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Objectives The aim of this study was to describe the long-term changes in CD4 cell counts beyond 5 years of combination antiretroviral therapy ( cART). If natural ageing leads to a long-term decline in the immune system via low-grade chronic immune activation/inflammation, then one might expect to see a greater or earlier decline in CD4 counts in older HIV-positive patients with increasing duration of c ART. Methods Retrospective and prospective data were examined from long-term virologically stable HIV-positive adults from the Australian HIV Observational Database. We estimated mean CD4 cell count changes following the completion of 5 years of c ART using linear mixed models. Results A total of 37 916 CD4 measurements were observed for 892 patients over a combined total of 9753 patient-years. Older patients (> 50 years old) at c ART initiation had estimated mean (95% confidence interval) changes in CD4 counts by year-5 CD4 count strata (< 500, 500-750 and > 750 cells/ μL) of 14 (7 to 21), 3 (-5 to 11) and -6 (-17 to 4) cells/μL/year. Of the CD4 cell count rates of change estimated, none were indicative of long-term declines in CD4 cell counts. Conclusions Our results suggest that duration of cART and increasing age do not result in decreasing mean changes in CD4 cell counts for long-term virologically suppressed patients, indicating that the level of immune recovery achieved during the first 5 years of treatment is sustained through long-term cART. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite it being generally acknowledged that counseling supervision is a vital part of the work for experienced genetic counselors and not just students, not all practising genetic counselors in the United Kingdom and Eire have access to this yet. This case study documents the supervision experience of our team of genetic counselors from Cambridge in the U.K. We document our retrospective thoughts on working practice before supervision was available in our department. We also give an overview of the individual and collective views of having one-to-one supervision only and then one year later, the impact of adding group supervision. Our 'supervision journey' is recorded using a practitioner-centred approach with a mixed method of data collection. Two focus group discussions and two written questionnaires were used, at different time points to gather attitudes. This paper captures experiences as our practice of supervision has evolved. This work is relevant to practising genetic counselors around the world who either do not yet have access to supervision, are planning its implementation or else are adding different types of supervision to their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: First-year residents begin clinical practice in settings in which attending staff and senior residents are available to supervise their work. There is an expectation that, while being supervised and as they become more experienced, residents will gradually take on more responsibilities and function independently., Objectives: This study was conducted to define 'entrustable professional activities' (EPAs) and determine the extent of agreement between the level of supervision expected by clinical supervisors (CSs) and the level of supervision reported by first-year residents., Methods: Using a nominal group technique, subject matter experts (SMEs) from multiple specialties defined EPAs for incoming residents; these represented a set of activities to be performed independently by residents by the end of the first year of residency, regardless of specialty. We then surveyed CSs and first-year residents from one institution in order to compare the levels of supervision expected and received during the day and night for each EPA., Results: The SMEs defined 10 EPAs (e.g. completing admission orders, obtaining informed consent) that were ratified by a national panel. A total of 113 CSs and 48 residents completed the survey. Clinical supervisors had the same expectations regardless of time of day. For three EPAs (managing i.v. fluids, obtaining informed consent, obtaining advanced directives) the level of supervision reported by first-year residents was lower than that expected by CSs (p < 0.001) regardless of time of day (i.e. day or night). For four more EPAs (initiating the management of a critically ill patient, handing over the care of a patient to colleagues, writing a discharge prescription, coordinating a patient discharge) differences applied only to night-time work (p ≤ 0.001)., Conclusions: First-year residents reported performing EPAs with less supervision than expected by CSs, especially during the night. Using EPAs to guide the content of the undergraduate curriculum and during examinations could help better align CSs' and residents' expectations about early residency supervision., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)