Experiences of work performance among physician assistant nurses during the period of healthcare disruption in South Korea: a qualitative content analysis.

PurposeAs an essential part of the health care system, the requirements for specialist training are subject to a continuous process of change. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the current specialist training situation of all departments in a tertiary care hospital in Germany. Differences between assistant and chief physicians should be pointed out.Materials and methodsThe analysis of the current training situation was carried out on the basis of an individually created questionnaire. The questionnaire content included career goal and specialism. The characteristic values initial training (IT), training structure (TS) and training content were measured on a numeric scale from 1 to 5. In addition, an overall assessment of the trainers’ competences was performed. The questionnaire was sent to 208 assistant physicians (AP) and 34 chief physicians (CP).ResultsTotally 92 APs (44.2%) and 22 CPs (64.7%) participated. Senior physician was the most common career goal (34.1%), followed by the branch (28.6%). The importance of the topics initial training (IT) and training structure (TS) were evaluated as mean value: ITCP=1.5, ITAP=1.6; p=0.701 and TSCP=1.4, TSAP=1.5; p=0.669. The results concerning the implementation of the topics IT and TS in the daily routine show significant differences between APs and CPs (ITCP=2.0, ITAP=3.2; p=0.002; TSCP=1.9, TSAP=3.0; p<0.001). Skills lab training was acknowledged as the most important training format (CP=1.3, AP=1.5; p=0.401). The practical medical skills of the professional trainers were evaluated as high: AP: 94.6% (CP: 100.0%), as well as the training in interprofessional collaboration: AP: 79.4% (CP: 100.0%).ConclusionOur data underline the importance of specialist training subjects. These are partly perceived very differently by APs and CPs. Innovative concepts for the induction phase, well-structured training curricula, providing management skills, the overall use of skills labs and digital documentation might support the satisfaction and the outcome of specialist training. This could also improve quality in patient care.

Nurses’ roles and challenges in providing end-of-life care in neonatal intensive care units in South Korea

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation During the Coronavirus Crisis: Important Updates for the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia Community

BackgroundGiven the high-stakes environment of intensive care units, understanding how nurses navigate moral challenges and engage in ethical decision-making is critical for maintaining patient safety and care quality. One important process in this field is moral disengagement, which is growing in the nursing literature. However, there is a lack of foundational and qualitative studies addressing this issue. This study presents a qualitative content analysis aimed at exploring moral disengagement among nurses working in intensive care units.MethodThis qualitative study employed conventional content analysis from June to December 2024 in Tehran, Iran. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. Data were collected using in-depth, unstructured interviews at the beginning, followed by semi-structured interviews. Sampling continued until data saturation was reached, resulting in 30 interviews with 25 eligible intensive care unit nurses. The conventional qualitative content analysis approach developed by Graneheim and Lundman was employed.ResultsThree main categories with eight subcategories were identified from the initial 765 codes. The findings revealed three main categories: “cognitive justification of unethical behavior,” “protective strategies for personal security,” and “normalization of unconventional practices.” These categories include subcategories such as “externalization of responsibility,” “moral-cognitive justification,” “positive reframing of the event,” “preservation of job position and security,” “psychological stabilization,” “strategic violation of regulations for survival,” “reduction of emotional and psychological pressure,” and “protective framing of behavior.”ConclusionThis study reveals various aspects of moral disengagement among critical care nurses, which can pave the way for future studies to better understand the phenomenon, its related factors, and help with the development of preventive measures.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12910-025-01282-6.

Commentaries on health services research

Background Globally, healthcare systems are experiencing problems recruiting and retaining healthcare workers. Like many developed countries, in the UK, shortages are exacerbated by rising healthcare costs and models have had to be developed utilising shorter training periods and a generalized skillset. One of the consequences is the development of intermediate-level practitioners including Physician Associates (PAs). By 2024 over 4,000 PAs were working in the NHS, but their myriad roles has meant that integration has been challenging. This study examines the opinions of NHS stakeholders on the current and future roles of PAs and explores approaches to improve their integration. Method This cross-sectional study at a single NHS Trust gathered views and experiences regarding PAs through a survey of consultant and junior medical staff (JDs), PAs, and patients. Patients who interacted with a PA within four weeks prior to the period of the survey were randomly selected to avoid recall bias. Surveys, initially generated by doctors and a PA, were tailored, validated by experts, and pilot-tested. Distribution was via Microsoft Forms® and ACCURX® and responses were collected electronically with weekly reminders. Data were analysed using Microsoft Excel® and SPSS®, with qualitative analysis used to identify recurring themes. Results Consultants more frequently recognised positive contributions of PAs (p=0.012) although 68.6% noted PA roles were unclear. The PA role had only been explained to 11% of JDs, just 14% fully understood their role and 75% felt PAs might negatively affect their training. Conversely most PAs felt consultants (87.5%) and JDs (81.3%) were aware of their responsibilities. While 62.5% of PAs anticipated career progression, 87.5% were satisfied with training, 56.3% were considering a career change and 75% felt the healthcare climate adversely affected their work. Only 14% of patients fully understood the PA role, but 86% comfortable being seen by them. Conclusion This study highlights the positive contributions of PAs and recognition by stakeholders. Integration however remains challenging with concerns regarding JD training, PA career progression, and job satisfaction. The main hurdles remain unclear compounded by myriad PA roles and surveys reveal significant gaps in understanding among JDs and patients. PAs overestimate understanding of their role and education of stakeholders regarding their PA roles is crucial and must involve PAs, managers, consultants, GMC, and Royal Colleges. Local trusts and consultants must define PA roles, ensure career progression, and support JD training to enhance interprofessional relationships, trust, and the quality of patient care.

