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Objective: High quality obstetric anaesthetic care is integral to reducing preventable maternal deaths in Low-and-Middle-Income-Countries (LMICs). We applied behavioural science to evaluate SAFE Obstetrics, a 3-day Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course, on physician and non-physician anaesthetists' practice behaviours across 3 LMICs. Methods: Seven anaesthetist Fellows from Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania were trained in qualitative methods and behavioural science. Structured interviews were undertaken by Fellows and two UK behavioural scientists with course participants. Interviews were based on the Theoretical Domains Framework: a comprehensive framework of influences on behaviour change. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using content and thematic analysis. Results: 78 physician and non-physician anaesthetists participated (n = 26 Bangladesh, n = 24 Nepal and n = 28 Tanzania). Participants reported positive improvements in patient-centered working, safety, teamwork and confidence. Across countries, we found similar barriers and facilitators: environmental resources, a strong professional identity and positive social influences were key facilitators of change. Conclusion: This multi-country theory-based evaluation highlighted the impact of SAFE Obstetrics on participants' clinical practice. A supportive work environment was crucial for implementing learning following training; CPD courses in LMICs must furnish participants with skills and equipment to address training implementation challenges. Building local behavioural science capacity can strengthen LMIC health intervention evaluations.

Aims: As part of a broader process evaluation, we explored participants' experiences of, and engagement with, the DAFNEplus programme's group-based structured education course. This course, which was informed by behavioural science, provided participants with education and instruction to use flexible intensive insulin therapy (FIIT) together with techniques to identify and address unhelpful cognitive and emotional influences on their type 1 diabetes self-management., Methods: We interviewed n = 28 DAFNEplus participants. Data were analysed thematically and took account of previous work exploring individuals' experiences of standard DAFNE courses., Results: As well as benefitting from the DAFNEplus course's skills-based training and educational curriculum, participants' accounts suggested they had experienced cognitive and emotional changes that had positively influenced their confidence and motivation to adopt and sustain the use of FIIT. These benefits were most keenly felt by those who reported negative emotional states and mind-sets pre-course which had made their diabetes self-management challenging. Participants' cognitive and emotional changes were enabled through techniques used during the course to normalise setbacks and imperfect diabetes self-management, capitalise upon group synergies and encourage the use of social support, including from healthcare professionals. Participants also highlighted motivational gains arising from being reassured that diabetes complications are not common or inevitable if a FIIT regimen is followed., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that offering training in FIIT, in conjunction with behaviour change techniques that target unhelpful mindsets and emotional resilience, may be more effective in promoting diabetes self-management than offering education and skills training alone., (© 2024 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Diabetes UK.)

The behavioural sciences curriculum in dental education is often fragmented and its clinical relevance is not always apparent to learners. Curriculum integration is vital to understand behavioural subjects that are interrelated but frequently delivered as separate issues in dental programmes. In this commentary, we discuss behavioural change as a curricular theme that can integrate behavioural sciences in dental programmes. Specifically, we discuss behavioural change in the context of dental education guidelines and describe four general phases of behavioural change (defining the target behaviour, identifying the behavioural determinants, applying appropriate behavioural change techniques and evaluating the behavioural intervention) to make the case for content that can be covered within this curricular theme, including its sequencing. This commentary is part of ongoing efforts to improve the behavioural sciences curriculum in dental education in order to ensure that dental students develop the behavioural competencies required for entry-level general dentists., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: Behavioral science faculty in family medicine residencies work on inpatient medicine teaching service settings. However, there is limited research on the roles and responsibilities that behavioral science faculty fill while working in such settings., Method: Using a modified sequential explanatory study, researchers clarified the roles and responsibilities of behavioral science faculty. Participants completed a web-based survey ( N  = 60) on roles and a semistructured interview ( N  = 24) about the responsibilities on inpatient medicine teaching service., Results: Results suggest that behavioral science faculty assume the roles of educator, patient care supporter, evaluator, mentor/advisor, and scholar/researcher and perform multiple responsibilities., Conclusions: Implications for this research inform the hiring process and training for behavioral science faculty and resident education.

Purpose: The integration of basic science mechanistic knowledge (pathophysiology and etiology) with clinical features (signs and symptoms) during learning leads to robust cognitive representations in novices and supports the development of clinical reasoning, including better diagnostic accuracy and later learning of related concepts. However, previous studies have used a limited scope of traditional biomedical sciences, including biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology. The use of extended forms of foundational knowledge, including behavioral and sociological sciences, that have been proposed to support learning and performance in complex health systems remains unexplored., Method: Thirty-three first-year medical students from the University of Toronto MD Program participated in the study. The effect of integrated extended basic science (EBS) learning was compared with that of clinically focused instruction on an initial assessment of diagnosis using clinical vignettes and a "preparation for future learning" assessment (PFLA) to assess learning of new related content in medical psychiatry (co-occurring physical and mental health conditions)., Results: Both forms of instruction supported the development of diagnostic ability on initial assessment (t[30] = 1.20, P = .24). On the PFLA, integrated instruction of extended forms of basic science led to superior performance on assessing complex patients' health care needs (t[30] = 2.70, P < .05)., Conclusions: Similar to previous studies using integration of biomedical sciences, the integration of EBS can enhance later learning of new related concepts. These results have implications for curriculum design to support development of expert clinical reasoning.

