Background: Juxtaposed with prevailing romantic myths surrounding images of UK veterinary practice are the reported alarming levels of psychological distress within the profession. Whilst an abundance of published quantitative studies report on the high proportional mortality rate of death by suicide in vets and identify possible causes of stress in the workplace, there is noticeable paucity of qualitative studies that precedent vets’ lived experiences and privilege their voices. Aims: Within this study I aimed to gain an “insider’s perspective” as to what it is like to be a vet (in UK practice) experiencing psychological distress. I also investigated the possible impact on vets of the “culture of death” (i.e. responsibility for administering euthanasia; exposure to death). This was with the aim of generating, deeper, more nuanced insights into how veterinary surgeons made sense of and meaning from their experiences of distress, with a view to enhancement of future counselling psychology initiatives and interventions. Participants: I recruited five veterinary surgeons on a voluntary basis (two males; three females); four participants had received a diagnosis of depression; one self-identified experiencing post-partum depression. Method: I collected data in one single semi-structured interview that lasted up to 90 minutes. I transcribed interviews verbatim and applied interpretive phenomenological analysis to individual accounts, prior to cross-case analysis. Focusing on metaphors participants used, I imported an existential lens for interpreting findings. I further used personal and epistemological reflexivity to generate greater transparency of my own processes and context. Findings: I identified three master-themes: “I suffered from depression, real depression;” “All - consuming: it eats away at you;” and “The Human Element.” Participants made sense of their experiences of psychological distress as depression through metaphors of darkness, descent, void, consumption, motion/inertia and balance. My analysis revealed diversity in experiences; responsibility for multiple, convenience and precipitous euthanasia was located as difficult and sometimes distressing. Two participants had experienced the loss of a veterinary surgeon friend by suicide, which was described as “horrific” and as generating deeper existential questioning. Participants idiosyncratically described depression as a multiple loss experience which was also potentially generative of increased self-awareness, acceptance and source of connection with personal values, interests and significant others. By importing an existential lens for interpreting findings, the multidimensional nature of participants’ experiences of depression was made more visible and highlighted salience of spiritual dimensions, in particular personal values and sense of purpose in life. Conclusions and Implications: Insights generated illustrate diversity and paradox within participant vets’ experiences of depression; revealing both associated losses and gains. Implications for counselling psychologists include considering the importance of sensitivity towards the context of veterinary medicine and understanding the personal meanings of being a vet.

A dissertation presented to the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Durban University of Technology in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, 2009 / Previously it was established that the majority of medical professions such as Orthopaedic surgeons, Neurosurgeons and Neurologists were not comfortable with the Chiropractic Profession. Changes have occurred since this perception was established so it was considered necessary to review the knowledge and perception of these three medical professions in order to ascertain any changes. Objectives The objectives were to establish the demographic factors of Orthopaedic surgeons, Neurosurgeons and Neurologists, whilst also establishing their current views and perceptions of the Chiropractic profession in South Africa in terms of their personal experience of Chiropractic, Chiropractic therapeutic efficacy, the Chiropractic scope of practice and inter-professional relations. Methods This prospective, qualitative questionnaire study required that all 478 Orthopaedic surgeons, 110 Neurosurgeons, and 101 Neurologists who were registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa at the time receive a questionnaire. Thus a total of 689 Questionnaires were sent out for completion. Results The overall views and perceptions of participating Orthopaedic surgeons, Neurosurgeons and Neurologists regarding Chiropractic has made a positive shift in favour of developing and potentially expanding relations between these professions and the Chiropractic profession. This has been shown by the increased confidence these professions have in the Chiropractic profession both in terms of effectiveness of Chiropractic treatment for neuromusculoskeletal and other conditions, as well as the increased rate of referral between these professions and Chiropractors.

