scholarly journals Attitudes towards continuing professional development: a qualitative study of Australian paramedics

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett Williams ◽  
Tanya Edlington

BackgroundIn December 2018 Australian paramedics and the paramedicine discipline became nationally registered under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Paramedics are now required to register and satisfy registration requirements in order to work as a paramedic. One of the mandatory registration standards is continuing professional development (CPD). This study examines attitudes and perceptions held by Australian paramedics in relation to CPD. MethodsA qualitative research project was undertaken using semi-structured interviews. A purposive snowballing sampling technique was employed to invite paramedics currently working in Australia to participate in telephone-based interviews. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. The transcripts were read several times to determine repeated themes and these themes were then coded by two authors. Data saturation was considered to have occurred after 18 interviews. ResultsEighteen paramedics responded and were interviewed; 16 of the respondents were male with the majority coming from Victoria. Broadly, four key themes were identified from analysis of the interviews. These included: 1) identification of CPD activities and requirements, 2) motivation, 3) factors influencing choice of activity, and 4) barriers.ConclusionThere was general acceptance of the need for paramedics to stay up-to-date with current practice. Generally, this was seen as a responsibility of the employer but some individuals made the distinction between employment requirements and professional requirements. We would encourage ongoing research in this area particularly as CPD develops over time for paramedicine in Australia.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope Ann Elizabeth Main ◽  
Sarah Anderson

UNSTRUCTURED Introduced in 2010, the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme currently regulates 16 health professions under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (National Law) as enforced in each state/territory. The National Law requires that National Boards must develop, consult on and recommend certain registration standards to the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council. These core registration standards are generally reviewed every five years in line with good regulatory practice. The registration standards for continuing professional development (CPD) and recency of practice (ROP) for most National Boards are currently under review. The aim of the systematic review is to support the National Boards to develop more consistent, evidence-based, effective standards that are clear, easy to understand and operationalise. It is designed to build on earlier research commissioned and/or undertaken by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) for previous reviews of the CPD and ROP registration standards and is based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. This protocol outlines the scope and methodology that will be used to conduct a systematic review of evidence for continuing professional development and recency of practice to inform a review of the standards for regulated health professionals in Australia.


Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Natalie Crown ◽  
Beth A. Sproule ◽  
Miles J. Luke ◽  
Micheline Piquette-Miller ◽  
Lisa M. McCarthy

A continuing professional development (CPD) program for pharmacists practicing in community and team-based primary care settings was developed and evaluated using Moore’s framework for the assessment of continuing medical education. The program had three components: online lectures, a two-day training workshop, and patient case studies. Knowledge (pre-post multiple choice test); attitudes, readiness, and comfort with applying pharmacogenomics in their practices (pre-post surveys); and experiences of implementing pharmacogenomics in practice (semi-structured interviews) were assessed. Twenty-one of 26 enrolled pharmacists successfully completed the program, and were satisfied with their experience. Almost all achieved a score of 80% or higher on the post-training multiple choice test, with significantly improved scores compared to the pre-training test. Pre- and post-training surveys demonstrated that participants felt that their knowledge and competence increased upon completion of the training. In the follow-up, 15 pharmacists incorporated pharmacogenomics testing into care for 117 patients. Ten pharmacists participated in semi-structured interviews, reporting strong performance in the program, but some difficulty implementing new knowledge in their practices. This multi-component CPD program successfully increased pharmacists’ knowledge, readiness, and comfort in applying pharmacogenomics to patient care in the short-term, yet some pharmacists struggled to integrate this new service into their practices.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley I Innes ◽  
Vicki Cope ◽  
Kenneth J Young

Abstract Background Professional associations are perceived to promote their professions and support their members. They can provide assistance with complaints, negotiate favourable professional indemnity insurance rates, provide access to research libraries and databases, and organise continuing professional development events. Despite these apparent advantages, about 1 in 3 Australian chiropractors choose not to belong to either of the two professional associations. Our study had three objectives: 1) to explore the views of non-member chiropractors about professional associations in general; and 2) seek to understand the motivations of non-member Australian chiropractors about not joining a professional association; and 3) to discover their reasons that might lead them to join a professional association. Methods This was a qualitative descriptive study utilising in-depth semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions for thematic analysis conducted from January to March 2020. It was estimated that between 6 -15 participants in total would be required to achieve saturation of data, that is, the point where no new themes were being articulated. Participants had to be registered chiropractors who had not been members of a professional association (PA) for the last five years. Recruitment was through a Facebook ad and snowball sampling. Interviews were transcribed and imported into NVivo qualitative analysis software, allowing identification of key concepts surrounding non-membership of chiropractic professional associations. Results Five themes were identified from the data. They were: “Not worth the money”, “Tarnished image of the profession”, “Going it alone / what’s in it for me”, “Lack of visibility”, and “Two warring factions”. The most commonly voiced suggestions for improvement included providing continuing professional development/lectures, frequent email updates about events affecting practice/business, improve the image of the profession through the media, and act as a regulator to the profession. Conclusions Non-members are looking for PAs to enhance the respectability of the profession in a manner that ultimately results in increased patient volume and the provision of readily accessible day-to-day resources and information. These results can inform the construction of a survey for the broader chiropractic non-membership community to confirm and expand upon these findings and improve PAs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Hobbs ◽  
Scott Devenish ◽  
David Long ◽  
Vivienne Tippett

