Background. Interactive hands-on learning is effective for learners of all ages and professional backgrounds. A shift from traditional didactic classroom models to the adoption of an active learning approach through constructivism in the classroom, specifically, in higher education, is shown to encourage critical thinking and problem solving in learners based on learned experiences. Aim. This article focuses on detailing a game used for healthcare leadership doctoral students that is adaptable and applicable for students in any program focused on teaching strategies in management and leadership and/or in critical thinking. Method. Based on the Escape Room video games and social activity phenomenon, teams compete to solve content-specific challenges to attain puzzle piece clues which lead to the next challenge or obstacle set forth by the instructors (representing hurdles in management/leadership and/or an academic program). Traditional quiz-type exercises, pictograms, cryptograms and crossword puzzles are coupled with modern technological components (e.g. social media and smartphone apps). The first team to obtain all puzzle pieces is deemed most strategic winner. Depending on allotted class time, gameplay can range from 2 to 4 hours. Results and Conclusion. This game mimics interdisciplinary team work environments. Participating in interactive collaborative learning environments enhances the overall learning experience, allowing learners to apply knowledge through gameplay, rather than just memorize concepts without context, which is characteristic of traditional didactic learning environments.

Background: With healthcare costs steadily rising, cost-effective alternatives to traditional medical approaches are needed. Specifically, music therapy (MT), a form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), is shown to alleviate symptoms of an illness and improve overall well-being, as well as enhance allopathic treatment modalities, making it appropriate for use in various healthcare settings covered under many different payment schedules today. With interdisciplinary healthcare teams becoming the norm in practice, it is increasingly important that practitioners trained allopathically understand the importance of CAM and certain types of CAM practices such as MT that can provide important benefits for patients. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA), not only is wellness and well-being emphasized as part of overall healthcare goals, it is also reimbursable. Therefore, although some CAM practices such as MT require special licensure in order to serve clients specifically, any healthcare practitioner can understand and refer patients to MT services, as well as utilize aspects of MT within their own practice areas. Further, as the field of MT and appreciation for its benefits grows, evidence-based practice in MT is also essential. Therefore, research in CAM and MT furthers the overall acceptance over time by interdisciplinary teams, thereby increasing beneficial care approaches for patients. The purpose of this study was to identify and understand differences between physicians' (doctor of medicine [MD], doctor of osteopathic medicine [DO]) and non-physician practitioners' (nurse practitioners [NP], certified registered nurse anesthetists [CRNA], certified nurse midwives [CNM], physician assistants [PA], and clinical nurse specialists [CNS]) recommending practices, knowledge, and perspectives (attitudes, beliefs, and expectations) of MT as CAM. Clinically, understanding these differences is important to all practitioners so that they can better determine cost-effective means by which to enhance patient care within the confines of allopathic practice under the PPACA, Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance payment structures today. Materials and Methods: A quantitative methodology with a descriptive, exploratory, cross-sectional, and correlational research design was used to measure recommending practices, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations of physicians and non-physician practitioners utilizing a principal investigator-created valid and reliable tool entitled the Global Complementary/Alternative and Music Therapy Assessment (GCAMTA). A sample of 237 physician and 307 non-physician (total N = 544) practitioners participated. Data were continually collected electronically during a six-month period using various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Additionally, access was provided to membership in several professional healthcare associations to recruit participants. Results: The GCAMTA revealed that 84.8% of physicians (MD/DO; n = 201/237) responded neutrally in their recommending practices, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and expectations toward MT as a CAM for their patients. Additionally, 86.6% of non-physician practitioners (NP, NA, CNM, CNS, PA; n = 266/307) responded more favorably toward MT as a CAM. For practitioners exhibiting higher knowledge of MT as a potential CAM (n = 207/307 [67.4%] non-physician practitioners vs. n = 36/237 [15.2%] MD/DO), favorability toward recommending MT as a CAM was also high. Results of the multivariate analysis of variance across all five dependent variables were statistically significant (p = 0.0001; α = 0.01). Conclusion: Educational curricula may contribute to the discrepancy in the views between physicians and non-physician practitioners. Traditional allopathic curricula may need to include teachings in holistic medicine in order to increase awareness of CAM such as MT. Additionally, further evidence-based research and longitudinal studies are needed for increased acceptance and eventual recommendation of these types of CAM approaches by healthcare practitioners in their practice. However, these types of revisions to curricula and practice take time. Recognizing this possible problem, practitioners need to become active healthcare providers and interdisciplinary healthcare team players by adopting evidence-based CAM approaches such as MT into their clinical practices, so that their patients have multiple cost-effective opportunities for care from which to select and achieve benefit.

Social distancing requirements resulted in many people working from home in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic. The topic of working from home was often discussed in the media and online during the pandemic, but little was known about how quality of life (QOL) and remote working interfaced. The purpose of this study was to describe QOL while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel topic, unique methodological approach of the General Online Qualitative Study (D’Abundo & Franco, 2022a), and the strategic Social Distancing Sampling (D’Abundo & Franco, 2022c) resulted in significant participation throughout the world (n = 709). The United Kingdom subset of participants (n = 234) is the focus of this article. This big qual, large qualitative study (n >100) included the principal investigator-developed, open-ended, online questionnaire entitled the “Quality of Life Home Workplace Questionnaire (QOLHWQ)” and demographic questions. Data were collected peak-pandemic from July to September 2020. Most participants cited increased QOL due to having more time with family/kids/partners/pets, a more comfortable work environment while being at home, and less commuting to work. The most cited issue associated with negative QOL was social isolation. As restrictions have been lifted and public health emergency declarations have been terminated during the post-peak era of the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential for future public health emergencies requiring social distancing still exists. To promote QOL and work-life balance for employees working remotely in the United Kingdom, stakeholders could develop social support networks and create effective planning initiatives to prevent social isolation and maximize the benefits of remote working experiences for both employees and organizations.

Social distancing requirements resulted in many people working from home in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The topic of working from home was often discussed in the media and online during the pandemic, but little was known about how quality of life (QOL) and remote working interfaced. The purpose of this study was to describe QOL while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel topic, unique methodological approach of the General Online Qualitative Study (D’Abundo & Franco, 2022a), and the strategic Social Distancing Sampling (D’Abundo & Franco, 2022c) resulted in significant participation throughout the world (n = 709). The United States subset of participants (n = 169) is the focus of this article. This big qual (Brower et al., 2019), large qualitative study (n >100) included the principal investigator-developed open-ended, online questionnaire entitled the “Quality of Life Home Workplace Questionnaire (QOLHWQ),” and demographic questions. Data were collected from July to September 2020 (during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic). Data analysis included open coding and categorical analysis resulting in the categories of positive, negative, both positive and negative, and neutral experiences with QOL while working from home. More participants cited increased QOL due to having more free time, less stress, and less commuting to work. The most cited issue associated with negative QOL was social isolation. As the post-peak era of the COVID-19 pandemic continues and the potential for future public health emergencies requiring social distancing exists, the findings from this study provide an important baseline understanding of remote working in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. As working from home either full-time or part-time becomes more common, implications of this research are likely applicable beyond the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. To promote QOL and work-life balance for employees working remotely in the United States, stakeholders may want to develop social support networks and create effective planning initiatives to prevent social isolation and maximize the benefits of remote working experiences for both employees and organizations.