Search

The article looks at the alleged murderer and Boston, Massachusetts crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger, describing alleged crimes he committed, including the murder of Debra Davis. Other people involved in Bulger's history include U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) special agent John Connolly, for whom Bulger worked as a secret informant, former state senator William "Billy" Bulger, his brother, and former Bulger associates Kevin Weeks and Steve Flemmi.

PURPOSE: Teaching complex psychomotor skills to physical therapy students located on two separate campuses requires the development of teaching tools that facilitate interactivity and independent practice. The purpose of this presentation is to outline the development of a new multimedia product used as an adjunct for teaching orthopedic special tests for specific anatomical regions of the body in a physical therapy curriculum. TARGET AUDIENCE: This product is intended to be primarily used by first year physical therapy professional students. Secondary target audiences include second and third year physical therapy students interested in reviewing tests prior to clinical experiences and exams and physical therapists wanting to review exam procedures with which they have become unfamiliar. PROGRAM DESIGN: This program is designed for students with different learning styles. Each anatomical region has its own index page, with the special tests applied at that region listed. Individual background colors distinguish the techniques of one region from those of another. Written text and video with audio give the learner a variety of media to use to enhance learning. Each area also includes quiz items so the learner can perform a self assessment at any time. Hyperlinks are provided throughout the product for ease of movement among techniques. DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: The authors worked closely to develop and implement a plan for production. English and Harrison served as creators, content experts and models for the video. Burris, Hammon and DeVrieze served as videographers, video editors and video compressors making the videos with audio useable within the PowerPoint format. Lynch and Clark served as the program coordinators who put together the PowerPoint presentation, chose the background art, color schemes and designed each page used in the product. Alpha and beta tests were done with current PT students who gave valuable feedback to the team. After changes were made, the product was completed and the CD was burned so the program could be used in class and as a study guide. BENEFITS: This product is used as an adjunct for learning by students after initial instruction is given during laboratory experiences by faculty. Students view the proper application of the tests and read descriptions and uses of each test. Many students use the product in preparation for practical exams and prior to clinical experiences. The distant site students benefit greatly since the Lexington based faculty is not as available for spontaneous consultation. EQUIPMENT: An IBM-compatible PC with CD-ROM drive, Windows 95 or 98 and 16 bit speed is required to use this product., English T, Harrison AL, Burris H, Clark K, DeVrieze K, Lynch K, Hammons S. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky. Funded by the Medical Center Faculty Academic and Training Center at [...]

PURPOSE: Professional physical therapy programs use a variety of criteria to select the candidates who they believe will be most successful in the program and as practicing therapists. However, there is very little published information about the correlation between admissions data and outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive value of admissions criteria and professional program performance for students in a masters level physical therapy program. Subjects: The subjects were 130 professional level physical therapy students in a program which is based on two campuses. 97 students were based on the main campus and 33 were based at the distant site. The students ranged in age from 20-50 and included 87 females and 43 males. Methods and Materials: Data were collected through retrospective study of the students performance before, during and after the professional program and included: Preprofessional GPA, Science GPA, GRE, Interview and Professional Judgment scores, professional program GPA and comprehensive final examination and the National Physical Therapist Examination [NPTE]. All students signed a waiver to allow these scores to be used in data analysis with anonymity maintained. Analyses: Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA to find Pearson Correlation Coefficients at a significance level of .01. Backwards stepwise regression was also used to assess which criteria were most predictive of successful outcomes. Outcome measures of professional GPA, comprehensive final exam and NPTE scores were then correlated to assess the predictive values of the professional program outcomes on NPTE score. Results: The two strongest correlations were noted between comprehensive exam and NPTE (.59759, p value = .0001) and professional GPA and comprehensive exam (.71409, p value = .0001). The backwards stepwise regression showed the strongest predictors of performance on the comprehensive final to be GPA and GRE total; NPTE score predictor: GRE verbal; Professional GPA predictors: GPA, GRE verbal. Conclusions: Program outcomes such as GPA and comprehensive exam scores at this University are very strong predictors of the NPTE score. Some admissions criteria can be used to help predict successful performance in professional PT programs, but none of the criteria alone had a significant predictive value. It is suggested that professional PT programs continue to review academic as well as non-cognitive factors when selecting prospective students for their programs. While the NPTE is one objective outcome measure, pairing this with an objective measure of clinical performance would add strength to any future studies attempting to predict overall success as a physical therapist., Kuperstein J, English T, Rayens MK; University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. [...]

PURPOSE: Teaching complex psychomotor skills to physical therapy students located on two separate campuses requires the development of teaching tools that facilitate interactivity and independent practice. The purpose of this presentation is to outline the development of a new multimedia product used as an adjunct for teaching spinal and lower extremity joint mobilization techniques in a physical therapy curriculum. TARGET AUDIENCE: This product is intended to be primarily used by first year physical therapy professional students. A secondary target audience includes physical therapists interested in reviewing techniques with which they have become unfamiliar. PROGRAM DESIGN: This program is designed for students with different learning styles. Each anatomical region has its own index page, with the techniques applied at that region listed. Individual background colors distinguish the techniques of one region from those of another. Written text, video with audio description and skeletal model videos give the learner a variety of media to use to enhance learning. Each area also includes quiz items so the learner can perform a self assessment at any time. Hyperlinks are provided throughout the product for ease of movement among techniques. DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: The authors worked closely to develop and implement a plan for production. English and Harrison served as creators, content experts and models for the video. Turner served as videographer, video editor and video compressor making the videos with audio useable within the PowerPoint format. Holman served as the program coordinator who put together the PowerPoint presentation, chose the background art, color schemes and designed each page used in the product. Alpha and Beta tests were done with current PT students who gave valuable feedback to the team. After changes were made, the product was completed and the CD was burned so the program could be used in class and as a study guide. BENEFITS: This product is used as an adjunct for learning by students after initial instruction is given during laboratory experiences by faculty. Students view the proper application of the techniques, read descriptions and uses of each technique and view skeletal model motion. Many students use the product in preparation for practical exams and prior to clinical experiences. The distant site students benefit greatly since the Lexington based faculty is not as available for spontaneous consultation. A similar product for the upper quarter was produced by the team leaders, and has been an excellent adjunct for teaching and improving consistency in teaching across campuses. EQUIPMENT: An IBM-compatible PC with CD-ROM drive, Windows 95 or 98 and 16 bit speed is required to use this product., English T, Harrison AL, Turner C, Holman K. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky. Funded by the Medical Center Faculty Academic and Training Center at [...]