Exploring professional-related outcome differences between phlebotomy technicians, medical laboratory technicians, and medical technologists

As part of a large scale practice analysis on Phlebotomy Technicians (PBTs), Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLTs), and Medical Technologists (MTs), additional data on four "home made measures" of professional-related outcomes, i.e., professional development, quality assurance monitoring, employer reimbursement, and types of continuing education, were also collected. In order to maximize data use from the overall sample of 3,097 respondents (constituting only 18% of the population surveyed), pairwise deletion of data was utilized. No a priori differences between PBTs, MLTs and MTs on these outcomes were hypothesized, and none were found for professional development and employer reimbursement. The finding that PBTs were lower than MLTs and MTs on quality assurance monitoring was interpreted as being job expected. Despite the study limitations, professional development for not just laboratory professionals but all allied health professionals remains an important recruitment and retention issue, as demand for all health services is expected to increase.

A content analysis of analyst research: health care through the eyes of analysts

PURPOSE

This article contributes to the understanding of how health care companies may communicate the business models by studying financial analysts' analyst reports. The study examines the differences between the information conveyed in recurrent and fundamental analyst reports as well as whether the characteristics of the analysts and their environment affect their business model analyses.

METHODOLOGY

A medium-sized health care company in the medical-technology sector, internationally renowned for its state-of-the-art business reporting, was chosen as the basis for the study. An analysis of 111 fundamental and recurrent analyst reports on this company by each investment bank actively following it was conducted using a content analysis methodology.

FINDINGS

The study reveals that the recurrent analyses are concerned with evaluating the information disclosed by the health care company itself and not so much with digging up new information. It also indicates that while maintenance work might be focused on evaluating specific details, fundamental research is more concerned with extending the understanding of the general picture, i.e., the sustainability and performance of the overall business model. The amount of financial information disclosed in either type of report is not correlated to the other disclosures in the reports. In comparison to business reporting practices, the fundamental analyst reports put considerably less weight on social and sustainability, intellectual capital and corporate governance information, and they disclose much less comparable non-financial information.

RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS/LIMITATIONS

The suggestion made is that looking at the types of information financial analysts consider important and convey to their "customers," the investors and fund managers, constitutes a valuable indication to health care companies regarding the needs of the financial market users of their reports and other communications. There are some limitations to the possibility of applying statistical tests to the data-set as well as methodological limitations in relation to the exclusion of tables and graphs.

The rural rotation in a medical technology program: a ten-year retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a rural rotation as a tool to recruit medical technology program graduates to medically underserved areas.

DESIGN

A paper survey was distributed to all 1994 - 2003 graduates of the West Virginia University Medical Technology Program.

SETTING

The survey was mailed to the graduates' homes.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

Ninety-four of the two hundred six surveys were returned for a response rate of 45.6%.

INTERVENTIONS

Surveys were mailed in January 2004.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Responses to questions regarding choice of site for rural rotation, whether or not a job was offered at the rural site, and whether the graduate subsequently worked at a rural site were tabulated. Responses to questions concerning whether the rotation helped the respondent to appreciate the needs of rural health facilities and whether the rotation resulted in a greater interest in working in a rural area were tabulated. Responses were also tabulated for questions about the value of the rural rotation to the respondent's education and whether the rural rotation was recommended for future students.

RESULTS

Of respondents, 70.2% chose their rural rotation sites due to proximity to their homes and 38.3% were offered jobs at their rural rotation sites. 50% of all respondents subsequently worked at a rural site. Of respondents, 73.4% indicated strong agreement that the rotation helped them appreciate the needs of the rural facility, and 37.2% indicated agreement with becoming more interested in working at a rural site. Of respondents, 65% indicated that the rural rotation was beneficial and that they would recommend it to future students.

CONCLUSION

Results of the survey suggest that a prior rural affinity is a factor associated with selection of rural sites for medical technology program graduates. The survey results also suggest that a rural rotation during medical technology education is beneficial to individuals, including those who elect not to go to rural sites after graduation.

ABBREVIATIONS

Health professions shortage areas (HPSAs) nurse practitioners (NP) medically underserved areas (MUAs) West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships (WVRHEP).