Introduktion: Grundläggande för operationssjukvård är att kunna använda sina händer för att utföra god specialistsjukvård och omvårdnad av patienten. Att drabbas av eksem på händer, handleder, underarmar eller urtikaria till följd av kontaktallergi kan medföra att händernas funktion påverkas. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka prevalensen av självrapporterade handeksem, urtikaria och möjliga riskfaktorer hos verksamma operationssjuksköterskor och kirurger samt identifiera statistiska samband hos respondenterna. Metod: Studien genomfördes med kvantitativ metod. Data samlades in via elektroniska enkäter. Sammanlagt samlades 150 enkäter in. För statistisk bearbetning och analys användes ett statistiskt dataprogram. Resultat: Förekomst av eksem på händer, handleder eller underarmar vid något tillfälle självrapporterades av 44% av respondenterna, varav 24% upplevt eksem de senaste två åren. Uppkomst av urtikaria på händer, handleder eller underarmar vid något tillfälle självrapporterades av 28,7% respondenter. En högre andel av de som självrapporterat eksem och urtikaria hade också åtminstone en övrig allergi. Konklusion: I studien framkom att nästan var femte personal på operationsavdelningar inom Region Östergötland hade haft handeksem någon gång under de senaste två åren. Denna siffra är i enighet med tidigare forskning, dock är bortfallet i denna undersökningsgrupp för stort för att kunna generalisera resultatet. / Introduction: To be able to use your hands to carry out perioperative care and nursing is fundamental. To suffer from eczema on your hands, wrists, forearms or urticaria as a consequence of contact allergy, can affect the function of the hands. Aim: The aim of the study was to research the prevalence of self-reported hand eczema, urticaria and risk factors among working operating room nurses and surgeons in the region of Östergötland and to identify statistical relations among the respondents. Method: The study was carried out with a quantitative method. Data was gathered through electronic questionnaires. A total of 150 questionnaires were collected. For statistical processing and analyse, a statistic computer program were used. Result: Prevalence of eczema on hands, wrists and forearms at any time were self-reported among 44% of the respondents, and 24% had experienced eczema during the last two years. Experience of urticaria on hands, wrists and forearms at any time were reported by 28,7% respondents. A greater amount of the respondents who self-reported eczema and urticarial also described at least one additional allergy. Conclusion: The study showed that almost every fifth personnel on the surgical ward in the region of Östergötland, had self-reported hand eczema at some time during the two last years. Former research has shown similar data, but the number of non-respondents were too high to be able to generalize the result of this study.

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar os efeitos adversos relatados por cirurgiões-dentistas (CD) e correlacioná-los com o uso de equipamentos motores. Trata-se de um estudo seccional, não experimental com análise quantitativa dos dados. O estudo foi realizado com 247 CD de Ribeirão Preto-SP. Na coleta dos dados, foi utilizado um questionário auto-aplicável composto por questões agrupadas em: questões sócio-demográficas, relativas a efeitos adversos (musculoesqueléticos, nervosos e vasculares), prática profissional e questões sobre o uso de equipamentos motores. Os dados foram analisados por meio de medidas de distribuição (freqüência), análise bivariada (Teste qui-quadrado e Exato de Fisher) e análise multivariável (Regressão logística). Os efeitos indesejáveis relatados pelos sujeitos e considerados mais intoleráveis foram: dor (67,65%), limitação de amplitude de movimento (7,84%) e parestesia / formigamento (6,86%). As regiões do corpo mais acometidas foram: pescoço, ombros e membros superiores direitos, perfazendo 76,8% das queixas. Os preditores estatisticamente significativos para os efeitos indesejáveis relatados em mãos foram sexo (RC = 0,513, p = 0,056) e pausa entre os atendimentos (RC = 0,514, p = 0,022). O equipamento mais utilizado foi o motor de alta rotação (94,7%), seguido pelos de baixa rotação com contra-ângulo (82,2%) e baixa rotação com peça reta (62,8%). Concluiu-se que embora os CD apresentassem sintomatologia característica de exposição a equipamentos motores que emitem vibração, estes sintomas não são suficientes para confirmar que os equipamentos motores são prejudiciais a sua saúde e que são fatores de risco para a ocorrência de LER/DORT. Os resultados deste estudo oferecem subsídios importantes para a conscientização do cirurgião-dentista sobre sua prática de trabalho e a necessidade de cuidar de sua saúde e levanta questionamentos que possibilitarão a realização de futuras investigações pela equipe multidisciplinar de Saúde do Trabalhador. / This study aimed to identify adverse effects reported by dental surgeons (DS) and correlate them to the use of motor equipment. We carried out a non experimental cross-sectional research with quantitative data analysis. The study involved 247 DS who work in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. A self-applied questionnaire was used to assess the professionals. This instrument consisted of four parts, asking sociodemographic questions, questions about reported (muscle-skeletal, nervous and vascular) adverse effects, professional practice and questions related to motor equipment use. Data were analyzed through distribution (frequency) measures, bivariate analysis (chi-square and Fisher?s exact test) and multivariate analysis (logistic regression). Within the described undesirable effects, the ones these professionals considered most intolerable are pain (67.65%), movement range limitation (7.84%) and paresthesia/tingling (6.86%). The most affected body regions were neck, shoulders and right superior limbs, corresponding to 76.8% of complaints. The reported predictors statically significant for the undesirable effects on hands were gender (RC = 0,513, p = 0,056) and pause between appointments (RC = 0,514, p = 0,022). These professionals most frequently used high-speed rotating equipment (94.7%), followed low-speed rotation equipment with contra-angle (82.2%) and low-speed rotation equipment with a straight piece (62.8%). Although the symptoms these professionals present are characteristic of exposure to vibrating motor equipment, these symptoms are not sufficient to confirm that motor equipments cause damage to health and are factors of risk to the occurrence of RSI and WMSD. The results of this study offer important support to the consciousness of the Dental Surgeon about his(er) practice and the need to care of his(er) health and raises questions that can give rise to further research by the multidisciplinary team on the worker?s health.

