National Louis University

Introduction/Background: The urology workforce is shifting in terms of the number of physicians per capita, age, gender, and availability. To meet this growing need, physician assistants/associates (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) are part of this workforce backfilling effort. However, limited studies have been conducted on the demographic and employment attributes of PAs practicing in urology. Thus, using a national dataset, this study aims to compare the attributes of PAs in the urology workforce compared with PAs in all other surgical and medical disciplines. Methods: We analyzed the practice of PAs in urology using data from the 2022 National Commission on Certification of PAs (NCCPA). This study drew on responses from 117,748 board-certified PAs who reported their medical and surgical specialty. Our analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics, comparing the demographic and practice attributes of PAs in urology (n = 1199) with PAs in all other medical disciplines (n = 116,549). Results: In 2022, 1199 (1.0%) PAs were reported to be clinically active in urology. Among PAs in urology, 68.1% self-identified as female, with a median age of 39 [IQR: 32–48]. Compared to PAs in other medical disciplines, PAs in urology resided in urban locations (94.5% vs. 92.5%, p = 0.002). They were also more likely to practice in office-based settings (53.6% vs. 37.0%), work over 40 h weekly (37.9% vs. 29.3%), and partake in telemedicine (52.0% vs. 40.1%; all p < 0.001). No statistical differences were found among PAs in urology versus PAs in all other medical fields related to job satisfaction (p = 0.763), symptoms of burnout (p = 0.124), and retirement plans in the next 5 years (p = 0.442). Conclusions: Given the predicted shortfalls of urologists and their changing demographic composition, this study has important implications for practice in the urology workforce. Our findings can inform workforce planning, recruitment strategies, and organizational policies to support the expansion of PAs in urology and help address shortages in this discipline.

Harmful child detention and deportation policies, along with dehumanizing migrant narratives, are part of a global pattern of systemic oppression targeting people on the move. This paper reviews the psychological harms experienced by migrant children caused by detention, separation, and deportation, critiquing the limitations of trauma‐focused, individual therapeutic approaches often adopted by service‐oriented fields. Community psychology principles are presented as an alternative framework, emphasizing ecological and systemic approaches to design more just and humane immigration policies at societal, organizational, and community levels. The paper explores evidence of harm, the strengths and limitations of therapeutic approaches, and harmful policies such as Trump's zero‐tolerance policy and emerging US deportation plans. It also highlights positive frameworks, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, such as organizational policies and legal standards centered on the child's best interests. Using a social‐ecological lens, the paper examines harmful policies that escalate risks, stressors, and barriers and highlights humane and protective factors. The authors examine how community psychology challenges oppressive systems, promotes community‐based alternatives, and amplifies the voices of migrant children and families. These efforts underscore the transformative potential of community psychology in addressing immigration injustices through collective action and systemic change.

Grounded in the current cultural moment, and spirit of revolution, this autoethnographic narrative entails a lifelong exploration of connecting self and world, and the importance of sacred cenote spaces in learning to live more authentically through my own personal-professional development as a community psychologist. I describe three main sacred cenote spaces that nurtured heart-centered collective transformation, including the Village project, online global community spaces built through The Emergence Network, and reconnection with my own family and ancestral ways of knowing/being with the Institute of Xicanx Psychology. Each of these sacred cenote spaces have supported processes of personal inquiry grounded in a deeper understanding of family, history, and Earth in ways that allow me to honor intuitions and inquiries of my younger self. Transformations in depth of consciousness about the character of our world has significantly influenced the nature of the work I do and has strengthened what I call compost-activism.

Purpose This qualitative study explored the experiences of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in professional learning communities (PLCs) during a year-long virtual professional development (PD) opportunity using an implementation science (IS) framework in an urban public school district for dynamic assessment (DA) training. The DA presented in the PD was modified based on ongoing discussions with key stakeholders in the district, so that it could be reasonably implemented in clinical practice while preserving the integrity of the DA's purpose. Method SLPs in an urban district were trained virtually using DA over the course of the school year. PD topics focused on decreasing bias and incorporating evidence-based practice into SLP approaches to speech-language evaluations. The SLPs underwent three training sessions and three separate PLC sessions. The SLPs were assigned a series of case studies to complement PLC sessions. An IS framework informed each step of the PD and PLCs to ensure applicability and integration of the content. Of the 366 SLPs working in the district, 209 consented and filled out two questionnaires and three exit slips to gather information on their experiences with the DAs and PLC models. Results SLPs reported new insights into their practice, including changes in assessment practices, awareness of bias in assessment practices, and increased confidence in working with families during the evaluation process. Two additional themes emerged: increased collaboration and enhanced group problem-solving skills when working with peers in PLC groups, and expanded proficiencies and heightened skills when applying DA practices to evaluations. The two challenges faced by SLPs included time constraints and confidence in the mastery of DA. Conclusion This study offers an approach to shifting evaluation practices in large districts to incorporate more evidence-based approaches.

