A review of the literature was performed to understand trends, patterns, and strategies to improve retention of physical therapists in acute care hospitals. The purpose of this article is to discuss contributing factors and explore 2 specific groups of strategies—human factors and quality management/quality control—to reduce attrition and increase retention of acute care hospital physical therapists. This article also discusses processes such as changing organizational variables, continuously assessing the workforce, establishing an internal leadership bank, and employee/management surveys as strategies to enhance retention of acute care physical therapists.
A variety of collective actions by both managers and employees can be implemented to reduce the challenges of acute care physical therapy turnover. No one action is more important than the others. Recommendations for future research include a qualitative study of employees who have worked in and subsequently left acute care hospitals to understand their lived experiences. Furthermore, a retrospective review of organizations' human resource files on employees who have left might uncover additional factors specific to the organization that are related to turnover. In addition, further studies addressing acute care physical therapists employed longer than 5 years might reveal more about their motivations for staying in such a challenging work environment.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to retrospectively review the implementation of a formal balance assessment and directed interventions in a sample of patients with newly implanted left ventricular assist devices (LVADs).
Methods:
Electronic medical records were reviewed in patients with newly implanted LVADs from January 2014 through August 2015. Patients were assessed using Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (Tinetti) and AM-PAC Inpatient Basic Mobility Short Form (AM-PAC). Patients participated in formal balance interventions. Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel (Kirkland, WA) using a Student t test with 2-sided tail or paired t test, with a P-value of <.05 indicating statistical significance.
Results:
Of those patients included in the study, 94% of patients demonstrated initial fall risk, and 82% of patients demonstrated initial high fall risk. The initial Tinetti score was 13.7 (SD 7.2), increasing to 24.5 (SD 4.0) (P < .001) after intervention. Patients with high fall risk had an average length of stay of 27.36 days (SD 24.42 days) compared with those with lower fall risk with an average length of stay of 19.67 days (SD 6.55 days) (P = .62).
Conclusions:
A balance deficit was observed in patients with newly implanted LVADs. Following standardized intervention, deficits improve. These results warrant further exploration into proper dosing of intervention, additional outcome measures, and further research development.
Purpose: Interprofessional Education (IPE) incorporated into healthcare discipline instruction has been shown to be successful in improving the understanding perceptions of complimentary professions. The purpose of this mixed method study was to measure differences in perceptions of early Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) students and Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) with participation in a immersive interprofessional education experience. Method: Students completed a pre and posttest survey consisting of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale and several short answer qualitative questions. Cohorts of BSN and DPT students participated in a computerized mannequin simulation experience or a hybrid simulation. Results: Students indicated they learned about each other’s scope of practice and recognized the benefits of teamwork through collaboration. Conclusion: Students showed increased knowledge of the other profession, appreciated the opportunity for interprofessional learning, and were interested in having more IPE simulation learning experiences.
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