Introduction As registered health professionals, Australian paramedics are required to abide by professional registration standards including the maintenance of continuing professional development (CPD). The broader health literature identifies facilitators, barriers and motivators for engaging in CPD, however the body of knowledge specific to paramedicine is weak. This research seeks to address this gap in the paramedicine body of knowledge. Methods This study adopts a constructivist grounded theory methodology. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and analysed using first and second cycle coding techniques. Paramedics from various state-based Australasian ambulance services and private industry (N=10) discussed their experiences specific to their attitudes, perceptions and engagement about CPD. Results Paramedic CPD goes beyond the traditional approach to mandatory training. Paramedics are motivated by factors such as modality of delivery, professional expectations, clinical/professional improvement and, sometimes, fear. Facilitators included organisational support, improved clinical knowledge, practitioner confidence, self-directed learning opportunities and perceived relevance of content. Barriers include cost, workload/fatigue, location, rostering, lack of incentive to engage, lack of employer support and technological problems. Conclusion By understanding what facilitates or motivates engagement in CPD activities, paramedics can navigate their CPD in conjunction with regulatory requirements. Although paramedics report some similar experiences to other health professionals, there are nuances that appear specific to the discipline of paramedicine. Of interest, a unique finding related to fear influencing paramedic CPD engagement. The results of this study informs paramedic employers and paramedic CPD providers with insights to assist in the development of positive CPD experiences and interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-95
Author(s):  
Tri Murwaningsih ◽  
Hery Sawiji ◽  
Wiedy Murtini ◽  
Nur Rahmi Akbarini

This research aimed to identify the activities needed by teachers in holding the Continuing Professional Development Program. This research employed survey type of non-experimental quantitative research method. This type of research was used when the author wants to find out the population’s opinion by conducting a study on the sample of population. The population of research consisted of all teachers of Vocational High School in Business and Management field in Surakarta City Residency. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. Techniques of collecting data were observation, interview, documentation, and questionnaire. Quantitative data obtained was the one processed using Microsoft Excel with the scale specified by the author, while qualitative data was analyzed using triangulation technique. The result of research showed that Program Continuing Professional Development had been conducted despite different proportion for self-development, scientific publication, and innovative work. Thus, the appropriate strategy was required to solve some problems encountered by teachers


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e033181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iakovos Theodoulou ◽  
Michail Sideris ◽  
Kola Lawal ◽  
Marios Nicolaides ◽  
Aikaterini Dedeilia ◽  
...  

ObjectivesFaced with a costly and demanding learning curve of surgical skills acquisition, the growing necessity for improved surgical curricula has now become irrefutable. We took this opportunity to formulate a teaching framework with the capacity to provide holistic surgical education at the undergraduate level.SettingData collection was conducted in all the relevant healthcare centres the participants worked in. Where this was not possible, interviews were held in quiet public places.ParticipantsWe performed an in-depth retrospective evaluation of a proposed curriculum, through semi-structured interviews with 10 participants. A targeted sampling technique was employed in order to identify senior academics with specialist knowledge in surgical education. Recruitment was ceased on reaching data saturation after which thematic data analysis was performed using NVivo 11.ResultsThematic analysis yielded a total of 4 main themes and 29 daughter nodes. Majority of study participants agreed that the current landscape of basic surgical education is deficient at multiple levels. While simulation cannot replace surgical skills acquisition taking place in operating rooms, it can be catalytic in the transition of students to postgraduate training. Our study concluded that a standardised format of surgical teaching is essential, and that the Integrated Generation 4 (IG4) framework provides an excellent starting point.ConclusionsThrough expert opinion, IG4 has been validated for its capacity to effectively accommodate learning in a safer and more efficacious environment. Moreover, we support that through dissemination of IG4, we can instil a sense of motivation to students as well as develop robust data sets, which will be amenable to data analysis through the application of more sophisticated methodologies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. e38670
Author(s):  
Catharine Silva de Souza ◽  
Jamila Geri Tomaschewski-Barlem ◽  
Graziele De Lima Dalmolin ◽  
Thiago Lopes Silva ◽  
Bruna Ruoso da Silva Neutzling ◽  
...  