Helkiah Crooke (1576-1648) was a London physician who wrote the first comprehensive anatomy manual in the English vernacular, Mikrokosmographia (1615). This dissertation demonstrates the significance of Crooke’s example for several lines of inquiry. His story shows the essential role of humanistic study in the development of an effective early modern physician. It also demonstrates how reading an anatomy manual as a literary work illuminates the paradigms underpinning the relationships between books and bodies in the early modern era. Furthermore, examining the performative aspects of the physician’s profession alongside dramatic literary characters elucidates the relationship between the professional sphere and the public stage and, consequently, the ramifications of that relationship for Crooke’s historical characterization. Ultimately, the project shows how and why Crooke and Mikrokosmographia are perfectly positioned to lend insight on a large number of medical practices and experiences in the early modern period. While scholars frequently cite the book as a reference on early modern thinking about bodies, almost all of this use has consisted of material excerpted without systematic analysis of the way the text is put together or close examination of the cultural conditions of the book’s production. Furthermore, several of the extant accounts of Crooke’s life contradict one another, neglect crucial evidence, or make unsupported claims, leaving confusing questions regarding the education and career of the man who authored this important text. This dissertation rectifies several misconceptions regarding Crooke and his book, providing new interpretation of the creation of Mikrokosmographia and Crooke’s memory in the history of medicine. The project explores the anatomy manual’s cultural currency and the relationship of the book and its author to contemporary writing more readily recognized today as literary works. It also questions existing categorizations of early medical texts as it works to demonstrate the role of such writing in shaping authors’ identities and careers as well as affecting the lives and health of the public, recovering the fullest picture of Crooke’s life story and the most extensive bibliography of his writing to date.

