The Last Mile: Translational Research to Improve CKD Outcomes

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases–supported Kidney Research National Dialogue asked the scientific community to formulate and prioritize research objectives that would enhance understanding of kidney function and disease and improve clinical outcomes. An engaged and growing group of investigators working in type 2 translation (from clinical evidence to implementation in the community) identified barriers to improving patient care in CKD and suggested research priorities to test translational strategies that have been effective for other chronic diseases.     

Lactococcus garvieae multi-valve infective endocarditis in a traveler returning from South Korea

Lactococcus garvieae is a rare but emerging human pathogen causing a variety of infections with only ten cases of infective endocarditis reported in the literature. We present the only case of Lactococcus garvieae infective endocarditis affecting both a native and a bioprosthetic valve in a traveler returning from rural South Korea.     

Participatory inquiry with a colleague: an innovative faculty development process

Clinical evaluation is central to the aims of nursing education; however, little has been written about the actual evaluative practices of nurse educators and the sources of influence on those practices. In this article, we describe our experience as co-investigators into the evaluation practices of one of us (J.A.J.) and overview some of the challenges and opportunities of participatory inquiry. We describe how J.A.J.'s involvement in this research project encouraged her to explore her evaluative practices in a meaningful way, which moved her to a place of deeper understanding about her work and transformed her as a nurse educator. As a result of this study, we are convinced of the necessity for a faculty development process whereby colleagues commit to a critical inquiry process focused on identifying each other's evaluative practices and sources of influence on those practices. In addition, schools of nursing can encourage faculty participation in peer development by adopting an expanded view of scholarship in which the disciplined examination of one's evaluative practices is accepted as evidence of the scholarship of teaching.