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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2005.03.006 Byline: Karen M. Wheeler (a), Savita P. Collins (a ), Christine M. Sapienza (a) Abstract: This study was designed to examine the relationship between the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and acoustic measures of voice samples common in clinical practice. Fifty participants, 38 women and 12 men, ranging in age from 19 to 80 years, with a mean age of 49 years, served as participants. Of these 50 participants, 17 participants could be included in the acoustic analysis of voice based on measures of error calculated with the TF32 software. All participants completed the VHI and provided voice samples including three trials of the sustained vowel /A/ at a comfortable loudness level as well as a connected speech sample consisting of the Zoo Passage. Acoustic measures were made with TF32 and Cool Edit software and included fundamental frequency, jitter %, shimmer %, signal-to-noise ratio, mean root-mean-square intensity, fundamental frequency standard deviation, aphonic periods, and breath groups. Results indicate that these measures were not predictive of overall VHI score, and no cohesive or predictable pattern was identified when comparing individual measures with overall VHI or with each subscale item. Likely contributions to this lack of correlation and subsequent clinical implications are discussed, as well as the direction for further research. Author Affiliation: (a) From the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (a ) Department of Otolaryngology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Article History: Accepted 8 March 2005 Article Note: (footnote) Presented at the Voice Foundation's 33rd Annual Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice, June 2-6, 2004, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Introduction: Urology residents are encouraged to learn ultrasound (U/S) imaging, yet there are few tools available for teaching and assessing a resident's competence. The aim of this study was to test the new SonoSim LiveScan® and to propose a competency-based assessment model for the urology graduate medical education. Materials and Methods: Urology residents attended an interactive training session covering the urological U/S techniques guided by the assessment model developed by the authors. Faculty members evaluated the residents using defined objectives, and the residents were surveyed on their comfort level for performing each of the model tasks. A subset of the residents then underwent a structured testing using the SonoSim LiveScan device 6 months following the training. The model developed assessed: general U/S setup, structure identification, and pathologic clinical scenarios. Results: The residents felt most comfortable in identifying the bladder (4.73/5) and the kidneys (4.53/5) during the training sessions. They felt least comfortable while testing for total ureteric obstruction (3.13/5). All the residents were confident that additional U/S training sessions would improve their comfort level in performing the assessed objectives. Resident's assessment performed at 6 months had a median test score of 15.5/20 and the assessment scores increased with resident seniority. Self-reported comfort, however, did not seem to correlate with seniority. In general, the residents felt that the SonoSim device was highly functional (4.4/5) and the pathologic assessments in particular were very helpful (4.4/5). Conclusions: Through pilot testing, we propose that a competency-based assessment used with the SonoSim LiveScan could guide the resident's education through the acquisition of U/S skills and warrants testing in a larger cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]