Old Hands, New Terrain: Examining the Concerns and Challenges of the Mature Radiation Therapist in British Columbia.

INTRODUCTION: This study examines the current employment situations and experiences of a targeted sample of medical radiation technologists in the 50+ age range in British Columbia who specialize in radiation therapy (radiation therapists). Although previous studies have been written on the aging working population, few have focused on the profession of radiation therapy, with its unique physical and mental demands. Interviews were conducted in the lower mainland of British Columbia, and the information derived from these interviews is the focus of this study. AIM: The aim of this study was to identify any challenges and concerns faced by this specific group of individuals in order to begin laying the groundwork for change. This will help older therapists navigate their careers while sharing their accumulated wealth of experience. METHODS: A qualitative interpretive approach was used for this study. Eight face-to-face interviews were conducted in British Columbia. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim for analysis. Themes emerged from the content analysis and serve as the base of this study. RESULTS: These data confirm that mature therapists have needs and challenges that may differ from their younger counterparts. As percentages of mature radiation therapists increase over the next few decades, there is an opportunity to use the accumulated experience and knowledge of this cohort, provided steps are taken to address the concerns and challenges met by this demographic. CONCLUSIONS: It is evident from the results of this study that ergonomic studies need to be done with the mature therapist in mind to help prevent injuries before they happen. Investigations into human resource policies and health benefits are required to better suit the mature therapist (eg, part-time and job-sharing opportunities). Organizing in-services will ready mature therapists for upcoming challenges in their work environments, such as menopause, eyesight changes, hearing loss and memory changes. Introducing the idea of reverse mentorship to join the experience of the mature therapist with the technical expertise of the younger workers will help bridge the multigenerational gap. Developing educational programs with the needs and learning styles of the older therapist in mind would alleviate stresses acquired while learning new technology. This research takes an important first step in examining the concerns and challenges of the mature radiation therapist and serves as a critical starting point for further research interventions and work place practices.

Forming a supplement intervention using a multi-theoretical behavior model.

OBJECTIVES: To identify behavior theory-based strategies to improve compliance with daily multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) among rural Ghanaian women. METHODS: Components of a multi-theoretical framework were investigated in focus groups of reproductive-aged women in 6 communities. RESULTS: Participants were generally unaware of MMS' purpose. Perceived benefits included better health and stimulated appetite, which some believe escalates food purchases and financial constraints. Cost, forgetfulness, and unsustainability were also perceived barriers. Facilitators for compliance incorporated initial visual reminders and daily announcements with reinforcement using the 'keeper' system. CONCLUSIONS: Application of a tailored health behavioral model can effectively guide the design, implementation and evaluation of community-based MMS interventions.

How education can improve care for residents with dementia.

Meeting the needs of people with dementia is topical in health and social care. However, the care of older people, including those with dementia, has received much negative media coverage over the past few years. Colten Care, a care home group in the south of England, asked staff from the School of Health and Social Care at Bournemouth University to develop and deliver an educational programme to 20 staff working at three of the group's care homes. The programme adopted a person-centred approach to residents and staff and focused on empowering staff to influence practice in the homes where they worked. This article explores the content of the programme and how aspects of it were incorporated in participants' care homes. The programme was positively evaluated and formed the basis for the development of Colten Care's inhouse two-and-a-half day education programme.

Disunity in diversity: the controversy over the admission of black women to the General Federation of Women's Clubs, 1900-1902.

From 1900 to 1902, the General Federation of Women's Clubs' official commitment to "unity in diversity" was tested to the limits when an explosive debate over the admission of African American women's clubs deeply, and in some cases irreparably, divided individual clubs and state federations and nearly resulted in the loss of half of the organization's burgeoning membership. The controversy reveals a captivating, complicated, and at times bizarre struggle between Northern and Southern white members of the General Federation to defend their particular views of race and, in many cases, to obfuscate their own deep-seated racial prejudices. Most members ultimately sacrificed principle for the sake of federation unity, albeit a unity without racial diversity, and thus squandered the opportunity to combine the talents and energies of all organized women in an effort toward social justice and humanitarian reform.

Analysis of mercury in wastewater by microwave digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: comparison with u.s. environmental protection agency methods approved in 40 CFR 136.3.

As a cost-saving measure, the use of an existing microwave digestion system and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instrument was investigated for the analysis of mercury in domestic wastewater, industry effluent, stormwater, and other aqueous matrices analyzed under the City of Portland's (Oregon) various National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. A formal alternate test procedure application (ATP) study was undertaken to add total mercury to the analyte list for the CEM microwave digestion method (CEM Corporation, 1992) and for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Washington, D.C.) (U.S. EPA) method 200.8, both approved for NPDES work in 40 CFR 136.3 (U.S. EPA, 2001a). The ATP was submitted in March 2005, and final approval was received in November 2006. During the study period and while waiting for approval, all NPDES mercury samples were sent to a contract laboratory for analysis by U.S. EPA method 1631E (U.S. EPA, 2002). Splits were analyzed in-house by the ATP protocol. For treatment plant wastewater and industrial effluents, the 1631E results averaged approximately one-half of those obtained by the ATP method, with a 1% difference slightly above 1000% (order of magnitude) and several in the 200% to 300% range. Preliminary results were confirmed by further studies that compared the ATP method with the room temperature and the heated, closed-vessel digestion option of U.S. EPA methods 245.7 and 1631E (U.S. EPA, 2001b, 2002). This research suggests that the room temperature bromine chloride (BrCl) digestion is ill-suited for the determination of total mercury in wastewater and industrial effluents. Because of the probability of committing type II errors--that is, assuming mercury is present in low concentrations when, in fact, it is not--results for these matrices found using the room temperature BrCl digestion should be interpreted with caution. It is suggested that such results might best be considered "bromine chloride extractable" and, as such, should not be used in studies that require accurate estimates of total mercury.