Administrative Support Staff Research Articles

Effect of acupuncture combined with rehabilitation on cognitive and motor functions in poststroke patients.

The aim of the study was to explore the effect of acupuncture combined with rehabilitation on cognitive and motor functions in poststroke patients. All patients were divided into Group A and Group B based on different interventions (Group A: acupuncture + conventional rehabilitation, Group B: conventional rehabilitation alone). Acupuncture was conducted once a day, five times a week for 8 weeks, and rehabilitation (including physical therapy and occupational therapy) was conducted for 2 hr per session, once a day, five times a week for 8 weeks. Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) and Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) were used to assess the motor and cognitive functions at baseline and the end of 8 weeks. After the intervention, FMA and MMSE scores were improved significantly in the two groups (p <.05), compared with the scores prior to intervention. After 8 weeks of intervention, a statistically significant difference in the FMA and MMSE scores was observed between the Group A and the Group B. The results suggested that the combined intervention is more effective than the conventional rehabilitation alone in improving cognitive and motor functions in poststroke patients.

Improvement of the Pre-Analytical Phase of Nasopharyngeal Samples During the COVID 19 Pandemic: Experience of the Institute Pasteur De Côte d’Ivoire in 2020

The clinical laboratory is playing an increasingly important role in the patient-centered approach to the delivery of health services. Early detection of the importation of COVID-19 is a crucial challenge for all countries at risk of importation from areas of active transmission. This article aims to share the experience of the IPCI in the optimum management of the pre-analytical phase related to diagnostic tests for COVID 19. From the start of the pandemic the state and the IPCI made several organizational decisions to respond effectively to all trends of the COVID 19 epidemic in our country. Outsourcing of pre-analysis with creation of several sections: preparation of tube kits, aliquoting of samples from patients suspected of COVID19, reception, sorting and decontamination. Exemplary use of administrative and laboratory support staff. Our findings should help establish urgent priorities for intensified preparedness and response support in specific African countries with moderate or high risk of COVID-19 importation and whose capacity to manage the health emergency is low relatively low.

The Johns Hopkins Post-Acute COVID-19 Team (PACT): A Multidisciplinary, Collaborative, Ambulatory Framework Supporting COVID-19 Survivors

The Johns Hopkins Post-Acute COVID-19 Team (PACT): A Multidisciplinary, Collaborative, Ambulatory Framework Supporting COVID-19 Survivors

Telemedicine for cancer care: implementation across a multicenter community oncology practice.

To describe onboarding and utilization of telemedicine across a large statewide community oncology practice and to evaluate trends, barriers, and opportunities in care delivery during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. We describe telemedicine onboarding and utilization across a statewide oncology practice, covering 221 sites of service and more than 650 practitioners. We describe qualitatively the onboarding process of a diverse set of administrative, technical, and clinical partners. We describe quantitatively utilization throughout the practice. We describe a survey conducted to enlighten barriers and opportunities for optimal utilization. Multistakeholder education was directed to clinical teams, administrative and technical support staff, and patients through webinars and team meetings. Utilization was high from April through October 2020, representing 15% to 20% of new-patient visits and 20% to 25% of established-patient visits. In a survey offered to all clinicians, 96% of respondents indicated they are using telemedicine, with 33% using it for more than 25% of patient encounters. Among respondents, 59% reported that the use of telemedicine helps expedite diagnosis and treatment more than seeing patients in person in the clinic, 55% of respondents managed urgent issues by telemedicine, 80% believed that patients benefited From urgent assessment by telemedicine, and 57% believed an emergency department visit or a hospitalization was avoided because of a telemedicine visit. Most clinicians reported that patients enjoy benefits of telemedicine because of decreased exposure risk, decreased transportation requirements, and ease of including caregivers in the visit with the treating clinician. The most common barriers to patients accessing telemedicine were technical challenges and broadband access. Despite this, less than 5% of respondents routinely use telephone-only communication, as most typically use bimodal audio/video communication. Many clinicians have expansion ideas on how telemedicine can further expand the longitudinal care delivery for our patient population. Telemedicine can be implemented successfully across a large statewide oncology practice and service a high volume of patients. Clinicians utilize telemedicine for new and established patients with minimal dysfunction. Clinicians believe patients benefit From telemedicine For new, established, and urgent care visits. Broadband access functionality should be explored to optimally serve our patient population.

Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine.

Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine.

University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine.

University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine.

Performance of the President Ramon Magsaysay State University Administrative Support Staff: Faculty’s Perspective for Quality Service Delivery

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance, measured by the level of competency among administrative support staff of the President Ramon Magsaysay State University (PRMSU). Data were collected through a questionnaire adopted from Administrative Support Professionals Competency Framework (ASPCF) developed by the Centre for Learning and Development, Newfoundland Labrador Public Secretariat. The questionnaire was administered to 125 randomly selected faculty members teaching at PRMSU-Iba Campus. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. In the study, the faculty-respondents reported that the administrative support staff were very competent in the performance of their duties and responsibilities particularly on interpersonal, technical, and adaptability categories. These findings may have implication for the delivery of services in the teaching-learning process.

The Effect of Performance to Service of the Support Staff in the Administrative Department of President Ramon Magsaysay State University (PRMSU)

The study aimed to assess the level of professional competencies of the administrative support staff of the President Ramon Magsaysay State University, Iba Zambales. The two groups of respondents were one hundred two (102) faculty members and twenty-three (23) middle managers at Iba Campus. They assessed the administrative support staff’s organization, communication, service delivery, technical, adaptability, and interpersonal competencies. The 5-point Likert scale was used to describe the competency with 5 as Very Competent and 1 as Not Competent at All. The questionnaire was used as the main data gathering tool adopted from the Administrative Support Professionals Competency Framework (The Centre for Learning and Development, Newfoundland Labrador Public Secretariat). The questionnaire consisted of 48 statements apportioned into 8 statements for organization, 10 for communication, 8 for service delivery, 9 for technical, 7 for adaptability, and 6 for interpersonal competencies. The analysis of variance was used to test the difference in perceptions on the level of professional competency when grouped according to the respondents’ profile. The t-test was used to test whether the perceptions of the faculty-respondents is significantly different from the perceptions of the middle manager-respondents on the level of professional competency of the administrative support staff. The findings reveal that the mean age of the faculty-respondent is 37.45 years old. There were as many male and female faculty-respondents. Majority are married with LET/LPT/PBET as eligibility. Most of the respondents are master’s undergraduates with teacher education as their major field of specialization. They have rendered almost 12 years of service. The mean age of the RMTU middle manager-respondents is 41.89 years old.

Abstract 321: Association of Specialist Physician Productivity With Trainee and Staffing Levels in the Veterans Health Administration

