{"title":"'Hearing students into speech': A critical exploration of nursing students' experiences of adversity","authors":"Julie Hanson, M. McAllister","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V18I1.206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V18I1.206","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Across the world, a paradigm shift in educational research and reform is calling for the inclusion of the student voice to enhance the utility and relevance of curriculum within higher education, yet within nursing education this practice is not systemic. This project collected self-reported adverse workplace events from seven nursing students across a 3-year undergraduate programme, explored the students’ perspectives on the lessons they learned and invited them to co-create curricula activities to prepare future nurses for workplace adversity. Methods: Critical social theory was the theoretical foundation of the study. Data were collected through a process of individual, guided interviews, using a critical incident questioning framework. Critical discourse analysis was used for analysis. Results: The two critical research processes—self-reflection and narrative reconstruction—used in the interviews elicited four key discourses in the data: conscientisation, liberation, agency and empowerment. Conclusions: Participants’ exposure to critical research methods raised their awareness of the complexities of professional socialisation in hostile workplace cultures. It appears that critically-reflective processes may increase nursing students’ capacity to notice, critique and respond constructively to adversity. A major insight from the data is that a poorly constructed curriculum exacerbated students’ experiences of adversity. The new insights into how critical research design gave voice to students in the co-construction of curricula activities may help undergraduate educators to implement critically-based strategies in “preparation for practice” learning modules.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127692413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jennifer Mosher, C. Gjerde, M. Wilhelm, S. Srinivasan, S. Hagen
{"title":"Interactive discussion versus lecture for learning and retention by medical students","authors":"Jennifer Mosher, C. Gjerde, M. Wilhelm, S. Srinivasan, S. Hagen","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V18I1.204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V18I1.204","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Medical educators search for the best methods for teaching medical students. With improvements in technology, it became relatively easy for instructors to supplement lectures with electronic slideshows or to create internet-based presentations with minimal or no instructor interaction. More recently, educators have focused on making teaching more interactive. Methods: During the third-year paediatric rotation, students were assigned to a slideshow lecture format or an interactive discussion format. Students completed a 20-item multiple-choice knowledge test on three occasions: a baseline test before the teaching session, a second immediately after the teaching session and another 6 months after the teaching session. Test scores and changes in test scores were compared between the groups. Number of student–teacher interactions and student evaluations of the teaching sessions were also compared between groups. Results: Both groups had a statistically-significant improvement from pre-test to post-test, as well as pre-test to 6-month and post-test to 6-month, but there was no difference between the groups. There were more student interactions in the discussion groups: 26% of students in the lecture groups compared to 77% in the discussion group. Students in the lecture group indicated that they felt more prepared, however significantly more students (74%) in the discussion group stated that they enjoyed this method of teaching compared to 51% of students in the lecture group. Conclusions: We found that students taught with passive lecture or active discussions had similar test scores despite significantly more interaction in the discussion group, but they seemed to enjoy the discussion method more than the lectures.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117102063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gender matters: Students’ perceptions of peer learning in clinical education","authors":"J. Tai, B. Canny, E. Molloy, T. Haines","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V18I1.203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V18I1.203","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is an increasingly used learning method, with demonstrated equivalence to conventional teaching methods in students’ knowledge and skill gain. Despite this, student satisfaction with PAL is varied. There are few investigations of gender as a factor influencing students’ perceptions of peer-assisted learning, and less is known about gender’s impact on participation in PAL. Methods: This study investigated the influence of gender on students’ attitudes towards, and participation in, PAL activities. One hundred ninety-one students in their first clinical year completed a self-report questionnaire over a 3-year period. The questionnaire included questions on engagement in specific PAL activities and the advantages and disadvantages of PAL. Results: Male and female students reported similar participation rates in PAL activities. Female students were more likely to report that observing others undertake a history or examination was useful to their learning. Female students were also more likely to report that PAL provided a “safe” learning environment, allowing them to take more time, let down their guard and ask questions. Conclusions: Variation in students’ attitudes when introducing PAL activities may affect their uptake. Gender is unlikely to be the sole factor affecting perceptions of PAL, but it may have an impact on readiness to engage and patterns of engagement. The perceived relative safety of PAL identified in this study, when contrasted to recent reports of bullying and harassment within medical training in Australia, may suggest that educating clinicians and students on the role of PAL could result in safer learning environments and improve learner experiences.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114444885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using a clinical computer system to assess student anatomical knowledge and understanding: A pilot","authors":"P. Kane","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.177","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.177","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Although anatomy is baseline knowledge for radiation therapists, students often do not see its clinical relevance. Radiation therapists need to interpret the anatomy visualised on computed tomography (CT) images for planning and treatment verification purposes. The Bachelor of Radiation Therapy at the University of Otago combines anatomy with imaging concepts in a first-year academic paper. Teaching includes using a treatment planning system (TPS), which permits students to make the connection between textbook anatomy and CT images. This project explored the use of a TPS as an assessment tool for anatomy. Method: The anatomical knowledge of two small cohorts of first- and second-year radiation therapy students was assessed using a treatment planning system. