Maureen Mitchell

Publications (3)2.66 Total impact

• Source

  Available from: stfm.org

  Article: A spirituality and medicine elective for senior medical students: 4 years' experience, evaluation, and expansion to the family medicine residency.

  Gowri Anandarajah, Maureen Mitchell
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  ABSTRACT: Evidence suggests that spirituality is important in patient care and medical education, yet there are few reports of spirituality and medicine curricular evaluation. We developed, implemented, and evaluated a 17-hour elective on spirituality and patient care for 4 consecutive years. We presented the elective to 10 fourth-year medical students (MS4s) in years one and two and to eight MS4s and 15 residents, faculty, and staff in years three and four. We evaluated knowledge and skills using pre-course and post-course questionnaires and written cases and learner satisfaction using course evaluations. Students' knowledge improved on the evidence about spirituality, clinical resources, role of chaplains, approaches to patient care, and recognizing spiritual distress. Reported course strengths included diversity of topics and instructors, universal principles, small-group format, case discussions, and opportunity for self-reflection. Comments reflected enhanced value in the "meaning in medicine" and "whole person care." Senior medical students rated the elective positively and increased their knowledge of spirituality and medicine. It was also positively received by residents, faculty, and staff and paved the way for residency curricula in this subject.
  Family medicine 06/2007; 39(5):313-5. · 1.33 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: stfm.org

  Article: Evaluation of a required spirituality and medicine teaching session in the family medicine clerkship.

  Gowri Anandarajah, Maureen Mitchell, Jeffrey Stumpff
  Family medicine 06/2007; 39(5):311-2. · 1.33 Impact Factor
• Article: Pattern recognition of vertical strabismus using an artificial neural network (StrabNet).

  Arvind Chandna, Anthony C Fisher, Ian Cunningham, Deborah Stone, Maureen Mitchell
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  ABSTRACT: Our goal is to develop an accessible expert system (StrabNet) that will assist in the clinical diagnosis of vertical strabismus, form the basis of a teaching/learning tool, and contribute to the audit process. Potentially, this model can be extended to other strabismus deviations. Vertical deviations were separated into eight classifications (diagnoses). An expert system based on architecture of artificial neural networks learned the patterns for each class of deviation based on 10 prism cover-test measurements (9 cardinal positions and near fixation). The expert system was tested with previously unseen and real-patient data. This system was extended to a reduced model requiring only six measurements (primary position, right, left, up, down gaze, and near fixation), and evaluated with real patient data. A freely available Web implementation is available on the Internet at www.StrabNet.com . The expert system was found to be highly accurate at diagnosing vertical strabismus (100% and approximately 96% for ten and six measurement models, respectively) from one of the eight classes. StrabNet is of demonstrable value in diagnosing commonly presenting vertical deviations from prism cover test (PCT) measurements. Its potential role in teaching and in audit is identified.
  Strabismus 17(4):131-8.