcare workforce. In the United States, the scope of practice and credentials of the MAs are not specifically defined. The inconsistencies in determination of the scope of practice for MAs across the United States necessitated this study. Chapter two, a scoping literature review, focused all on the existing types of literature such as research, theory-based, philosophical, empirical or practice-based, statistical reports, and gray literature, this chapter aimed to utilize quality literature to ascertain the scope of practice for MAs. Chapter three, I used an existence pre- and post-surveys which aimed to examine a training and certification process for MAs in a major southwestern hospital. I used Excel program for my data analysis. Chapter four, an intrinsic case study, studied the MAs' perceptions toward the certification program in a major southwestern hospital. MAXQDA was used for the data analysis. Out of 50 analyzed articles for the scoping review, 22 described the role of MAs and 36 discussed the job description of MAs. Nineteen articles listed the minimum requirements, while four described the required qualities. Only one article identified specific certification requirements and explained the certification process. Furthermore, seven articles identified different state certification requirements and 13 described various impacts of MAs on health outcomes. It was found in the surveys’ results that while MA certification may be viewed favorably, it is debatable whether it improves the MAs’ knowledge and skills. In addition, thematic analysis demonstrated that participants overall believed that certification is valuable, which contributed to the MAs’ willingness to engage in additional education and training. Moreover, it is imperative to maintain the facilitators contributing to the specialists' willingness to improve their professional competence and eliminate the barriers encountered by MAs during education. The research concluded that having qualified MAs can increase the delivery of primary care by reducing patient waiting time, streamlining the flow of patients, enhancing patient satisfaction, and improving care outcomes. Future research should study the evolving role of these specialists in different healthcare settings

Associations of Self-reported Musculoskeletal Pain and Depressive Symptoms among U.S. Healthcare Workers

Healthcare workers are prone to develop musculoskeletal pain because of the physical demands of their profession. While neck and back pain are believed to have a relationship with depression symptomatology, few studies have assessed this relationship among healthcare workers. The purposes of this study were to identify the: prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms among healthcare workers; association between musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms; and the association between musculoskeletal pain and severity of depressive symptomatology among those with self-reported depressive symptoms. Data from 1,205 healthcare workers in the 2018 National Health Insurance Survey were analyzed. In Phase 1, a logistic regression model was fitted to assess the relationship between self-reported neck and back pain and depressive symptoms. Then, in Phase 2, a logistic regression model was fitted for participants with self-reported depressive symptoms (n=501) to identify associations of neck and back pain with the severity of depressive symptomatology. About 74.9% of the study participants were female, 42.7% aged 41-64 years, 34.5% reported musculoskeletal pain, while 41.7% reported depressive symptoms. Low back pain was the most prevalent body pain (18.7%). Healthcare workers with neck pain only (OR=2.11, P=0.047), low back pain only (OR=2.19, PPHealthcare workers could benefit from multi-faceted public health interventions to simultaneously improve their musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms (e.g., ergonomic evaluation, stress management, one-on-one or group counseling)

Global burden of mental health problems among children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic umbrella review

AbstractMental health problems among children and adolescents are increasingly reported amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In this umbrella review, we aimed to synthesize global evidence on the epidemiologic burden and correlates of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) problems during this pandemic from existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We evaluated 422 citations and identified 17 eligible reviews on the epidemiology of CAMH in the context of COVID-19. Most of the reviews reported a high prevalence of anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, suicidal behavior, stress-related disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other mental health problems. Also, factors associated with CAMH such as age, gender, place of residence, educational attainment, household income, sedentary lifestyle, social media and internet use, comorbidities, family relationships, parents’ psychosocial conditions, COVID-19 related experiences, closure of schools, online learning, and social support were reported across reviews. As most studies were cross-sectional and used nonrepresentative samples, future research on representative samples adopting longitudinal and intervention designs is needed. Lastly, multipronged psychosocial care services, policies, and programs are needed to alleviate the burden of CAMH problems during and after this pandemic.</jats:p