Background: The effect of trainee, associate provider, and support staff levels on physician productivity by specialty is unknown. In 2013, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) introduced a program to measure specialist physician productivity at the practice level, defined as the total work Relative Value Units (RVUs) generated by the physicians in a practice divided by the number of clinical full-time equivalents (FTEs) attributed to that practice. Data from this program can be utilized to understand the effect of specialty practice features on physician productivity. Methods: We extracted physician productivity levels and the numbers of trainees, associate providers, administrative support staff, and clinical support staff from fiscal year 2019 workforce reports produced by the VHA Office of Productivity, Efficiency, and Staffing for practices in four representative specialties: cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, and surgery. We used linear regression to identify associations between physician productivity and trainee and staffing levels, adjusting for the complexity group of included practices as some practices do not perform procedures. Results: A total of 122 cardiology, 112 gastroenterology, 118 neurology, and 123 surgery practices with at least 0.5 clinical FTE were included. Physician (practice) productivity ranged from 2153 to 12,497 (mean 6899) RVUs/FTE for cardiology, 1189 to 13,435 (mean 7080) RVUs/FTE for gastroenterology, 1753 to 11,322 (mean 4154) RVUs/FTE for neurology, and 1761 to 8792 (mean 4251) RVUs/FTE for surgery. Physician productivity was positively associated with the number of trainees per clinical FTE for cardiology [coefficient 818 (95% CI 260, 1376) additional RVUs/FTE] and surgery [coefficient 253 (95% CI 56, 451) additional RVUs/FTE] but not for other specialties. Only neurologist productivity was positively associated with the number of associate providers per clinical FTE [coefficient 1095 (95% CI 128, 2061) additional RVUs/FTE]. There were no significant associations between physician productivity and the numbers of administrative and clinical support staff per clinical FTE. Conclusion: There is significant variation in VHA physician productivity across practices within each specialty. Physician productivity is positively associated with the number of trainees in a practice for some specialties, including cardiology, suggesting that trainees in those specialties may enhance physician productivity. The relationship between physician productivity and trainee and associate provider ratios varies by specialty. These specialty-specific associations can inform efforts to improve VHA physician productivity.

Expert consensus on nursing management for patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Expert consensus on nursing management for patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Att göra högre studier tillgängliga – ett lärarperspektiv

Från politiskt håll finns idag en tydlig politisk intention att studenter med funktionshinder ska inkluderas i högskolornas och universitetens utbildningar. Denna artikel tar upp vad som hindrar respektive möjliggör att dessa politiska intentioner om tillgänglighet och mångfald implementeras i undervisningen. Analysen baseras på en fallstudie av en samhällsvetenskaplig institution vid ett svenskt lärosäte och frågeställningarna handlar om lärarna vill, förstår och kan implementera dessa intentioner. I studien framgår att även om det finns en tydlig vilja hos lärarna och den administrativa stödpersonalen att dessa studenter ska kunna delta i och tillgodogöra sig utbildningen, råder det ingen samsyn kring varför det är viktigt med en mångfald i studentpopulationen. Det pedagogiska stöd som finns tillgängligt för enskilda studenter anses vara värdefullt men inte särskilt flexibelt. Den mer generella anpassning lärarna gör av undervisningen beskrivs som viktig men tidskrävande. Förståelsen för studenters behov grundas mer på personliga erfarenheter hos lärarna än på en pedagogisk diskussion mellan kolleger på arbetsplatsen. Att göra anpassningar och delta i en pedagogisk diskussion tar tid och kräver prioriteringar. Här får undervisningen ofta stå tillbaka till förmån för den forskningsrelaterade verksamheten.

Building Capacity for Medication Assisted Treatment in Rural Primary Care Practices: The IT MATTTRs Practice Team Training.

Objectives:In response to rural communities and practice concerns related to opioid use disorder (OUD), the Implementing Technology and Medication Assisted Treatment Team Training in Rural Colorado study (IT MATTTRs) developed a training intervention for full primary care practice (PCP) teams in MAT for OUD. This evaluation reports on training implementation, participant satisfaction, and impact on perceived ability to deliver MAT.Methods:PCPs in the High Plains Research Network and Colorado Research Network were randomized to receive team training either in-person or through virtual tele-mentoring. Training attendance logs recorded the number of participants and their roles. Participants completed a survey within one month of the last training session to evaluate satisfaction and ability to deliver components of MATs.Results:441 team members at 42 PCPs were trained, including 22% clinicians, 47% clinical support staff, 24% administrative support staff. Survey respondents reported high levels of satisfaction, including 82% reporting improved understanding of the topic, and 68% identifying actions to apply information. Self-rated ability was significantly higher after training for all items (P < .0001), including ability to identify patients for MAT and to manage patients receiving MAT. Mean change scores, adjusted for role, were significantly greater for all measures (P < .001) in SOuND practices compared to ECHO practices.Conclusions:The IT MATTTRs Practice Team Training successfully engaged PCP team members in diverse roles in MAT for OUD training and increased self-efficacy to deliver MAT. Results support the training as a resource for a team-based approach to build rural practices’ capacity to deliver MAT.

