<p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how institutional infrastructures influence the experience of faculty holding joint appointments by exploring this phenomenon in three U.S. schools of public health. The data for this research were collected through interviews with joint faculty as well as key administrators at each of the three sites. Observations from site visits as well as institutional documents were also used as part of the case study design. Institutional documents included accreditation self-study reports, institutional bylaws and policies, websites, and strategic plans. </p><p> Analysis of the case studies suggests that it is not a specific administrative infrastructure per se that prevents problems associated with joint appointments and/or promotes faculty satisfaction; rather, what matters is how the infrastructure aligns with organizational culture. In addition to looking inward to institutional culture, the study also suggests that schools should 1) foster strong faculty mentoring for joint faculty, 2) prioritize institutional transparency around joint appointment decision-making, 3) value and appreciate the unique arrangements and contributions of joint faculty and 4) recognize that place in career may influence joint faculty experience. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)</p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine, from a constructivist career development perspective, the factors of well-being and vocational identity that emerged among a diverse sample of upper-division undergraduate students. This study also examined which factors of vocational identity predicted well-being and which factors of well-being predicted vocational identity. Participants included 411 diverse, upper-division health science students from a public university in Southern California. The first two research questions that guided this study were designed to explore emergent factors of well-being and vocational identity using items from the PERMA Well-Being Profiler (PERMA) and the Vocational Identity Status Assessment. The final two research questions were designed to examine the best predictors of well-being among the factors of vocational identity and the best predictors of vocational identity among the factors of well-being. To address the research questions, data obtained from surveys was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.</p><p> The findings of this study demonstrated that PERMA theory and Vocational Identity Status theory explained the constructs of well-being and vocational identity among the diverse sample with few exceptions. Further, the PERMA and VISA instruments proved valid and reliable among the diverse sample. In-depth career exploration, identification with career commitment, and career self-doubt were the vocational identity factors that best predicted well-being. Meaning, accomplishment, and engagement were the well-being factors that best predicted vocational identity.</p><p> Recommendations based on the findings of this study included revisiting performance based funding policies to incorporate the measurement of well-being and vocational identity as metrics of student success alongside more objective measures like retention, GPA, and time to graduation. Further, recommendations were offered for integrating well-being and vocational identity enhancing activities and interventions into current practices in classroom, counseling, and advising settings. Recommendations for qualitative, experimental, and longitudinal research designs were offered based on the findings of this study.</p>

<p> This study examined the relationship of the scores on the Practice Exam &amp; Assessment Tool (PEAT) to the scaled scores on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). A correlation analysis examined the relationship of the exam scores from three cohorts of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students on the PEAT and NPTE. This study sought to determine if the performance on the PEAT was a predictor of first-time pass rate on the NPTE. It was expected that PEAT scores would have a positive correlation to the NPTE scores. The results indicated a moderate to strong correlation between overall PEAT scores as well as subtest scores with the NPTE. In addition, students that passed the PEAT were highly likely to pass the NPTE on the first attempt. Not only did students that passed the PEAT go on to pass the NPTE, but a significantly high number of those students who failed the PEAT (60.7%) were found to have gone on to pass the NPTE on the first attempt as well. The multiple regression formula was found to be highly significant with the overall PEAT score and the four subtest scores in predicting performance on the NPTE. In the equation, Evaluation and Examination carried the most weight with respect to the prediction of the NPTE scaled score. This formula can be used to predict overall NPTE scores based on PEAT scores as well as to demonstrate the areas of needed remediation. The results obtained from this study will be useful in better preparing future graduates for successful performance on the NPTE. Students, who do not pass the PEAT, will be remediated, particularly in the areas of Evaluation and Examination, in order to be adequately prepared for the NPTE. </p><p>

<p> The purpose of this research study was to examine the difference between three levels of nursing students (sophomore, junior, senior) and their assessed emotional intelligence (EI) scores. A quantitative, quasi-experimental study was conducted with a population of nursing students from five separate campuses at Montana State University, and a control group of education students at the University of Montana. The following research question was explored in this study: What difference, if any, does nursing education have on the emotional intelligence scores of sophomore, junior, and senior Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students? Students voluntarily completed the online EQ-i 2.0 assessment resulting in composite standard scores with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 calculated for the total, scale and subscale EI scores. Mean total standard EI scores were 103.59 (nursing students, n = 51) and 94.43 (education students, n = 7). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and correlational statistical analyses were conducted. No statistically significant difference was found between the sophomore, junior, and senior students and their assessed EI scores. However, further analysis showed that a moderately strong positive correlation existed between participants&rsquo; ages and EI scores: (<i>r</i> = .34, <i> n</i> = 51, <i>p</i> =. 02) with <i>R</i>² = 0.11. </p><p>

