Training program impact on thermoplastic immobilization for head and neck radiation therapy

Purpose: To determine whether uniform guidelines and training in the stabilization and formation of thermoplastic shells can improve the reproducibility of set-up for Head and Neck cancer patients. Methods and materials: Image based measurements of the planning and treatment positions for 35 head and neck cancer patients undergoing radical radiotherapy were analysed to provide a baseline of the reproducibility of thermoplastic immobilization. Radiation therapists (RT) were surveyed to establish a perception of their confidence in thermoplastic procedures. An evidence based staff training program was created and implemented. Set-up reproduction and staff perception were reviewed to measure the impact of the training program. Results: The mean (SD) 3D vectors of anatomical displacement, measured on the patient images, improved from 4.64 (2.03) for the baseline group compared to 3.02 (1.65) following training (p < 0.01). The proportion of 3D displacements of patient data exceeding 5 mm 3D vector was decreased from 37.1% to 5.7% (p < 0.001) and the 3 mm vector from 85.7% to 42.9% (p < 0.001). The post-training survey scores demonstrated improved confidence in reproducibility of set-up for head and neck patients. Conclusion: The Thermoplastic Shells Training Program has been found to improve the treatment reproducibility for head and neck radiation therapy patients. Uniform guidelines have increased RT confidence in thermoplastic procedures.

Intervention for depression among palliative care patients and their families : a study protocol for evaluation of a training program for professional care staff

Background: Clinical depression is highly prevalent yet under-detected and under-treated in palliative care settings and is associated with a number of adverse medical and psychological outcomes for patients and their family members. This article presents a study protocol to evaluate a training intervention for non-physician palliative care staff to improve the recognition of depression and provide support for depressed patients and their family members. Details of the hypotheses and expected outcomes, study design, training program development and evaluation measures are described.
Methods and Design: A randomised controlled trial will be implemented across two palliative care services to evaluate the “Training program for professional carers to recognise and manage depression in palliative care settings”. Pre-, post- and three-month follow-up data will be collected to assess: the impact of the training on the knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy and perceived barriers of palliative care staff when working with depression; referral rates for depression; and changes to staff practices. Quantitative and qualitative methods, in the form of self-report questionnaires and interviews with staff and family members, will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.
Discussion: This study will determine the effectiveness of an intervention that aims to respond to the urgent need for innovative programs to target depression in the palliative care setting. The expected outcome of this study is the validation of an evidence-based training program to improve staff recognition and appropriate referrals for depression, as well as improve psychosocial support for depressed patients and their family members.

Evaluation of a training program to assist care staff to better recognize and manage depression among palliative care patients and their families

This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy of palliative care staff and thus enable them to better detect and manage depression among palliative care patients and their families. Participants were 90 professional carers who completed a four-session training program. Knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and barriers to working with depressed patients were assessed preintervention, post-intervention, and at a three-month follow-up. The results demonstrated that compared to the control group, the intervention group had improved in all of these areas. Improvements were maintained at the three-month follow-up in all areas except attitudes. The results of this study indicate the importance of training in managing depression among palliative care staff. Booster sessions will likely be needed to ensure that training program gains are maintained.

Effectiveness of staff training programs to manage behavioural problems of dementia

Purpose : Behavioural problems among older people with dementia are a major concern in nursing homes. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of staff training programs on both staff and residents.
Methodology : Two programs (standard dementia care, individualised behaviour therapy) were compared to a control condition. A total of 90 staff and 113 aged care residents participated in the study.
Findings: The results demonstrated an improvement in the self-efficacy of staff who received either training program at post-intervention, and at three- and six-month follow-up. Facility managers also rated an improvement in the performance of staff who received behaviour therapy at post-intervention and at follow-up. There were no changes in behaviours or quality of life for residents in any group.
Implications: Staff education programs may not assist in the management of behavioural symptoms of dementia, but can improve staff attitudes. Other explanations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Depression training program for caregivers of elderly care recipients : implementation and qualitative evaluation

The prevalence of untreated depression is high among older adults who receive care in residential facilities or in their own omes and is associated with reduced quality of life and other medical conditions, Research has suggested a number of rea-p sons for the low detection and treatment rates for this problem, including lack of knowledge and efficacy among those who provide direct care and poor communication between these caregivers and senior staff, and between senior staff and genera practitioners. In this study, we report on the implementation of a training program for care staff that aims to address these issues. Focus groups with participants who completed the training indicated a high level of satisfaction with the program and reported improvements in knowledge, self-efficacy, and communication within services. It is recommended that the program be more systematically evaluated in relation to its longer term effects on care provider practices and the well-being of depressed elderly care recipients.

