When a client tells a clinician they're thinking about suicide, the clinician has only moments to respond but what is that clinician experiencing and feeling? In this episode, we unpack Dr. Geralyn Dexter's article Clinicians' Experiences of Negative Emotional Responses to Suicidality: How They Shape Assessment and Intervention and Influence Therapeutic Alliance, featured in the September 2026 issue of The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners. Dexter argues that clinicians' own emotional responses (such as fear, helplessness, even relief) aren't a distraction from the work; they shape assessment, intervention, and the therapeutic relationship itself.

📖 Read the full article: Dexter, G. (2026). Clinicians’ experiences of negative emotional responses to suicidality: How they shape assessment and intervention and influence therapeutic alliance. The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.61643/c56890

Can three tiny quizzes at the start of a semester change how students perform months later? In this episode, we unpack Dr. Julianna Browning's article Early-Semester Low-Stakes Quizzes in Introductory Accounting: Associations with Student Performance and Engagement, featured in the September 2026 issue of The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners. Browning argues that low-stakes quizzes aren't just a grading tool — they may function as a learning structure that helps students build habits that pay off well beyond the material the quizzes actually cover.

📖 Read the full article: Browning, J. (2026). Early-semester low-stakes quizzes in introductory accounting: Associations with student performance and engagement. The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners, 4(2).  https://doi.org/10.61643/c69562

For many doctoral students, finding participants is one of the hardest parts of the dissertation — so what did the ones who succeeded actually do? In this episode, we unpack Dr. Dawn Howell, Dr. Alexa Schmitt, Dr. Rae Denise Madison, and Dr. Robert Finkelmeier's article Examining Participant Recruitment Practices in Qualitative Research Studies Published by Colorado Technical University Doctoral Students in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, featured in the September 2026 issue of The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners. The authors argue that recruitment success rarely comes down to one method — it comes from combining multiple access points, staying flexible, and being willing to pivot when a plan isn't working.

📖 Read the full article: Howell, D., Schmitt, A., Madison, R. D., Finkelmeier, R. (2026). Examining participant recruitment practices in qualitative research studies published by Colorado Technical University doctoral students in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners, 4(2).  https://doi.org/10.61643/c98103

Could the very features that make AI useful also be the features that make it vulnerable? In this episode, we unpack Upendra Kanuru and Dr. Alexa Schmitt's article Artificial Intelligence - Model Context Protocol - Review of Real-World Security Threats, featured in the September 2026 issue of The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners. Kanuru and Schmitt argue that every connection between an AI tool and the outside world is a potential opening and that traditional defenses alone aren't enough to keep it secure.

📖 Read the full article: Kanuru, U., & Schmitt, A. (2026). Artificial intelligence - Model context protocol - Review of real-world security threats. The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners, 4(2).  https://doi.org/10.61643/c38836

Should schools ban AI, or teach students how to use it well? In this episode, we unpack Dr. John Ssekibaamu's article Scholarly Reflection on Teaching with AI: Implications for Teaching, Learning, and Human-AI Collaboration, featured in the September 2026 issue of The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners. Ssekibaamu argues that the real fix isn't banning AI or policing final products. Rather, it's teaching people to verify what AI produces, and asking them to show their thinking instead of just their answer.

📖 Read the full article: Ssekibaamu, J. B. (2026). Scholarly reflection on teaching with AI: Implications for teaching, learning, and human-AI collaboration. The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.61643/c11057

 An AI system can keep running, keep sounding confident, and still be quietly making costly mistakes — so when it finally breaks, who's actually responsible? In this episode, we unpack Jess Montgomery and Joshua Copeland's article Who Owns AI When It Breaks? The Convergence of AI Governance and Cybersecurity Accountability, featured in the September 2026 issue of The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners. Montgomery and Copeland argue that most organizations know who owns their AI systems, but almost nobody has decided who owns the decisions those systems inform — and that gap is where accountability quietly disappears.

📖 Read the full article: Montgomery, J. J., & Copeland, J. D. (2026). Who owns AI when it breaks? The convergence of AI governance and cybersecurity accountability. The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners, 4(2).  https://doi.org/10.61643/c79060

Racial disparities in healthcare aren't just clinical, they are shaped by the everyday decisions frontline managers make.

In this episode of The Pinnacle Podcast, we unpack Traci Patton Turner, Deane Desper, Rae Denise Madison, and Cathy Royal's article, Strategies Frontline Managers Need to Mitigate Racial Bias and Advance Equity in Healthcare, featured in the latest issue of The Pinnacle. Drawing on interviews with ten healthcare managers, the authors identify seven interconnected strategies and argue that real equity work happens only when these strategies reinforce one another, not when they're layered on as a one-off initiative.

📖 Read the full article: Patton Turner, T., Desper, D., Madison, R. D., & Royal, C. (2026). Strategies frontline managers need to mitigate racial bias and advance equity in healthcare. The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners, 4(1).  https://doi-org.coloradotech.idm.oclc.org/10.61643/c91362

Colleges are increasingly using AI to help organize evidence and support decisions in Title IX investigations, but does that make the process more neutral or just make bias harder to see? In this episode, we unpack Dr. Jason Everson's article AI Neutrality in Title IX Investigations and Decision Making Within Higher Education, featured in the March 2026 issue of The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners. Everson argues that neutrality was never really about how consistent an outcome looks — it comes from a process being transparent, accountable, and open to scrutiny. 

📖 Read the full article: Everson, J. (2026). AI neutrality in Title IX investigations and decision-making within higher education. The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners, 4(1).  https://doi.org/10.61643/c37224

What does it take to build—and sustain—a strong, healthy organizational culture?  In this episode of The Pinnacle Podcast, we examine how organizational development tools can be used to intentionally shape and sustain a healthy workplace culture. This article was published in the March 2026 edition of the open access journal The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar Practitioners.

📖 Read the full article: Bryant, S. & Morrison, D. (2026). Using organizational development tools to improve corporate culture. The Pinnacle: A Journal by Scholar-Practitioners, 4(1).  https://doi-org.coloradotech.idm.oclc.org/10.61643/c92770