BACKGROUND: Systems thinking is recommended, but not required, for teaching food and water system sustainability in nutrition and dietetics education.
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated systems thinking and sustainable, resilient, and healthy food and water systems (SRHFWS) in nutrition and dietetics programs. It examined program directors\' practices, values, attitudes, confidence levels, and the relationships between systems thinking, teaching SRHFWS topics, confidence levels, and years of experience as a dietitian and program director.
METHODS: Conducted in September 2022, the study used a descriptive design with a validated 20-item Systems Thinking Scale and a researcher-designed survey with 1-5 Likert-type scales.
METHODS: The online survey was distributed to 611 Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics program directors, with a 27% (N = 163) response.
METHODS: Descriptive statistics (frequency or mean ± SD) were calculated using Excel. Inferential statistics were examined using R. Analysis of variance was used to compare experience as a registered dietitian nutritionist and experience as a program director to confidence levels in teaching each SRHFWS topic. Linear regression was used determine the relationship between total Systems Thinking Scale score and demographic and programmatic variables.
RESULTS: Seventy-seven percent of program directors scored high on the Systems Thinking Scale (mean score = 65.2 ± 8.4 on a 0 to 80 scale), and more than 85% of directors agreed that including systems thinking in dietetics was important. However, only 32.1% reported teaching systems thinking. Less than half of program directors agreed that systems thinking was adequately addressed in Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics standards, and nearly 80% of program directors agreed there was room to strengthen systems thinking content. Directors neither agreed nor disagreed there are adequate Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics standards addressing SRHFWS and reported SRHFWS topics were inconsistently taught. Confidence levels were lowest for teaching economic and environmental topics. Awareness and use of resources developed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation was low.
CONCLUSIONS: Integration of systems thinking in nutrition and dietetics education presents promising opportunities to address complexity in the field. Applying systems thinking to teach SRHFWS may narrow the disparity between educators\' perceived importance and program coverage. Enhancing program directors\' awareness and utilization of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation resources and improved alignment between practice standards and accreditation standards may empower program directors to use systems thinking to teach sustainability-related challenges in nutrition and dietetics.

Women of color (WoC) in the health professions encounter challenges in advancement to higher positions, disparities in wages, discrimination, lack of expectation to achieve leadership positions, and absence of extensive support networks. Articles in the literature have addressed race and/or gender in the context of professional development. However, applying an intersectional lens or framework to better understand the contextual issues of professional development for WoC remains to be addressed. Thus, this scoping review aimed to (i) identify health professions literature that addresses disparities affecting WoC, and (ii) describe strategies and approaches to support WoC in the health professions. Methods: The literature searches were conducted in multiple databases, including PubMed and MEDLINE (Ovid); and Google and Google Scholar were used to \"hand search\" further articles including gray literature. Three independent reviewers reviewed and screened articles for inclusion in accordance with a guide. Search included articles on pharmacy or healthcare professions, published in English, and which met three content criteria: racial disparities/inequities, professional development/career advancement, and women or gender disparities Results: A total of 31 articles were included-medicine (17), nursing (1), pharmacy (7), other (4), and multiple health professions (2). Key findings included underrepresentation of women and minority groups, inequities in professional advancement and leadership positions for WoC, and greater dissatisfaction and attrition among minority and women professionals. Conclusion: WoC face unique and distinct challenges and barriers in their professional careers resulting from the intersectionality of not only race and gender, but also lived experiences and opportunities. Strategies to improve diversity and representation should include an intersectional framework or lens and be critically evaluated.

To investigate attitudes, priorities, and behaviors of ophthalmologists in salary negotiations.
Cross-sectional study.
A Qualtrics survey was disseminated to U.S.-based practicing ophthalmologists between November 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022 and assessed attitudes, behaviors, and priorities surrounding salary negotiation during the respondents\' first negotiation as a practicing physician and currently. Optional case-based scenarios were also included.
Of 424 respondents, 155 (36.5%) identified as male (M) and 269 (63.3%) identified as female (F). Men were more likely to negotiate salary for their first position as an independent ophthalmologist (M 78.3%, F 68.2%; P = .04). Respondents of both genders assessed their success similarly; 85.0% of men and 75.7% of women (P = .07) felt that their negotiation was very successful or somewhat successful. Women were more likely to select \"flexibility in clinic/OR schedule for personal commitments\" as a priority during salary negation for their first position (M 14.8%, F 23.1%; P = .04). Women ophthalmologists reported feeling more uncomfortable (M 36.1%, F 49.1%; P = .01), intimidated (M 20.0%, F 43.5%; P < .01), and were less likely to feel well-trained (M 24.5%, F 13.0%; P < .01). Most respondents never received formal training in negotiation.
We found significant gender differences among ophthalmologists in attitudes, priorities and behaviors surrounding salary negotiation. There were low reported levels of formal negotiation training, which appears to disadvantage women more than men. These gender disparities suggest that incorporating education about negotiation skills and career development early in training may be impactful.

