MultiBriefs - Your source for industry specific News Briefs

Nursing faces a huge expertise gap in coming years

Joan Spitrey Healthcare Administration

There is little debate that healthcare is facing a potentially unprecedented nursing shortage. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections 2014-2024, the total number of job openings for nurses due to growth and replacements will be 1.09 million by 2024. One of the significant contributing factors to the future need for nurses is the impending retirement of baby boomers, who currently make up 40 percent of registered nurses in the United States. The loss of these nurses caring for patients will also see years of experience and expertise go by the wayside, leaving nursing with a significant knowledge gap.

The impact of stable school leadership

Brian Stack Education

When the school year comes to a close this month, one Arkansas school will have big shoes to fill at its helm, as longtime Southside High School Principal Wayne Haver has his final curtain call after 36 years in the role as principal and 48 years of service to the district as a whole. Without question, Haver is an exception to the rule. He represents a rare breed of school principals that continue to stay loyal to their school communities and buck the alarming trend of principal turnover that is plaguing many school communities in this country.

What to make of the drop in pharmacy school enrollments

Jason Poquette Pharmaceutical

In his excellent blog, Kevin Mero, the president of PharmacyWeek, detailed the latest data on pharmacy school enrollments…and for the first time ever, they are all down! The data come from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) website and refers to the latest information from 2017. Could this be the tipping point for the infusion of pharmacists into workforce? And what does a downward trend in pharmacy school enrollment mean?

An end-of-year checklist for your music classroom

Aileen Miracle Education

The end of the school year is here! There is so much to do at the end of the year. At my school, we receive an end-of-year checklist from our principal, but as a music teacher, there are several other "must-do" items that aren't on the typical classroom checklist. Here are all of the things I think about and do as I wrap up the year in my music classroom.

What’s your story?

Debra Josephson Abrams Education

What’s your story? Kasiva Mutua’s story, which she tells in her TEDTalk, "How I use the drum to tell my story," is of heroic triumph over her culture and society’s gender discrimination. To introduce storytelling — the final major assignment in my conversation course — I chose Mutua’s TEDTalk. TEDTalks are outstanding resources, and one reason I often incorporate them in to my lessons is that they offer closed captioning/subtitles and transcripts in multiple languages, thereby allowing low-to-mid level EFL/ESL users to listen to the English and follow along in their native language.

New initiatives bring hope for K-12 curriculum changes

Bambi Majumdar Education

The education system that forms the backbone of our schools is more than 125 years old. What may have worked well in 1892 is no longer helping our students. In an era of Google, social media and continuous innovation, this should be a defunct system. Students need different skills and a different way to learn and absorb knowledge. Instead of rote memory and test output, children today need to learn new skills on a perpetual basis. Some change is on the way.

Help your residents cope better with long shifts

Lisa Mulcahy Medical & Allied Healthcare

Night float, overnight calls and 28-hour days have become the norm for today's medical residents — they're a necessary evil in terms of the immersive learning young doctors need. Yet the residents you supervise are human, and the easier they can get through a tough shift, the better their results, their productivity, and the safety of your patients will be. Employ these research-proven tips to help your residents stay on their toes for the long haul.

Do oncologists have enough knowledge to prescribe medical marijuana?

Dorothy L. Tengler Medical & Allied Healthcare

Although 30 states and the District of Columbia now allow marijuana use for medical purposes, physicians are expected to guide patients through areas where most have little or no training. A recent study revealed that although most oncologists do not feel informed enough about medical marijuana’s use to make clinical recommendations, at least half still recommend the drug to their patients.

Can educators make trade school an easier choice for students?

Sheilamary Koch Education

In response to soaring higher education costs and widespread shortages of skilled workers to fill jobs, the topic of vocational training has become increasingly popular. The reduced training time and cost of trade school compared to university is a key benefit highlighted by advocates. Why then, despite the obvious benefits, are high school graduates — especially those likely to find a career in the trades fulfilling — still opting for an expensive college education instead of trade school?

AI technology must be leveraged to respond to, minimize school shootings

Matty Squarzoni Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

Even one school shooting is too many. Nineteen years after one of America’s most infamous and deadly incidents — the Columbine school shooting — little has improved in the nearly two decades since. These incidents require better prevention and response measures as they create long-term impacts on schools and communities — destroying countless lives when the shooter succeeds in taking even one shot.

Industries