Standardizing dose prescriptions: An ASTRO white paper.

This white paper recommends the standardization (content and presentation order) of several "key components" of the radiation therapy prescription to facilitate accurate communication between radiation therapy care providers. The rationale, other similar efforts, and detailed considerations are described. In brief, the Task Force recommends that the prescription's "elements" include: treatment site, method of delivery, dose per fraction, total number of fractions, total dose (eg, right breast, tangent photons, 267 cGy * 16 = 4272 cGy).

Leadership Characteristics for Health Care Managers: Perspectives of Chief Executive Officers in US Hospitals.

A study was conducted to determine the perceptions of chief executive officers in US hospitals regarding the most important characteristics aspiring health care executives should possess. The results of this 2012 study were compared with a previous study conducted in 2007 to determine if the perceptions had changed over time.

A Ministudy of employee turnover in US hospitals.

A ministudy was conducted to collect self-reported employee turnover rates in US hospitals. The results indicate many hospitals are struggling with high employee turnover rates. Widespread variances in ratings were observed across hospitals, which may be due to lack of consistency in how they each calculate their employee turnover.

A comparative analysis of employee incentives in the healthcare industry.

This study is a reanalysis of employer incentives for healthcare managers. In 2007, a survey was administered to determine the top incentives used in healthcare as well as which individuals are receiving the most creative incentive packages; technical, managerial, or executive employees. A similar survey was distributed in 2012 in order to compare and see what changes have taken place in the last five years in respect to the incentives and the incentive packages used in healthcare that were first identified in 2007.

Succession planning: trends regarding the perspectives of Chief Executive Officers in US hospitals.

A study was conducted to revisit the perceptions of chief executive officers in US hospitals regarding the origin of leadership and how they felt about internally developed successors versus externally recruited successors. Furthermore, the study sought to develop understanding of how this group of executives utilizes the succession planning process, what factors impact successor identification, what positions are applicable for succession planning activities, and who is ultimately held responsible for leadership continuity within the hospital industry. The results of this 2012 study were compared with a previous study conducted in 2007 to determine if the perceptions had changed over time.

An evaluation of the contouring abilities of medical dosimetry students for the anatomy of a prostate cancer patient.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common diseases treated in a radiation oncology department. One of the major predictors of the treatment outcome and patient side effects is the accuracy of the anatomical contours for the treatment plan. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine which anatomical structures are most often contoured correctly and incorrectly by medical dosimetry students.

Corporate social responsibility of future radiology professionals.

Plagued by difficult economic times, many radiology managers may find themselves faced with ethical dilemmas surrounding ongoing organizational pressures to maintain high levels of productivity with restricted resources. This often times tests the level of moral resilience and corporate social consciousness of even the most experienced radiology professionals. A study was conducted to determine what Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) orientation and viewpoint future radiology professionals may have.

Lack of performance: the top reasons for terminating healthcare employees.

One of the responsibilities of being a radiology manager unfortunately involves terminating employees. This task can be unpleasant and difficult for both the employee and the manager. It can also be filled with legal ramifications if not handled appropriately.

Chief executive officers in US hospitals: an examination of workforce demographics and educational issues.

A study was conducted to determine if workforce demographics of chief executive officers within hospitals in the United States were changing. It sought to analyze the retirement patterns and the current gender mix of chief executive officers in hospital settings within the United States. It also sought to capture the perspectives of those in top-level executive positions in regard to the educational requirements of future health care executives.

Determining return on investment for training using simple regression: a hypothetical case study for the health care industry.

Wisely allocating financial resources is essential to the success of every health care organization. Therefore, health care managers must be able to determine if dedicating the necessary funds for employee training results in an adequate return on investment. This case study examines how training programs can be evaluated in terms of business results and describes one method, simple regression analysis, that health care managers may use to help determine if the training was financially beneficial to the organization.

Employee satisfaction and employee retention: catalysts to patient satisfaction.

Over the last few years, most health care facilities have become intensely aware of the need to increase patient satisfaction. However, with today's more consumer-driven market, this can be a daunting task for even the most experienced health care manager. Recent studies indicate that focusing on employee satisfaction and subsequent employee retention may be strong catalysts to patient satisfaction.

Employee incentives in the healthcare industry.

*Employee incentives are an important part of a radiology department's ability to attract and maintain employees. For incentive programs to be successful, radiology managers must diligently look for the incentives that motivate each particular employee. *The types of incentives being used frequently in the field of healthcare vary between technical, managerial, and executive positions.

Changing workforce demographics necessitates succession planning in health care.

Health care organizations continue to be plagued by labor shortage issues. Further complicating the already existing workforce challenges is an aging population poised to retire en masse within the next few years. With fewer cohorts in the age group of 25 to 44 years (Vital Speeches Day.

Succession planning and leadership development: critical business strategies for healthcare organizations.

As labor shortages intensify, succession planning and leadership development have become strategic initiatives requiring rigorous consideration. Traditional methods of replacing personnel will not accommodate the vacancies expected to plague healthcare organizations. Managers should focus on identifying potential gaps of key personnel and adapting programs to accommodate organizational need.

Valuable human capital: the aging health care worker.

With the workforce growing older and the supply of younger workers diminishing, it is critical for health care managers to understand the factors necessary to capitalize on their vintage employees. Retaining this segment of the workforce has a multitude of benefits including the preservation of valuable intellectual capital, which is necessary to ensure that health care organizations maintain their competitive advantage in the consumer-driven market. Retaining the aging employee is possible if health care managers learn the motivators and training differences associated with this category of the workforce.

Distance learning: investing in employees' futures.

The compassion and overall efficiency of those technologists with whom the patient interacts impacts the patient's decision to utilize the facility in the future. Because employee interaction largely influences patient satisfaction, the radiology administrator is challenged to recruit, but more importantly, retain quality employees. Benefit options designed to provide employees the latitude to achieve personal goals as well as professional obligations can be valuable recruitment and retention tools.

R.T.s' interest in advanced-level certification and distance learning.

Objective: To determine the interest of radiologic technologists in obtaining advanced-level certification and their acceptance of distance learning as an educational method to pursue advanced-level certification.

Methods: Researchers surveyed a random sample of 1300 registered technologists (R.Ts) certified in radiography.

Acceptance of distance learning by radiologic technologists.

Objective: A national survey of 1300 registered radiologic technologists was conducted to determine acceptance of distance learning for continuing education, advanced certification and higher academic degree requirements.

Main Outcome Measures: Differences between the demographic data and reported acceptance levels were compared using the chi2 (chi-square) test of significance.

Results: None of the demographic variables indicated statistically significant differences in acceptance levels.

Employee retention: an issue of survival in healthcare.

Successful healthcare organizations emphasize attracting human resource assets and aggressively seek to resolve and prevent high employee turnover. Understanding the key components surrounding the importance of measuring employee turnover, learning how it affects patient care, and realizing what is needed to retain quality employees is central to the resolution. Measuring employee turnover in a healthcare department is fundamental to the success of the organization and the quality of care it delivers.

Time: a vital resource.

Resolving problems with time management requires an understanding of the concept of working smarter rather than harder. Therefore, managing time effectively is a vital responsibility of department managers. When developing a plan for more effectively managing time, it is important to carefully analyze where time is currently being used/lost.

Micromanagement--a costly management style.

Micromanagement can be advantageous in certain short-term situations, such as while training new employees, increasing productivity of underperforming employees, controlling high-risk issues, and when there can be no question of who is in charge. However, the costs associated with long-term micromanagement can be exorbitant. Symptoms such as low employee morale, high staff turnover, reduction of productivity and patient dissatisfaction can be associated with micromanagement.