Behavioral and social science integration in clinical practice improves health outcomes across the life stages. The medical school curriculum requires an integration of the behavioral and social science principles in early medical education. We developed and delivered a four-week course entitled "LifeStages" to the first year medical students. The learning objectives of the bio-behavioral and social science principles along with the cultural, economic, political, and ethical parameters were integrated across the lifespan in the curriculum matrix. We focused on the following major domains: Growth and Brain Development; Sexuality, Hormones and Gender; Sleep; Cognitive and Emotional Development; Mobility, Exercise, Injury and Safety; Nutrition, Diet and Lifestyle; Stress and coping skills, Domestic Violence; Substance Use Disorders; Pain, Illness and Suffering; End of Life, Ethics and Death along with Intergenerational issues and Family Dynamics. Collaboration from the clinical and biomedical science departments led to the dynamic delivery of the course learning objectives and content. The faculty developed and led a scholarly discussion, using the case of a multi-racial, multi-generational family during Active Learning Group (ALG) sessions. The assessment in the LifeStages course involved multiple assessment tools: including the holistic assessment by the faculty facilitator inside ALGs, a Team-Based Learning (TBL) exercise, multiple choice questions and Team Work Assessment during which the students had to create a clinical case on a LifeStages domain along with the facilitators guide and learning objectives.

The next generation of public health professionals requires rigorous training in behavioral health, in order to design effective behavioral interventions to respond effectively to the epidemiological transition in China. This study aimed to investigate issues in training in social and behavioral sciences in public health in China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1285 and 835 last-year undergraduate and graduate public health students in 2013. The results showed that (1) majority of undergraduate students but a minority of graduate students had enrolled in psychology, social medicine, and health promotion courses; (2) very few had enrolled in other social and behavioral sciences courses; (3) high percentages of students perceived significance, needs, and interests related to social sciences courses; (4) very few were familiar with commonly used behavioral health theories and constructs, or had applied such theories/constructs to their thesis. The situation deviates from international accreditation requirement. A timely review and benchmarking are warranted.

For over a century, researchers and educators have called for the integration of psychological science into medical school curricula, but such efforts have been impeded by barriers within medicine and psychology. In addressing these barriers, Psychology has re-examined its relationship to Medicine, incorporated psychological practices into health care, and redefined its parameters as a science. In response to interdisciplinary research into the mechanisms of bio-behavioral interaction, Psychology evolved from an ancillary social science to a bio-behavioral science that is fundamental to medicine and health care. However, in recent medical school curriculum innovations, psychological science is being reduced to a set of "clinical skills," and once again viewed as an ancillary social science. These developments warrant concern and consideration of new approaches to integrating psychological science in medical education.

Background and Objectives: A group of family medicine educators identified a need and developed a 1-year fellowship for early career behavioral science educators. This occurred in response to a reduction in previous opportunities and resources. The program was designed to shape and mentor new behavioral science faculty teaching in family medicine departments and programs. Quantitative data analysis from pre- and post-fellowship survey data from years 1-4 confirmed fellowship objectives were met., Methods: The 1-year fellowship, developed by senior faculty in STFM features a blend of classroom style learning, mentored small-group interactions, reflective writing and a scholarly project requirement. As one aspect of program evaluation, reflective writings submitted by fellows and faculty were analyzed using qualitative methodology for themes related to curricular objectives., Results: From 2010-2013, 44 fellows completed the program. Authors analyzed reflective writings from 15 fellows and 6 small-group mentors. Four overarching themes emerged: emerging professional competence, evolving professional identity, connectedness, and generativity. An unexpected finding was that the fellowship mentors benefited in ways parallel to that of the fellows., Conclusions: A qualitative analytical approach to examining the reflective writings of fellowship participants yielded confirmation that program goals were achieved. In addition, a commitment to "paying it forward" as ongoing and future leaders in family medicine education resulted for both fellows and faculty mentors.

