PROBLEMS OF EQUIVALENCE OF STUDIES AND DIPLOMAS IN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS

This article Surveys the problems and the traps of equivalences in higher education and proposes solutions to the former and ways of avoiding the latter. To begin with, one must be clear as to basic concepts and be able to distinguish between recognition and equivalence, the second being synonymous with the first, if formal equivalence is what is meant. But the principal task is one of defining and granting so‐called real equivalence, that is, equivalence based on the comparison of educational programmes, contents, length of study, the methods and the results of evaluations, and appropriate assessments of the academic value of practical work. It is also necessary to be clear at the outset as to the purposes of a given equivalence: to permit further study in another country or to aid in securing employment in a given occupation in another country. A major problem relates to varying conceptions of what is specifically university education in relation to higher education as a whole; the weight to be granted to post‐secondary, non‐university training; the whole question of length of studies; and ambiguities relative to terminology. Although it will never be possible to formulate ideal solutions to all problems, the key to obtaining the best possible solution is to be found in the improvement of the availability of standardized information by the exploitation of such sources as Unesco statistics, student books, analyses of bilateral conventions for applicable analogies, and, eventually, the sort of diploma supplement which Carin Berg and Ulrich Teichler are recommending.     

Honoring our donors: A survey of memorial ceremonies in united states anatomy programs

Many anatomy programs that incorporate dissection of donated human bodies hold memorial ceremonies of gratitude towards body donors. The content of these ceremonies may include learners' reflections on mortality, respect, altruism, and personal growth told through various humanities modalities. The task of planning is usually student‐ and faculty‐led with participation from other health care students. Objective information on current memorial ceremonies for body donors in anatomy programs in the United States appears to be lacking. The number of programs in the United States that currently plan these memorial ceremonies and information on trends in programs undertaking such ceremonies remain unknown. Gross anatomy program directors throughout the United States were contacted and asked to respond to a voluntary questionnaire on memorial ceremonies held at their institution. The results (response rate 68.2%) indicated that a majority of human anatomy programs (95.5%) hold memorial ceremonies. These ceremonies are, for the most part, student‐driven and nondenominational or secular in nature. Participants heavily rely upon speech, music, poetry, and written essays, with a small inclusion of other humanities modalities, such as dance or visual art, to explore a variety of themes during these ceremonies. Anat Sci Educ 7: 219–223. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

“Safe Harbor”: Evaluation of a professionalism case discussion intervention for the gross anatomy course

Medical professionalism is a multifaceted paradigm and is an essential component of medical education. Gross anatomy is a laboratory to teach professionalism, and promoting critical reflection in medical students is a prerequisite to furthering professionalism. The aim of this study was to determine if professionalism case discussions during a Gross Anatomy course improve students' reflections using a validated reflection instrument (12 items; five‐point Likert scale where 1 = Disagree, 2 = Disagree with reservation, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree with reservation, 5 = Agree). Four facilitated reflection sessions were aimed at fostering reflective capacity through reflection on elements of professionalism. Results did not show a significant change between pre‐and postintervention reflection scores (3.45 ± 0.61 vs. 3.48 ± 0.51; P = 0.82). Historical control students were found to have significantly higher reflection scores when compared with postintervention students (3.91 ± 0.53 vs. 3.48 ± 0.51; P < 0.001). However, the historical control students were found to have significantly higher professionalism scores (P = 0.001) as compared with the intervention students. Student satisfaction was high, with 25 of 28 (89.2%) students reporting that the sessions should be included as a component of future anatomy courses. While reflection scores were not significantly increased as a result of the intervention, students expressed appreciation for the opportunity to discuss professionalism issues related to the dissection of cadavers. Additionally, the intervention students had both lower professionalism scores and lower reflection scores, which supports the idea that highly professional students are more capable of reflecting on professionalism. Future studies should determine whether this case discussion intervention improves objective measures of professionalism. Anat Sci Educ 7: 191–198. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Plasma centrifugation does not influence thrombin-antithrombin and plasmin-antiplasmin levels but determines platelet microparticles count

Introduction

Centrifugation is an essential step for plasma preparation to remove residual elements in plasma, especially platelets and platelet-derived microparticles (PMPs). Our working hypothesis was that centrifugation as a preanalytical step may influence some coagulation parameters.

Materials and methods

Healthy young men were recruited (N = 17). For centrifugation, two protocols were applied: (A) the first centrifugation at 2500 x g for 15 min and (B) at 2500 x g for 20 min at room temperature with a light brake. In protocol (A), the second centrifugation was carried out at 2500 x g for 15 min, whereas in protocol (B), the second centrifugation involved a 10 min spin at 13,000 x g. Thrombin-antithrombin (TAT) and plasmin-antiplasmin (PAP) complexes concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. PMPs were stained with CD41 antibody and annexin V, and analyzed by flow cytometry method. Procoagulant activity was assayed by the Calibrated Automated Thrombogram method as a slope of thrombin formation (CAT velocity).

Results

Median TAT and PAP concentrations did not differ between the centrifugation protocols. The high speed centrifugation reduced the median (IQR) PMP count in plasma from 1291 (841-1975) to 573 (391-1010) PMP/µL (P = 0.001), and CAT velocity from 2.01 (1.31-2.88) to 0.97 (0.82-1.73) nM/min (P = 0.049). Spearman’s rank correlation analysis showed correlation between TAT and PMPs in the protocol A plasma which was (rho = 0.52, P < 0.050) and between PMPs and CAT for protocol A (rho = 0.74, P < 0.050) and protocol B (rho = 0.78, P < 0.050).

Conclusion

Centrifugation protocols do not influence the markers of plasminogen (PAP) and thrombin (TAT) generation but they do affect the PMP count and procoagulant activity.Key words: cell-derived microparticles, blood coagulation tests, centrifugation, preanalytical phase     

All that glitters is not gold—Mixed early labour market outcomes of STEM graduates in Poland

The expansion of higher education resulted in a growing interest in post-graduation labour market outcomes. Two conflicting narratives are present in the debate. The first focuses on the shortage of skills and the need for further expansion of the sector and seems to pertain mostly to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The second revolves around over-education and mismatch leading to graduate unemployment or underemployment. Such concerns pertain especially to humanities and social sciences. However, in this article, we argue that the STEM versus non-STEM opposition on which this debate is premised is not adequate for analysing post-graduation labour market outcomes. We leverage a unique administrative dataset comprising monthly records on the labour market status of the entire population of recent Polish university graduates (N = 161,323) to demonstrate the heterogeneity of the STEM category in terms of labour market outcomes and the limited predictive value of the field of study for those outcomes. We argue that the category is too broad and internally diverse to be used as an overarching category, especially in research meant to inform policymaking.