2020 ANCC Pathway Award® winner.

Purpose of the article: To review recent research into the connection between brand archetypes and masculinity archetypes in advertising and assess them from a consumer engagement perspective. The study focused primarily on two main questions. The first was to find out which brand archetypes and masculinity archetypes are the most common in advertisements concentrating on traditional and modern masculinity. The second main question was to find out which brand and masculinity archetypes get more approval from the consumers and which have more positive feedback.Methodology/methods: The researchers used qualitative content analysis, video content analysis, and sentiment analysis. The qualitative content analysis was conducted using the Nvivo 11 qualitative data analysis software to help organise, analyse, and find relevant insights in the text. The authors chose to have a mixed content analysis of conventional and direct content analysis. The qualitative content and sentiment analysis were used to analyse consumer opinions from 2400 YouTube comments on certain advertisements where masculinity is identified as a critical concept.Scientific aim: To see whether the brand archetype theory and masculinity archetype theory are compatible in analysing consumer opinions about masculinity advertisements.Findings: The results from the video content analysis show that the most common brand archetypes in masculinity advertisements are the Caregiver, Ruler, Lover, and Hero. Regarding masculinity archetypes, the most common ones are the King, Lover, and Warrior.Conclusions: The most positive consumer discourse was for the advertisements with the Lover, Creator, Everyman, Explorer, and Hero brand archetypes. Concerning masculinity archetypes, the most positive consumer discourse was with the Lover and Warrior masculinity archetypes.

Physician Assistants als Zukunftsmodell in der hausärztlichen Versorgung – Erfahrungen, Bedarfe, Potenziale und Hürden

Every year, South Korean medical field is undergoing significant shortage of residents, especially in the field of surgery. Therefore, hospitals hire physician assistants(PA) to cover for short-staffed physicians and increase the quality of medical care. PA’s perform medical checkups, surgery assistance, prescription, anesthesia, and directing nurses to aid physicians. Foreign nations like the United States and Canada produce highly skilled PA’s via official PA training programs and standardized license exams, and PA’s are allowed to perform limited medical practice. However in South Korea, lack of legal basis for PA’s eligibility, training program, and range of allowed medical practice causes social problems like unlicensed medical care and medical accident. South Korea’s objective for PA program is significantly different from that of the United States and Canada. In those countries, purpose of PA is to aid and cover for primary care, whereas South Korean PA program is used for remedying surgeon shortage problem and hospitals’ business purposes, such as cost reduction and treatment time saving. This study criticizes implementing a new occupational field based on foreign PA policy will cause numerous problems and limits due to the difference of purpose. Therefore, establishing a new management&amp; operating system for medical support persons considering patient safety, supply of health medical manpower, medical field requirements and characteristics of different medical institutions will be a realistic solution. Tasks for PA’s should be categorized and trained accordingly so that PA’s quality increases. Also, appropriate reward system, athority, and eligibility of PA’s are required according to their experience and ability. Registered nurse(RN) in South Korea is recognized as professional medical personnels that went through systematic education. This study suggests improvising RN program and utilizing it will be a efficient and realistic alternative solution for this problem.

BackgroundThe Physician Associate (PA) role is well established in primary and secondary care, however, a PA has never previously been employed by a UK hospice. To qualify PAs complete a...

In urgent situations where tensions and conflicts are amplified, emergency room nurses are vulnerable to violence and are exposed to dangerous situations because they are confronted by patients or caregivers. This study sought to examine the relationship between violence experience, resilience, and nursing performance among emergency room nurses in South Korea. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. The study participants included 130 nurses working in the emergency room of a general hospital. Measures included the general characteristics list, the violence experience tool, the resilience tool, and the nursing performance tool. Data were collected from February to March 2021. In this study, among the forms of violence experienced by emergency room nurses, verbal violence was most prevalent. The violence experiences showed significant differences according to age, clinical experience, work experience in the emergency room, position, and job satisfaction. Resilience displayed significant differences according to marital status, clinical experience, position, average monthly salary, and job satisfaction. Nursing performance showed significant differences based on gender, age, marital status, clinical experience, work experience in the emergency room, position, average monthly salary, and job satisfaction. There was a positive correlation between resilience and nursing performance. This study suggests that emergency room nurses in Korea experienced more verbal violence than other types of violence. The violence experiences, resilience, and nursing performance showed significant differences according to the general and job-related characteristics of the study participants. Concrete strategies and interventions to reduce the frequency of experiences of verbal violence among emergency room nurses, increase their resilience, and improve the nursing performance of emergency room nurses are needed.

BackgroundEmergency medical service providers are frequently exposed to a variety of stressors as a result of their work environment. These stressors can have detrimental effects on both the physical and mental well-being of individuals. This study was conducted with the aim of exploring stress management strategies in emergency medical service providers.MethodsThis study was conducted in 2023 using a qualitative approach and content analysis method. A purposive sampling method was used to include 16 emergency medical system providers from Hamadan city. Semi-structured interviews, with a duration of 45–60 min, were conducted for data collection. The Data were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman’s conventional content analysis approach.ResultsThe analysis of the interview data revealed three themes: readiness for the worst conditions, assistance based on supportive partnerships, and striving for balance. The six categories within these three themes were mental preparation, risk management, collaborations in emergency response, supportive communication, adaptive behaviors, and maladaptive responses.ConclusionsThe results of this study shed light on the various stress management strategies employed by emergency medical service providers. Understanding and implementing effective stress management strategies can not only enhance the well-being of emergency medical service providers but also improve the quality of patient care. Further research and action are essential to promote the resilience and mental health of these professionals, ensuring their overall well-being and job satisfaction.

Collaborating With NPs and PAs: Best Practices for Comanagement of Patient Care

Implementation of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) Does Not Impact Provider Work Time in An Inpatient Malignant Hematology Service