Purpose: Behavioral and social science (BSS) competencies are needed to provide quality health care, but psychometrically validated measures to assess these competencies are difficult to find. Moreover, they have not been mapped to existing frameworks, like those from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). This systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate the quality of assessment tools used to measure BSS competencies., Method: The authors searched the literature published between January 2002 and March 2014 for articles reporting psychometric or other validity/reliability testing, using OVID, CINAHL, PubMed, ERIC, Research and Development Resource Base, SOCIOFILE, and PsycINFO. They reviewed 5,104 potentially relevant titles and abstracts. To guide their review, they mapped BSS competencies to existing LCME and ACGME frameworks. The final included articles fell into three categories: instrument development, which were of the highest quality; educational research, which were of the second highest quality; and curriculum evaluation, which were of lower quality., Results: Of the 114 included articles, 33 (29%) yielded strong evidence supporting tools to assess communication skills, cultural competence, empathy/compassion, behavioral health counseling, professionalism, and teamwork. Sixty-two (54%) articles yielded moderate evidence and 19 (17%) weak evidence. Articles mapped to all LCME standards and ACGME core competencies; the most common was communication skills., Conclusions: These findings serve as a valuable resource for medical educators and researchers. More rigorous measurement validation and testing and more robust study designs are needed to understand how educational strategies contribute to BSS competency development.

Background: The association of medical ethics with teaching and training and health profession has been informal, largely dependent on role modelling and the social contract of the physicians with the community that they abide by. This study was conducted to examine the effect, if any, of introducing the subject of Behavioural Sciences on students' performance in the clinical years' 'viva voce' and 'patient interactions' components of the examinations., Methods: A prospective study on four cohorts of students at UHS from 2007 to 2012 (8,155 candidates). Reliability was calculated through Cronbach's Alpha. Linear Regression Analysis was applied to determine the relationship between the scores of Basic Medical Sciences, Behavioural Sciences and Forensic medicine with the viva voce and Structured Stations marks of the Clinical Sciences in OSCE. Gender and demographics analysis was also done., Results: Cronbach's Alpha was 0.47, 0.63, 0.67 and 0.53 for the Papers of Behavioural Sciences from 2007 to 2010 respectively. Poor predictive value of Behavioural Sciences for performance in tlhe clinical years' viva voce and OSCE was identified. Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine were statistically significant predictors for the performance of female candidates in all four cohorts of the study (p < 0.05). In Central Punjab, Behavioural Sciences statistically significantly predicted for better performance in all four cohorts of the study (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: It is premature to understand the results of Behavioural Sciences teaching at University of Health Sciences (UHS). We can still safely conclude that it can only have a positive sustained effect or the healthcare delivery systems and patient care in Pakistan if it is integrated within each subject and taught and learned not as a theoretical construct but rather an evaluation of one's values within the code of conduct of medical professionalism in the larger context of the societal and cultural norms.

Objective: This paper describes a reflective learning program within a larger curriculum on behavioral and social science that makes use of close reading, written representation of experience, discussion, and textual response. This response may in turn lead to further reflection, representation, and response in a circular pattern. A unique feature of this program is that it pays attention to the representation itself as the pivotal activity within reflective learning. Using the narrative methods that are the hallmark of this program, faculty writings were analyzed to characterize the essential benefits that derive from these practices., Methods: In the context of a faculty development seminar on the teaching of behavioral and social sciences in medical curricula, a group of 15 faculty members wrote brief narratives of reflective learning experiences in which they had made use of the methods described above. Their responses were submitted to iterative close reading and discussion, and potential themes were identified., Results: Four themes emerged: writing as attention to self, writing as attention to other, writing as reader/writer contract, and writing as discovery. In each instance, writing provides a new or deepened perspective, and in each case, the dividends for the writer are amplified by the narrative skills of those who read, listen, and respond., Conclusions: The narrative pedagogy described and modeled herein provides a potentially promising approach to teaching the social, cultural, behavioral, and interpersonal aspects of medical education and practice. Future research will deepen our understanding of the benefits and limitations of this pedagogy and expand our appreciation of its applications.

Introduction: The family medicine residency behavioral science curriculum is more effective if prioritized to match what is needed in practice after graduation. Two prior studies (Kendall, Marvel, & Cruickshank, 2003; Marvel & Major, 1999) identified physician priorities for behavioral science education. The present study extends this research to include topics from more recent curriculum guidelines and examines the extent to which size of community and perceived competence correlate with prioritization of Washington state family physicians., Method: Practicing family physicians in Washington state (N = 2,270) were invited to complete the survey. Respondents provided demographic and practice information. Respondents then rated, on a scale from 1 to 4, 35 behavioral science topics on 2 different scales including (a) priority to be given in residency education and (b) perceived level of competence., Results: A total of 486 responded and 430 completed both priority and competence scales for a response rate of 19%. The top half of 35 topics of the present study included the top 13 topics found in the 2 prior studies. Priority and competence scales were moderately correlated (r = .48, n = 430, p = .001). There was a small significant correlation with size of community and priority ratings (r = .13, n = 435, p = .006)., Discussion: Family physicians in Washington state prioritize behavioral science topics in residency education similar to Colorado and Mississippi. The results of this study support recent ACGME guidelines, in that training should focus on common psychiatric illnesses, including depression and anxiety, and interpersonal processes. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).)

