Continuing professional development systems for medical physicists: A global survey and analysis

Continuing professional development (CPD) and continuing professional education (CPE) are seen as being necessary for medical physicists to ensure that they are up-to-date with current clinical practice. CPD is more than just continuing professional education, but can include research publication, working group contribution, thesis examination and many other activities. A systematic way of assessing and recording such activities that a medical physicist undertakes is used in a number of countries. This can be used for certification and licensing renewal purposes. Such systems are used in 27 countries, but they should be implemented in all countries where clinical medical physicists are employed.A survey of the CPD systems that are currently operated around the world is presented. In general they are quite similar although there are a few countries that have CPD systems that differ significantly from the others in many respects. Generally they ensure that medical physicists are kept up-to-date, although there are some that clearly will fail to achieve that.An analysis of what is required to construct a useful medical physics CPD system is made. Finally, the need for medical physicist professional organizations to cooperate and share in the production and distribution of CPD and CPE materials is emphasized.     

青年教师如何在医学微生物教学中提高教学水平

青年教师是高等院校未来的主力军,学校可持续发展的后备力量,是学校事业发展的希望,因此,提高青年教师的教学水平至关重要。大学青年教师在专业技能、思想政治素质、业务水平、掌握阅读专业书刊能力、自身的教学经验和反思等方面具有良好的基础,但在教育学、心理学、一般教学方法、学习情况分析等方面不够深入了解,因此需要对大学青年教师进行严格系统性培养,本文针对青年教师一对一导师制专业技能培训、观摩教学、继续教育培训等方面进行阐述,旨在为青年教师早日进入角色,尽快胜任教育教学工作提供参考。     

Teachers' journal club: bridging between the dynamics of biological discoveries and biology teachers

Since biology is one of the most dynamic research fields within the natural sciences, the gap between the accumulated knowledge in biology and the knowledge that is taught in schools, increases rapidly with time. Our long-term objective is to develop means to bridge between the dynamics of biological discoveries and the biology teachers and students. Here we report on our recent initiative towards this objective in which we established a journal club forum as a means towards the professional development of biology teachers. We used the journal club format, which is common within the scientific community, in order to engage biology teachers in a constructivist type of learning in which they acquire new skills and at the same time are continuously updated as to biological discoveries, and can then develop updated activities for their biology students. We suggest using the journal club format for the long-term professional development of biology teachers.     

Arts integration in rural Minnesota: A collaborative arts integration framework

In this article, we demonstrate that arts integration holds unique promise and benefits for helping rural teachers to provide more equitable arts opportunities for their students. These benefits include: professional network development in the service of both curricular development for arts integration and connecting teachers who often work in isolation; additional funding to allow for collaborative planning; and introduction to arts experiences and cultural resources for use in arts-integrated unit planning and implementation. We describe the Perpich Arts Integration Project—an innovative, state-funded program centered on a Collaborative Arts Integration Framework in three rural regions of Minnesota. Then, through data collected via a three-year longitudinal program documentation and evaluation, we describe several themes that we have identified about the implementation of arts integration in rural schools. Finally, we will describe a series of considerations and implications for rural schools seeking to implement such a program in the future.     

The Gentle Art of Criticism

Although much has been written about professional development in general education and music education literature, little has addressed the benefits of music-making as meaningful professional development for music teachers. For music teachers, music-making and meanings of music-making have been connected with teachers' identity, well-being, beliefs, and effectiveness, as well as being a powerful pedagogical tool and a way to develop presence in teaching. Presence in teaching is linked with self-awareness, attentiveness, and pedagogical knowledge. The purpose of this article is to explore the benefits of music-making for music teachers in order to convince policymakers of the value of music-making as a professional development activity for music teachers. This article explores theories from psychology and education that link engagement, well-being, and identity to lay the foundation for a justification of broadening professional development policies. Then, literature is presented that connects teachers' art-making experiences (past and present), identity, teaching, and student learning. The third section draws on my previous work to illustrate the intersections between teachers' music-making and teaching. Then, suggestions for implementing professional development programs with music-making components are made. Although there are many ways music-making could be included as professional development, I offer four suggestions: including music-making in departmental or district-wide meetings, granting professional development credit to music teachers who make music outside of the classroom, setting up in-classroom reflection opportunities/action research based on integrating music-making and music teaching, and initiating a collaborative teacher study group that includes chamber music collaboration.     

