COVID-19 Contingency Planning Among Radiologic Science Programs

PURPOSE

To examine radiologic science programs' contingency planning related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Using a mixed-methods approach, educators in magnetic resonance, medical dosimetry, radiation therapy, and radiography programs were surveyed to identify curricular changes, policy implementation, and financial implications related to pandemic recovery efforts. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics and percentages. Thematic analyses were performed on the qualitative responses.

RESULTS

Continued curricular changes involved using technology to teach in the online environment and ensuring the safety and protection of students during clinical rotations. Institutional policies implemented because of the pandemic included social distancing guidelines, mask requirements, and availability of vaccine. The greatest financial implication witnessed among the sample of educators at their respective institutions was the halting of employer-related travel. Faced with the spontaneous shift to online learning while not being equipped with the appropriate training, most of the educator participants experienced COVID-19 fatigue and burnout related to teaching online.

DISCUSSION

Social distancing guidelines make it difficult for large classes to meet in person, so virtual lectures using video conferencing platforms were an essential part of teaching during the pandemic. Most educators in this study selected recording technology for lectures as the most useful educational technology tool integrated into the didactic portion of their program. For many educators, having administration realize the adoption of technology is integral to and viable for radiologic science programs was a positive outcome of COVID-19. The pandemic caused educators in the study to experience fatigue and burnout related to online learning; however, the educators also expressed a high degree of comfort with using technology in the online learning environment. This implies that the source of fatigue and burnout was likely not associated with the technology, but with the focused and swift transition to predominately online learning.

CONCLUSION

Although educators in this sample felt moderately prepared to handle future viral outbreaks and extremely comfortable using technology in the virtual classroom, additional research is needed to develop viable contingency plans and explore pedagogical approaches to content delivery beyond the traditional, in-person structure.

COVID-19 Contingency Planning Among Radiologic Science Programs

PURPOSE

To examine radiologic science programs' contingency planning related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Using a mixed-methods approach, educators in magnetic resonance, medical dosimetry, radiation therapy, and radiography programs were surveyed to identify curricular changes, policy implementation, and financial implications related to pandemic recovery efforts. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics and percentages. Thematic analyses were performed on the qualitative responses.

RESULTS

Continued curricular changes involved using technology to teach in the online environment and ensuring the safety and protection of students during clinical rotations. Institutional policies implemented because of the pandemic included social distancing guidelines, mask requirements, and availability of vaccine. The greatest financial implication witnessed among the sample of educators at their respective institutions was the halting of employer-related travel. Faced with the spontaneous shift to online learning while not being equipped with the appropriate training, most of the educator participants experienced COVID-19 fatigue and burnout related to teaching online.

DISCUSSION

Social distancing guidelines make it difficult for large classes to meet in person, so virtual lectures using video conferencing platforms were an essential part of teaching during the pandemic. Most educators in this study selected recording technology for lectures as the most useful educational technology tool integrated into the didactic portion of their program. For many educators, having administration realize the adoption of technology is integral to and viable for radiologic science programs was a positive outcome of COVID-19. The pandemic caused educators in the study to experience fatigue and burnout related to online learning; however, the educators also expressed a high degree of comfort with using technology in the online learning environment. This implies that the source of fatigue and burnout was likely not associated with the technology, but with the focused and swift transition to predominately online learning.

CONCLUSION

Although educators in this sample felt moderately prepared to handle future viral outbreaks and extremely comfortable using technology in the virtual classroom, additional research is needed to develop viable contingency plans and explore pedagogical approaches to content delivery beyond the traditional, in-person structure.

Shift Work and Mental Health Among Radiologic Technologists

PURPOSE

To determine the relationships between mental health (depression and anxiety) and engaging in shift work, working weekend shifts, and taking call for radiologic technologists, and to identify coping strategies used to manage depression and anxiety.

METHODS

Validated instruments were used to measure depression and anxiety levels among a sample of radiologic technologists who were members of Advanced Health Education Center. The participants also identified their primary work shift and their frequency of working weekends and taking call.

RESULTS

There were 173 completed survey responses for this study. Most radiologic technologists in this study experienced mild symptoms of depression (62, 35.8%) and anxiety (57, 32.9%). Nearly half of the participants indicated that their depression and anxiety made it difficult for them to perform their jobs effectively, and about one-third of the participants believed those symptoms were intensified by shift work. A strong, positive relationship was identified between participants' total depression and anxiety scores (P < .001). There were no significant differences between shift work and total depression score (P = .06) or total anxiety score (P = .28). A significant association was found between the frequency of working weekend shifts and depression levels (P < .001) with a moderate effect size. Most of the participants identified support from family or friends, prayer and spiritual activities, and prescribed medication as common coping strategies.