Although there are many benefits of interprofessional health care, no previous research has sought to define the status of interprofessional education (IPE) in U.S. dental hygiene programs. The aims of this study were to assess how these programs engage in IPE, the challenges they encounter, and the value they place on IPE. Additionally, the study explored how program characteristics are related to IPE. Data were collected with a web-based survey sent to all 322 U.S. dental hygiene program directors (response rate: 33% of the 305 successfully contacted). The majority of the responding programs were located at institutions with nursing (90%) and other allied health programs (85%). They were likely to collaborate with nursing (50%), other allied health (44%), and dental assisting programs (41%), but were less likely to collaborate with dental schools (28%). IPE was most likely to occur in volunteer activities (68%), basic science courses (65%), and communication training/behavioral science courses (63%/59%). The most frequently reported challenges for IPE were schedule coordination (92%) and curriculum overload (76%). The majority of the respondents agreed that IPE was a priority for the dental hygiene profession in the U.S. (59%) and for the program directors personally (56%). Programs granting bachelor degrees were more likely to have IPE as a priority than programs that did not grant such degrees (scale of 1-5 with 5=most important: 3.81 vs. 2.88; p<0.01). The longer the students spent in the programs, the more those programs engaged in IPE (r=0.21; p<0.05). The data collected in this study can contribute to future efforts to help dental hygiene programs engage in meaningful IPE and contribute to developing interprofessional care in the U.S. health care system.

Background: The discipline of family medicine has long valued the behavioral sciences. Most residency training programs employ a clinical psychologist, social worker, or family therapist to deliver behavioral science curriculum to their residents. However, the cultures and content of training for behavioral sciences and medical professions are quite different, leaving the lone behavioral scientist feeling professionally isolated and unprepared to translate knowledge and skills into tools for the family physician. In response to this need, a group of family medicine educators developed an STFM-sponsored fellowship for behavioral science faculty. The goals of the program were to improve fellows' understanding of the culture of family medicine, provide a curricular toolbox for the behavioral sciences, promote scholarship, and develop a supportive professional network., Methods: Senior behavioral science faculty at STFM developed a 1-year fellowship program, featuring "classroom learning" at relevant conferences, mentored small-group interactions, and scholarly project requirements. Achievement of program goals was evaluated annually with pre- and post-fellowship surveys., Results: From 2010 to 2014, 59 fellows completed the program; most were psychologists or social workers; two thirds were women. One month after graduation, fellows reported significant increases in understanding the culture of medicine, improved confidence in their curricula and scholarship, and expanded professional networks, compared to pre-fellowship levels. The program required many hours of volunteer time by leaders, faculty, and mentors plus modest support from STFM staff., Conclusions: Leaders in family medicine education, confronted by the need for inter-professional development, designed and implemented a successful training program for behavioral science faculty.

Beginning behavioral science faculty, who are critical residency program contributors, face significant immediate challenges that often diminish their effectiveness and increase the time it takes to translate and reformat their expertise into relevant and meaningful educational presentations. Residency program culture and competency-based learning are quite different from the educational objectives and teaching environments found in most behavioral health training programs. The goal of this article is to provide beginning behavior science faculty, who are typically on their own and learning on the job, with a guide to the core educational perspectives and skills required as well as key resources that are available to them. Since a significant portion of behavioral science faculty's teaching time revolves around small and large group presentations, our guide focuses on how to incorporate key strategies and resources into relevant, evidenced-based and, most importantly, effective behavioral health presentations for the program's resident physicians. Specifically, our recommendations include selection of content, methods of content organization, techniques for actively engaging resident physicians in discussing the significance of the topics, and descriptions of numerous Internet resources for the primary mental health topics that concern family medicine trainees. Finally, it is emphasized that the relevant and effective use of these recommendations is dependent upon the behavioral science faculty educator's first understanding and appreciating how physicians' think, speak, and prioritize information while caring for their patients., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

Although the multidisciplinary research on physician socialization has focused on areas such as developments in learners' ideological commitments and ethics knowledge and skills, the literature on physician virtues has been anecdotal. To contribute empirical knowledge of virtue development during socialization, I performed constant comparisons on interviews with 20 directors of preclinical behavioral science courses. In discussing their courses, participants revealed foci on virtues involved in making intimate connections with patients (e.g., empathy) and "being professional" with colleagues (e.g., trustworthiness). To cultivate virtues for intimate connections, participants used the strategies of learner engagement with patients' narratives of illness, service in underserved communities, and shadowing and observing role models. To develop virtues for being professional, participants used the strategy of small learner groups, which consisted of discussions, project collaborations, and group evaluations. I conclude with implications for training students of various health sciences and managing health care teams.