Despite increasing female representation in U.S. medical schools, women remain underrepresented in academic surgery departments across the country. Even as the gap narrows in academic surgery, female surgeons\' professional advancement does not parallel that of their male counterparts. This article explores how to continue to advance women in academic surgery, first by considering the barriers women surgeons face, then offering actionable steps-on the individual, interpersonal, and systems levels-to overcome these barriers and work toward gender equity.

Nurses play a key role in the health of Americans. Unfortunately, the nation is expected to experience an increasing nursing shortage due to nurses retiring or leaving the profession and growing healthcare needs. In this context, it is important to prepare nursing students to be practice-ready graduates. To accomplish this goal, students must learn domain knowledge that is reflective of current nursing practices and have ample experiential learning opportunities, which require close collaboration between academia and practice in nursing education. Traditionally, faculty members who have developed nursing curriculum and the course content are mainly from within academia. The aims of the article are to describe prior efforts in academia-practice collaboration for baccalaureate-level nursing education and to propose the innovative Nursing Education and Practice Continuum model, which expands our team\'s successful collaborative projects. The model conceptualizes nursing education as a continuum between academia and practice, which constantly interact and evolve, and facilitates co-building and co-implementing nursing education courses for both students and practicing nurses. Nursing practice is also a continuum between experiential learning and practice after graduation. This continuum model can be implemented by aligning baccalaureate-level nursing education with the Nurse Residency Program curriculum. This article also addresses potential challenges and strategies during implementation.

BACKGROUND: Individuals married to active duty military members experience a significantly higher rate of un/underemployment than their civilian counterparts; those with advanced degrees are most impacted. Occupation is central to individual identity and adaptation; therefore, individual occupational struggles can impact family systems. Evidence shows military spouse career concerns impact service member retention, making spouse employment related to national security; however there is limited research on active duty spouses, particularly those with advanced degrees.
OBJECTIVE: This phenomenological study explored the experiences of activity duty military spouses with advanced degrees focusing on maintaining and advancing their careers.
METHODS: Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used to explore experiences of military spouses with advanced degrees actively seeking to work in their profession. Inductive content analysis was used to derive overarching themes to respond to the research questions.
RESULTS: Four major themes emerged: uniqueness of military life impacts; professional adaptation: flexibility, creativity and reinvention of the professional self; enhanced sense of duty/professional integrity; and need for enhanced forms of career support.
CONCLUSIONS: Military spouses with advanced degrees value and have a right to occupation, including work. Military life presents unique barriers to this. Results have implications for healthcare providers and policy-makers.

