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Attrition and Turnover Intentions of Paramedic Program Directors in the State of Texas
Get PDFPrehospital care currently finds itself in a critical crisis as the number of emergency medical technicians continues to decline nationwide. This is especially alarming as such shortages have been exacerbated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergency medical service agencies are looking to educational institutions to ensure that an adequate number of providers are entering the field. These institutions are led by program directors, who oversee all aspects of the program. However, these individuals are also leaving the role at alarming rates nationwide. The purpose of this action research study was to take a qualitative descriptive approach to explore regional and national factors that influence paramedic program directors’ intentions to leave the director role within the state of Texas. Through the use of semistructured interviews, the study provides a foundation for suggestions to help address the high attrition rates of these key individuals at the local, state, and national levels. The results demonstrated that, while various intrinsic and extrinsic motivators have a positive impact on the paramedic program director’s job satisfaction, these incentives do not offset the excessive workload placed on these individuals due to various national, state, and institutional factors. Such a workload was also recognized to impact the program directors’ work-life balance negatively. These factors contributed to a turnover intention within the sample that were significantly higher than the national average. Several recommendations were made to help mitigate the attrition of these vital program leaders including streamlining the requirements to maintain accreditation status, aligning state requirements to better match accreditation standards to reduce the replication of documentation, and ensuring that the organization is providing the proper resources so that the workload can be delegated effectively. Further research into the cause and effect of paramedic program director attrition is warranted, with several recommendations provided
Evaluating “GRIT” (Genuine Relationships, Intergenerationally Tied) Groups at the Highland Church of Christ: An Intergenerational Enhancement of Small Group Community Life
Get PDFABSTRACT This project, Evaluating “GRIT” (Genuine Relationships, Intergenerationally Tied) at the Highland Church of Christ: An Intergenerational Enhancement of Small Group Community Life is a response to the request for intergenerational partnership in worship, fellowship, and ministry by the university students at Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. The church’s robust small group life was a logical place to create a vehicle in which intergenerational partners could ride for a determined period in pursuit of their common goals of furthering Highland’s mission and vision. The “Genuine Relationships, Intergenerationally Tied” or GRIT groups were formed by combining existing small groups which were joined with university discipleship groups consisting of students, student leaders, and adult spiritual mentors from the congregation who regularly volunteer in university ministry. Founded on the key principles of perichoresis and kenosis within trinitarian doctrinal theology embedded in Phil 2:2–11 and the Fuller Institute’s Growing Young theoretical principles of “key chain leadership” and “fueling warm community,” these six partnerships gathered throughout the fall 2022 semester. Equipped with a familiar curriculum modeled after the typical “Discipleship in Groups” (DIG), GRIT groups explored the themes of koinonia fellowship, generational theory, and the value of intergenerationality within a church. Along the way many discovered commonalities, shared interests, and engaged in Christian service and informal fellowship, fostering varying depths of community life outside of but inspired by the frame of the project. Focus groups convened in spring 2023 to lend insight for the future 2 enhancement of Highland’s communal life, based on their GRIT experiences. These groups’ engagement in the pastoral cycle of observation, action, and reflection in examining and cataloging their shared experiences and key learning about Highland’s high value of intergenerationality will inform both the future of university ministry at the church and the body life of the congregation. Churches interested in university students becoming deeply integrated and experiencing mutuality in church relationships and ministries during their college years will benefit from examining this project. The church and innumerable future congregations stand to benefit from the rich learning students experience in the concentration of their university years when embedded in the diverse fellowship that is possible within a local church