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted with each cohort to capture the students’ experience of the assessment. Results: Students performed no worse in this assessment compared with a similar traditional assessment. In addition, the assessment promoted student engagement with the material. Students could demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in a manner reflective of clinical practice. Concerns regarding lack of familiarity in using the planning system and fear of technological failure on the assessment day were identified, as well as a general discomfort with the absence of a “correct answer” for certain scenarios. Conclusions: This study shows that a TPS can be used to teach and assess anatomical knowledge. Students found the TPS assessment to be more clinically relevant and were able to make connections between topics and clinical experience. Future assessments utilising a TPS should ensure students are familiar with the system prior to those assessments.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114588268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Peer mentoring for clinical educators: A case study in physiotherapy","authors":"K. Thomson, M. Nguyen, Irene Leithhead","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.175","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.175","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Providing placements for students within clinical and community contexts is an essential part of training future healthcare professionals. Placements enable students to understand and apply their theoretical knowledge in practice. Placement experiences are provided by clinical educators, who are qualified health professionals with little-to-no formal education in teaching. This paper is focused on a specific initiative for supporting these educators, a mentoring program for physiotherapy clinical educators. Methods: The program design was research-informed and participant-led, an uncommon approach to initiatives in this context. The 10-month mentoring program included formal and informal meetings, either in person or online; face-to-face workshops; and case-based discussions. To evaluate the program, participating educators were surveyed during and at the conclusion of the program. After each placement, students were surveyed about their learning experience. Results: The program resulted in better clinical placement experiences for educators and students. Students of educators who participated in the program felt that their educator spent more time with them, and they were more satisfied with the delivery, content and amount of feedback received from their educator. Clinical educators in the program reported that mentoring enhanced their ability to support learning and reflect on their role as teachers. Conclusions: The importance of clinical education in the student learning experience provides an argument for supporting educators. This paper presents evidence that peer mentoring is a viable support strategy that demonstrates positive outcomes for educators and their students.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124651016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Woodward‐Kron, C. Fraser, H. Rashid, J. Au, Yumin Chua, L. George
{"title":"Perspectives of junior doctor intercultural clinical communication: Lessons for medical education","authors":"R. Woodward‐Kron, C. Fraser, H. Rashid, J. Au, Yumin Chua, L. George","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.179","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Increasingly, junior doctors are culturally diverse due to globalisation of the tertiary education system and health workforce shortages. These graduates deliver healthcare where a proportion of the population may not have the English language skills to communicate effectively. The aim of this study was to examine perspectives of junior doctor–patient communication in a culturally diverse setting. Methods: We adopted a qualitative design with focus group discussions with junior doctors and semi-structured interviews with senior hospital staff at one regional hospital in Australia. We asked participants to discuss challenges and enabling strategies. There were five focus groups with 20 junior doctors and interviews with 10 senior doctors and 4 senior professional staff. Data were analysed thematically. Results: The two major themes to emerge in the discussion with the junior doctors were their own and the patient’s language as a barrier, and cultural influences on healthcare communication. The subthemes for language as a barrier were fluency, impact and mediated communication. The subthemes for cultural influences were uncertainty and cultural comfort. The results of the semi-structured interviews with senior clinical and hospital staff identified similar themes, yet the focus was on the junior doctors’ language ability, their ability to understand and engage with the needs of “country” people and their ability to explain complexity. Discussion: The findings suggest that intercultural communication is multi-faceted and intrinsically challenging, confirming the need for intercultural communication in medical curricula, particularly teaching that makes reference to culturally and linguistically diverse patients as well as cultural diversity in the medical workforce.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128221656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Naumann, Jia-Lin Yang, Thuan Thai, C. Ford, P. Polly
{"title":"Virtual patient consultations and the use of an ePortfolio assessment to support student learning of integrated professional skills","authors":"F. Naumann, Jia-Lin Yang, Thuan Thai, C. Ford, P. Polly","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.178","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Exercise physiology is a relatively new allied health profession and requires extensive knowledge and competency to assist patients with the management of chronic disease. Providing large numbers of students with meaningful training in competency development is important but challenging. The use of filmed or virtual patient consultations (vConsults) may support the student learning process and could be a valuable method of teaching effective teamwork skills, clinical reasoning and reflective thinking. Methods: Patient consultations were created using a virtual case study platform. The aims of the study were to determine whether virtual consultations (vConsults) can enhance the learning of professional skills and to assess their impact on student learning. Data were collected using a questionnaire and by qualitatively analysing student reflections within ePortfolios. Results: The vConsults significantly improved student confidence (p < 0.001) in conducting a cancer patient consultation, developing an exercise program to service the needs of a patient and talking with medical specialists about cancer diagnosis and treatment. All students agreed or strongly agreed that vConsults were interesting and engaging. They concurred that vConsults enabled self-paced learning, provided immediate feedback, supported their ability to work in groups and clarified and justified their thoughts with respect to patient management. Student also liked vConsults potential for future use in their practice. Most students (98%) found the structure of the model interactive and easy to follow, and all stated that the content helped them to understand clinically relevant concepts and that they would like to use more virtual consultations in their future learning. Conclusions: Pilot testing and ePortfolio assessment showed good acceptance by students, supporting their self-directed learning, reflective thinking, teamwork skills and clinical confidence.