scholarly journals Development and validation of the Readiness to Train Assessment Tool (RTAT)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ianita Zlateva ◽  
Amanda Schiessl ◽  
Nashwa Khalid ◽  
Kerry Bamrick ◽  
Margaret Flinter

Abstract Background In recent years, health centers in the United States have embraced the opportunity to train the next generation of health professionals. The uniqueness of the health centers as teaching settings emphasizes the need to determine if health professions training programs align with health center priorities and the nature of any adjustments that would be needed to successfully implement a training program. We sought to address this need by developing and validating a new survey that measures organizational readiness constructs important for the implementation of health professions training programs at health centers where the primary role of the organizations and individuals is healthcare delivery. Methods The study incorporated several methodological steps for developing and validating a measure for assessing health center readiness to engage with health professions programs. A conceptual framework was developed based on literature review and later validated by 20 experts in two focus groups. A survey-item pool was generated and mapped to the conceptual framework and further refined and validated by 13 experts in three modified Delphi rounds. The survey items were pilot-tested with 212 health center employees. The final survey structure was derived through exploratory factor analysis. The internal consistency reliability of the scale and subscales was evaluated using Chronbach’s alpha. Results The exploratory factor analysis revealed a 41-item, 7-subscale solution for the survey structure, with 72% of total variance explained. Cronbach’s alphas (.79–.97) indicated high internal consistency reliability. The survey measures: readiness to engage, evidence strength and quality of the health professions training program, relative advantage of the program, financial resources, additional resources, implementation team, and implementation plan. Conclusions The final survey, the Readiness to Train Assessment Tool (RTAT), is theoretically-based, valid and reliable. It provides an opportunity to evaluate health centers’ readiness to implement health professions programs. When followed with appropriate change strategies, the readiness evaluations could make the implementation of health professions training programs, and their spread across the United States, more efficient and cost-effective. While developed specifically for health centers, the survey may be useful to other healthcare organizations willing to assess their readiness to implement education and training programs.

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Jeanne Nash

Background and Purpose: Although nurses struggle with the decision to report for work during disaster events, there are no instruments to measure nurses’ duty to care for disaster situations. The purpose of this study was to describe the development, testing, and psychometric qualities of the Nash Duty to Care Scale. Methods: A convenience sample of 409 registered nurses were recruited from 3 universities in the United States. Results: Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 19-item, 4-factor model explaining 67.34% of the variance. Internal consistency reliability was supported by Cronbach’s alpha ranging from .81 to .91 for the 4-factor subscales and .92 for the total scale. Conclusions: The psychometrically sound instrument for measuring nurses’ perceived duty to care for disasters is applicable to contemporary nursing practice, institutional disaster management plans, and patient health outcomes worldwide.


Author(s):  
Gilles Duruflé ◽  
Thomas Hellmann ◽  
Karen Wilson

This chapter examines the challenge for entrepreneurial companies of going beyond the start-up phase and growing into large successful companies. We examine the long-term financing of these so-called scale-up companies, focusing on the United States, Europe, and Canada. The chapter first provides a conceptual framework for understanding the challenges of financing scale-ups. It emphasizes the need for investors with deep pockets, for smart money, for investor networks, and for patient money. It then shows some data about the various aspects of financing scale-ups in the United States, Europe, and Canada, showing how Europe and Canada are lagging behind the US relatively more at the scale-up than the start-up stage. Finally, the chapter raises the question of long-term public policies for supporting the creation of a better scale-up environment.


2006 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin K. Tremper ◽  
Amy Shanks ◽  
Michelle Morris ◽  
Dave A. Burnett

Author(s):  
Robyn M Nadolny ◽  
Ashley C Kennedy ◽  
James M Rodgers ◽  
Zachary T Vincent ◽  
Hannah Cornman ◽  
...  