Performance of the President Ramon Magsaysay State University Administrative Support Staff: Faculty’s Perspective for Quality Service Delivery

Performance of the President Ramon Magsaysay State University Administrative Support Staff: Faculty’s Perspective for Quality Service Delivery

Performance of the President Ramon Magsaysay State University Administrative Support Staff: Faculty’s Perspective for Quality Service Delivery

Performance of the President Ramon Magsaysay State University Administrative Support Staff: Faculty’s Perspective for Quality Service Delivery

A Seat at the Table: Strategic Engagement in Service Activities for Early-Career Faculty From Underrepresented Groups in the Academy.

Many academic institutions strive to promote more diverse and inclusive campuses for faculty, staff, and students. As part of this effort, these institutions seek to include individuals from historically underrepresented groups (URGs)-such as women, people from racial/ethnic minority populations, persons with disabilities-on committees and in other service activities. However, given the low number of faculty members from URGs at many institutions, these faculty members tend to receive more requests to provide service to the institution or department (e.g., serving on committees, mentoring) than their counterparts from majority groups. Faculty members from URGs, especially early-career faculty, thus risk becoming overburdened with providing service at the expense of working on other scholarly activities required for promotion and tenure (i.e., conducting research, publishing). Although many scholars and others have written about this "minority tax" and its implications for early-career faculty from underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups, fewer have published about how this tax extends beyond racial/ethnic minorities to women and persons with disabilities. Further, the literature provides scant practical advice on how to avoid overburdening early-career faculty from URGs. Here, a group of multidisciplinary early- and mid-career faculty members from URGs seek to provide their peers from URGs with practical strategies for both evaluating the appropriateness of service requests and declining those that are not a good fit. The authors also provide institutional leaders with actionable recommendations to prevent early-career faculty from URGs from becoming overburdened with service.

The Relationship Between Culture of Safety and Rate of Adverse Events in Long-Term Care Facilities.

The aim of the study was to assess the relationship of culture of safety dimensions and the rate of unanticipated care outcomes in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality framework of resident safety culture. Cross-sectional survey data were collected on 13 dimensions of culture of safety in five LTCFs from registered nurses, licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nursing assistants, administrators/managers, administrative support, and rehabilitation staff. Secondary data on falls in the five LTCFs from quarters 1 to 3 of 2014 were obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in February 2015. Spearman's ρ and the Generalized Estimating Equations using a log link (Poisson distribution) were used. Communication and feedback about incidences reported the highest mean scores (M = 4.35, SD =0.71). Higher rate of falls was associated with a lower level of team work, lower degree of handoffs, and lower levels of organizational learning. The risk for falls increased as the number of residents per facility increased (rate ratio [RR] = 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-1.02) and as the number of LPN hours per resident increased (RR = 37.7, 95% CI = 18.5-76.50). Risk for long stay urinary tract infections increased as number of residents increased (RR =1.01, 95% CI =1.01-1.01). Increase in culture of safety score was associated with decrease in risk of falls, long stay urinary tract infections, and short stay ulcers. With the shortage of registered nurses in LTCFs and new reimbursement regulations, many LTCFs are hiring LPNs to have full staffing and save money. Licensed practical nurses may lack essential knowledge to decrease the rate of falls.

Advocating for Early-Career Nurse Innovators: Modeling the Institute of Medicine Report.

