Journal of allied health
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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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Journal of allied health · Jan 2003
A study of job satisfaction of nursing and allied health graduates from a Mid-Atlantic university.
There have been numerous changes in the health care system, including cost-containment efforts, the increased growth of managed care, and shortages of many health professionals. It is important to assess the impact these changes are having on the quality of health care delivery and the way various health professionals view their jobs. To accomplish this assessment, a sample of experienced nursing and allied health professionals were asked to provide their assessment of positive and negative changes in the health system over a 5-year period. ⋯ Nursing and allied health professionals who responded to the survey reported that there have been many more negative than positive changes in the health care system, including less job security, efficiency, and time available to spend with individual patients and increases in workload, paperwork, and control of health care by insurance companies. Even with these negative changes, nurses and allied health professionals report a high level of satisfaction with their jobs. In investigating the aspects of their jobs that were most related to satisfaction, having a feeling of worthwhile accomplishment from their job, opportunities for personal and professional growth, recognition and satisfaction with their workload were found to be the best predictors of job satisfaction.
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Journal of allied health · Jan 2002
Prevalence and determinants of burnout among physical and occupational therapists.
It is generally speculated that the ongoing changes in the health care system may increase the incidence of burnout among health care providers. The purposes of this cross-sectional study were to determine (1) the prevalence of burnout among physical therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs), (2) sociodemographic and work-related factors associated with emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal achievement (PA) traits of PTs and OTs. In fall 1998, 169 PTs and 138 OTs employed in various clinical settings in New York City completed the survey. ⋯ None of the variables examined accurately predicted DP trait. The EE, DP, and PA scores of the PTs and OTs in this study were higher than the norms reported in previous studies for the general population and other human service professionals, including PTs and OTs. The findings suggest the need for reorganization of the work environment to address the stressors responsible for burnout in this cohort of therapists.
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Journal of allied health · Jan 2000
Assessing interdisciplinary education in U.S. dental hygiene programs.
This study was done to examine the role of interdisciplinary education in dental hygiene curricula, identify factors associated with its implementation, explore the perceptions of dental hygiene educators related to interdisciplinary education, and explore these educators' perception of its validity and barriers to implementation. A 36-item questionnaire mailed to directors of all 216 dental hygiene programs in the United States elicited program demographics and information about participation in clinical and didactic interdisciplinary educational experience as well as attitudes regarding such experiences. The response rate was 63% (n = 136). ⋯ Chi-square analysis identified no consistent association among interdisciplinary activity variables. Many respondents felt that interdisciplinary educational experiences would benefit their students, but very few had incorporated them into their curricula, citing lack of resources and time as reasons. In addition, the term interdisciplinary was interpreted variably.
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This study was conducted to determine whether allied health disciplines' attitudes toward preparedness and willingness to participate in interdisciplinary teams differed. A structured questionnaire was used to measure five factors: orientation toward team problem solving, problem-solving confidence, preparedness for interdisciplinary teams, attitudes toward interdisciplinary teams, and self-efficacy in contributing to interdisciplinary teams. There were 410 completed questionnaires, for an overall return rate of 50%. ⋯ Medical technologists indicated the least preparation for interdisciplinary teams, whereas circulation technologists indicated the least confidence in contributing to the teams. Persons who had participated in interdisciplinary teams were more positive toward team problem solving and were certain of their abilities to contribute to a problem-solving team. Implications for educators are discussed.