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Background: Undergraduate outdoor orientation programs facilitate students' transition into college. Research has yet to be conducted on the few programs at medical schools, which may have unique benefits given the specific challenges of transitioning to medical school and high rates of burnout among medical students. Purpose: This mixed methods study examines the impact of one medical school's outdoor orientation program on its participants. Methodology/Approach: A survey was administered immediately following the 2018 trip (N = 56 responses). Follow-up focus groups were conducted with a sample of the same participants (N = 18) in 2019. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Findings/Conclusions: Participants felt that the program helped ease their transition into medical school, establish a support system, and hone personal development and wellness skills. Many of these effects persisted up to one year later. Implications: These findings are of particular interest to the medical and experiential education communities because many outcomes persisted for at least one year after the original trip and aligned with factors believed to protect against medical student burnout. There is opportunity for additional research as well as expansion of similar programs to other medical schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace climate matters significantly for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or other sexual minority (LGBQ) employees, given that the presence of workplace hostility or support can affect well-being. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Climate Inventory (LGBTCI) is a measure of workplace climate for LGBQ individuals, intended to capture the full range of workplace climate from hostility to support. The purpose of this article is to provide evidence that the recommended scoring approach of the LGBTCI needs to be reconsidered. We used latent class analysis to estimate classes of work-related experiences in our sample of 442 LGBQ employees who completed the LGBTCI. A four-class solution fit the data best. Characteristics of each class were identified and consequently labeled: supportive work climate, tolerant work climate, ambiguous work climate, and hostile work climate. Findings suggest that a more accurate measure of workplace climate would include independent scales for support and hostility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States is home to 23 million veterans. In many instances, veterans with serious illness who seek healthcare at the VA receive care from a palliative care service. Animal-assisted intervention (AAI) is gaining attention as a therapeutic stress reducing modality; however, its effects have not been well studied in veterans receiving palliative care in an acute care setting. A crossover repeated-measures study was conducted to examine the effects of an animal-assisted intervention (AAI) in the form of a therapy dog on stress indicators in 25 veterans on the palliative care service at the VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System in Denver, CO. Veterans had a visit from a therapy dog and the dog’s handler, a clinical psychologist (experimental condition) and an unstructured visit with the clinical psychologist alone (control condition). Blood pressure, heart rate, and the salivary biomarkers cortisol, alpha-amylase, and immunoglobulin A were collected before, after, and 30-minutes after both the experimental and control conditions. Significant decreases in cortisol were found when the before time period was compared to the 30-minutes after time period for both the experimental (p = 0.007) and control condition (p = 0.036). A significant decrease in HR was also found when the before time period was compared to the 30-minutes after time period for both the experimental (p = 0.0046) and control (p = 0.0119) condition. Results of this study supported that a VA facility dog paired with a palliative care psychologist had a measurable impact on salivary cortisol levels and HR in veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal-assisted intervention is gaining attention as a stress reduction modality. Quantitative data demonstrate its effectiveness, as a recent study published in AJHPM supported that a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital facility dog paired with a palliative care psychologist had a measurable impact on salivary cortisol levels and heart rate in hospitalized veterans. There remains an important role for qualitative insights. The Denver VA palliative care team learned a range of lessons from the sudden loss of their facility dog, many of which relate directly to palliative care. The importance of communication, adjusting to changing teams, and the need for consultation and support based in shared goals and values all became evident in the course of the facility dog’s illness. After her death, lessons shifted to grief and loss and how providers, patients, and a community care for each other. People’s connection to the facility dog ultimately proved to be a critical factor in helping them connect with one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]