Academic Help-Seeking Behavior Among Student Pharmacists

Objectives. To identify factors associated with academic help-seeking behavior among student pharmacists at a public university.Methods. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted to explore in depth perceptions of facilitators of and barriers to the help-seeking behavior and academic achievement of student pharmacists who had received a D or F grade in any year. A 4-part survey instrument was developed and administered to all student pharmacists and included sections for (1) attitudes and academic help-seeking behavior, (2) health status, (3) demographics, and (4) open comments. A structural equation modeling approach was used to assess relationships among domains of interest.Results. Three student focus groups noted that helpfulness of faculty members and school administrators were 2 prominent facilitators of help-seeking behavior and academic achievement. Diminished quality of life caused by stress and depression was the primary barrier to help-seeking and achievement. Three hundred four (68.6%) student pharmacists completed the survey instrument. Academic help-seeking behavior was influenced mostly by perceived academic competence and perceived faculty helpfulness. In contrast, ambivalence and perception of help-seeking as threatening were 2 factors that were negatively associated with academic help-seeking behavior.Conclusions. Academic help-seeking behavior was positively related to greater perceived academic competence and positive relationships among student pharmacists and faculty members.     

Book Review

The relationship between variation in wood shrinkage and cellulose crystallite width determined by X-ray diffraction was assessed using SilviScan-2 (a system developed at CSIRO for rapid assessment of wood microstructure). Cellulose crystallite width, density and microfibril angle were determined for 600μm wide zones on small wood samples with known tangential shrinkage. The tangential shrinkage measurements included shrinkage to 12% moisture content after reconditioning (MC AR); and a shrinkage differential calculated from tangential shrinkage to 12% MC AR recorded for each zone; and the minimum shrinkage recorded in adjacent wood of similar cambial age. Spearman correlations and forward stepwise regressions showed that the cellulose crystallite width was a good predictor of the shrinkage measures and that density was a minor predictor. Together, cellulose crystallite width and density could explain 75% of the variation in tangential shrinkage for randomly selected locations throughout the tree, and 87% of the variation in tangential shrinkage in samples selected from the lower 5% of tree height. The results suggest that SilviScan-2 can be used to predict tangential shrinkage during drying in increment cores, and may therefore be useful in developing nondestructive sampling strategies in tree improvement programs for E. globulus.     

Randomized use of cyclosporin A (CsA) to modulate P-glycoprotein in children with AML in remission: Pediatric Oncology Group Study 9421

Relapse is a major obstacle in the cure of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The Pediatric Oncology Group AML Study 9421 tested 2 different strategies to improve event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS). Patients were randomized to receive standard-dose DAT (daunorubicin, cytarabine, and thioguanine) or high-dose DAT during induction. To interfere with P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-dependent drug efflux, the second randomization tested the benefit of cyclosporine (CsA) added to consolidation chemotherapy. Of the 282 children randomly assigned to receive standard DAT induction, 248 (87.9%) achieved remission compared to 253 (91%) of the 278 receiving high-dose DAT (P = ns). Children with HLA-identical sibling donors who achieved a complete remission received an allogeneic bone marrow transplant as consolidation. For the 83 patients receiving a matched related donor bone marrow transplantation (BMT), the 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) is 67%. Of the 418 children who achieved remission and went on to consolidation with and without CsA, the DFS was 40.6% and 33.9%, respectively (P = .24). Overexpression of P-gp was infrequent (14%) in this pediatric population. In this study, intensifying induction with high-dose DAT and the addition of CsA to consolidation chemotherapy did not prolong the durations of remission or improve overall survival for children with AML.     

Epidemiology of human parvovirus B19 in children with sickle cell disease

Human parvovirus (HPV) B19 causes significant morbidity and mortality in children with sickle cell disease (SCD), but little data are published about the epidemiology of HPV B19 infection and its associated complications in this patient population. In this study, prevalence and incidence rates of HPV B19 were determined in 633 patients with SCD followed at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia between November 1996 and December 2001. Thirty percent (30%) were HPV B19 immunoglobulin G (IgG) positive at first testing, and the 70% without evidence of past HPV B19 infection were tested annually. One hundred ten patients developed evidence of HPV B19 infection for an incidence rate of 11.3 per 100 patient years. Sixty-eight episodes of HPV B19-induced transient red cell aplasia occurred with the following clinical events: fever (89.7%), pain (61.8%), acute splenic sequestration (19.1%), and acute chest syndrome (11.8%). Pain, fever, and acute splenic sequestration were more frequent events with acute HPV B19 infections compared with acute events in uninfected patients. The results of this epidemiologic study, the largest and most comprehensive to date, justify the development of HPV B19 prevention strategies to diminish the frequent and often severe complications associated with HPV B19 infections in patients with SCD.     

WOMENtorship: The #WomenInMedicine perspective

Abstract

Mentorship is essential for career development, personal development, and job satisfaction for physicians in academic medicine. Women in academic medicine face unique challenges including significant gender disparities in positions of leadership as well as difficulty finding mentors. As leaders in academic medicine, we have collated several structured recommendations for physicians of both genders seeking to be better mentors to female trainees and early career physicians. We discuss each of these recommendations in detail including the following: acknowledging your own strengths and limitations as a mentor, addressing issues of work-life integration, helping your mentee set long-term career goals, and acting as a sponsor as well as a mentor. We hope these suggestions are helpful for current and aspiring mentors and provide a platform to improve career development for female physicians and reduce gender inequities in academic medicine.