The factors influencing the retention of physical therapy college faculty had not been previously substantiated. In this study investigating faculty retention, all 36 full-time faculty from the four accredited, entry-level physical therapy programs in a large southern state, received a questionnaire. Twenty-eight (78%) returned the completed questionnaire. In addition, interviews were conducted with eight consenting faculty, two from each of the four universities. Although mentors are considered by physical therapy faculty to be very valuable, mentorship alone did not significantly affect physical therapy faculty retention. In addition, no significant differences were noted between mentored and non-mentored faculty with regard to gender, rank, tenure, salary, career selection, prospects for future success, and job satisfaction. In addition, gender did not significantly influence retention, salary, tenure, rank, prospects for future success, career planning, feelings about job change or retention in present job. In this study a slightly higher percentage of women versus men were mentored. The majority of women and all men had a mentor of the same gender. Unlike women in male dominated professions, women in physical therapy faculty positions found other women and men willing to act as their mentors. Women also tended to remain in the mentoring relationship for more years than men. Mentored faculty, particularly women, had also taken on the role of mentor, thus perpetuating the mentor relationship legacy. Both women and men experienced relatively few problems as compared with the many benefits of the mentor relationship. There appeared to be a variety of factors influencing faculty retention. The questionnaire results revealed rank and tenure to influence faculty retention positively. Within the interviews, faculty most frequently mentioned other "faculty", as a positive feature attracting them to and retaining them within their institution. Salary, although not a significant finding in the survey, was mentioned several times throughout the interviews. It appeared that when salaries reach a critically low level, one lower than or approximating the salary of new graduates, faculty reconsider their options for clinical rather than academic jobs. The institution studied that had the highest retention also had the greatest percentage of tenured faculty and the second highest salary.

Over the last two decades there has been heightened interest in redefining faculty scholarship in higher education (Boyer, 1990). Trends have included the development of cultural frameworks for understanding how disciplines and institutions influence faculty work and how socialization processes impact academic career development. Despite the fact that the number of occupational therapy practitioners who have pursued doctoral training in pursuit of an academic career has failed to keep up with the need for qualified faculty, academic interest in developing disciplinary scholars to build the knowledge base of professional practice has been slow to develop. Furthermore, leadership interest in guiding the development of future faculty by studying how current occupational therapy faculty members are developing as scholars has been limited (AOTA, 2003). The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for describing scholarship in occupational therapy faculty members. A theoretically grounded case study design guided the selection of two occupational therapy departments, representing both a research university and a master’s college. Narrative data from occupational therapy faculty members in these institutions provided in-depth perceptions of how faculty members in diverse institutional settings develop a professional identity. Rich understandings of how clinical and academic socialization processes converge as faculty members in academic departments integrate competing influences from the academic culture, the institutional culture, and the professional culture to prioritize faculty work roles. The study revealed that although occupational therapy departments are succeeding within their institutional contexts, personal faculty priorities as clinicianteachers and institutional missions that create an imbalance in roles that favor teaching, continue to disadvantage certain faculty sub-cultures from evolving as disciplinary scholars. The implications of the failure of occupational therapy faculty members to adapt the researcher role as part of a professional identity include barriers to the development of disciplinary knowledge to support practice, and to the development of successful faculty careers that can be advanced in any institutional environment. The study identified a critical role for program leadership to act as change agents within departmental cultures to balance the need for productive disciplinary scholars, as well as effective clinician-teachers.

<p> College student mental health is a significant issue for educational leaders, as mental health needs are increasing in prevalence and severity (ACHA, 2013; Gallagher, 2013). Eisenberg, Downs, Golberstein, and Zivin (2009) note that mental health issues cause adverse occupational, academic and social outcomes, impacting student success, retention, and persistence (Belch, 2011; Cleary, Walter, &amp; Jackson, 2011). Anxiety and depression, which are more prevalent in women (ADAA, 2007; APA, 2013), are the most common mental health issues affecting college students (ACHA, 2013; Gallagher, 2013). </p><p> Coyne and Downey (1991) correlated social support with improved mental health outcomes. Baron (2010) indicated that involvement in student organizations may promote development and connection, thereby enhancing learning and retention (Chambliss &amp; Takacs, 2014). Female students may engage in campus life by joining sororities, which are prominent and influential on many campuses (Lien, 2002). The purpose of this research was to investigate sorority member mental health, specifically anxiety and depression. The relationships between anxiety, depression, and student characteristics were examined. </p><p> This correlational, ex-post facto study explored the presence and severity of anxiety and depression of women (N =72) who self-identified as living in sorority housing. Permission was obtained to review data from the 2013-2014 Healthy Minds Study (Eisenberg &amp; Lipson, 2014), including demographic information and results from the PHQ-9 (Kroenke, Spitzer, &amp; Williams, 2001) and the GAD-7 (Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, &amp; L&ouml;we 2006). Data analyses produced frequencies, correlations, and t-tests. </p><p> Findings revealed the following: 20% of respondents reported anxiety, with 8% percent reporting severe anxiety; 15% of respondents reported depression, with 5% reporting major depression. Financial difficulty was correlated with depression (<i>r</i> =.27, <i>r²</i>=.07, <i> p</i>=.008) and a significant relationship existed between the presence of anxiety and depression (<i>r²</i>=.36, <i> r</i>2=.13, <i>p</i>=.004). No statistically significant difference existed in reported symptoms of anxiety and depression of women residing in sorority housing compared to those residing elsewhere. Information about mental health may assist sororities in providing support and resources to members. Educational leaders, mental health practitioners, faculty, and student affairs staff can also benefit from this information as they work to help address student mental health needs, student retention, persistence, and success. </p>