The limitations of access to continuing professional development amongst Australia's rural sonographers and its effect on job satisfaction: A pilot study

Abstract

Introduction: Sonographers in Australia form an important component of health care within rural and remote communities. Being remotely located brings its own set of difficulties in accessing continuing professional development (CPD). There is little research investigating the rural sonographers' experience with access to CPD and how this affects job satisfaction. Method: The purpose of this research was to investigate if limited access to CPD is experienced in the rural setting, what barriers to participation exist, and if reduced access has a negative effect on job satisfaction. Data were collected via the Australasian Sonographers Association (ASA) members' forum, inviting rural and remote sonographers to participate in an anonymous online questionnaire.Results: This study showed that various barriers to CPD participation exist, with in-person CPD participation seen as highly valuable. Conclusion:This study opens an opportunity for further conversations on how to improve CPD access amongst rural sonographers with the possible underlying solution being increased employer support.

Facilitators, Barriers and Motivators of Paramedic Continuing Professional Development

“…The literature regarding positive and negative experiences where organisational or managerial support has affected practitioner engagement in CPD aligns with the findings of this study (6,13,16,18). The experience of the paramedic who dropped out of a tertiary degree is also echoed in health research that found participants reported an inability to engage in CPD, correlated to lack of job satisfaction, professional isolation and a decrease of confidence in clinical skills (22). There are jurisdictional ambulance service employers with polices, incentives and/or programs that support self-directed CPD (1).…”

“…A common finding in the literature, confirmed by this study, is the provision of gold standard care as an important factor associated with good CPD (3,4,6,11,14,18). The extant literature also describes time as one of the most commonly reported barriers to professionals engaging in CPD (3)(4)(5)(6)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22). Paramedics are shift-workers who experience fatigue from workload and staffing shortages in some metropolitan and rural areas (1), therefore it was not surprising that the responses from the participants in this study mirrored those of other health professionals.…”

“…A balance between facilitators and barriers to CPD can often be found in the factors that motivate a professional to engage in professional development activities. Motivators commonly reported in the literature include improved patient outcomes; improved clinical skill, practitioner confidence and job satisfaction; financial and career prospect benefits; professional obligation; or peer pressure (4,(7)(8)(9)12,22,24,25). Of particular note, CPD opportunities that are meaningful to the participant and/or draws from previous knowledge or experience will have maximum educational impact for the learner (26,27).…”

Automated Fetal Head Classification and Segmentation Using Ultrasound Video

“…There is a shortage of trained sonographers, especially in developing countries [50] - [51]. This situation warrants a tremendous demand for an automated fetal biometry system.…”

Food community: Understanding community needs for a food security website to support rural and remote Western Australians

“…professionally due to isolation, limited peer support and the lack of inter-professional team work. 6,7 There is a limited understanding of food security amongst initiative providers, particularly in how to enhance specific program areas; thinking outside of the normal scope and how their initiative functions as part of a larger system. 3 Food security policy makers often rely on systematic reviews to gain knowledge and evidence when implementing new strategies, however, this approach does not consider a local context.…”