An evaluation of the beyondblue depression training program for aged care workers

Background: The prevalence of depression among older people receiving care is high, yet the rate of treatment of this disorder is low. One way to improve the pathway to care is to train care staff to recognize the symptoms of depression and raise their confidence in responding to them. In this study we evaluated the efficacy of the beyondblue Depression Training Program to achieve this aim.
Methods: Staff (N=148) from low level care facilities and community care facilities in metropolitan Melbourne completed the beyondblue Depression Training Program, while staff in other facilities (N = 96) acted as controls. Pre-program, post-program and follow-up questionnaire data were collected and referrals for depression by staff were recorded.
Results: Training improved carers’ knowledge about depression, their self-efficacy in responding to signs of depression and their attitudes towards working with depressed aged care recipients. In addition, training increased the number of referrals for depression made by carers.
Conclusion: Training aged care staff in depression can improve the pathways to care for depressed care recipients, and has the potential to improve the quality of life of older people.

Clinical research and leadership training program as a knowledge translation initiative across an Australian health care service

 Health professionals need to be integrated more effectively in clinical research initiatives to ensure that research addresses key clinical needs and provides practical, implementable solutions at the coal face of care. Here we describe the informative phase of a broader program to enable and support health professionals at Monash Health who do not have a research background, to engage in and lead research to improve healthcare outcomes. The findings will be used to develop a dedicated clinical research and leadership training program. The training program will support Monash Health staff to up-skill or enhance skills to conduct rigorous research; engage and lead multidisciplinary, collaborative teams; and to use research to guide practice, as well as identify and address gaps in clinical research.  

A participatory workplace health and safety training program for ethylene oxide

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has regulated ethylene oxide (EtO) on the basis of its acute toxicity and its potential carcinogenic and reproductive effects since 1971. OSHA's 1984 EtO standard and its 1988 revisions focused new attention on health and safety training and other preventive measures. An EtO health and safety training program for hospital sterilization workers was developed by the staff of an independent occupational and environmental health clinic. Participatory and empowerment training methods were central to the approach. Also included were hands-on, demonstration, interactive presentation, and other methods. An EtO Health and Safety Training Manual was developed based on the training experiences. This paper presents the challenges, benefits, and limitations of incorporating participatory and empowerment approaches in the design, implementation, and evaluation of EtO health and safety training.

Improving access to the justice system for people with communication difficulties : a training program for people working in the justice system

This training package is provided as a guide and resource to promote awareness and understanding of people who have complex communication needs and give people who work in law and justice system strategies to facilitate successful communication interactions. Complex communication needs are defined as communication problems associated with a wide range of physical, sensory and environmental causes which restrict/limit an individual's ability to participate independently in society. They and their communication partners may benefit from using Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) methods. Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) is an approach or communication system that makes it possible for a person without speech to communicate. AAC includes gestures and sign language, picture and alphabet boards and high technology electronic communication devices that produce computerised speech. Many people with complex communication needs use a combination of AAC communication to express themselves. It is hoped that this package will facilitate access to the justice system for a group of people who may experience social disadvantage as a result of their complex communication needs. The information included in the package is not exhaustive. It is designed to : provide the trainer and staff with a general understanding of complex communication needs; challenge misconceptions about people who have little or no functional speech; provide practical strategies and guidelines to assist staff to more successfully communicate with people with complex communication needs.

