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Biomedical subjects

T A Travis

Publications and source records attributed to T A Travis.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Standardized (simulated) patients' accuracy in recording clinical performance check-list items.

In large-scale performance-based assessment of medical professionals' clinical competence, simulated patients (standardized patients-SPs) are used not only to simulate case problems but also to record on check-list the examinees' clinical performance during their encounter with the SPs. The purposes of this study were to determine the SPs' overall accuracy in recording check-list items, and whether their accuracy was affected by the various characteristics of the check-list, and by the different times during a day and the different days within the examination when the recordings were obtained. Results showed that the SPs' accuracy in recording check-list items was good to very good and was affected by the length of the check-list, as well as by the type and the clarity of the check-list item. It was further found that the SPs' accuracy was consistent and did not vary over the course of a one-day or a 15-day examination.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1991

Test security in examinations that use standardized-patient cases at one medical school.

The use of performance-based examinations consisting of standardized-patient (SP) cases has increased greatly in recent years. These examinations are typically long and thus require the presentation of the same SP cases to several consecutive examinee groups. Consequently, concerns have arisen about the potential for violations of test security whereby students who were tested early in the examination period pass on information to students tested later. These concerns are addressed using data from the SP-based examinations administered to five classes (1986-1990) of senior medical students at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Because of the length of the examinations, each class was randomly divided into five groups and the examination was administered to one group at a time, requiring three days of testing time per group and three weeks of testing time per class. The results showed no consistent, systematic changes in case means across the five groups tested at different times throughout the examination period, and thus provide no evidence of serious, widespread violations of test security.

Education, Medical↗
PubMed1979

Effects of true and inverted feedback on integrated occipital alpha.

Ambient illumination had no effect on baseline levels of alpha of 20 female university students who had their eyes closed, and significant increases from these levels were obtained through true but not inverted feedback procedures. These results indicate that alpha enhancement can be obtained in a manner that is not explicable in terms of disinhibition processes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Changes in heart rate following eyes-closed alpha enhancement.

Subjects (n = 20 females 18 to 26 yr. old) who had been trained in an eyes-closed alpha-enhancement task were grouped according to performance and changes in heart rate were compared. Subjects who showed a facility for producing alpha also evidenced a small decrease in heart rate while a small increase in heart rate while a small increase in heart rate was shown by the low alpha-output group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Resting levels of alpha and the Eysenck Personality Inventory.

The number of microvolt seconds of alpha rhythm emitted during a five-minute period were collected for 30 male and 30 female subjects. This measure of alpha abundance was then compared in subjects who scored high and in those who scored low on the E and N scales of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Subjects who scored low on the E scale tended to have a significantly greater number of microvolt seconds of alpha than did subjects who scored high on the scale. No differentiation on the basis of emitted alpha was possible for subjects scoring high and low on the N scale.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

The changing attitudes of physicians toward prolonging life.

This follow-up survey of physicians' attitudes and practices reveals a changing approach toward the care of terminal patients. It shows that: 1) communication with dying patients is becoming more open, 2) support for the omission of life-prolonging treatments is increasing, and 3) opposition to the use of death-hastening measures remains strong. It indicates that the physician's experience with terminal patients and the setting of his practice influence his attitude towards these patients and the approach to treatment.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1976

Heart rate, muscle tension, and alpha production of transcendental meditators and relaxation controls.

A group of transcendental meditators, and a group of control subjects instructed to relax, were compared with respect to degree of relaxation reached as measured by changes in heart rate, tension of the frontalis muscle, and occipital alpha production. The only significant changes were decreases in these measures over time in the control subjects. The changes in the controls were probably the consequence of sleep or the onset of sleep.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Subjective aspects of alpha enhancement.

Early reports on enhancing occipital alpha through feedback noted that subjects reported the experience as being pleasant and relaxing. This paper reports the subjective experiences of 140 subjects who participated in four studies which examined the alpha enhancement phenomenon. Under both eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions, approximately 50 per cent of the subjects reported that alpha enhancement was "pleasant' and 50 per cent "unpleasant/neutral'. With eyes-open training conditions, about half the subjects stated that the experience was "relaxing' and the other half "not relaxing'. During eyes-closed training, 63 per cent of the subjects noted that enhancing alpha was "relaxing', while 37 per cent reported that the experience was "not relaxing'. However, in the last case the circular relationship between increased alpha and deep relaxation may obtain.

Achievement↗