Introduction Intraoral soft tissue infections (OSTI) are a common problem in dentistry and oral surgery. These abscesses are mostly exacerbated dental infections (OIDC), and some emerge as postoperative infections (POI) after tooth extraction (OITR) or apicoectomy (OIRR). The main aim of this study was to compare OIDC with POI, especially looking at the bacteria involved. An additional question was, therefore, if different antibiotic treatments should be used with OSTI of differing aetiologies. The impact of third molars on OSTI was evaluated and also the rates of POI after removal of third molars were specified. Materials and methods Patient data was collected from the patients' medical records and the results were statistically evaluated with SPSS (SPSS version 21.0; SPSS, IBM; Chicago, IL, USA). The inclusion criterion was the outpatient treatment of a patient with an exacerbated oral infection; the exclusion criteria were an early stage of infiltration without abscess formation; and a need for inpatient treatment. Results Periapical exacerbated infections, especially in the molar region were the commonest cause of OIDC. In the OITR group, mandibular tooth removal was the commonest factor (p=0.016). Remarkably, retained lower wisdom teeth led 91 to significant number of cases in the OITR group (p=0.022). Conclusions In our study we could not define differences between the causal bacteria found in patients with OIDC and POI. Due to resistance rates we conclude that amoxicillin combined with clavulanic acid seems to be the antibiotic standard for exacerbated intraoral infections independent of their aetiology. / Einführung Intraorale Weichteilinfektionen (OSTI) sind ein häufiges Problem in der Zahnmedizin und Kieferchirurgie. Diese Abszesse sind meist dentalen Ursprungs(OIDC), einige wiederum treten als postoperative Infektionen (POI) nach einer Zahnextraktion (OITR) oder Wurzelspitzenresektion (Oirr) auf. Das Hauptziel dieser Studie war es OIDC mit POI zu vergleichen. Ein weiteres Ziel war es, die unterschiedlichen antibiotischen Behandlungen bei OSTI unterschiedlicher Ätiologien gegeneinander abzuwägen. Die Auswirkungen der dritten Molaren auf OSTI wurde ebenfalls untersucht, und auch die Rate von POI nach Entfernung der dritten Molaren wurden angegeben. Material und Methode Die Patientendaten wurden durch die Analyse der Aufzeichnungen und Akten erhoben. Die Ergebnisse wurden statistisch ausgewertet mit SPSS (SPSS Version 21.0, SPSS, IBM, Chicago, IL, USA). Einschlusskriterium war die ambulante Behandlung eines Patienten mit dem Krankheitsbild einer intraoralen Infektion. Die Ausschlusskriterien waren ein frühes Stadium der Infiltration ohne Abszessbildung und die Notwendigkeit einer stationären Behandlung. Ergebnisse Apikale Parodontitiden, vor allem im Bereich der Molaren waren die häufigste Ursache für OIDC. In der OITR Gruppe war Zahnentfernung die häufigste Ursache (p = 0,016). Bemerkenswerterweise führte die Entfernung von unteren Weisheitszähnen zu einer erheblichen Anzahl von Fällen in der OITR Gruppe (p = 0,022). Schlussfolgerungen In unserer Studie konnten wir keine Unterschiede zwischen der bakteriellen Flora bei Patienten mit OIDC und POI erörtern. Aufgrund der aktuellen Resistenzraten, ziehen wir die Schlussfolgerung, dass Amoxicillin kombiniert mit Clavulansäure das Antibiotikum der Wahl für intraorale Infektionen, unabhängig von deren Ätiologie, zu sein scheint.

En el transcurso de los setenta y siete años que abarca la tesis, se investiga en torno a unas realidades socio-profesionales concretas que se generan a partir del estado de la cuestión historiográfica y de una preliminar cronología antepuesta al inicio del periodo de estudio. Contextualizado el estudio, se centra en las diversas normas legales que fueron normativizando la estructura social, profesional y de relación de esas actividades; en la conexión entre los manuales formativos y la praxis ocupacional-profesional; la determinación de los orígenes geográficos y sociales de los colectivos, así como su herencia profesional y el acceso de la mujer a las profesiones sanitarias; el asociacionismo profesional y sus publicaciones corporativas; los diversos ámbitos del ejercicio profesional liberal o dependiente y los relatos biográficos. El núcleo de esta tesis lo constituyen las personas, hombres y mujeres, a los que hay que considerar como los verdaderos protagonistas de la evolución histórica de esas tres profesiones sanitarias, es por ese motivo que se incluye el nomenclátor de los dos mil seiscientos cuarenta y cuatro personas que se titularon en Cataluña (1877-1932) / Certain social-professional realities were investigated during the seventy-seven years covered by this thesis that were generated from the state of the historiographic situation and of a preliminary chronology preceding the beginning of the period of the study. Contextualising the study, centred on the diverse legal rules which were normalising the social-professional structure and the relationship of these activities; in the connection between the formative manuals and the occupational-professional practise, the determination of the geographic and social origins of the groups, and its professional heritage and the access of women to sanitary professions; the professional associations and corporate publications; the various fields of professional, liberal or dependent practises and their biographic reports. The core of this thesis is constituted by the people, men and women, who must be considered as the true protagonists of the historical evolution of these three sanitary professions, it is for this reason that here is included, the catalogue of the names of the two thousand six hundred and forty-four people who graduated in Catalonia (1877-1932)