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"54 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134505366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gaps in work readiness of graduate health professionals and impact on early practice: Possibilities for future interprofessional learning","authors":"Margaret K. Merga","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V17I3.174","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: It is increasingly imperative to retain new graduates in order to meet the growing health workforce needs of Australia’s ageing population. Concurrently, there is a need to prepare graduates to work effectively in interprofessional teams by providing interprofessional educational opportunities at tertiary level, although which skills, knowledge and competencies should be delivered in an interprofessional context is a point of contention. Limited attention has been given to the identification of cross-professional gaps in entry-level work readiness of graduate health professionals that could subsequently be addressed to some extent by interprofessional education. Methods: Qualitative responses were collected from 88 Department of Health Western Australia employees using a survey tool with open fields. Respondents were recent graduates across a range of health professions. Responses were analysed to identify significant self-reported gaps in graduate work readiness and their impact. Results: Gaps in entry-level work readiness across multiple professions were identified. These included caseload and time management, clinical administration skills, employability, lack of experience with high-risk patients and emergencies, insufficient practicum to transform theory into practical knowledge, conflict management, and stress management and reality shock. Conclusion: The gaps identified in current graduate work readiness, across a range of health professions, should inform the focus of future interprofessional training. As such, this paper could play a role in ensuring graduates are work ready, and also provide ideas for building the interprofessional skills of the future workforce.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116715720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Discussion paper: Commissioning of medical education in the post-registration arena","authors":"Kieren Walsh, G. Rogers","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V17I2.142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V17I2.142","url":null,"abstract":"Medical education is expensive. In some circumstances, this expense has led to new models of funding post-registration education. One such approach is commissioned or tendered education. Th is model is based on a purchaser–provider split, where centrally funded authorities commission or seek tenders for post-registration medical education from education providers. Despite the growth of commissioning of medical education, there has been little public debate on its advantages or disadvantages. Th ere are a number of advantages of a commissioning model. It can act as an incentive to quality improvement, and it drives competition between providers. In addition, commissioning decisions can be devolved so that local purchasers can decide what forms of medical education they wish to pay for. It also acts as a means of increasing choice. Th ere are also disadvantages to the commissioning model. Th e process of commissioning is in itself expensive. In addition, competition might act as a barrier to integration and induce destabilisation in the system of medical education. Th is model may also suggest that there is a price for everything and that all components of medical education must be reduced to their lowest common denominator of cost. It would work best if pure market forces were unleashed, but the truth is that medical education is rarely a pure market.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"74 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116335458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Student feedback on learning and teaching: The value of focus groups","authors":"S. Edgar, W. Gibson","doi":"10.11157/FOHPE.V17I2.139","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11157/FOHPE.V17I2.139","url":null,"abstract":"Traditional methods of student feedback at both individual unit and program level consist of a range of online or paper survey instruments. Frequent systematic evaluations of this nature are carried out by all higher education institutions to meet quality assurance requirements. Evaluation reports, alongside students’ evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETs) also provide evidence for academic tenure and promotion. Likert-style survey items with limited open-ended response categories are often used for student feedback on survey instruments. Feedback is generally categorised by content, resources and organisation of the unit as well as evaluating the learning and teaching activities and quality of delivery. Feedback is often undertaken just prior to or immediately upon completion of a unit of study, thus little is gained regarding the longer-term outcomes, as perceived by students, from the whole of unit experience. Therefore, it may be questioned whether current feedback systems provide timely, detailed information that ultimately enhances future student learning. The literature presents varied arguments on the role, process and perceived benefits of SETs. It includes evidence that feedback of this nature, in isolation, is not useful for improving teacher effectiveness, whereas SETs combined with external consultation has been shown to improve outcomes (Marsh, 2007). This has led us to consider whether unit evaluation processes, in isolation of additional consultation, are optimal for improving unit offerings and subsequent student learning.","PeriodicalId":306686,"journal":{"name":"Focus on health professional education : a multi-disciplinary journal","volume":"102 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125092460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}