Developing a theory-based instrument to assess the impact of continuing professional development activities on clinical practice: a study protocol

Background

Continuing professional development (CPD) is one of the principal means by which health professionals (i.e. primary care physicians and specialists) maintain, improve, and broaden the knowledge and skills required for optimal patient care and safety. However, the lack of a widely accepted instrument to assess the impact of CPD activities on clinical practice thwarts researchers' comparisons of the effectiveness of CPD activities. Using an integrated model for the study of healthcare professionals' behaviour, our objective is to develop a theory-based, valid, reliable global instrument to assess the impact of accredited CPD activities on clinical practice.

Methods

Phase 1: We will analyze the instruments identified in a systematic review of factors influencing health professionals' behaviours using criteria that reflect the literature on measurement development and CPD decision makers' priorities. The outcome of this phase will be an inventory of instruments based on social cognitive theories. Phase 2: Working from this inventory, the most relevant instruments and their related items for assessing the concepts listed in the integrated model will be selected. Through an e-Delphi process, we will verify whether these instruments are acceptable, what aspects need revision, and whether important items are missing and should be added. The outcome of this phase will be a new global instrument integrating the most relevant tools to fit our integrated model of healthcare professionals' behaviour. Phase 3: Two data collections are planned: (1) a test-retest of the new instrument, including item analysis, to assess its reliability and (2) a study using the instrument before and after CPD activities with a randomly selected control group to explore the instrument's mere-measurement effect. Phase 4: We will conduct individual interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders to identify anticipated barriers and enablers for implementing the new instrument in CPD practice. Phase 5: Drawing on the results from the previous phases, we will use consensus-building methods to develop with the decision makers a plan to implement the new instrument.

Discussion

This project proposes to give stakeholders a theory-based global instrument to validly and reliably measure the impacts of CPD activities on clinical practice, thus laying the groundwork for more targeted and effective knowledge-translation interventions in the future.

     

Factor analysis of teacher professional development in Chinese military medical universities

Background and purpose: Teacher professional development potentially enhances teachers’ professional morale, knowledge, skills and autonomy, which helps improve the quality of education. The military medical university is an important medical education institution in China; however, studies of teacher professional development within military medical universities are still lacking. This study aimed to explore the factors that influence teacher professional development in Chinese military medical universities. Methods: We interviewed 19 experts from China’s Third Military Medical University to identify factors that affect teacher professional development and used these factors to prepare a questionnaire. The data were collected through a random, anonymous questionnaire survey of 371 teachers at three military universities in China, analysed by exploratory factor analysis and verified by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: We obtained five main factors, which explained 66.691% of the total variance and were found to have a good data fitting according to the CFA results. Conclusions: Teaching experience, shared vision, policy and material security, professional competence and psychological motivation primarily affect teacher professional development in Chinese military medical universities. We can only achieve teacher professional development goals through comprehensive consideration, coordinated arrangement and content improvement of these five factors.     

Cpd-1 Null Mice Display a Subtle Neurological Phenotype

Background

CPD1 (also known as ANP32-E) belongs to a family of evolutionarily conserved acidic proteins with leucine rich repeats implicated in a variety of cellular processes regulating gene expression, vesicular trafficking, intracellular signaling and apoptosis. Because of its spatiotemporal expression pattern, CPD1 has been proposed to play an important role in brain morphogenesis and synaptic development.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We have generated CPD1 knock-out mice that we have subsequently characterized. These mice are viable and fertile. However, they display a subtle neurological clasping phenotype and mild motor deficits.