Problem. Private veterinary practice differs from other services in its object. The service sector’s client generally is the service user as well. Veterinary’ sector’s service is designed for animals, but the client is the service customer. For education of management abilities in private veterinary practice there is designed too little attention. The subject of research. To identify the importance of management abilities in private veterinary practice. Results. 1. It was established, that on the average to 78.8% veterinaries, to whom this job is their main living source, the topics of the courses were urgent and to 20.6% only partly urgent. Among veterinary surgeons, to whom this job is secondary, the topics were urgent for 69.4% and 30.0% answered that they were urgent only partly. 2. 72.2% veterinary surgeons, who considered the topic of the courses as urgent, answered that the topic of management was very important, for 3.9% it was partly important and only 0.8% answered that it was quite unimportant. Among the veterinary surgeons, for whom the topic of the qualification perfection courses seemed partly urgent the management topic was very important for 41.8. For 12.1% this topic was partly important and for 5.7% it was quite unimportant. 3. Among the veterinary surgeons, to whom this job is their main living source, the management topic was very urgent for 66.6%; it was quite unimportant only for 1.6%. It was established that the management topic was urgent for 61.0%... [to full text]

A dissertation presented to the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Durban University of Technology in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, 2009 / Previously it was established that the majority of medical professions such as Orthopaedic surgeons, Neurosurgeons and Neurologists were not comfortable with the Chiropractic Profession. Changes have occurred since this perception was established so it was considered necessary to review the knowledge and perception of these three medical professions in order to ascertain any changes. Objectives The objectives were to establish the demographic factors of Orthopaedic surgeons, Neurosurgeons and Neurologists, whilst also establishing their current views and perceptions of the Chiropractic profession in South Africa in terms of their personal experience of Chiropractic, Chiropractic therapeutic efficacy, the Chiropractic scope of practice and inter-professional relations. Methods This prospective, qualitative questionnaire study required that all 478 Orthopaedic surgeons, 110 Neurosurgeons, and 101 Neurologists who were registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa at the time receive a questionnaire. Thus a total of 689 Questionnaires were sent out for completion. Results The overall views and perceptions of participating Orthopaedic surgeons, Neurosurgeons and Neurologists regarding Chiropractic has made a positive shift in favour of developing and potentially expanding relations between these professions and the Chiropractic profession. This has been shown by the increased confidence these professions have in the Chiropractic profession both in terms of effectiveness of Chiropractic treatment for neuromusculoskeletal and other conditions, as well as the increased rate of referral between these professions and Chiropractors.

In this thesis, we propose a framework for automated assessment of surgical skills to expedite the manual assessment process and to provide unbiased evaluations with possible dexterity feedback. Evaluation of surgical skills is an important aspect in training of medical students. Current practices rely on manual evaluations from faculty and residents and are time consuming. Proposed solutions in literature involve retrospective evaluations such as watching the offline videos. It requires precious time and attention of expert surgeons and may vary from one surgeon to another. With recent advancements in computer vision and machine learning techniques, the retrospective video evaluation can be best delegated to the computer algorithms. Skill assessment is a challenging task requiring expert domain knowledge that may be difficult to translate into algorithms. To emulate this human observation process, an appropriate data collection mechanism is required to track motion of the surgeon's hand in an unrestricted manner. In addition, it is essential to identify skill defining motion dynamics and skill relevant hand locations. This Ph.D. research aims to address the limitations of manual skill assessment by developing an automated motion analysis framework. Specifically, we propose (1) to design and implement quantitative features to capture fine motion details from surgical video data, (2) to identify and test the efficacy of a core subset of features in classifying the surgical students into different expertise levels, (3) to derive absolute skill scores using regression methods and (4) to perform dexterity analysis using motion data from different hand locations.