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Increased Resources (increased + resource)
Selected AbstractsCharacteristics of Emergency Medicine Program DirectorsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2 2006Michael S. Beeson MD Objectives: To characterize emergency medicine (EM) program directors (PDs) and compare the data, where possible, with those from other related published studies. Methods: An online survey was e-mailed in 2002 to all EM PDs of programs that were approved by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education. The survey included questions concerning demographics, work hours, support staff, potential problems and solutions, salary and expenses, and satisfaction. Results: One hundred nine of 124 (88%) PDs (69.7% university, 27.5% community, and 2.8% military) completed the survey; 85.3% were male. Mean age was 43.6 years (95% confidence interval [CI] = 42.6 to 44.7 yr). The mean time as a PD was 5.7 years (95% CI = 4.9 to 6.5 yr), with 56% serving five years or less. The mean time expected to remain as PD is an additional 6.0 years (95% CI = 5.2 to 6.8). A 1995 study noted that 50% of EM PDs had been in the position for less than three years, and 68% anticipated continuing in their position for less than five years. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), the mean satisfaction with the position of PD was 8.0 (95% CI = 7.2 to 8.3). Those PDs who stated that the previous PD had mentored them planned to stay a mean of 2.0 years longer than did those who were not mentored (95% CI of difference of means = 0.53 to 3.53). Sixty-five percent of PDs had served previously as an associate PD. Most PDs (92%) have an associate or assistant PD, with 54% reporting one; 25%, two; and 9%, three associate or assistant PDs. A 1995 study noted that 62% had an associate PD. Ninety-two percent have a program coordinator, and 35% stated that they have both a residency secretary and a program coordinator. Program directors worked a median of 195 hours per month: clinical, 75 hours; scholarly activity, 20 hours; administrative, 80 hours; and teaching and residency conferences, 20 hours; compared with a median total hours of 220 previously reported. Lack of adequate time to do the job required, career needs interfering with family needs, and lack of adequate faculty help with residency matters were identified as the most important problems (means of 3.5 [95% CI = 3.2 to 3.7], 3.4 [95% CI = 3.2 to 3.6], and 3.1 [95% CI = 2.9 to 3.3], respectively, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 as maximum). This study identified multiple resources that were found to be useful by >50% of PDs, including national meetings, lectures, advice from others, and self-study. Conclusions: Emergency medicine PDs generally are very satisfied with the position of PD, perhaps because of increased support and resources. Although PD turnover remains an issue, PDs intend to remain in the position for a longer period of time than noted before this study. This may reflect the overall satisfaction with the position as well as the increased resources and support now available to the PD. PDs have greater satisfaction if they have been mentored for the position. [source] The subjective incremental cost of informed consent and documentation in hospital care: a multicentre questionnaire survey in JapanJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2009Haruhisa Fukuda MPH Abstract Objective, To reveal the amount of time and financial cost required to obtain informed consent and to preserve documentation. Methods, The questionnaire was delivered to all staff in six acute care public hospitals in Japan. We examined health care staff perceptions of the time they spent obtaining informed consent and documenting information. All data were collected in 2006 and estimates in the past week in 2006 were compared to estimates of time spent in a week in 1999. We also calculated the economic costs of incremental amounts of time spent in these procedures. Results, In 2006, health care staff took about 3.89 hours [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 3.71,4.07] per week to obtain informed consent and 6.64 hours (95% CI 6.40,6.88) per week to write documentation on average. Between 1999 and 2006, the average amount of time for conducting informed consent was increased to 0.67 (P < 0.001) hours per person-week, and the average amount of time for documentation was increased to 0.70 (P < 0.001) hours per person-week. The annual economic cost of activities for informed consent and documentation in a 100-bed hospital increased from 117 755 to 449 402 US dollars. Conclusions, We found a considerable increase in time spent on informed consent and documentation, and associated cost over a 7-year time period. Although greater attention to the informed consent process should be paid to ensure the notions of patient autonomy and self-determination, the increased resources devoted to these practices must be considered in light of current cost containment policies. [source] Consolidation of thin-film photovoltaic technology: the coming decade of opportunityPROGRESS IN PHOTOVOLTAICS: RESEARCH & APPLICATIONS, Issue 5 2006Martin A. Green Abstract The previous decade, particularly its latter half, has been an exhilarating period for photovoltaics. Companies have entered a new era of profitability with photovoltaic company stocks now some of the most eagerly sought. The challenge for the next decade is for the industry to take advantage of the increased resources made available by the recent boom to position photovoltaics for an onslaught into wholesale electricity markets. It is argued that only the best of the thin-film technologies are likely to be able to lead such a charge. Criteria for the success of thin-film technology in the long term are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Research in the spatial sciences: how are Canadian geographers contributing?THE CANADIAN GEOGRAPHER/LE GEOGRAPHE CANADIEN, Issue 1 2010TARMO K. REMMEL sciences spatiales; logiciels; développement théorique; géographes canadiens Geographic data collection, manipulation, analysis and visualization options have experienced substantial improvements during the past several decades, largely spurred by advancements in computing capabilities. While geographers are often credited with identifying and expanding many of the emerging application areas and innovations for the analysis of spatially (and sometimes temporally) referenced data, we are specifically interested in the role of Canadian geographers in the rapidly evolving domain of spatial science. We pose the following provocative question with the intent of not only summarizing the Canadian literature, but also to stimulate an informed discussion: ,are Canadian geographers developers or users of spatial analytical methods?' We review the refereed literature from 1980 to 2008 to describe the nature of contributions by Canadian geographers, beginning at about the time of widely accessible computing (1980s). Our summary broadly classifies subdisciplinary contribution areas as being best described as GIS, remote sensing, or spatial statistics, while each contribution area may take the type of algorithm development, advancement and synthesis of theory, or the application of existing methods. We paint a picture of the current contribution landscape and reflect on significant achievements while commenting on some potential weakness that with increased resources and focus might become future realms of advancement. La recherche en sciences d'analyse spatiales : quel est l'apport des géographes canadiens? Les démarches de collecte, de traitement, d'analyse et de représentation visuelle des données géographiques ont connu des améliorations remarquables au cours des dernières décennies, essentiellement grâce aux progrès réalisés en informatique. Si de manière générale on attribue aux géographes la conception et le développement de nouveaux logiciels et la mise au point de méthodes d'analyse spatiale (et dans certains cas, temporelle), nous nous demandons à quel point les géographes canadiens font figure de modèles en matière de recherche spatiale. La question susceptible de soulever la controverse que nous nous posons est de savoir si les géographes canadiens sont des inventeurs ou simplement des utilisateurs des méthodes d'analyse spatiale. L'objectif visé est double : dresser une synthèse de la littérature canadienne et susciter une réflexion éclairée. Les articles scientifiques publiés par les pairs et parus entre 1980 et 2008 sont passés en revue. Cette analyse porte sur le corpus des textes publiés par des géographes canadiens depuis les années 1980 à l'époque de l'emploi des outils informatiques. Elle permet de répertorier les articles en fonction d'un ensemble de sous-disciplines qui renvoient aux SIG, à la télédétection, ou aux statistiques spatiales. De plus, chacun de ces champs de recherche s'inscrit dans la cadre du développement d'algorithmes, de l'avancement et de la démonstration théoriques, ou de l'application de méthodes existantes. Nous esquissons un portrait de la situation actuelle du champ d'étude et nous nous penchons sur les réalisations marquantes. Enfin, nous formulons des observations sur les faiblesses potentielles qui, en engageant plus de ressources et en leur accordant la priorité, pourraient éventuellement contribuer à l'avancement du domaine. [source] | ||||||||||