Conclusions/Significance

CPD1 is not essential for normal development; however, it appears to play a role in the regulation of fine motor functions. The minimal phenotype suggests compensatory biological mechanisms.     

Palmitoylation of carboxypeptidase D. Implications for intracellular trafficking

Covalent lipid modifications mediate protein-membrane and protein-protein interactions and are often essential for function. The purposes of this study were to examine the Cys residues of the transmembrane domain of metallocarboxypeptidase D (CPD) that could be a target for palmitoylation and to clarify the function of this modification. CPD is an integral membrane protein that cycles between the trans Golgi network and the plasma membrane. We constructed AtT-20 cells stably expressing various constructs carrying a reporter protein (albumin) fused to a transmembrane domain and the CPD cytoplasmic tail. Some of the constructs contained the three Cys residues present in the CPD transmembrane region, while other constructs contained Ala in place of the Cys. Constructs carrying Cys residues were palmitoylated, while those constructs lacking the Cys residues were not. Because palmitoylation of several proteins affects their association with cholesterol and sphingolipid-rich membrane domains or caveolae, we tested endogenous CPD and several of the reporter constructs for resistance to extraction with Triton X-100. A construct containing the Cys residues of the CPD transmembrane domain was soluble in Triton X-100 as was endogenous palmitoylated CPD, indicating that palmitoylation does not target CPD to detergent-resistant membrane rafts. Interestingly, constructs of CPD that lack palmitoylation sites have an increased half-life, a slightly more diffuse steady-state localization, and a slower rate of exit from the Golgi as compared with constructs containing palmitoylation sites. Thus, the covalent attachment of palmitic acid to the Cys residues of CPD has a functional significance in the trafficking of the protein.     

Assessing the professional development needs of arts instructors working in multi-age classrooms

This article presents the results of a national survey conducted with 223 arts teachers working in public schools that feature mixed-age classrooms rather than traditional grade levels. The purpose of the survey was to identify the professional development needs of arts teachers working in these unique environments and to offer suggestions for policymakers who might provide appropriate training or foster the development of multi-age school sites. The results showed that most respondents (73.1%) were in favor of developing new multi-age training for arts teachers and revealed their preferences for workshop content related to organizational strategies, collaboration with colleagues, assessment, integrated curriculum, collaborative student work, research, and thematic instruction. The results also revealed respondents' preferences for venues, formats, and the scheduling of such professional development experiences. The implications of these findings provide a number of options for policymakers to weigh in planning optimum training opportunities for multi-age arts instructors.     

The European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics Policy Statement No. 10.1: Recommended Guidelines on National Schemes for Continuing Professional Development of Medical Physicists

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is vital to the medical physics profession if it is to embrace the pace of change occurring in medical practice. As CPD is the planned acquisition of knowledge, experience and skills required for professional practice throughout one's working life it promotes excellence and protects the profession and public against incompetence. Furthermore, CPD is a recommended prerequisite of registration schemes (Caruana et al. 2014 [1]; [2]) and is implied in the Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM (EU BSS) [3] and the International Basic Safety Standards (BSS) [4]. It is to be noted that currently not all national registration schemes require CPD to maintain the registration status necessary to practise medical physics. Such schemes should consider adopting CPD as a prerequisite for renewing registration after a set period of time.This EFOMP Policy Statement, which is an amalgamation and an update of the EFOMP Policy Statements No. 8 and No. 10, presents guidelines for the establishment of national schemes for CPD and activities that should be considered for CPD.     

