Clinical Observation: A Guide for Students in Speech, Language, and Hearing provides structure and focus for students completing pre-clinical or early clinical observation as required by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Whether used in a course on observation and clinical processes, or as a self-guide to the observation process, this practical hands-on workbook will give a clear direction for guided observations and provide students with an understanding of what they are observing, why it is relevant, and how these skills serve as a building-block to their future role as clinicians. With clear and concise language, this reader friendly guide includes a quick review of background knowledge for each aspect of the clinical process, exercises and activities to check understanding and guide observation, and questions for reflection to help students apply their observation to their current studies and their future work as speech-language pathologists. This journaling process will help students connect what they observe with the knowledge they have gained from classes, textbooks, and journal articles. Thought provoking activities may be completed, revisited, and redone, and multiple activities are provided for each observation. This is a must-have resource for supervisors, students, and new clinicians. Clinical Observation: A Guide for Students in Speech, Language, and Hearing reviews the principles of good practice covering ASHA’s Big Nine areas of competency.

Clinical Observation in Communication Sciences and Disorders is a textbook written for undergraduate students studying communication sciences and disorders (CSD) who are beginning the process of obtaining clinical observation hours. Designed as an introduction to the process of clinical observation, this text takes a global approach in addressing the development of keen observation skills necessary for clinical practice. The book provides a framework for approaching clinical observation and includes exercises for instructors and students exploring the importance of clinical observation and its role in health care services, its historical context, philosophical underpinnings, and instructional strategies. Observation is vital to the CSD field, and this work presents a multimedia guide to clinical observation that has not been offered until now. Students and instructors are provided a thorough resource to facilitate the learning of, and learning through, observation that students will carry into clinical observation and future clinical practicum. Key Features: * Recordings and videos of clinical studies and observations included on a PluralPlus companion website * Activities and exercises that engage the reader firsthand with observation * Chapters designed to guide students in developing comfort with self-exploration, reading and applying research that underlies fundamental observational skills, and recognizing the contributions of the individuals and families with whom they will work * A broad approach to observation that can be applied and practiced globally * A study of observation in CSD that has not been offered before

Accurate clinical observations are the key to good patient care and fundamental to nursing practice. Vital Signs for Nurses will support anyone in care delivery to enhance their skills, reflect upon their own practice and assist in their continuing professional development. This practical introductory text explores how to make assessments of heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, pain and nutrition. It also looks at issues of infection control, record-keeping and legal and ethical considerations. With case studies and examples throughout, this text will be invaluable to all healthcare assistants, student nurses, Trainee Assistant Practitioners and students on foundation degrees.

This User’s Guide is a resource for investigators and stakeholders who develop and review observational comparative effectiveness research protocols. It explains how to (1) identify key considerations and best practices for research design; (2) build a protocol based on these standards and best practices; and (3) judge the adequacy and completeness of a protocol. Eleven chapters cover all aspects of research design, including: developing study objectives, defining and refining study questions, addressing the heterogeneity of treatment effect, characterizing exposure, selecting a comparator, defining and measuring outcomes, and identifying optimal data sources. Checklists of guidance and key considerations for protocols are provided at the end of each chapter. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews. More more information, please consult the Agency website: www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov)

This guide to successful practices in observation medicine covers both clinical and administrative aspects for a multinational audience.

Randomized clinical trials are the primary tool for evaluating new medical interventions. Randomization provides for a fair comparison between treatment and control groups, balancing out, on average, distributions of known and unknown factors among the participants. Unfortunately, these studies often lack a substantial percentage of data. This missing data reduces the benefit provided by the randomization and introduces potential biases in the comparison of the treatment groups. Missing data can arise for a variety of reasons, including the inability or unwillingness of participants to meet appointments for evaluation. And in some studies, some or all of data collection ceases when participants discontinue study treatment. Existing guidelines for the design and conduct of clinical trials, and the analysis of the resulting data, provide only limited advice on how to handle missing data. Thus, approaches to the analysis of data with an appreciable amount of missing values tend to be ad hoc and variable. The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials concludes that a more principled approach to design and analysis in the presence of missing data is both needed and possible. Such an approach needs to focus on two critical elements: (1) careful design and conduct to limit the amount and impact of missing data and (2) analysis that makes full use of information on all randomized participants and is based on careful attention to the assumptions about the nature of the missing data underlying estimates of treatment effects. In addition to the highest priority recommendations, the book offers more detailed recommendations on the conduct of clinical trials and techniques for analysis of trial data.

Using sample administrative and clinical protocols that any hospital can use, this book gives a detailed account of how to set up and run an observation unit and reviews all medical conditions in which observation medicine may be beneficial. In addition to clinical topics such as improving patient outcomes and avoiding readmissions, it also includes practical topics such as design, staffing, and daily operations; fiscal aspects, such as coding, billing, and reimbursement; regulatory concerns, such as aligning case management and utilization review with observation; nursing considerations; and more. The future of observation medicine, and how it can help solve the healthcare crisis from costs to access, is also discussed. Although based on US practices, this book is also applicable to an international audience, and contains instructions for implementing observation in any setting or locale and in any type of hospital or other appropriate facility.

Scientific advances in our understanding of animal physiology and behavior often require theories to be revised and standards of practice to be updated to improve laboratory animal welfare. This new book from the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR) at the National Research Council, Recognition and Alleviation of Distress in Laboratory Animals, focuses on the stress and distress which is experienced by animals when used in laboratory research. This book aims to educate laboratory animal veterinarians; students, researchers, and investigators; animal care staff, as well as animal welfare officers on the current scientific and ethical issues associated with stress and distress in laboratory animals. It evaluates pertinent scientific literature to generate practical and pragmatic guidelines. Recognition and Alleviation of Distress in Laboratory Animals focuses specifically on the scientific understanding of the causes and the functions of stress and distress, the transformation of stress to distress, and the identification of principles for the recognition and alleviation of distress. This book discusses the role of humane endpoints in situations of distress and principles for the minimization of distress in laboratory animals. It also identifies areas in which further scientific investigation is needed to improve laboratory animal welfare in order to adhere to scientific and ethical principles that promote humane care and practice.

Accurate clinical observations are the key to good patient care and fundamental to nursing practice. To be fully competent in these basic skills, nurses need to understand not only how and why procedures are performed, but also how results are affected for example by variation in technique or the health status of the patient. The Biological Basis of Nursing: Clinical Observation is a unique text which integrates explanations of essential nursing procedures with the biological knowledge that underpins practice. Essential reading for all students preparing for clinical practice in nursing.