Background and Objectives: Integrating family into family medicine has been recognized as important for the discipline, yet there is little known about how family-oriented care is taught in training environments. This paper presents results of a national survey assessing the status of teaching family concepts/skills in family medicine residency programs., Methods: We sought to survey the program director (PD), a behavioral science faculty (BSF), and a chief resident (CR) from all 454 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) family medicine residency programs., Results: Respondents (n=489) were PDs (29%), CRs (34%), and BSF (36%). Of all respondents, 47% to 66% believe that integrating family concepts/skills into family medicine training is very important (highest level of importance). However, only 19%--23% believe their own programs place this level of importance on this curricular area. Less weight is given to family topics when compared with other behavior science subjects. Behavioral scientists who reported inclusion of (1) family concepts/skills in the formulation of ACGME competencies, (2) evaluation of residents on these skills, or (3) the presence of a family champion or scholar in the program, all reported teaching significantly more family-oriented skills compared to those that did not, respectively, 1 (6.96 versus 4.48), 2 (6.55 versus 4.97), and 3 (6.62 versus 4.54)., Conclusions: Teaching about the family in family medicine continues to be highly valued among educators and their trainees; however, it is not perceived to be similarly valued in residency programs. Current changes in health care offer opportunities to promote and affirm family-oriented care. New curricular strategies are needed so that family-oriented care continues to define the uniqueness of family medicine.

Dental schools must prepare future dentists to deliver culturally sensitive care to diverse patient populations, but there is little agreement on how best to teach these skills to students. This article examines this question by exploring the historical and theoretical foundations of this area of education in dentistry, analyzes what is needed for students to learn to provide culturally sensitive care in a dental setting, and identifies the discipline-specific skills students must master to develop this competence. The problems associated with single-discipline, lecture-based approaches to teaching culturally sensitive care are outlined, and the advantages of an interdisciplinary, patient-centered, skills-based approach to teaching culturally sensitive care are described. The authors advocate for an approach to teaching culturally sensitive care that builds upon learning in the behavioral sciences, ethics, and public health. Component skills and perspectives offered by each of these curriculum areas are identified, and their contributions to the teaching of culturally sensitive care are described. Finally, the need to consider the timing of this instruction in the dental curriculum is examined, along with instructional advantages associated with an approach that is shared by faculty across the curriculum.

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a patient-centred, directive, therapeutic approach that supports patients' readiness to change by exploring their ambivalence about doing so. This increases the patients' motivation and helps them to commit to the process of change. In relation to dentistry, MI has been effectively used to: promote oral health behaviour; facilitate smoking cessation; and, alter health behaviours.

This report describes the design, implementation, and function of integrated, learner-centered education at the Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California. The 190 required courses of the previous curriculum have been condensed to forty-four courses. Four courses, presented for each of eleven trimesters of the four-year D.D.S. program, are entitled Human Structure, Human Function, Human Behavior, and Human Clinical Dentistry. An integrated biomedical sciences curriculum is supported by small-group, facilitator-based, problem-based learning (PBL) and an electronic PBL case library. Modules, rotations, and preclinical and clinical sessions make up remaining instructional units of the curriculum. Selected assessment outcomes measuring student knowledge, behavior, and skill development are discussed. As an external measure, first-attempt pass rates on the National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) Part I show a range of 87-96 percent over a ten-year period (for Classes 2005-14). First-attempt pass rates on the NBDE Part II for Classes 2005-12 ranged from 74 percent to 93 percent. Perceived barriers and opportunities for better performance on the NBDE Part II are addressed. Additionally, an exit survey, administered over the past four years, indicates a high level of student satisfaction with "depth and breadth" of their education (82-93 percent) and that graduates feel well prepared to enter the practice of dentistry (94-97 percent).

Recent developments, including national reports and new accreditation standards, have emphasized the need for dental students to be prepared to address the needs of a diverse patient population. The purpose of this study was to explore students' descriptions of and reflections on their day-to-day interactions with a diverse patient population in the clinical setting, using a qualitative approach. All dental students (sixty-six) enrolled in the third year of the D.M.D. program at a Midwestern dental school were required to write a paper reflecting on their experiences working with a diverse patient population in the general dental clinic of the school as part of a behavioral sciences course. All third-year dental students were invited to participate in the study. The students' papers were deidentified prior to data analysis. Forty-two students' papers describing a total of 126 patient-student interactions were reviewed. Data analysis resulted in identification of three key themes: 1) development of cultural awareness and recognition of the need to understand each patient as a unique individual, 2) desire to build rapport with all patients, and 3) realization that the development of cultural competence is a lifelong learning process requiring ongoing experiences working with a diverse patient population. Review of student reflection papers is valuable in providing faculty with an understanding of students' degree of development of cultural competence. A greater understanding of students' day-to-day experiences with a diverse patient population can provide insights for dental educators who develop cultural competence curricula.