Technology, governance and patient safety: systems issues in technology and patient safety

Technology and equipment are often identified as contributors to adverse medical events, however technology is seldom the focal point of investigation as a source of medical error or adverse event. It is often seen as both a means of reducing error (e.g., automated drug dispensing machines) or as a major contributing factor to adverse events (e.g., through cognitive overload). Here we review literature about the governance of technology in health settings, which is addressed in relation to patient safety. We outline the challenges of addressing technology governance issues in the health sector, provide an overview of governance processes, and suggest that technology related adverse events have been largely conceptualized as device and user problems rather than system or socio-technical problems, which is reflected in governance processes associated with medical devices. A recognition of the situatedness of medical practices implies that new forms of governance may be required that place greater emphasis on socio-technical and systems issues.

Nursing in a technological environment: Nursing care in the operating room

Operating room nurses continue to draw criticism regarding the appropriateness of a nursing presence in the operating room. The technological focus of the theatre and the ways in which nurses in the theatre have shaped and reshaped their practice in response to technological change have caused people within and outside the nursing profession to question whether operating room nursing is a technological rather than nursing undertaking. This paper reports findings from an ethnographic study that was conducted in an Australian operating department. The study examined the contribution of nurses to the work of the operating room through intensive observation and ethnographic interviews. This paper uses selected findings from the study to explore the ways in which nurses in theatre interpret their role in terms of caring in a technological environment.

A brief note on further investigating correlates of work exhaustion for medical technologists

Using a sample of 184 medical technologists (MTs) over a three-year period, this study found support for the hypothesis that downsizing leads to higher job loss insecurity and task load perceptions, which both lead to increased work exhaustion. As such this study extends previous research on MT work exhaustion by Blau, Tatum and Ward-Cook. Study limitations and future research issues are briefly discussed.

The Swiss success story

Medical technology is one of the most important growth sectors in Switzerland. Current conditions are good, but hunting down profits is hard for some.

The personality traits of medical technologists: implications for recruitment and retention

Clinical laboratory science is in the midst of a perfect storm. The turbulent nature of the employment market along with diagnostic pathology's mission to develop new, powerful diagnostic tools imply a future that will be both challenging and rewarding. Yet, success in the future will require immediate attention to current issues of recruitment, retention and expansion of the medical technologist's role. An analysis of the personality traits of medical technologists may provide insight into work preferences as they relate to job satisfaction and willingness to accept the changes in the profession. In this study, we will attempt to gain this insight through examination of a personality profile of a group of medical technologists.

Utilization management strategies: where to start?

The purpose of a utilization or test management program is to identify for the clinician the most frequently ordered and useful laboratory tests relevant to the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and management of the patient. As such, a test management program must be carefully constructed to provide appropriate and effective utilization of laboratory services by incorporating and promoting the highest quality and best practice standards for patient care.1 At the same time, a test management program must not hinder the clinician's ability to properly care for the patient by ordering the right test at the right time for the right reason. Too often, utilization strategies solely focus on cost reduction without regard for clinical impact.

Knowing the nurse practitioner: dominant discourses shaping our horizons

The purpose of this paper is to examine the various discourses, particularly the dominant instrumental and economic discourses that have brought the phenomena of the nurse practitioner (NP) into being. It is proposed that NPs have been constituted as an object of nature and therefore understood metaphorically as a tool or instrument within the health care system to be used efficiently and effectively. Heidegger's philosophical analysis of the question concerning technology is used to argue that our current ways of knowing the NP through these discourses, with their emphasis on calculative logic, have resulted from our modern view of the essence of technology. It is also argued that there is now a need to shape our horizons concerning the NP in new and different ways. There is a need to engage in dialogical forms of research in order to evoke the richness and depth of what it means to be an NP, that is, to reveal the other modes of expression by which we define ourselves, understand others and nursing.

Germany: financing innovation is the future challenge

Changes are required to encourage innovation in the industry. Some ways forward are described.

Achieving appropriate design and widespread use of health care technologies in the developing world

OBJECTIVES

To identify and describe constraints facing the development and dissemination of technologies appropriate for public health care challenges and solutions in the developing world.

METHODS

Review of lessons learned in development and introduction of numerous health technologies as experienced by a non-profit organization working on technologies for 25 years.

RESULTS

Many obstacles prevent appropriate technologies from reaching widespread use and acceptance. These include low profit margins in developing world markets, regulatory constraints, and the need for systems changes. Strong public/private-sector partnerships and realistic approaches to working in these environments make a difference.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a growing awareness of the need for new technologies and experience with strategies that can make them happen. Some technologies with documented value for maternal care in developing world settings appear to be stuck short of widespread acceptance and use. Understanding the factors impeding their progress can enable the public sector and its collaborators to organize and facilitate their progress more effectively.

Switzerland's medical technology potential

Favoured for its central European location and sophisticated scientific environment, Switzerland's medical device industry is thriving.