The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health was published by the of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies in 2011. The Missouri Nurses Foundation and Missouri nurses modeled a sustainable project, the Early Career Nurse Innovator Project, exemplifying the intent of that report. The Missouri Nurses Foundation Executive Board comprises experienced nurses, nurse educators, nurses in other leadership roles, retired nurses, public members of the board, and administrative support staff. This article describes a project that was developed, implemented, and evaluated to recognize and encourage early-career nurses who have designed and led innovations to improve and promote the health of Missourians. Five of these early-career nurses were the recipients of monetary awards to encourage future innovations; the second recognition cycle is in the planning phase. Through the work of the Missouri Nurses Foundation, the scholarship of bedside nurses was recognized.

Assessing concussion knowledge and awareness in faculty and staff in a collegiate setting

Purpose To examine faculty and academic support staff members’ awareness and knowledge regarding concussions. Design Cross-sectional, web-based questionnaire. Setting Division II collegiate setting. Subjects A total of 123 collegiate faculty, administrative and academic support staff participated in the study. Measure(s): Participants completed the Faculty and Staff Concussion Awareness and Knowledge Survey. Analysis: Descriptive statistics were compiled for demographic information within the survey. Analysis of variance was performed on concussion awareness and concussion knowledge survey questions. Results The majority of the sample had teaching responsibilities in the University (75%). There was a significant effect of college departments within the university on individuals’ level of awareness (F (5, 117) = 9.74, p &lt; .001). The Athletics department scored the highest in awareness of concussion symptomology, while the Business department scored the lowest. Females demonstrated significantly more awareness of concussion symptoms than males (F (1, 121) = 10.488, p = .002). University department significantly impacted knowledge of concussion treatments (F (5, 117) = 3.67, p &lt; .004). The Health Sciences department scored the highest in knowledge of concussion treatments, while the Business department scored the lowest. Past experience with academic accommodations was associated with respondents’ knowledge of concussion treatment (F (1, 121) = 4.046, p = .047). Conclusions Concussion management in a collegiate setting should include the faculty and academic support staff. Colleges and Universities should consider educational programming regarding etiology and recovery from concussions for effective management when student experience a concussion.

Reflective renovation: Insights from a collaborative and active learning space project evaluation

With growing knowledge about the effectiveness of collaborative or team-based learning in developing important skill sets among students, the development of collaborative and active learning space (CALS) classrooms has gained increasing momentum in recent years. However, there currently exists a paucity of research evaluating the impact of these CALS projects, especially from the perspective of the staff within the institutions that implement them. In view of this gap, this study, using secondary data, reports an institutional evaluation of a CALS project from the teachers’ perspectives. Both quantitative and qualitative results suggest that overall, the CALS project was positively viewed by the teachers. Nonetheless, challenges were also revealed such as, classroom settings, digital infrastructure, and technical support. The findings suggest that instead of viewing digital technology as a panacea, the implementation of a CALS project should be regarded as a systematic project, which involves stakeholders across an educational institution, including administrative staff, teaching staff, support staff, and students.

Treating Schools to a New Administration: Evidence of the Impact of Better Practices in the System-Level Administration of Schools

A large body of literature focusses on how efficient practices in national and sub-national administrations can improve the welfare of citizens. Yet it is difficult to demonstrate this effect empirically, partly because citizens are not randomly assigned to different administrations and standard impact evaluation techniques are thus not viable. Within education, randomised trials that attribute educational improvement to specific interventions have been influential. Yet critics have argued that these studies, by focussing on single interventions, fail to prove their validity in a context of multiple interventions and, above all, weak system governance. The current paper takes advantage of provincial boundary changes occurring in South Africa, where provinces manage schools, to measure the effects of better administration, using a quasi-experimental approach. Changing to a more effective province was found to improve the mathematics performance of secondary school students, in national examinations, by a magnitude that is half of that seen in the fastest improving countries in international testing programmes. The replacement of teachers or school principals does not explain the improvement, though the addition of administrative support staff does emerge as a likely contributing factor. Greater efficiency, and not additional funding, appears to account for most of the change. It seems noteworthy that one of the provinces found to be relatively effective makes use of fixed-term contracts for senior managers in the administration, as opposed to permanent tenure, to enhance organisational capacity.