Evidence now suggests that improved empathic behaviors can have a positive impact on healthcare outcomes. Therefore, having psychometrically-sound empathy scales is important for healthcare educators. In this study, the factor structure of the 20-item Jefferson Scale Empathy-Health Profession Students' version, when completed by a group of undergraduate paramedic students from a large Australian university, was investigated. Data from the Scale completed by 330 paramedic students were analyzed using principal components analysis followed by a maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis to test goodness of fit to the sample data. Two factors emerged from the principal components analysis, "compassionate care" and "perspective taking", accounting for 44.2% of the total variance. The 17-item two-factor model produced good model fit and good reliability estimates. Three of the original items did not fit the model. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis suggest that the 17-item Jefferson Scale Empathy-Health Profession Students' version is a valid and reliable measure for undergraduate paramedic students' empathy levels.
Objectives: Simulated learning environments are a vital component in paramedic education. Therefore having instruments such as the Satisfaction with Simulation Experience Scale (SSES) with strong measurement properties to use in educational research studies is important. Only one study has reported on the psychometric properties of the SSES previously. To investigate the factor structure of the SSES when completed by a group of undergraduate paramedic students from a large Australian university. Methods: Data from the SSES completed by second and third year undergraduate paramedic students were analyzed with Principle Components Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation. Results: A total of (n=167) undergraduate paramedic students participated in the study. The majority of the participants were female 58.7% (n=98) and aged < 26 years of age 80.2% (n=134). PCA of the 18 items revealed 3 factors with eigenvalues above 1, accounting for 55.5% of the total variance. Items with loadings greater than ± .40, with the factor in question were used to characterise the factor solutions.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common occurrence in Australian society, with far-reaching health, social and economic implications. 1 The victims of IPV requiring medical care are often encountered by paramedics in the prehospital environment. However, paramedics receive little training and education in the management of such patients. 2 Over the past two decades the international literature has repeatedly highlighted this issue 3 and yet Australian research has stagnated in both the prehospital recognition and management of IPV. Practical attempts to improve outcomes for victims (the vast majority of whom are female) by Australian paramedic organisations have also been minimal.We recently examined the results of a questionnaire given to 50 Australian Capital Territory paramedics that measured their frequency of attending IPV cases, paramedic knowledge of IPV and their perceived preparedness for IPV cases. We found that 90% of participants had responded to at least one IPV case in the preceding year (with a range of 0-20 cases), with an average of 3.66 cases. Notably, none of the paramedics sampled used any IPV screening tools, and therefore was likely to have suspected IPV only where it was overt.Victims of IPV will not always volunteer the true cause of their trauma and might even attempt to hide the fact. Thus, there is significant underreporting in the above data. 4 Furthermore, two-thirds of participating paramedics were unaware of the lack of mandatory reporting legislation in their state, and almost four in every five reported feeling less than confident in managing IPV cases.Although there is no other Australian literature available, our results are consistent with a previous web-based survey by Mason et al. in Ontario province in Canada. 5 This study reported a similar frequency of IPV cases, as well as poor knowledge and preparedness of their paramedic participants, and the intention to give emergency medical services providers specific education and training on domestic violence. 5 The USA has attempted to introduce standardised and empirically evidenced prehospital screening for domestic violence (IPV). However, at the time of writing, Australian paramedic agencies have not taken on such an initiative.Previous work has queried why IPV is not addressed to any significant extent either in prehospital educational courses or indeed by paramedic organisations themselves. 2 The results from our research increase the urgency for an answer to such a question. Our results suggest that paramedics are not equipped to deal with this particular category of patients that they regularly encounter.In the light of the insidious nature of the trauma suffered by such patients, it is surprising that action in the form of education and awareness has not been conducted sooner. Preparing paramedics with the appropriate attitude, knowledge and skills to effectively deal with victims of IPV to the same extent as those provided for the management of road trauma will assist paramedics to better care for these patients. ...
Teaching is a key role for nurses in contemporary clinical practice. Consequently, peer-assisted learning continues to gather momentum in nursing education in tertiary and professional education settings. In this study, we investigated the factor structure of the Peer Teaching Experience Questionnaire when completed by a group of nursing undergraduates from a large Australian university. Data from the 14-item Peer Teaching Experience Questionnaire completed by third year undergraduate nursing students were analyzed using factor analysis. A total of 257 final (third)-year undergraduate nursing students participated in the study. Factor analysis of the 14 items revealed three factors with eigenvalues above 1, accounting for 47.3% of the total variance. Items with loadings greater than ± 0.40, with the factor in question, were used to characterize the factor solutions. Findings from the exploratory factor analysis provide preliminary results that the Peer Teaching Experience Questionnaire has adequate dimensionality and reliability.
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