Potential ways to predict and manage telecommuters' feelings of professional isolation\

Many public organizations implement teleworking: an organizational innovation expected to improve the working conditions of public servants. However, it is unclear to what extent teleworking is beneficial for public servants. This study adds to the literature by studying the effects of teleworking on a day-to-day basis. We used a daily diary methodology and followed public servants across five consecutive working days. Studies that apply a daily survey method are more accurate than cross-sectional measures because they reduce recall bias. The results highlight that public servants experience quite negative effects from teleworking, including greater professional isolation and less organizational commitment on the days that they worked entirely from home. Contrary to predictions, working from home did not affect work engagement. We also found that higher leader–member exchange (LMX) reduced the impact of teleworking on professional isolation. These findings not only contribute to the literature by showing the unfavorable effects of teleworking but also highlight that LMX can, to some extent, reduce these negative effects.

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Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: What about the Clinical Issues?

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.3109/00048679609076068 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 3-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Brian J. Kelly ◽

Francis T. Varghese

Keyword(s):

Psychiatric Disorder ◽

Assisted Suicide ◽

Psychiatric Symptoms ◽

Family Interactions ◽

Clinical Issues ◽

Medically Ill ◽

Critical Issues ◽

Ethical And Legal Considerations ◽

Professional Isolation ◽

Patient Relationships

This paper aims to address the clinical issues involved in a patient's request for assisted suicide. The psychiatric and broader psychosocial issues for the dying patient, their family and their treating doctor have been largely unaddressed in the debate concerning euthanasia to date. A range of the clinical issues that need to be incorporated in the ethical and legal considerations are reviewed. The reasons for a patient seeking suicide as a treatment are complex and go beyond questions of a patient's right to die. The request for euthanasia needs to be seen in the context of the patient's circumstances, including relationships with and attitudes of carers and health professionals, along with patterns of psychiatric disorder and psychiatric symptoms in the medically ill. The clinical issues involve not only the diagnosis or management of psychiatric disorder but also the acknowledgment of the factors influencing an individual's adjustment to the threat of illness and death. The dynamics of family interactions and doctor–patient relationships in this setting are factors that may impinge upon a request for assistance to die. These factors may be more important than the severity of a person's illness or their quality of life, and are less likely to be recognised and addressed in situations of professional isolation. There are critical issues facing psychiatry in new legislative developments.

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Usefulness of a virtual community of practice and Web 2.0 tools for general practice training: experiences and expectations of general practitioner registrars and supervisors

Australian Journal of Primary Health ◽

10.1071/py13024 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 292 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Stephen Barnett ◽

Sandra C. Jones ◽

Sue Bennett ◽

Don Iverson ◽

Andrew Bonney

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

General Practice ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Community Of Practice ◽

Virtual Communities ◽

Survey Study ◽

Professional Isolation ◽

Social Media Tools ◽

General Practice Training ◽

Gp Training

General practice training is a community of practice in which novices and experts share knowledge. However, there are barriers to knowledge sharing for general practioner (GP) registrars, including geographic and workplace isolation. Virtual communities of practice (VCoP) can be effective in overcoming these barriers using social media tools. The present study examined the perceived usefulness, features and barriers to implementing a VCoP for GP training. Following a survey study of GP registrars and supervisors on VCoP feasibility, a qualitative telephone interview study was undertaken within a regional training provider. Participants with the highest Internet usage in the survey study were selected. Two researchers worked independently conducting thematic analysis using manual coding of transcriptions, later discussing themes until agreement was reached. Seven GP registrars and three GP supervisors participated in the study (average age 38.2 years). Themes emerged regarding professional isolation, potential of social media tools to provide peer support and improve knowledge sharing, and barriers to usage, including time, access and skills. Frequent Internet-using GP registrars and supervisors perceive a VCoP for GP training as a useful tool to overcome professional isolation through improved knowledge sharing. Given that professional isolation can lead to decreased rural work and reduced hours, a successful VCoP may have a positive outcome on the rural medical workforce.

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A rural approach to quality improvement for small rural hospitals: Lessons from rural Texas

Healthcare Management Forum ◽

10.1177/0840470419882954 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 75-79

Author(s):

Robert S. Steele ◽

Elizabeth F. Wenghofer ◽

Tammy Wagner ◽

Peter Yu ◽

Nancy W. Dickey

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Effective Means ◽

Medical Knowledge ◽

Continuing Professional Development ◽

Pilot Project ◽

Quality And Safety ◽

Northern Ontario ◽

Professional Isolation ◽

Survey Responses ◽

Rural Physician

This article describes the Rural Physician Peer Review Program (RPPR©) developed by the Texas A&M Rural and Community Health Institute and presents it as an example of a program that could be implemented in rural Canada as an effective means of continuing professional development (CPD) for rural Canadian physicians. RPPR© post review survey responses from 574 physician participants across rural Texas indicate that they are highly satisfied with RPPR© and that their competency in medical knowledge and patient care improves as a result of participation. A pilot project with two to four northern Ontario hospitals would enable RPPR© to be modified to ensure applicability and feasibility in the northern Ontario context to create an RPPR© “North.” New and innovative approaches to CPD for rural northern physicians need to be continually explored to decrease professional isolation, improve recruitment and retention, and ultimately improve the quality and safety of healthcare in rural areas.

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Shared care in surgery: Practical considerations for surgical leaders

Healthcare Management Forum ◽

10.1177/0840470420952485 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 084047042095248

Author(s):

Morgann Reid ◽

Alex Lee ◽

David R. Urbach ◽

Craig Kuziemsky ◽

Morad Hameed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Care ◽

Surgical Care ◽

Shared Care ◽

Clinical Integration ◽

Integration Model ◽

Surgical Access ◽

Disease Site ◽

Individual Surgeon ◽

Professional Isolation ◽

The Individual

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted limitations in current healthcare systems and needed strategies to increase surgical access. This article presents a team-based integration model that embraces intra-disciplinary collaboration in shared clinical care, professional development, and administrative processes to address this surge in demand for surgical care. Implementing this model will require communicating the rationale for and benefits of shared care, while shifting patient trust to a team of providers. For the individual surgeon, advantages of clinical integration through shared care include decreased burnout and professional isolation, and more efficient transitions into and out of practice. Advantages to the system include greater surgeon availability, streamlined disease site wait lists, and promotion of system efficiency through a centralized distribution of clinical resources. We present a framework to stimulate national dialogue around shared care that will ultimately help overcome system bottlenecks for surgical patients and provide support for health professionals.

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Burnout and Occupational Stress

Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association ◽

10.7547/0940282 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 94 (3) ◽

pp. 282-291 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Anne Mandy ◽

Paul Tinley

Keyword(s):

United Kingdom ◽

Occupational Stress ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Medical Data ◽

Professional Status ◽

Occupational Burnout ◽

Medical Practitioners ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Professional Isolation

Professional and occupational burnout is a recognized syndrome among healthcare professionals, although the point at which burnout begins is unclear. There is a dearth of research investigating burnout and occupational stress in relation to podiatric medicine, although two recent studies have reported high levels of burnout expressed by podiatric medical practitioners. This study was undertaken to compare the levels of burnout in newly qualified practitioners in Australia and the United Kingdom. The results suggest that levels of burnout are higher in these groups than indicated by the published normative medical data. Occupational stress was associated with lack of professional status and with geographic and professional isolation. Within these two themes, there were clear differences between the two groups. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 94(3): 282–291, 2004)

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