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Background: Teacher and students' stress has been a challenge in education. An approach to stress reduction is mindfulness training. The Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been used to improve the condition of individuals with various health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine whether MBSR may improve depression, well-being, and perceived stress of Brazilian college faculty and students. Methods: MBSR was performed with college faculty and students from Centro Universitario de Belo Horizonte (UniBH). Participants answered questionnaires (Psychological General Well-Being Index, Perceived Stress Scale, and Beck Depression Index) at the beginning and end of the intervention. A control group of teachers also answered the questionnaires but did not participate in the MBSR intervention. Statistical analyses were performed using paired Student's t-test (P < 0.05 significance). Results: The MBSR intervention positively impacted all conditions measured in the questionnaires in faculty and students who attended the intervention. Faculty and students in the control group had shown conditions being maintained or worsened. Discussion: The MBSR was effective as faculty and students from the experimental group exhibited improvement in general well-being, depression levels, and perceived stress after attending the intervention.

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Background: Feedback is defined as specific information presented to a learner that facilitates professional development through the process of reflection. Timely provision of constructive feedback to learner is important in optimizing the learning curve. The aim of the current study was to see the effectiveness of various interventions on feedback practices of faculty members. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study (pre- and postdesign). It was conducted from November 2009 to March 2011 at The Aga Khan University, Pakistan. Faculty development workshops, allotment of specified feedback time, and restructuring of residency feedback forms were done as interventions. Data collection was done pre- and postintervention. Resident's and faculty satisfaction regarding the feedback process were evaluated using a prepiloted questionnaire. Paired t-test was applied to assess the effect of interventions on faculty and resident's satisfaction. Results: The mean satisfaction scores of residents were significantly improved (P < 0.05). Pre- and postintervention faculty satisfaction score also demonstrated significant difference in overall satisfaction level, from 47.88 ± 13.92 to 63.40 ± 8.72 (P < 0.05). Discussion: This study showed improved faculty engagement and satisfaction for the provision of feedback to the trainee resident. Strengthening this, culture requires continuous reinforcement, individualized feedback to the faculty members regarding their feedback practices, and continuing faculty development initiatives.

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Background: We analyze the University of British Columbia's Department of Political Science's first course on health, “Global Politics and Health,” to determine whether one course could inform political science students to tackle health issues. The major concept was global public health is politics writ large, as determinants of health are rooted in economic and social power. Course objectives encouraged student agency in ameliorating population health status. Methods: We use three surveys, with qualitative and quantitative components, to assess interest and knowledge of public health issues, and determine whether student agency increased as the course progressed. Results: We confirmed that political science develops an excellent foundation for the analysis of issues related to global public health status. One course can stimulate curiosity in health issues. Unexpectedly, we discovered that students' greatest learning outcome integrated personal, interpersonal, and scholarly analyses of health issues. This provided an avenue for students outside of the health sciences to frame mental health, sexuality, and other stigmatized subjects within scholarly discourse. After the course, virtually all students had developed a sense of agency, hope, and tools to understand the roots of mental and physical health. Following case studies on various countries, students quickly grasped the significant impact of politics and economics on people's health. Discussion: We recommend that political science departments offer courses that focus on health for all alongside existing courses on healthcare systems' politics. Furthermore, departments of public health may benefit from including political science courses as core elements of their curriculum to assist graduates in navigating the highly politicized infrastructure of public health. Both disciplines stand to gain from this interdisciplinary opportunity-- in the service of better health for all.

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Background: Wellness in residency is increasingly considered a vital part of medical training. Yet to be widely explored are efforts that focus particularly on 1^st-year residents (i.e., interns), who likely experience unique professional changes. We developed and implemented, within a psychiatry residency training program, a process of individualized wellness check-ins with interns by chief residents throughout an academic year. Methods: At the beginning of the academic year, a one-page baseline questionnaire was completed by interns anticipating how the chief residents can best support them. During check-ins, the chief residents asked about interns' residency experiences and wellness. The check-ins were conducted at frequencies requested by each intern. Chief residents sought open verbal feedback from the interns, and more structured feedback was collected 6 months into the academic year, using a brief four-question mid-year questionnaire. Results: Check-ins were conducted with all eight interns in the program. Baseline questionnaire responses indicated interns' preferences for more mentorship, communication across the program, and socialization. Regular check-ins started at intern-desired frequencies, and their content was guided by individual interns' questionnaire responses. Feedback from interns shaped the frequency/content of subsequent check-ins. Discussion: This regular check-in process is an early attempt to explicitly delineate what chief residents can do to support intern wellness. This process can be adapted to meet specific individual/program needs. Further work is warranted to rigorously (i) examine measurable impact of the process on intern wellness and (ii) compare the impact to those of other emerging practices that use regular check-ins to target intern wellness.

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Background: In academic health centers, education remains an incompletely supported and funded mandate. In an attempt to promote education and better support educational endeavors of faculty, some academic health centers and departments have conceived of a metric, the educational value unit (eVU), to begin to “quantify” teaching. What goes into this metric, its intended goals and the logistics of its implementation vary considerably among centers. Lessons Learned: This practical advice paper highlights the various lessons learned from a review of the limited published literature on eVU systems supplemented with our personal experience in implementing a successful eVU system in the Department of Pediatrics at our institution, to help guide others who may be interested in doing that same. Even in limited-resource settings, our hope is that these lessons can serve as a guide on how to better quantify and reward teaching, whether through monetary or nonfiscal incentives and recognition.

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