Sustainability and expansion of an interprofessional education for medical assistants in radiation oncology after 4 years of experience

Medical assistants (MAs) are allied health professionals who support a diverse range of functions in the clinical setting. Few certification requirements or continuing education opportunities exist for MAs;training specific for work in radiation oncology is particularly lacking. A interprofessional education program for MAs in radiation oncology was established in 2017. Here we report on the sustainability of the program and the aim of expansion. In previous work, we describe the development of a novel education program based on needs assessment of a single institution cohort of MAs in radiation oncology. The resulting 20-month curriculum was implemented primarily through resident-led didactics (2017-2020, Cycle 1). Program evaluation was performed through pre- and post-assessments. Following completion, the curriculum was updated to foster greater interprofessional education and was led by a mixture of medical residents, physics residents, nursing, nurse practitioners, therapists and additional radiation oncology staff (2020 - current, Cycle 2). Educators were nominated based on topic area expertise and interest. As previously reported, sessions in Cycle 1 were found to be consistently comprehensive (median Likert score, MLS 4-5) and informative (MLS 5) and the program showed increases in sense of empowerment (MLS change from 3.5 to 5) among the cohort (n=2-5 responses per session). Over the length of Cycle 1, there was sustained improvement in clinical knowledge within the scope of the MA role (MLS 5) and empathy for patients (MLS 5) and stably high rating of job satisfaction (Likert Scale range 4-5). Cycle 2 is currently in progress with results forthcoming. Notably, the program was stably expanded from n=5-7 to n=7-8 MAs in Cycles 1 and 2 respectively. Program participation was challenged by COVID-19 staffing shortages however demonstrated sustained interest and participation (range 2-6 participants per topic). Cycle 1 included 4 (20%) interprofessional educators whereas Cycle 2 included 11 (55%). Here we report on a 20-month interprofessional education program for MAs in radiation oncology which demonstrated improvement in empowerment, clinical knowledge, and high job satisfaction. The program is found to be implemented longitudinally with expansion in both educators and participants. Incorporation of interprofessional educators has improved leadership and educational opportunities and increased program sustainability. Future directions of the program include expansion to a multi-institutional setting for Cycle 3, to begin July 2022. Increased cohort size may allow for further understanding of the impact of MA education on clinical workflow, interprofessional collaboration, and patient care. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

ONLINE TRAINING DURING A PANDEMIC – AN ADVANTAGE OR DISADVANTAGE FOR STUDENTS.

At the end of November 2019, in Wuhan, Central China, a coronavirus called SARS-Cov-2 appeared. This is because, for no apparent reason, people develop pneumonia in December that does not respond to known treatments. There are evidences of human-to-human transmission of the virus, with the fastest spread in mid-January 2020. This challenging situation was the reason for a full lockdown of the whole country. By order of the Rector of the University ‘’Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov’’ in this period of complete isolation, students from the Department of Health Care, officially switched to an alternative form of learning-online education. Online education is education that is conducted using the Internet and devices such as computers, laptops, tablets or mobile phones. Different formats can be used during the online education-text, video, audio, graphic images, interactive content, etc. Purpose: The research aims to examine the advantages and disadvantages of students during the online education. In the period from 15.03-15.04.2022 between the future health care professionals ‘’Medical assistant’’, ‘’Nurse’’, ‘’Midwife’’ studying at the Faculty of Public Health and Health Care – Burgas. The motives of 74 students ‘’Medical assistant’’-32.9%, ‘’Nurse’’-52,1%, ‘’Midwife’’-15,1% were examined. Conclusion: The main advantages of online learning for students and also for teachers are its flexibility and accessibility from anywhere, as well as the access to resources. The main disadvantages are mostly related to the limited opportunities for communication: there is no face-to-face communication, and the very mediocrity of communication and its dependence on technological constraints also hinders the normal learning process. Most of the respondents believe that online learning is not able to fully replace the face-to-face learning process. Another difference is that students are relatively more positive about online learning in general, however, a significant part of them believe that in the long term that having such training during their studies will negatively affect the quality of the education they received. In the long term, this factor may have a negative effect on satisfaction with university education in general. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Management & Education / Upravlenie i Obrazovanie is the property of Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The Relationship of Medical Assistants' Work Engagement with Their Concerns of Having Made an Important Medical Error: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine associations of work engagement with self-reported concerns of having made medical errors among medical assistants. METHODS: We used cross-sectional questionnaire data from 424 medical assistants in Germany (collected between March and May 2021). The nine-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale assessed the subdimensions vigor, dedication, and absorption. Participants further reported whether they were concerned that they had made an important medical error in the last three months. Work engagement scores were used both as categorized variables (i.e., highest tertile vs. remaining tertiles) and continuous variables (i.e., z-scores) and their associations with concerns to have made an important medical error were examined using multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: High vigor (versus low vigor) and high dedication (versus low dedication) were associated with substantially reduced odds of expressing concerns to have made an important medical error (OR = 0.19, 95%CI = 0.04-0.85 and OR = 0.25, 95%CI = 0.07-0.88, respectively), but absorption was not (OR = 1.10, 95%CI = 0.43-2.86). Analyses with z-scores confirmed this pattern of associations for vigor and absorption, but less so for dedication (OR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.47-1.11). CONCLUSIONS: Vigor and possibly also dedication are inversely related to concerns of having made an important medical error. Our findings may suggest that promotion of these subdimensions of work engagement may improve patient safety.

Investigating the Use of Telemedicine for Digitally Mediated Delegation in Team-Based Primary Care: Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Owing to the shortage of medical professionals, as well as demographic and structural challenges, new care models have emerged to find innovative solutions to counter medical undersupply. Team-based primary care using medical delegation appears to be a promising approach to address these challenges; however, it demands efficient communication structures and mechanisms to reinsure patients and caregivers receive a delegated, treatment-related task. Digital health care technologies hold the potential to render these novel processes effective and demand driven. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to recreate the daily work routines of general practitioners (GPs) and medical assistants (MAs) to explore promising approaches for the digital moderation of delegation processes and to deepen the understanding of subjective and perceptual factors that influence their technology assessment and use. METHODS: We conducted a combination of 19 individual and group interviews with 12 GPs and 14 MAs, seeking to identify relevant technologies for delegation purposes as well as stakeholders' perceptions of their effectiveness. Furthermore, a web-based survey was conducted asking the interviewees to order identified technologies based on their assessed applicability in multi-actor patient care. Interview data were analyzed using a three-fold inductive coding procedure. Multidimensional scaling was applied to analyze and visualize the survey data, leading to a triangulation of the results. RESULTS: Our results suggest that digital mediation of delegation underlies complex, reciprocal processes and biases that need to be identified and analyzed to improve the development and distribution of innovative technologies and to improve our understanding of technology use in team-based primary care. Nevertheless, medical delegation enhanced by digital technologies, such as video consultations, portable electrocardiograms, or telemedical stethoscopes, can counteract current challenges in primary care because of its unique ability to ensure both personal, patient-centered care for patients and create efficient and needs-based treatment processes. CONCLUSIONS: Technology-mediated delegation appears to be a promising approach to implement innovative, case-sensitive, and cost-effective ways to treat patients within the paradigm of primary care. The relevance of such innovative approaches increases with the tremendous need for differentiated and effective care, such as during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For the successful and sustainable adoption of innovative technologies, MAs represent essential team members. In their role as mediators between GPs and patients, MAs are potentially able to counteract patients' resistance toward using innovative technology and compensate for patients' limited access to technology and care facilities.