Objective: The authors examined the career achievement of early- and mid-career researchers in social, behavioral, and mental health who participated in a career-development conference., Method: Trainees participated in a career-development conference either through attending a live conference supplemented with an online version of the conference (Combined: N=46) or through the online version of the conference alone (Web-Only: N=60). An objective measure tracked the trainees' publications, involvement in research projects, honors and grant awards, collaborations, and scientific presentations before and 9 months after participation in the career-development conference., Results: Statistical analysis showed that trainees improved for each category measured, with no significant differences across the Combined and Web-Only groups. The strongest variable affecting improvement was Time, and the most significant time effect was seen in the production of presentations and publications. A significant Gender difference was present, with women showing greater total career progress than men., Conclusion: Career-development conferences can support career growth for trainees. Online training provides a cost-effective and time-efficient alternative to in-person methods, while still enhancing key markers of career progress.

The Don Bloch Award is presented annually by the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association (CFHA) to a person who has made singular contributions to forwarding the cause of collaborative family health care. At the 2012 conference in Austin, Texas, the award was presented to Larry Mauksch of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington. Three nominating talks given at that occasion and Larry's acceptance remarks are provided., ((PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).)

Communication skills have long been associated with practice success in dentistry. The Commission on Dental Accreditation's standards state that "Graduates must be competent in the application of the fundamental principles of behavioral sciences" and that "Graduates must be competent in managing a diverse patient population and have...interpersonal and communications skills." A recent survey of U.S. dentists found an underutilization of communication skills by general dentists. The University of Tennessee College of Dentistry strives for continuous improvement and has implemented an innovative behavioral science curriculum to improve students' communication skills, consistent with the College's "patient-centered, comprehensive care" philosophy. We describe the design and implementation of our "Patient-Centered Dentistry" course, in which third-year dental students practice communication skills with simulated patients in the Kaplan Clinical Skills Center on the UTHSC campus. The clinical simulations involve the following scenarios: The Initial Interview with a Patient, Presenting a Treatment Plan, Treating Patients with Fear and Anxiety, Interviewing Considerations for Difficult Patients, Delivering Distressing News to Patients, and Coping with a Drug-Seeking Patient. Student simulations were videotaped and assessed by course instructors as well as clinical faculty, and students received immediate feedback by instructors and clinical faculty after their simulations. Students were provided with the opportunity to view their simulation performance and to reflect on their performance in order to recognize their communication strengths as well as areas for improvement. The use of simulation experiences is becoming a widespread and expected practice in health care education. The Patient-Centered Dentistry course provides students with the opportunity to experience the kinds of real-life situations that they would experience in dental practice, without risks to patients. It provides students with the opportunity to assess their communication skills, make mistakes and improve.

This article describes the behavioral science curriculum currently in place at the Trident/MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program. The Trident/MUSC Program is a 10-10-10 community-based, university-affiliated program in Charleston, South Carolina. Over the years, the Trident/MUSC residency program has graduated over 400 Family Medicine physicians. The current behavioral science curriculum consists of both required core elements (didactic lectures, clinical observation, Balint groups, and Resident Grand Rounds) as well as optional elements (longitudinal patient care experiences, elective rotations, behavioral science editorial experience, and scholars project with a behavioral science focus). All Trident/MUSC residents complete core behavioral science curriculum elements and are free to participate in none, some, or all of the optional behavioral science curriculum elements. This flexibility allows resident physicians to tailor the educational program in a manner to meet individual educational needs. The behavioral science curriculum is based upon faculty interpretation of existing "best practice" guidelines (Residency Review Committee-Family Medicine and AAFP). This article provides sufficient curriculum detail to allow the interested reader the opportunity to adapt elements of the behavioral science curriculum to other residency training programs. While this behavioral science track system is currently in an early stage of implementation, the article discusses track advantages as well as future plans to evaluate various aspects of this innovative educational approach.

The first Summer Institute in Clinical Dental Research Methods, a faculty development program at the University of Washington, was offered in the summer of 1992 for sixteen participants. The primary objective of the program was to give clinical faculty members in dentistry an introduction to and an understanding of the fundamental principles and methods used in good clinical research. In the twentieth offering of the institute in 2011, there were thirty-five participants, and over the twenty institutes, there has been a cumulative total of 463 participants who have come from thirty U.S. states as well as forty-three countries outside the United States. The curriculum has expanded from the initial offering of biostatistics, clinical epidemiology, behavioral research methods, and ethics in clinical research to now include clinical trials, grantsmanship, data analysis, an elective in molecular biology, and a team project that provides participants with hands-on experience in research proposal development as members of an interdisciplinary team. Enrollment has doubled since the first year, yet exit evaluations of the program content have remained consistently high (rated as very good to excellent). One of the indicators of program quality is that at least 50 percent of recent participants indicated that they attended because the program was recommended by colleagues who had attended. There seems to be an ever-increasing pool of dental faculty members who are eager to learn more about clinical research methodology through the institute despite the intensive demands of full-time participation in a six-week program.

