Recruiting Apprentices - The Experience of On-boarding Practices in the Swiss Public Transportation Sector

The professional socialization in a training company is a great challenge for young people. At the same time, they have to adapt to new organizational structures, integrate into a new workplace and competently master new tasks. Successful vocational socialization depends not only on the interests, abilities, and expectations of the young people but also on the company and its on-boarding practices. The aim of on-boarding measures is to help newcomers to get to know the company's structures and to facilitate their socialization into the culture of the company. Based on findings of an in-depth explorative case study within the public transportation sector in Switzerland, that included interviews with all stakeholders involved in apprenticeship training, the paper will address the practice of on-boarding in apprenticeship training and arrive at conclusions about innovative approaches

“My motivation was to save” ::a qualitative study exploring factors influencing motivation of community healthcare workers in a cervical cancer screening program in Dschang, Cameroon

Background : Cervical cancer is a major public health issue among women in Cameroon and uptake of screening programs remains a challenge in many low- and middle-income countries. Community healthcare workers can play an important role in promoting cervical cancer services. This study aimed to explore factors affecting the motivation of community healthcare workers in a cervical cancer screening program in Dschang, Cameroon. Methods : A qualitative approach including 11 in-depth individual interviews with community healthcare workers was used. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded using thematic analysis assisted by ATLAS.ti software. Results : Four women and seven men aged between 21 and 77 years old were interviewed. Community healthcare workers had high motivation. Factors affecting motivation were divided into individual and environmental level, based on a theoretical framework. Factors with a positive influence on motivation were mainly on the individual side while impeding factors were mainly associated with the environmental level. Conclusions : Key interventions to improve motivation among community healthcare workers include: (i) more training and supportive supervision; (ii) evaluation of remuneration systems by workload; and (iii) provision of job-enabling resources such as uniforms, cellphone cards and transport

Impact of a structured patient education programme on early diagnosis of prosthetic pulmonary valve endocarditis.

BACKGROUND Infective endocarditis is a major threat after prosthetic pulmonary valve replacement. Early diagnosis may improve outcomes. METHODS A structured patient education programme for prevention and early diagnosis of infective endocarditis was developed at our institution since 2016. Time delay between onset of symptoms of prosthetic pulmonary valve endocarditis and its diagnosis (defined as initiation of appropriate high-dose intravenous antibiotic treatment) was compared for patients presenting before (cohort 1) and after (cohort 2) initiation of the patient education programme. RESULTS Between 2008-2019, 26 patients (median age 24.9, range: 16.8-62.0 years, 73% male) were diagnosed with prosthetic pulmonary valve endocarditis, 13 patients (cohort 1) before (1.7 cases/year) and 13 patients (cohort 2) after June 2016 (3.7 cases/year). There were no differences in baseline characteristics or clinical presentation between the study cohorts. Overall, the median delay between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of infective endocarditis was 6 days (range: 0-133 days) with a significantly longer delay among patients in cohort 1, compared to cohort 2 (25 days, range: 5-133 days versus 3 days, range: 0-13 days, p 7 days was documented in 11/13 patients (85%) in cohort 1 as compared to 1/13 (8%) in cohort 2 (p < 0.001). Need for urgent valve replacement or permanent deterioration of prosthetic valve function was higher in cohort 1, compared to cohort 2 (11/13, 85% versus 5/13, 39%; p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS Prosthetic pulmonary valve endocarditis is increasingly recognised. A structured patient education programme may improve early diagnosis and clinical outcomes

Impact of a structured patient education programme on early diagnosis of prosthetic pulmonary valve endocarditis

BACKGROUND Infective endocarditis is a major threat after prosthetic pulmonary valve replacement. Early diagnosis may improve outcomes. METHODS A structured patient education programme for prevention and early diagnosis of infective endocarditis was developed at our institution since 2016. Time delay between onset of symptoms of prosthetic pulmonary valve endocarditis and its diagnosis (defined as initiation of appropriate high-dose intravenous antibiotic treatment) was compared for patients presenting before (cohort 1) and after (cohort 2) initiation of the patient education programme. RESULTS Between 2008-2019, 26 patients (median age 24.9, range: 16.8-62.0 years, 73% male) were diagnosed with prosthetic pulmonary valve endocarditis, 13 patients (cohort 1) before (1.7 cases/year) and 13 patients (cohort 2) after June 2016 (3.7 cases/year). There were no differences in baseline characteristics or clinical presentation between the study cohorts. Overall, the median delay between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of infective endocarditis was 6 days (range: 0-133 days) with a significantly longer delay among patients in cohort 1, compared to cohort 2 (25 days, range: 5-133 days versus 3 days, range: 0-13 days, p 7 days was documented in 11/13 patients (85%) in cohort 1 as compared to 1/13 (8%) in cohort 2 (p < 0.001). Need for urgent valve replacement or permanent deterioration of prosthetic valve function was higher in cohort 1, compared to cohort 2 (11/13, 85% versus 5/13, 39%; p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS Prosthetic pulmonary valve endocarditis is increasingly recognised. A structured patient education programme may improve early diagnosis and clinical outcomes