DISCUSSION

Findings revealed that the radiologic technologists in this study did not rely heavily on employer-based resources, such as employee assistance programs, to cope with their depression and anxiety symptoms. One speculation for underuse of these employer-based resources might be fear of being stigmatized by management or personal perceived stigma against asking for help. There is an opportunity for increased awareness of available mental health resources and acceptance of mental health management to erase the common, negative stigma associated with seeking out professional resources.

CONCLUSION

Radiologic technologists in this study experienced depression and anxiety symptoms that affected their work performance and correlated with working weekend shifts; however, there was no significant relationship between shift work and depression or anxiety in this sample of radiologic technologists.

Fix Your Leaky Pipeline: Support Women in Pursuit of Advanced Degrees

Completing a doctoral program is a daunting journey for any individual. Working full-time and juggling personal demands make the journey more complex. This monograph explores the unique motivations women who travel this path possess, identifies barriers in completion of a doctoral program for women, and tells the story of one group of women who developed a working model for a supportive writing group. As numbers of female health professions students and education leaders increase, institutions must identify mechanisms for support of women interested in pursuing an academic doctoral degree, preparing academic institutions for future diversity changes in health care.

COVID-19 Planning Among Radiologic Science Programs: Response Mitigation Activities

PURPOSE

To examine radiologic science programs' mitigation activities and educators' experiences related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response planning.

METHODS

Using a mixed-methods approach, educators in magnetic resonance, medical dosimetry, radiation therapy, and radiography programs were surveyed to capture their experiences and mitigation strategies related to COVID-19 response planning. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics and percentages. Thematic analyses were performed on the qualitative responses.

RESULTS

A total of 274 educators responded. Educators reported being somewhat comfortable with modifying clinical experiences (79, 28.8%), moderately comfortable with adjusting assessment procedures (112, 40.9%), and extremely comfortable with changing delivery of didactic content (115, 42%). Incidentally, 220 (80.3%) educators thought adjusting to a new course delivery approach (eg, face-to-face to online format) was the greatest challenge for faculty during the pandemic. Notably, half of the educators in this study questioned the quality of online (remote) learning. Specific to program policies, educators indicated that access restrictions to campus buildings (263, 96%) and removal of students from clinical sites (254, 92.7%) were implemented during the pandemic.

DISCUSSION

Educators self-reported a moderate to strong comfort level with curricular modification. The area of modification that yielded the most uncertainty arose from alterations of clinical experiences. Thematic analyses revealed concerns related to personal protective equipment procurement and clinical sites prohibiting students from completing rotations. However, educators created innovative alternatives to enhance clinical education by providing simulations, case study analyses, and virtual tours of facilities during the pandemic. Securing educational technology resources, such as lockdown browser software, and working with institutional instructional designers might provide some resolution to educators' concerns regarding the quality of online (remote) learning.

CONCLUSION

Archiving radiologic science programs' COVID-19 response efforts is important. The compilation of mitigation strategies will inform and guide programs on contingency planning for future pandemic and emergent conditions.

Scholarly Productivity Among Educators in Radiologic Sciences and Other Health Care Professions: A Comparative Approach

PURPOSE

To compare scholarly productivity among dental hygiene, medical imaging and radiation therapy, medical laboratory science, nursing, and respiratory care educators.

METHODS

Using a mixed-methods approach, educators were surveyed to compare their engagement in scholarly activities and identify motivators, employer support measures, and barriers associated with scholarship engagement. Quantitative data were analyzed using percentages, descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis H tests, and Welch F tests. Thematic analyses were performed on the qualitative responses.

RESULTS

Of the 360 completed surveys, 295 (81.9%) participants indicated that they engaged in scholarly activities. Medical laboratory science educators wrote significantly more peer-reviewed journal articles than did medical imaging and radiation therapy educators (P = .004). Medical laboratory science educators ranked career advancement as a significantly higher motivator than did nursing educators (P = .045); nursing educators ranked personal satisfaction as a significantly higher motivator than did educators from respiratory care (P = .002) and medical laboratory science (P = .009); and medical laboratory science educators ranked pressure from institution hierarchy as a significantly higher motivator than did dental hygiene educators (P = .005) and medical imaging and radiation therapy educators (P = .043). Thematic analyses revealed that participants consider collaboration to be a motivating factor to engage in scholarship; employer support measures should include guidance with grant writing and funding; and barriers that limit productivity include a lack of time, program faculty, and understanding where to begin.

