Browsing by Author "Arnold, Susan"
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Item A Comprehensive Summary of Services and Resources Provided by Librarians in Support of CODA Accredited Predoctoral (DDS/DMD) Dental Education Programs in the United States and Canada(2017) Stellrecht, Elizabeth; McGowan, Richard; Lubker, Irene; Schvaneveldt, Nena; Arnold, Susan; Cortez, Elisa; Davis, Rebecca; Kronenfeld, Michael; Theis-Mahon, NicoleMany academic dental institutions have library services and librarians available to their constituents, but often a lack of awareness prevents these constituents from taking full advantage of these services. The aim of this study was to summarize the library services and resources that support dental education and research. This summary will demonstrate trends in dental librarianship as well as services and resources that can be adopted to serve the needs of dental education programs. To date, there has not been a comprehensive summary of these services. Methods: An environmental scan was carried out to take inventory of services that dental librarians provide. The study population consisted of librarians who work in dental libraries or college/university libraries that serve dental programs. The librarians surveyed were from institutions with a Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-accredited DMD/DDS program. Currently, there are 76 such programs in the U.S. and Canada. A questionnaire was distributed via email to the identified librarians. Follow-up phone interviews were conducted when necessary. Results: The results show that the majority of dental programs have a dedicated librarian or library liaison providing clinical, educational, and research support through a variety of approaches. Examples include evidence based dentistry instruction, research and grant support, collaboration on systematic reviews, service on curriculum committees, and involvement in the accreditation process. Conclusion: Librarians perform a variety of services that enhance dental education and research. Librarians provide beneficial services and resources for faculty, staff, and students. Increasing awareness and utilization of available services and resources in the dental community can facilitate research and complement dental education. The results of this survey demonstrate the many ways librarians provide support to their constituents. The service models cited here can be adapted in dental schools across North America.Item Developing wipe sampling strategy guidance for assessing environmental contamination of antineoplastic drugs(SAGE, 2022-08) Arnold, Susan; Jeronimo, Matthew; Astrakianakis, George; Kunz, Miranda; Petersen, Ashley; Chambers, Carole; Malard Johnson, Darcy; Zimdars, Emily; Davies, Hugh WSurveillance for environmental contamination of antineoplastic drugs has been recommended by authoritative bodies such as the United States Pharmacopeia and the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities. Clear guidance is needed on how to develop sampling strategies that align with surveillance objectives efficiently and effectively. We con- ducted a series of simulations using previously collected surveillance data from nine cancer treatment centers to evaluate different sampling strategies. We evaluated the impact of sampling 2, 5, 10, or 20 surfaces, at monthly, quarterly, semi- annual, and annual frequencies, while employing either a random or sentinel surface selection strategy to assess contam- ination by a single antineoplastic drug (AD) or by a panel of three ADs. We applied two different benchmarks: a binary benchmark of above or below the limit of detection and AD-specific hygienic guidance values, based on 90th percentile values as quantitative benchmarks. The use of sentinel surfaces to evaluate a three-drug panel relative to 90th percentile hygienic guidance values (HGVs) resulted in the most efficient and effective surveillance strategy.Item The Use of Heuristics and Exposure Models in Improving Exposure Judgment Accuracy(2015-09) Arnold, SusanExposure assessments provide the foundation for determining whether occupational and environmental exposure risks are efficiently and effectively managed. The American Industrial Hygiene Association’s (AIHA) strategy is well-known and provides a simple yet elegant framework for exposure assessments. Judgments are made by identifying the exposure control category in which the 95th percentile of the exposure distribution is most likely located for a given job or task Acceptability is commonly evaluated by comparing the true group 95th percentile to the occupational exposure limit (OEL), and based on this comparison the exposure is classified into one of four categories: “highly-controlled”, “well controlled”, “controlled”, or “poorly controlled”. Qualitative assessments, made without personal exposure data and quantitative exposure assessments are performed after a thorough review of available information and data related to the workforce, jobs, materials, worker interviews, exposure agents, exposure limits, work practices, engineering controls and protective equipment. Recent studies suggest that when exposure assessments are conducted in an ad hoc manner using subjective inputs, the accuracy of these assessments is low; in many cases no more accurate than random chance. Moreover, they tend to underestimate the true exposure. Thus, there is an urgent need to improve the accuracy of these assessments. This research was focused on investigating exposure assessment inputs that improve exposure judgment accuracy when assessments are conducted without personal exposure data. Specifically, the use of heuristics and exposure models were investigated. A Study was conducted to assess the impact of objective inputs used in a checklist format on improving exposure judgment accuracy by practicing and novice industrial hygienists. The results indicated exposure judgment accuracy is significantly higher, relative to random chance and conventional approaches when guided by the checklist tool developed for this research. Two studies were conducted to systematically evaluate two widely used exposure models under highly controlled and real world conditions. This was an important first step in evaluating the potential utility of these models in improving exposure judgment accuracy. The results for the majority of the tests conducted met the performance criteria, suggesting the models will be useful for generating reasonably accurate exposure estimates.