Postgraduate training program

BACKGROUND: Faculties face the permanent challenge to design training programs with well-balanced educational outcomes, and to offer various organised and individual learning opportunities. AIM: To apply our original model to a postgraduate training program in rheumatology in general, and to various learning experiences in particular, in order to analyse the balance between different educational objectives. METHODS: Learning times of various educational activities were reported by the junior staff as targeted learners. The suitability of different learning experiences to achieve cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning objectives was estimated. Learning points with respect to efficacy were calculated by multiplication of the estimated learning times by the perceived appropriateness of the educational strategies. RESULTS: Out of 780 hours of professional learning per year (17.7 hours/week), 37.7% of the time was spent under individual supervision of senior staff, 24.4% in organised structured learning, 22.6% in self-studies, and 15.3% in organised patient-oriented learning. The balance between the different types of learning objectives was appropriate for the overall program, but not for each particular learning experience. Acquisition of factual knowledge and problem solving was readily aimed for during organised teaching sessions of different formats, and by personal targeted reading. Attitudes, skills and competencies, as well as behavioural and performance changes were mostly learned during caring for patients under interactive supervision by experts. CONCLUSION: We encourage other faculties to apply this approach to any other curriculum of undergraduate education, postgraduate training or continuous professional development in order to foster the development of well-balanced learning experiences.

Construction, operations, and staff training for juvenile confinement facilities /

"January 2000."

Australian Clinical Psychology Training Program Directors Survey

A survey of clinical psychology program directors was conducted to provide an illustrative snapshot of clinical training in Australia. Postgraduate clinical psychology program directors from 27 universities in all States in Australia and the Australian Capital Territory offering postgraduate clinical training programs were emailed the survey; 19 surveys were returned. The present paper reports on a range of issues of relevance to clinical training programs, including numbers of students, types and content of courses, staff workload, relationship with professional bodies, practical training and university-based clinics, and concerns raised by directors. The information is intended to assist those responsible for training in clinical psychology in Australia in their work of increasing the quality of postgraduate training by being informed of the practices of other programs.

Assessment of faculty training program for the use of e-learning platforms: analysis of current use

5th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (Barcelona, Spain. 1-3 July, 2013)

The strategic and operational dimensions of staff training and professional development for information professionals : what neXus2 has revealed

The paper seeks to continue the debate about the need for professionals in the library and information services (LIS) sector to continually engage in career-long learning to sustain and develop their knowledge and skills in a dynamic industry. Aims: The neXus2 workforce study has been funded by the ALIA and the consortium of National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA). It builds on earlier research work (the neXus census) that looked at the demographic, educational and career perspectives of individual library and information professions, to critically examine institutional policies and practices associated with the LIS workforce. The research aims to develop a clearer understanding of the issues impacting on workforce sustainability, workforce capability and workforce optimisation. Methods: The research methodology involved an extensive online survey conducted in March 2008 which collected data on organisational and general staffing; recruitment and retention; staff development and continuing professional education; and succession planning. Encouragement to participate was provided by key industry groups, including academic, public, health, law and government library and information agencies, with the result that around 150 institutions completed the questionnaire. Results: The paper will specifically discuss the research findings relating to training and professional development, to measure the scope and distribution of training activities across the workforce, to consider the interrelationship between the strategic and operational dimensions of staff development in individual institutions and to analyse the common and distinctive factors evident in the different sectors of the profession. Conclusion: The neXus2 project has successfully engaged LIS institutions in the collection of complex industry data that is relevant to the future education and workforce strategies for all areas of the profession. Cross-sector forums such as Information Online 2009 offer the opportunity for stimulating professional dialogue on the key issues.

Novel educational training program for community pharmacists

There is little evidence that workshops alone have a lasting impact on the day-to-day practice of participants. The current paper examined a strategy to increase generalization and maintenance of skills in the natural environment using pseudo-patients and immediate performance feedback to reinforce skills acquisition. A random half of pharmacies (N=30) took part in workshop training aimed at optimizing consumers' use of nonprescription analgesic products. Pharmacies in the training group also received performance feedback on their adherence to the recommended protocol. Feedback occurred immediately after a pseudo-patient visit in which confederates posed as purchasers of analgesics, and combined positive and corrective elements. Trained pharmacists were significantly more accurate at identifying people who misused the medication (P<0.001). The trained pharmacists were more likely than controls to use open-ended questions (P<0.001), assess readiness to change problematic use (P <0.001), and to deliver a brief intervention that was tailored to the person's commitment to alter his/her usage (P <0.001). Participants responded to the feedback positively. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that when workshop is combined with on-site performance feedback, it enhances practitioners' adherence to protocols in the natural setting.