FY06 NIRS CHANGES: TRAINEES
NIRS TRAINEES Dataset
FY06 Data Entry Changes
Items that represent substantial changes are noted with a óMAIN TRAINEE RECORD
ó / 1. We have changed our definitions of short- and intermediate-term trainees to match the definitions used by MCHB. As a result, beginning in FY06, Short-term Trainees will not be captured in the Trainee Dataset. Centers may still capture trainees with 40 or more hours in the Trainee Dataset, but the following definitions have changed:
· Our previous definition of Short-term trainees has been revised to match MCHB’s definition of 0-39 hours.
· Our previous definition of Intermediate-term trainee has been revised to match MCHB’s definition of 40-299 hours.
· The definition of Lon-term trainees remains unchanged.
ó / 2. Display only fields for Training Start Date and Training End Date have been added to the Main Record. These fields will be auto-populated from the Year Start Date and Year End Date (formerly entitled Training Start Date and Training End Date, respectively).
These auto-fill fields were added, rather than moving the start and end date fields from the year records, to allow Centers to continue tracking the time a trainee spends in their program each year while more clearly delineating the over-all training start and end dates.
The Training Start Date is auto-populated from the earliest Year Start Date provided in the trainee’s year record(s). Until the trainee’s first year record is created and a Year Start Date provided, this field is blank.
The Training End Date is auto-populated from the latest Year Completion Date provided in the trainee’s year record(s). This is the date that will be used to determine when a trainee exited the training program and for purposes such as conducting trainee follow-up surveys.
3. To better match what MCHB collects in the new Electronic Handbook (EHB), the “Highest Degree” field has been changed to “Academic Degree(s) Achieved.”
4. To address privacy issue concerns and insure that we are only requiring essential data, “Permanent Contact Information” is no longer required, although it is still recommended.
5. A “Permanent Phone” field has been added.
ó / 6. The “Race/Ethnicity” data collection strategy has been overhauled for the Activity and Trainee datasets. Beginning in FY06, the NIRS race and ethnicity categories will be consistent with the US Census categories.
Most notably, the current “Hispanic or Latino” option has been transformed into a stand-alone data element. “Multi-racial” has been re-labeled “Two or more races.” Additionally, the “please specify” option next to “other” has been eliminated due to substantial data creep problems.
Trainee and Activity data previously identified as “Hispanic” will be mapped to “Hispanic” for ethnicity and “other” for race.
These changes will enable Centers to better compare their data with US Census data. The following categories will be displayed in FY06:
Race
· White refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
· Black or African American refers to people having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
· American Indian and Alaskan Native refer to people having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. Tribe:______
· Asian refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent (e.g. Asian Indian).
· Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
· Two or more races includes individuals who identify with two or more racial designations.
· Other is included for individuals who are unable to identify with the categories.
Ethnicity
Hispanic is an ethnic category for people whose origins are in the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America or who identify with a Spanish-speaking culture. Individuals who are Hispanic may be of any race.
· Hispanic
· Non Hispanic
ó / 7. The field “Position of Trainee at Admission” has modified:
A. It was moved to Main Record from the Year Record, as MCHB has indicated that this information only needs to be collected upon admission.
B. The label has been changed to “Position Setting at Admission” to clarify the information to be captured in the field and match the EHB.
C. The menu options for have been changed to be more clear and intuitive, in response to questions over definitions of previous categories. The new menu choices that will be displayed in FY06 are:
· Student (i.e., their primary occupation was being a student)
· Schools or School System (includes EI, elementary and secondary)
· Post-Secondary Setting
· UCEDD/LEND/LEAH/PPC
· Government Agency
· For-Profit
· Non-Profit
· Public Health/Title V
· Hospital
· Private Practice
· Other
ó / 8. The field “Position Title” has been modified.
A. It has been moved from the Year Record to the Main Record as MCHB has indicated that this information only needs to be collected upon admission.
