Blue Mountain Community College is a community college located in Pendleton, Oregon, United States, and serves Umatilla, Morrow, and Baker counties. It was established in 1962 and currently offers Associate of Arts degrees, Associate of Science degrees, Associate of Applied Science degrees, Certificates, and transfer degrees to four-year colleges..
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is prevalent among both the civilian and military populace, causes significant burden to the healthcare system, and diminishes the quality of life of those afflicted by it. Secondary pharmacologic prevention strategies with glucocorticoids have been studied in ICU patients and those who have experienced traumatic events with some effect. This case report follows one Active-Duty Marine who was exposed to a traumatic event during an emergency medical technician shift. Following this event, he was diagnosed with Acute Stress Reaction and treated with a 10-day course and follow-on taper of oral hydrocortisone. During follow up appointments the patient symptomatically improved, returned to work without limitations, and never met criteria for PTSD. This case report provides further support for the use of hydrocortisone as secondary pharmacologic prevention of PTSD in select cases and highlights the need for increased research into the topic, especially in the military population.
Student engagement in an online class has always been a challenge to faculty. We all know that online courses can be difficult for some students, and online discussions do not always turn out as planned. How do we maximize our online communication effectiveness? In a case study of an Emotional Intelligence course in a community college setting, we looked at this through a sociological lens and built on the perspective of socialization theories and conceptions to see students quickly become engaged in discussions with their classmates and openly share their concerns. Data was analyzed and lessons learned.