Abstract During September–December 2018, 25 live ticks were collected on-post at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in a home with a history of bat occupancy. Nine ticks were sent to the Army Public Health Center Tick-Borne Disease Laboratory and were identified as Carios kelleyi (Cooley and Kohls, 1941), a species that seldom bites humans but that may search for other sources of blood meals, including humans, when bats are removed from human dwellings. The ticks were tested for numerous agents of human disease. Rickettsia lusitaniae was identified by multilocus sequence typing to be present in two ticks, marking the first detection of this Rickettsia agent in the United States and in this species of tick. Two other Rickettsia spp. were also detected, including an endosymbiont previously associated with C. kelleyi and a possible novel Rickettsia species. The potential roles of C. kelleyi and bats in peridomestic Rickettsia transmission cycles warrant further investigation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009164712110115
Author(s):  
Kenneth T. Wang ◽  
Miriam S. Kang ◽  
Hsiu-Chi Lee ◽  
Irene Sipan

The Religious Perfectionism Scale (RPS) was first developed among Chinese Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims. It consists of the following two subscales: Zealous Religious Dedication and Religious Self-Criticism. In this study, a cross-cultural psychometric evaluation of RPS was performed in a US Christian sample ( N = 233). The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results presented a strong data-to-model fit statistics for the two-factor oblique model (CFI = .977, SRMR = .051, RMSEA = .034) in the US sample. The measurement of invariance between US and Chinese samples was examined by multiple-group CFA. The results indicated that the RPS fulfilled invariance for factor loadings and residual variances, but intercepts were partially invariant. The internal consistency reliability coefficients for the two subscales were adequate (above .70). The construct validity test results confirmed our hypotheses that the ZRD was positively correlated with Religious Commitment ( r = .56), and the RSC was positively correlated with Scrupulosity ( r = .58). Overall results suggest that the RPS is a promising measure of religious perfectionism for Christians in the United States. The implications of this were discussed.


1973 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 891-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itai Zak

The main problem posed in this study is: What are the content and structure of Jewish and American identity? The Jewish-American Identity Scale, which was adapted and refined for this study, was administered in 1971 to four samples, totaling 1006 Jewish-American college students from various parts of the United States. Initially, factor analysis was applied to the separate samples. Intersample comparisons of factor structures indicated a high degree of congruency; consequently, the samples were combined for subsequent analyses. Factor analysis of the test scores demonstrated that most of the common factor variance was appropriated by two relatively orthogonal factors. Items dealing with American identity and those dealing with Jewish identity had medium to high loadings on the two respective factors. These findings supported the hypothesis of the duality and the orthogonality of dimensions of Jewish and American identity, and cast doubt on the notion forwarded by some researchers that Jewish-American identity forms a bipolar continuum.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalid Hamid Changal ◽  
Mubbasher Ameer Syed ◽  
Ealla Atari ◽  
Salik Nazir ◽  
Sameer Saleem ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The objective was to assess current training preferences, expertise, and comfort with transfemoral access (TFA) and transradial access (TRA) amongst cardiovascular training fellows and teaching faculty in United States. As TRA continues to dominate the field of interventional cardiology, there is a concern that trainees may become less proficient with the femoral approach. Methods: A detailed questionnaire was sent out to academic General Cardiovascular and Interventional Cardiology training programs in the United states. Responses were sought from fellows-in-training and faculty regarding preferences and practice of TFA and TRA. Answers were analyzed for significant differences between trainees and trainers using the Pearson χ2 or Fisher’s exact test, or the Student t test or the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: A total of 125 respondents (75 fellows-in-traing and 50 faculty) completed and returned the survey. The average grade of comfort for TFA, on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 being most comfortable), was reported to be 6 by fellows-in-training and 10 by teaching faculty (p < 0.001). TRA was the first preference in 95% of the fellows-in-training compared to 69% of teaching faculty (p 0.001). While 62% of fellows believed that they would receive the same level of training as their trainers by the time they graduate, only 35% of their trainers believed so (p 0.004).Conclusion: The shift from TFA to radial first has resulted in significant concern among cardiovascular fellows-in training and the faculty regarding training in TFA. Cardiovascular training programs must be cognizant of this issue and should devise methods to assure optimal training of fellows in gaining TFA and managing femoral access-related complications.


1981 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-294
Author(s):  
Don Wells

This article examines a survey and analysis of 41 State Department of Education definitions of gifted and talented. A conceptual framework of components is presented as a means of definition analysis. Definitions are examined and discussed in relation to those characteristic components. Current trends in definitions are placed in an historical context revealing the expansion and refinement of expansion components in definitions for the gifted and talented. The definition issue is discussed in relation to societal values and expectations as they pertain to gifted individuals.


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