Journal of allied health
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Journal of allied health · Jan 2005
Recruitment and retention of emergency medical technicians: a qualitative study.
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are critical to out-of-hospital care, but maintaining staff can be difficult. The study objective was to identify factors that contribute to recruitment and retention of EMTs and paramedics. Information was drawn from three focus groups of EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, and EMT-Paramedic personnel recruited from participants at an annual conference. ⋯ Respondents expressed a preference for EMT education resulting in college credit or licensure versus professional certification. Job-related stress produced by numerous factors appears to be a likely contributor to low employee retention. Recruitment and retention efforts should address study findings, incorporating key findings into educational, evaluation, and job enhancement programs.
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Journal of allied health · Jan 2005
Changes in students' perceptions of interdisciplinary practice reaching the older adult through mobile service delivery.
This study examined students' perceptions of interdisciplinary health care practice in a facilitated, community-based practicum experience. Students' perceptions of interdisciplinary practice relative to their own profession and other health disciplines were examined before and after involvement in mobile service delivery to the older adult in a collaborative team approach. ⋯ Univariate analysis revealed a significant change in students' perceptions of professional competence and autonomy, actual cooperation and resource sharing within and across professions, and understanding of the value and contributions of other professionals from pretest to posttest. The findings support the need for educators to facilitate communication through innovative interdisciplinary clinical opportunities for health professions students to influence perceptions that promote active participation in a team approach to care delivery in an increasingly complex health care system.
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Journal of allied health · Jan 2005
Allied health personnel's attitudes and perceptions of teamwork supporting children with developmental concerns.
This report describes the attitudes and perceptions of allied health personnel toward the efficacy and performance characteristics of school-based teams supporting children with developmental concerns. Sixty-three allied health personnel were asked to complete the Attitudes About Teamwork Survey, the Team Characteristics Survey, and the Team Process Perception Survey. Respondents held a generally positive attitude about teamwork. ⋯ Respondents also provided their perspectives on the benefits, limitations, supports, and recommendations of teamwork. Results were consistent with both the general teamwork literature and that focused on allied health professions. The authors describe practical implications of the results and directions for further investigation on this topic.
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Journal of allied health · Jan 2003
Examining attitudes of specialist physicians regarding physician assistant referrals.
Referral of a patient from a primary care provider to a referral specialist physician for consultation is an important link in the continuum of patient care. Although the relationship between the physician assistant (PA) and supervising physician has been studied extensively, the effectiveness of the relationship between the primary care PA and the referral specialist physician is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of the referral specialist physician toward direct referral of patients from primary care PAs. ⋯ Data analysis revealed that specialist physicians generally are willing to accept patient referrals from primary care PAs and that specialist physicians generally are satisfied with the appropriateness and timeliness of referrals from PAs. Whether or not the specialist physician employed (supervised) a PA in his or her own practice made a significant difference in level of satisfaction with PA referral. To determine the significance of these results, more research is needed to determine specialist physician satisfaction with referrals from primary care physicians compared with PAs.
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Recredentialing, sometimes referred to as recertification, is the process whereby people maintain their professional credentials by retesting or continuing education. The National Board for Respiratory Care has proposed mandatory recredentialing policies for respiratory therapists who receive a professional credential after July 1, 2002. The purpose of this study was to determine respiratory therapists' attitudes toward recredentialing. ⋯ Of the surveys, 562 (56.2%) were returned. Of the 15 statements about recredentialing that were rated on a 5-point Likert scale, the respondents were most in agreement with "Proof of continuing education should be sufficient for recredentialing"; "There should be a way to determine whether a respiratory therapist is competent to practice"; and "I don't want to be required to recredential." In response to the multiple-choice question "Who should be in charge of assuring the continuing competency of respiratory therapists, the most frequently selected response was "Employers of respiratory therapists." Most respiratory therapists do not want to be required to recredential. If they are required to recredential, however, they prefer the use of contining education rather than retesting.