Background: Direct observation of residents for training and assessment is a core recommendation in medical education policy initiatives. Limited research exists about the impact of direct observation on precepting, and we are unaware of any research examining the impact of interdisciplinary precepting on trainees or preceptors. Over the past 3 years we have implemented an Interdisciplinary Direct Observation Precepting Model (IDOPM). Residents are directly observed via closed-circuit television by a behavioral scientist and family physician team., Methods: Surveys and focus groups were used to examine the impact of the IDOPM. Authors analyzed survey responses and focus group transcripts using an immersion/crystallization approach to arrive at themes., Results: Between February and June 2009, 24 residents, 14 physician faculty, and eight behavioral science faculty members participated in 19 IDOPM clinics. Eighty-two percent of residents and 95% of faculty responded to surveys. Key findings were (1) Residents and faculty report addressing topics that are not usually discussed in traditional precepting, including communication skills, time management, electronic medical record use, responding to emotional complexity, and physical exam skills, (2) The model reinforced a biopsychosocial approach to care, (3) Residents report ambivalent feelings about being observed, and (4) Faculty value the team approach to strengthen training and promote faculty development., Conclusions: The IDOPM addresses many core skills that are overlooked in traditional precepting encounters. Interdisciplinary direct observation may strengthen faculty ability to provide formative competency assessment in preparing residents to work in the complex world of primary care.

Delivering bad news has traditionally been associated with life-threatening illness, the imminence of death, or communicating about the death of a loved one to a family member. The delivery of bad news in dentistry is rarely about life-threatening circumstances. However, the impact of the bad news such as the loss of an anterior tooth can be devastating for the patient. This article outlines the S-P-I-K-E-S protocol and discusses the teaching aims and methodology in applying the model in an undergraduate dental program in Ireland.

The practice of pharmacy and, consequently, pharmacy curricula have undergone significant changes over the past years in response to a rapidly changing economic, political, and social environment. Within this context, the pharmacist's role had expanded to include more direct interaction with the public in terms of the provision of health information and advice on the safe and rational use of medications. To carry out these roles effectively, pharmacists need to be well prepared on how to deal with patients' behavior and psychology. The understanding of patient sociobehavioral aspects in the medication use process is paramount to achieving optimal clinical and humanistic outcomes from therapy. The concept of behavioral sciences and health psychology are embedded as the fundamental concepts in the field of social pharmacy, and thus it is imperative that this should be taught and nurtured to future pharmacy practitioners. Based on the growing needs for future pharmacists to be exposed to issues in social pharmacy, many pharmacy schools around the world have adopted this subject to be part of their standard curriculum. In this commentary, a discussion of the needs of social pharmacy courses in pharmacy curriculum will be addressed in the context of both developed and developing countries., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

There is strong evidence to link biological, behavioural, psychological, and social variables to health, illness and disease. But this knowledge has not been successfully incorporated into standard medical practice. There is a general accord that a simple disease-based model of clinical practice is inadequate and that there is need to change the approach of doctors to include a better understanding of behavioural issues. The need to integrate Behavioural Sciences as an integral component of medical training is well recognised. PMDC initiated these efforts in 2005 but since then little progress has been made towards developing a core curriculum. This aim of the present article is to initiate a concerted effort towards this direction in Pakistan. We have outlined specific objectives keeping the recommended domains for BS in mind. In addition, knowledge and skills-based learning outcomes have also been defined.

There is increasing pressure on recent dental school graduates to understand and successfully utilize patient management and business management strategies to run a productive dental office. Dental schools are faced with the dilemma to either add more credit hours in their already crowded curriculum or adjust predental school requirements. All fifty-nine U.S. dental schools were assessed online to determine admission requirements in the areas of behavioral science and business education. Results show that only 11.9 percent of the schools require prerequisite course work in behavioral science and no school requires prerequisite course work in business. However, 64.4 percent and 30.5 percent of schools encouraged or recommended prerequisite course work in behavioral science and business, respectively. We suggest that the dental education community involve key stakeholders to discuss the incorporation of prerequisite course work in behavioral science and business. Additional courses in these disciplines would provide dental students better backgrounds from which the dental curriculum could build a more advanced and applied perspective to better prepare students for practice.