DISCUSSION

Initiatives such as mentoring programs should be implemented to promote collaborative efforts among medical imaging and radiation therapy educators to increase productivity in scholarship, particularly in peer-reviewed publications, and minimize potential barriers. In addition, the ASRT Foundation created new grant tiers for radiologic technologists and radiation therapists who have an interest in conducting research and publishing their results. This opportunity can advance scholarly productivity in the profession.

CONCLUSION

Communicating the value of scholarship engagement to medical imaging and radiation therapy educators is important so that the profession can advance to its full potential as a distinct allied health profession.

Current Employment Practices and Future Preferences for Multicredentialed Technologists in Nebraska

A study was conducted to determine the current employment practices and future preferences of Nebraska hospitals regarding multicredentialed technologists. A survey was mailed to 104 hospital radi- ology departments in the state of Nebraska, asking for voluntary and confidential responses by radiology managers charged with hiring of radiologic technologists with a response rate of 51%. Nearly all respondents (93%) said it was very likely or fairly likely that they would hire a multicredentialed technologist in the future. Results suggest that there is a trend among Nebraska hospital radiology managers toward needing or hiring multicredentialed radiologic technologists in the future. There appears to be a greater emphasis in the pairing of credentialing in diagnostic radiography with computed tomography, ultra- sound, and mammography in current and future needs.

Construction of gender-enriched cDNA archives for adult Oesophagostomum dentatum by suppressive-subtractive hybridization and a microarray analysis of expressed sequence tags

In the present study, we constructed gender-enriched cDNA libraries for the adult stage of the parasitic nematode Oesophagostomum dentatum (order Strongylida) using suppressive-subtractive hybridization (SSH), sequenced clones from the female-library and male-library (480 from each) and conducted bioinformatic and microarray analyses of the expressed sequence tags (ESTs). In total, 873 ESTs (440 male and 433 female) were obtained, achieving a sequencing success of 91%The nucleotide sequences reported in this article (Tables 1-5) have been deposited in the EMBL, GenBank and DDJB databases under the Accession nos. AM157797-AM158083. Microarray analyses of 516 unique ESTs representing both gender-enriched libraries revealed differential hybridization for 391 of them (75.8%). Of these, 220 (56.3%) had significantly greater signal intensities in the female than in the male, and 154 (70%) of these were predicted to have homologues in C. elegans. These homologues were predicted to be involved in key biological processes, including embryonic nutrition, gametogenesis, molecular binding/transport or metabolism, nucleic acid synthesis and function, and signal transduction. Of the 171 ESTs with statistically higher signal intensities in male O. dentatum, 43.8% had homologues in C. elegans. These homologues included major sperm proteins (MSPs) or MSP-like molecules, keratin-like molecules, molecules involved in metabolism, PDZ domain-containing proteins, sugar binding proteins, protein kinases, serine proteases or protease inhibitors, molecules involved in proteolysis and other proteins, such as enzymes and various putative proteins. Of the 287 ESTs (from both gender-enriched cDNA libraries) with no known homologues in C. elegans, 50 (17.4%) had homologues in other nematodes, 8 had homologues in various other organisms and 104 (36.2%) had no homology to any sequence in current gene databases. The present study lays a foundation for the isolation and molecular, biochemical and functional characterization of selected genes from the gender-enriched cDNA archives established for O. dentatum.

Selective induction of mitochondrial chaperones in response to loss of the mitochondrial genome

Molecular chaperones are known to play key roles in the synthesis, transport and folding of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins and of proteins encoded by mitochondrial DNA. Although the regulation of heat-shock genes has been the subject of considerable investigation, regulation of the genes encoding mitochondrial chaperones is not well defined. We have found that stress applied specifically to the mitochondria of mammalian cells is capable of eliciting an organelle-specific, molecular chaperone response. Using the loss of mitochondrial DNA as a means of producing a specific mitochondrial stress, we show by Western-blot analysis that mtDNA-less (rho 0) rat hepatoma cells show an increase in the steady-state levels of chaperonin 60 (cpn 60) and chaperonin 10 (cpn 10). Nuclear transcription assays show that the upregulation of these chaperones is due to transcriptional activation. There was no effect on the inducible cytosolic Hsp 70, Hsp 72, nor on mtHsp 70 in rho 0 cells, leading us to concluded that stress applied selectively to mitochondria elicits a specific molecular chaperone response. Heat stress was able to provide an additional induction of cpn 60 and cpn 10 above that obtained for the rho 0 state alone, indicating that these genes have separate regulatory elements for the specific mitochondrial and general stress responses. Since the mitochondrial-specific chaperones are encoded by nuclear DNA, there must be a mechanism for molecular communication between the mitochondrion and nucleus and this system can address how stress is communicated between these organelles.