B. The label has been changed to “Position Title at Admission” to clarify the information to be captured in the field and match the EHB.
TRAINEE YEAR RECORD
ó / 9. To better match data required in the EHB, the existing “Current Enrollment Status” field has been replaced with two fields: “Academic Level” and “Degree Program.” The “Academic Level” is a pull down menu of choices and the “Degree Program” field is a text box.
ó / 10. The field “Position in Program” has been added to meet Centers’ needs. Centers can use this field to record the trainee’s role in their training program each year (i.e. psychology fellow)—a function for which many Centers were using the previous Position Title (now Position Title at Admission) field.
11. To better match data required in the EHB, “Enrollment Status” (full- or part-time) field has been made mandatory.
ó / 12. The “Student Discipline” categories have been overhauled. Beginning in FY06, the categories include only those categories that are required by MCHB/ADD or categories that have been specifically requested by the network:
Audiology
Dentistry/Pediatric Dentistry
Disability Studies NEW
Education: Early Intervention/Early Childhood
Education: General Education
Education: Special Education
Family Studies NEW
General Medicine
Genetics
Health Administration
Human Development/Child Development
Interdisciplinary
Nursing
Nutrition
Occupational Therapy
Pastoral NEW
Pediatrics
Physical Therapy
Psychiatry
Psychology
Public Health
Social Work
Speech-Language Pathology
Other
Discipline information gathered to date will be maintained so that that Centers may access
their historical data.
ó / 13. In response to network requests, we have modified the data entry for trainee contact hours. Users are now asked to input only the current contact hours (i.e., for the current reporting period only), and NIRS will automatically add each year record’s contact hours for “Cumulative Contact Hours” (previously entitled Total Contact Hours) for each trainee.
ó / 14. We have modified the Training Start Date and Training End Date fields:
A. The labels have been changed to “Year Start Date” and “Year End Date,” respectively.
B. The fields will now be used to collect training start and end dates for the fiscal year. It was previously unclear whether this data should be different for each fiscal year or updated so that all fiscal year start and end dates matched the duration of training.
C. The earliest “Year Start Date” and latest “Year End Date” will now auto-populate “Training Start Date” and Training End Date” fields in the Main Record (see Main Trainee Record, 2).
ó / 15. We have added “Trainee Type” fields to better respond to Centers’ reporting needs to both MCH and ADD. These fields contain the previously existing question “Is this a LEND Trainee?” and adds a new question “Is this a UCEDD Pre-service Prep and Continuing Education Trainee?” Both questions are required.
These two questions will be used to query Trainees from NIRS for reporting on Progress Reports, Performance Measures, etc. and are essential for accurate reporting to MCH and ADD:
· For transferring trainee information to the EHB, only Trainees records with a Yes answer for “Is this a LEND Trainee” will be transferred.
· For reporting relevant Trainee information to ADD, only Trainee records with a Yes answer for question “Is this a UCEDD Pre-service Prep and Continuing Education Trainee?” will be captured in the standard reports.
· If a trainee is to be reported to both MCH and ADD, then Yes must be selected for both questions.
ó / 16. The fields under “Support Type” have been revised to be more intuitive and to better match MCH reporting requirements and. The new “Support Type” categories are grouped by:
· Core Grant Funding (MCH, ADD, OSEP)
· Other Funding (Clinical Fees, Academic Department, Internships, Fellowships/Scholarships, and Other)
· Not Applicable/None
ó / 17. We have added a new link between the Products and Trainee datasets. This function will meet EHB requirements.
The function “Products Produced by the Student this Year” works identically to the “Product Dissemination” function found under “Developing & Disseminating Information” in the Activities dataset.
18. Two fields have been moved to the end of the Trainee Year data entry screen: “Type of Participation” and “Which of the following training curricula is the trainee completing?”
Although this information is not required by MCHB or ADD, the network has expressed interest in continuing to have the option to collect this information. We have clarified on screen that these are optional fields.
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