Objectives: Undergraduate medical education programmes universally struggle with overfull curricula that make curricular changes quite challenging. Final content decisions are often influenced by available faculty staff, vocal champions or institutional culture. We present a multi-modal process for identifying 'need-to-know' content while leveraging curricular change, using the social and behavioural sciences (SBS) as an exemplar., Methods: Several multi-modal approaches were used to identify and triangulate core SBS curricula, including: a national survey of 204 faculty members who ranked the content importance of each of the SBS content areas; a comprehensive review of leading medical SBS textbooks; development of an algorithm to assess the strength of evidence for and potential clinical impact of each SBS construct; solicitation of student input, and review of guidelines from national advocacy organisations. To leverage curricular change, curriculum mapping was used to compare the school's 'actual' SBS curriculum with an 'ideal' SBS curriculum to highlight educational needs and areas for revision. Clinical clerkship directors assisted in translating core SBS content into relevant clinical competencies., Results: Essential SBS content areas were identified along with more effective and efficient ways of teaching SBS within a medical setting. The triangulation of several methods to identify content raised confidence in the resulting content list. Mapping actual versus ideal SBS curricula highlighted both current strengths and weaknesses and identified opportunities for change., Conclusions: This multi-modal, several-stage process of generating need-to-know curricular content and comparing it with current practices helped promote curricular changes in SBS, a content area that has been traditionally difficult to teach and is often under-represented. It is likely that this process can be generalised to other emerging or under-represented topic areas., (© Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010.)

This article is about the psychiatric educational components in the field of psychiatry. Currently the training and educational objectives focus on five major areas: undergraduate education (medical students); graduate education (psychiatric residents); psychiatric education for primary care physicians, as well as physicians in other medical specializations (psychosomatic training); public health and public education at large, and patient and family education, and the promotion of 'mental health' at a community level. Given the strong globalization process observed in all regions of the world in the past two or three decades, it is very important for Latin America to constantly review and update its psychiatric and behavioural sciences curriculum across all medical institutions and universities of the continent. New methods of teaching and novel approaches to education in the field of psychiatry are currently based on models that are also in use in other parts of the world, especially in the USA. Boards of certification for psychiatrists are being implemented all over the continent. Sound certification guarantees that the professional has followed and passed an educational training plan to make him/her qualified to start practising the profession. The future of psychiatric training will be closely bound to the future of the practice of psychiatry, and will have to get ahead of the challenges the specialism will face during the next decades.

Purpose: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on social and behavioral sciences (SBS) indicated that 50% of morbidity and mortality in the United States is associated with SBS factors, which the report also found were inadequately taught in medical school. A multischool collaborative explored whether the Association of American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaire (GQ) could be used to study changes in the six SBS domains identified in the IOM report., Method: A content analysis conducted with the GQ identified 30 SBS variables, which were narrowed to 24 using a modified Delphi approach. Summary data were pooled from nine medical schools for 2006 and 2007, representing 1,126 students. Data were generated on students' perceptions of curricular experiences, attitudes related to SBS curricula, and confidence with relevant clinical knowledge and skills. The authors determined the sample sizes required for various effect sizes to assess the utility of the GQ., Results: The 24 variables were classified into five of six IOM domains representing a total of nine analytic categories with cumulative scale means ranging from 60.8 to 93.4. Taking into account the correlations among measures over time, and assuming a two-sided test, 80% power, alpha at .05, and standard deviation of 4.1, the authors found that 34 medical schools would be required for inclusion to attain an estimated effect size of 0.50 (50%). With a sample size of nine schools, the ability to detect changes would require a very high effect size of 107%., Conclusions: Detecting SBS changes associated with curricular innovations would require a large collaborative of medical schools. Using a national measure (the GQ) to assess curricular innovations in most areas of SBS is possible if enough medical schools were involved in such an effort.

The h index has advantages over journal impact factors for assessing the research performance of individuals, and it is becoming a reference tool for career assessment that is starting to be considered by some agencies as an aid in decisions for promotion, allocation, and funding. The h index has been reported to have adequate properties as a measure of the research accomplishments of individuals in areas where h values are usually high (i.e., at or above 40), but some concerns have been raised that its validity in other non-mainstream research areas is suspect. This paper presents data from an exhaustive computation and analysis of h indices for 204 faculty members in the area of Methodology of the Behavioral Sciences in Spain, an area where h indices tend to be low worldwide. The results indicate that the h index is substantially increased by self-citations and that the average h of full professors is not meaningfully larger than the average h of associate professors. Other interesting relations between h indices and demographic and academic variables are described, including the gender and age bias of h. In this field, but perhaps also in other fields where the average h is low, little justification is found for the use of the h index as a fair measure of research performance that can aid in funding or promotion decisions.

In this article, we advocate for advanced training for child neurologists in behavior and development in order to facilitate the investigation of childhood behavioral and neurodevelopmental disabilities, with autism serving as a model disorder. We explore the current training options and then propose alternative subspecialty training options that focus on behavior and development, with appreciation that most developmental disabilities are not static encephalopathies but, rather, dynamic processes representing the influence of genetics and environment on neural circuitry.

STUDENT RESEARCHERS USED ACTION research both to study the relationship between university researchers and the ethics committee, and also to explore the ethics committee's approach to protocols involving action research and other qualitative methods. We review the existing literature on relationships between university faculty and their ethics committees and briefly discuss the basic tenets of action research. We then describe our research process and the specific recommendations that resulted from this work. Finally, we consider the ways in which action research can be used to better understand and address institutional problems through effective collaboration and dialogue.