Robert C. Haight

Down syndrome is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. In the past two decades, the life expectancy of individuals with Down syndrome has significantly increased from early 20s to early 60s, creating a population of individuals of which little is known about how well they are protected against infectious disease. The goal of this work is to better understand if adults with Down syndrome are well protected against influenza following vaccination. We obtained plasma samples from 18 adults (average age = 31yo) with Down syndrome and 17 age/gender-matched disomic individuals, all vaccinated against influenza. Antibody concentration to influenza A was measured using ELISA and antibody titers were measured using a hemagglutinin inhibition assay. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata Statistical Software. Adults with Down syndrome had a significantly increased concentration of antibodies to a mixture of influenza A viral proteins; however, they had a significantly decreased titer to the Influenza A/Hong Kong compared to disomic controls. These findings suggest that more vigorous studies of B- and T-cell function in adults with Down syndrome with respect to influenza vaccination are warranted, and that this population may benefit from a high-dose influenza vaccine.

Objective. To design and implement an instrument capable of providing students with valuable peer feedback on team behaviors and to provide results of the administration of the instrument. Methods. A three-part instrument was designed that requires teammate rankings with justification on attributes aligned with school outcomes and team functioning, reporting of student behaviors, and provision of feedback on the value of peer contributions to their team. Score results after three years of administration were analyzed. Results. Six evaluations per year were completed by members of four different professional classes over a three-year time period. Mean scores increased slightly as students progressed through the program. Students were able to differentially score peers on attributes and behaviors. Conclusion. The peer evaluation instrument presented here provides formative and summative feedback through qualitative and quantitative scores that allow students to acknowledge differential contributions of individual team members.

Objective. To determine the frequency distribution of pharmacy students across Emotionally Intelligent Leadership Inventory (EILI) measures. Methods. The EILI was administered to 235 pharmacy students at two schools. The instrument was systematically compared to the 2013 CAPE Outcomes and analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis. Results. The EILI has primary connections with pharmacy competencies related to interprofessional communication and leadership. The three facets of the EILI were verified for internal consistency (Context, α=.78; Self, α=.74; Others, α=.79). Student scores were the highest for the consciousness of self facet, with a mean score of 31.4 out of 40. Conclusion. The EILI shows promise as an instrument for use in assessing pharmacy students’ emotional intelligence and leadership skills.

Major Article Louise Suit, EdD, RN, CNS, CAS; Patricia Winkler, DSc, PT; Linda Campbell, PhD, RN, CNS, CNE; Karen Pennington, PhD, RN; Mary Pat Szutenbach, PhD, RN; Robert Haight, PhD; Deborah Roybal, MS, RN; Marianne McCollum, PhD, RPh, BCPS Due to anecdotal concerns about adequacy of health professions students’ communication skills, health professions faculty at a private university formed an interprofessional research team. The study was designed to explore whether the use of social networking services (SNS) influenced health care students’ written and oral communication skills. One hundred thirty-two students participated in the study. Communication skills were assessed by using assignments from a health care ethics course required of all students. Use of SNS was measured with an information technology questionnaire. Contrary to expected findings, this exploratory correlation study found no meaningful relationship between the frequency of SNS usage and oral and written communication skills in health professions students. Future studies of SNS would benefit from a younger and more homogeneous study population to assess the use of SNS for learning versus leisure. [J Nurs Educ. 2015;54(4):207–213.] Dr. Suit is Associate Professor, Dr. Campbell is Professor, Dr. Pennington is Associate Professor, and Dr. Szutenbach is Associate Professor, Loretto Heights School of Nursing, Dr. Winkler is Assistant Professor (retired), School of Physical Therapy, Dr. Haight is Assistant Professor, and Dr. McCollum is Assistant Dean and Professor, School of Pharmacy, and Ms. Roybal is Assistant Professor, Health Care Ethics, Reuckert-Hartman College of Health Professions, Regis University, Denver, Colorado. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise. Address correspondence to Louise Suit, EdD, RN, CNS, CAS, Associate Professor, Regis University, Loretto Heights School of Nursing, 3333 Regis Boulevard, Mail Code: G-8, Denver, CO 80031; e-mail: lsuit@regis.edu. Due to anecdotal concerns about adequacy of health professions students’ communication skills, health professions faculty at a private university formed an interprofessional research team. The study was designed to explore whether the use of social networking services (SNS) influenced health care students’ written and oral communication skills. One hundred thirty-two students participated in the study. Communication skills were assessed by using assignments from a health care ethics course required of all students. Use of SNS was measured with an information technology questionnaire. Contrary to expected findings, this exploratory correlation study found no meaningful relationship between the frequency of SNS usage and oral and written communication skills in health professions students. Future studies of SNS would benefit from a younger and more homogeneous study population to assess the use of SNS for learning versus leisure. [J Nurs Educ. 2015;54(4):207–213.] Dr. Suit is Associate Professor, Dr. Campbell is Professor, Dr. Pennington is Associate Professor, and Dr. Szutenbach is Associate Professor, Loretto Heights School of Nursing, Dr. Winkler is Assistant Professor (retired), School of Physical Therapy, Dr. Haight is Assistant Professor, and Dr. McCollum is Assistant Dean and Professor, School of Pharmacy, and Ms. Roybal is Assistant Professor, Health Care Ethics, Reuckert-Hartman College of Health Professions, Regis University, Denver, Colorado. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise. Address correspondence to Louise Suit, EdD, RN, CNS, CAS, Associate Professor, Regis University, Loretto Heights School of Nursing, 3333 Regis Boulevard, Mail Code: G-8, Denver, CO 80031; e-mail: lsuit@regis.edu. 10.3928/01484834-20150318-04