Introduction The objective of this demand driven research is to co-design an intervention for upper-secondary students that addresses issues of consent and healthy relationships. In this paper, we (university researchers, student co-researchers, school staff), present the engagement framework that has been critical to the project's development and planned implementation. Methods An iterative co-design approach grounded in a participatory research approach is currently being adopted. Student co-researchers from three independent secondary schools on Whadjuk Nyungar Country in Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia, have been engaged as co-researchers in the design of the intervention. Supplementary quantitative and qualitative data from students enrolled at each school site is also being collated to further inform the intervention design. Student co-researchers will provide insights on the overarching design of the intervention including: the scope of key concepts they want to learn, interpretation of supplementary data, and the development of contextually relevant educative content. Results Retrospective and prospective components of the engagement framework are described and supported with applied examples where applicable. Preliminary results demonstrate the imperative of adopting iterative co-design, and the efficacy of our authentic engagement framework. A draft intervention has been formalized and will soon undergo piloting. The co-design process has already resulted in an intervention that differs from the initial program first conceptualized by university researchers. Conclusion Imperative to our engagement framework is centering students as experts of their lived experience. It is anticipated that this engagement framework will provide insights around the feasibility, value, and necessity for authentic engagement of upper-secondary school students in the design of their consent and healthy relationship education.

Niceness includes behaviors such as avoiding conflict or controversial topics, being submissive and people-pleasing, performing teaching as “love” in uncritical ways, accepting deficit perspectives, and upholding patriarchal structures. In the spirit of Niceness, white female teachers often avoid the work of challenging inequitable systems because doing so leaves them vulnerable to being seen as “not nice” or troublemakers. In this article, we interrogate how “niceness” produces and perpetuates inequalities in schooling. In particular, we argue that we, a group of eight white female teacher educators from across the United States, are in positions of leadership, capable of perpetuating or disrupting “niceness” in our pre-service courses. Drawing on scholarship on niceness, femininity, and critical whiteness, we examine our complicity in acts of oppression and how we work to identify and unlearn institutional norms to teach for justice and equity. We share vulnerable moments when we upheld niceness. In doing so, we aim to reveal and explore how socialization into niceness enables our silence, inaction, and misguided action.

The paper aims to develop a new chatGPT 3.5 instruction (prompt) for computing statistical indicators in student graduation projects. A bibliometric analysis of 79606 sources published in the Scopus database revealed a high level of interest in solving problems related to "graduation projects" and "statistical indicators." Numerous studies emphasize the importance of probability and statistics education. Concurrently, educators are advised to abandon teaching manual calculation methods to students. ChatGPT could serve as a modern tool for computing statistical indicators. Modern methods employed in this research included reviewing scientific literature, analysis and synthesis, bibliometric analysis, mathematical modeling, computation of statistical indicators, and verification of statistical hypotheses using Z-statistics. Five examples of calculating statistical indicators are provided in this paper. Three tools were used for computing statistical indicators, with the new chatGPT 3.5 instruction (prompt) serving as the experimental method, while Excel tables and Windows calculator were used as control methods. Verification of statistical hypotheses using Z-statistics demonstrated the equality of results between experimental and control methods. The standard testing level was set at α = 0.05. The novelty of this work lies in the creation of the new chatGPT 3.5 instruction (prompt) for computing statistical indicators in student graduation projects. Additionally, a User's Guide has been published. The practical value of this work lies in reducing the time and simplifying the method for computing statistical indicators in preparing graduation projects, as well as in improving their quality. An additional benefit is the expanded use of computers for educational purposes.

Background: Adolescence involves a period of swift change, including the development of personality vulnerabilities (i.e., dependency and self-criticism) that act as transdiagnostic factors to psychopathology. Over the past several decades, numerous short revisions have condensed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) into more efficient measures of personality vulnerability. Prior research has investigated the psychometric properties of the short DEQs in adult and clinical samples. However, there has been insufficient exploration within adolescents, who are in addition marked by fluctuating personality vulnerabilities. Method: A representative large sample of adolescents and emerging adults in China aged 10 to 25 (N = 23953) was administered five short DEQs, including the Revised DEQ (RevDEQ), Reconstructed DEQ (RecDEQ), Theoretical DEQ-21/12 (TDEQ- 21/12) and adolescent DEQ (DEQ-A). The data was evaluated for internal consistency and criterion-related validity, while factor structure and measurement invariances across gender and age groups were analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A subset of the original sample (N = 2874) was retested after six months and analyzed for test-retest reliability and cross-time invariance. Result: CFA of the TDEQ-21/12 and RecDEQ supported the intended two-factor model. Good criterion-related validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability for these three versions were found. Satisfying measurement invariances across gender, time, and age groups were established. Limitation: The study’s scope was confined to non-clinical adolescent populations within China, highlighting a gap in cross-cultural and clinical applicability. Conclusion: The present study supports the use of the TDEQ-21/12 and RecDEQ as valid and concise instruments for measuring Chinese adolescent personality vulnerability.

There is fierce controversy in the United States over whether parents should be able to choose their children's schools and/or curriculum. To discuss the pedagogical arguments inherent in this question, Todd Alan Price and Ruprecht Mattig begin with the classical concept of Bildung as developed by Wilhelm von Humboldt around 1800. Next, they compare Humboldt's ideas with the ideas of John Stuart Mill and Milton Friedman, who stand in the tradition of liberal thought, as Mill was strongly influenced by Humboldt and Friedman, in turn, by Mill. Finally, they consider Friedman's role as a central figure in the school choice movement, and are thus able to trace a line of thought from Humboldt to actual controversies. Price and Mattig's analysis here shows that the liberalism of Humboldt, Mill, and Friedman revolves around diversity and choice in education. Moreover, it traces that in the process of translating, translocating, and transcontextualizing Humboldt's original thought through Mill to Friedman, the complexity of arguments about education and the role of parents and the state in a liberal society has been unduly reduced. The authors conclude the paper by proposing a principle for thinking about the relationship between different educational institutions in democracies.