Increase in CPD photolyase activity functions effectively to prevent growth inhibition caused by UVB radiation

Rice cultivars vary widely in their sensitivity to ultraviolet B (UVB) and this has been correlated with cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) photolyase mutations that alter the structure/function of this photorepair enzyme. Here, we tested whether CPD photolyase function determines the UVB sensitivity of rice (Oryza sativa) by generating transgenic rice plants bearing the CPD photolyase gene of the UV-resistant rice cultivar Sasanishiki in the sense orientation (S-B and S-C lines) or the antisense orientation (AS-D line). The S-B and S-C plants had 5.1- and 45.7-fold higher CPD photolyase activities than the wild-type, respectively, were significantly more resistant to UVB-induced growth damage, and maintained significantly lower CPD levels in their leaves during growth under elevated UVB radiation. Conversely, the AS-D plant had little photolyase activity, was severely damaged by elevated UVB radiation, and maintained higher CPD levels in its leaves during growth under UVB radiation. Notably, the S-C plant was not more resistant to UVB-induced growth inhibition than the S-B plant, even though it had much higher CPD photolyase activity. These results strongly indicate that UVB-induced CPDs are one of principal causes of UVB-induced growth inhibition in rice plants grown under supplementary UVB radiation, and that increasing CPD photolyase activity can significantly alleviate UVB-caused growth inhibition in rice. However, further protection from UVB-induced damage may require the genetic enhancement of other systems as well.     

Buttons of Wood

As a result of Race to the Top, states across the country vied for school improvement grants in order to advance educational reforms including effective professional development and teacher collaboration within their school districts. Requirements of the grant included the development of teacher evaluation systems and a professional development model to support teacher growth and efficacy. Grant recipients unanimously chose to incorporate some type of professional learning community (PLC) and selected models that emphasized increasing and sustaining teacher collaboration in all disciplines. PLCs offer an opportunity for music educators to receive pedagogy specifically tailored to their discipline. Music teachers and arts supervisors should consider incorporating online PLCs into their programs not only to address professional development, but also to address teacher isolation and attrition and student achievement and, ultimately, to enact fundamental changes in their districts.     

A proposed higher education institution-based Three Rs advisory service

The University of Oxford's Ethical Review Process (ERP) is promoting a pilot scheme for a collaborative UK higher education institution-based Three Rs advisory service. It is believed that there is scope for UK academia to make a significant contribution, through the spread of its science base and the availability of high-quality library and IT services. A collaborative approach based on the concept of the critically appraised topic is envisaged, to minimise duplication and to ensure that limited resources are used to good effect. The initial objective is to identify, research, and validate refinement and replacement alternatives, drawing on both the skills of the information professional and the analogy of evidence-based health care. The results would be disseminated among member institutions by way of web-based systems, which could also offer on-line training in search strategies. The service would provide assistance to university-based project licence applicants, and would contribute to achieving the aims of the ERP, as an initiative "leading to the widest possible application of the Three Rs". It is hoped to develop the scheme in partnership with research council initiatives now under way, as the councils play a key role as funders, not only of research, but also of research student training. Universities are uniquely positioned, as centres of scientific education and, through continuing education, of continuing professional development, to provide a base for training in good practice. A successful pilot project could provide a foundation for a similar approach to reduction strategies and experimental design.     

Reflections on music teacher professional development: Teacher-generated policies and practices

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to make policy recommendations based on the authors’ experiences with, and research about, reflective, differentiated, and teacher-generated music teacher professional development (PD). By doing so, we argue for a bottom-up process that capitalizes on our music teacher and music teacher educator expertise along with the research literature in music teacher PD. We explore music teachers’ PD needs considering four career stages to explain how knowledge generated at each level informs our understanding of differentiated PD. From preservice music teachers and music teacher candidates, to in-service and veteran teachers, our discussion explores meaningful and effective ways to engage in deep, reflective thinking about the music teaching and learning process. Accordingly, we provide specific policy recommendations for music teachers at each career stage so that they might take greater ownership of their own learning, growth, and development through local, reflective, self-initiated, and differentiated PD opportunities.     