While there continues to be dialogue on the level of education required for entry into the profession of dental hygiene, there is a scarcity of literature pertaining to students\' views on the subject. The aim of this study was to explore Canadian dental hygiene students\' views on entry-to-practice dental hygiene education and their future educational aspirations.
In March 2017, an online survey comprising closed- and open-ended questions was conducted with Canadian Dental Hygienists Association student members enrolled in entry-to-practice Canadian dental hygiene programs.
Of the 1,738 students who received the survey invitation, 401 students responded (23% response rate). Ninety-one percent of respondents were enrolled in entry-to-practice diploma programs. The majority of respondents agreed that baccalaureate dental hygiene education provides increased knowledge (86%), increased capacity to work with underserved groups (86%), expanded clinical abilities (83%), and enhanced abilities in areas such as critical thinking, research use, and collaboration (85%). Most students (78%) ,support the vision of all future dental hygienists in Canada having a baccalaureate degree. Approximately 42% of respondents in diploma dental hygiene programs intend to complete baccalaureate education following graduation, 88% of whom intend to enrol in the next 3 years. Reasons for pursuing baccalaureate education include a desire to increase their knowledge base (83%), achieve personal satisfaction (78%), expand career opportunities (75%), increase recognition (75%), increase critical thinking abilities (69%), and access graduate education (58%).
These findings provide a new understanding of dental hygiene students\' views and their general support for and interest in baccalaureate dental hygiene education. Such results offer further impetus for discussions about creating additional opportunities for dental hygiene degree education and advancing the entry-to-practice requirements.
Bien que le dialogue continue sur le niveau de formation requis pour l’entrée dans la profession d’hygiéniste dentaire, il existe peu de documentation publiée sur l’opinion des étudiants en cette matière. Cette étude visait à explorer les opinions des étudiants canadiens en hygiène dentaire sur la formation d’entrée en pratique en hygiène dentaire et sur leurs aspirations pédagogiques futures.
En mars 2017, un sondage en ligne comprenant des questions fermées et ouvertes a été mené auprès des membres étudiants de l’Association canadienne des hygiénistes dentaires inscrits à des programmes canadiens d’entrée en pratique en hygiène dentaire.
Parmi les 1 738 étudiants qui ont reçu l’invitation à participation au sondage, 401 étudiants ont répondu (taux de réponse de 23 %). Quatre-vingt-onze pour cent des répondants étaient inscrits aux programmes de diplômes menant à l’entrée en pratique. La majorité des répondants était d’accord que la formation en hygiène dentaire menant au baccalauréat fournit des connaissances accrues (86 %), une meilleure capacité de travailler avec des groupes mal desservis (86 %), des habiletés cliniques élargies (83 %) et des habiletés améliorées dans des domaines tels que la pensée critique, l’utilisation de la recherche et la collaboration (85 %). La plupart des étudiants (78 %) appuient la vision que tous les hygiénistes dentaires de l’avenir au Canada soient titulaires d’un baccalauréat. Environ 42 % des répondants inscrits aux programmes d’hygiène dentaire menant au diplôme collégial ont l’intention de terminer des études menant au baccalauréat après l’obtention de leur diplôme et 88 % parmi eux comptent s’y inscrire dans les 3 prochaines années. Les raisons de poursuivre une formation menant au baccalauréat comprennent le désir d’augmenter la base de connaissances (83 %), l’atteinte d’une satisfaction personnelle (78 %), l’augmentation des occasions d’emplois (75 %), l’obtention d’une plus grande reconnaissance (75 %), l’augmentation des habiletés de pensée critique (69 %) et la possibilité d’accéder aux études supérieures (58 %).
Ces résultats fournissent un nouvel éclairage sur l’opinion des étudiants en hygiène dentaire, et leur appui général et leur intérêt envers la formation en hygiène dentaire menant au baccalauréat. De tels résultats offrent un élan supplémentaire aux discussions sur la création de possibilités supplémentaires en matière de formation en hygiène dentaire menant au baccalauréat et de progression des exigences d’entrée en pratique.

Women are underrepresented in most high-level positions in organizations. Though a great deal of research has provided evidence that bias and discrimination give rise to and perpetuate this gender disparity, in the current research we explore another explanation: men and women view professional advancement differently, and their views affect their decisions to climb the corporate ladder (or not). In studies 1 and 2, when asked to list their core goals in life, women listed more life goals overall than men, and a smaller proportion of their goals related to achieving power at work. In studies 3 and 4, compared to men, women viewed high-level positions as less desirable yet equally attainable. In studies 5-7, when faced with the possibility of receiving a promotion at their current place of employment or obtaining a high-power position after graduating from college, women and men anticipated similar levels of positive outcomes (e.g., prestige and money), but women anticipated more negative outcomes (e.g., conflict and tradeoffs). In these studies, women associated high-level positions with conflict, which explained the relationship between gender and the desirability of professional advancement. Finally, in studies 8 and 9, men and women alike rated power as one of the main consequences of professional advancement. Our findings reveal that men and women have different perceptions of what the experience of holding a high-level position will be like, with meaningful implications for the perpetuation of the gender disparity that exists at the top of organizational hierarchies.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify specific information related to U.S. dental hygiene baccalaureate degree completion programs. Learning experiences, assessment methods, and baccalaureate institutional partnerships were assessed. Of the sixty dental hygiene programs that offer a degree completion program, the forty-two that met the inclusion criteria (including having operated for at least three years) were invited to participate in a thirty-eight item online survey. A 62 percent (n=26) response rate was obtained. Learning experiences in responding programs included core dental hygiene courses, general education courses, and elective dental hygiene courses. Emphasis areas offered by various programs were in the specialty areas of education, public or community health, and research. Respondents reported that their graduates were employed in multiple settings (65 percent; n=17), with 19 percent (n=5) reporting employment in the combined grouping of private practice, education, and public health. Institutional partnerships included articulation agreements (88 percent; n=21), community college baccalaureate (8 percent; n=2), and university extension (4 percent; n=1) models. The findings of this study provide a baseline for assessing the educational composition and design of U.S. dental hygiene degree completion programs. However, results of this study showed inconsistencies among learning experiences that might raise concerns when considering students\' level of preparation for graduate education and future leadership roles in the profession.