Preparation of site-specific T=mCG cis-syn cyclobutane dimer-containing template and its error-free bypass by yeast and human polymerase η

C-to-T mutations are a hallmark of UV light and, in humans, occur preferentially at methylated Py(m)CG sites, which are also sites of preferential cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) formation. In response, cells have evolved DNA damage bypass polymerases, of which polymerase η (pol η) appears to be specifically adapted to synthesize past cis-syn CPDs. Although T=T CPDs are stable, CPDs containing C or 5-methylcytosine ((m)C) are not and spontaneously deaminate to U or T at pH 7 and 37 °C over a period of hours or days, making their preparation and study difficult. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that, depending on solvent polarity, a C or an (m)C in a CPD can adopt three tautomeric forms, one of which could code as T. Although many in vitro studies have established that synthesis past T or U in a CPD by pol η occurs in a highly error-free manner, the only in vitro evidence that synthesis past C or (m)C in a CPD also occurs in an error-free manner is for an (m)C in the 5'-position of an (m)C=T CPD. Herein, we describe the preparation and characterization of an oligodeoxynucleotide containing a CPD of a T(m)CG site, one of the major sites of C methylation and C-to-T mutations found in the p53 gene of basal and squamous cell cancers. We also demonstrate that both yeast and human pol η synthesize past the 3'-(m)C CPD in a >99% error-free manner, consistent with the highly water-exposed nature of the active site.     

Addressing teachers' concerns about teaching evolution

Evolution was introduced into the senior secondary school Life Sciences curriculum in South Africa for the first time in 2008. Research in other countries shows that evolution is an extremely controversial topic to teach, raising serious concerns for teachers. Curriculum change theory dealing with ‘stages of concern’ suggests that teachers implementing a new curriculum move through a predictable series of types of concerns, and that if their initial concerns are not addressed then teachers are slow to move on to more important task-related matters. This has serious implications for both professional development programmes and the development of support materials for teachers: information about teachers' concerns is needed so that those having to support teachers can do so on an informed basis. This article identifies the concerns of 125 secondary school teachers having to teach evolution for the first time. Data was gathered using an activity-based questionnaire administered in a workshop setting to four different groups of biology teachers attending inservice workshops on the teaching of evolution, at stages progressively closer to the implementation date. The majority of concerns identified were early-stage ‘self-concerns’, dealing with personal worries and a need for information. Implications of the findings for providing support for teachers with concerns about teaching evolution are discussed.     

Investigation of the cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) photolyase DNA recognition mechanism by NMR analyses

The cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) is one of the major forms of DNA damage caused by irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) light. CPD photolyases recognize and repair UV-damaged DNA. The DNA recognition mechanism of the CPD photolyase has remained obscure because of a lack of structural information about DNA-CPD photolyase complexes. In order to elucidate the CPD photolyase DNA binding mode, we performed NMR analyses of the DNA-CPD photolyase complex. Based upon results from (31)P NMR measurements, in combination with site-directed mutagenesis, we have demonstrated the orientation of CPD-containing single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) on the CPD photolyase. In addition, chemical shift perturbation analyses, using stable isotope-labeled DNA, revealed that the CPD is buried in a cavity within CPD photolyase. Finally, NMR analyses of a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA)-CPD photolyase complex indicated that the CPD is flipped out of the dsDNA by the enzyme, to gain access to the active site.     

临床护理实习带教教师的专业素质与师德修养

教师素质直接影响学生身心的发展和学生素质的提高。建设一支师德高尚、敬业爱生、业务精湛的高素质教师队伍,是学校发展之本,也是学校持续发展和增强竞争力的必然要求。临床实习带教老师的专业素质与师德修养是提高护理学生整体素质能力的基本保证。只有提高临床实习带教老师的专业素质与师德修养水平,与学校的整体素质教育相结合,才能全面提高护理教育教学质量,为我国护理事业培养和输送高素质的、实用型的护理人才提供保证。