Objetivo: identificar estratégias de promoção que contribuam para o fortalecimento da cultura de segurança do paciente em unidades de terapia intensiva. Método: estudo qualitativo, descritivo, realizado com cinco médicos, cinco enfermeiros e 24 técnicos de enfermagem atuantes em unidades de terapia intensiva de duas instituições hospitalares do sul do Brasil em 2016. A coleta dos dados foi realizada por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas e o tratamento, pela análise textual discursiva. A pesquisa foi aprovada por Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. Resultados: emergiram três categorias: implementação de protocolos de segurança do paciente; envolvimento institucional e multiprofissional; e segurança do paciente na educação permanente. Conclusão: os profissionais de saúde consideram a implementação de protocolos na assistência à saúde, a inclusão da temática da segurança na educação permanente e o envolvimento da instituição, bem como da equipe multiprofissional, como as principais estratégias para promover e fortalecer a cultura de segurança do paciente.ABSTRACTObjective: identify promotion strategies that contribute to strengthening patient safety culture in intensive care units. Method: in this qualitative, descriptive study, data were collected in 2016 by semi-structured interviews of five physicians, five nurses and 24 nursing technicians working in intensive care units at two hospitals in southern Brazil, and analyzed using discursive textual analysis. The study was approved by the research ethics committee. Results: three categories emerged: implementation of patient safety protocols; institutional and multi-professional involvement and patient safety in continuing professional development. Conclusion: health personnel considered the implementation of health care protocols, the inclusion of safety as a topic in continued professional development and the involvement of both the institution and the multi-professional team to be the main strategies for promoting and strengthening patient safety culture.RESUMENObjetivo: identificar estrategias de promoción que contribuyan al fortalecimiento de la cultura de seguridad del paciente en unidades de cuidados intensivos. Método: estudio cualitativo, descriptivo, realizado junto a cinco médicos, cinco enfermeros y 24 técnicos de enfermería que trabajan en unidades de cuidados intensivos de dos instituciones hospitalarias del sur de Brasil, en 2016. La recolección de los datos se realizó por medio de entrevistas semiestructuradas y el tratamiento de los datos por el análisis textual discursivo. La investigación fue aprobada por Comité de Ética en Investigación. Resultados: surgieron tres categorías: implementación de protocolos de seguridad del paciente; participación institucional y multiprofesional y seguridad del paciente en la educación permanente. Conclusión: los profesionales de la salud consideran la implementación de protocolos en la asistencia a la salud, la inclusión de la temática de la seguridad en la educación permanente y la participación de la institución, así como del equipo multiprofesional, como las principales estrategias para promover y fortalecer la cultura de seguridad del paciente.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Antonia Arnaert ◽  
Hamza Ahmad ◽  
Norma Ponzoni ◽  
Catherine Oliver ◽  
Adriana Grugel-Park

Introduction and objective: A clinical nurse educators’ (CNE) work is primarily focused on ensuring that fellow registered nurses have the skills and training to improve their clinical practice and maintain their professional competence. In recent years, resource limitations and a growing emphasis on self-directed learning have increased the pressure on nurse-educators to integrate e-learning into their teaching methods. While research has evaluated the experiences of nurses on this topic, limited understanding is known of CNEs’ experiences. Purpose: This qualitative study explored the CNEs’ experiences in facilitating continuing professional development for their nurses and the integration of e-learning in a University Health Center in Quebec, Canada.Methods: The sample consisted of 7 CNEs, who had more than one to 15 years of experience in their current position. Their experiences with e-learning varied: it ranged from incorporating a video-clip in their presentations, to providing input into the learning management system they tested. Semi-structured interviews were thematically analyzed. Results: Despite participants varied levels of knowledge towards e-learning, all were convinced that this method could be used complementarily alongside hands-on training. Though they recognized the importance of human contact in teaching, they also understood the limitations of the traditional pedagogy; lacking the addition of interactive features. Despite some criticism, CNEs were able to identify opportunities where e-learning could be useful: during nursing orientation, tracking, evaluation and accreditation purposes, content refreshment, and to standardize protocols.Discussion and conclusions: More research is needed, and cooperative efforts are required from nurses and nurse-management to engage in the promotion of professional development.


Author(s):  
Desirée Dornally Antonio ◽  
◽  
Julie-Anne Regan ◽  

The continuing professional development (CPD) of teacher educators has been receiving more attention over the past two decades globally. Reportedly, teacher educators (TEs) have transitioned directly to teaching in higher education (HE) as school teachers without formal preparation or support in some cases. My study aims to understand issues that promote and or hinder the CPD of the TEs within the ecological environment of the OECS and identify policy areas as a response to issues raised. The Ecological Systems Theory of Human Development was used as the theoretical framework. A Mixed Method, exploratory, sequential QUAL-quan design, is used. Data was collected in Phase 1 through semi-structured interviews from six teacher educators and eight other participants who occupy different levels of the ecological context. In Phase 2, an online survey which was informed from the interview responses was developed and administered to the population (n=53) of the TEs. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis and simple descriptive statistics for the Phases respectively. Integration occurred at reporting and discussion of findings. Findings revealed that participants value CPD but a weak CPD culture exists. Findings indicate lack of financial support and recognition for CPD efforts, heavy workload, family commitments, costs, time and appropriate support from the various systems within the ecological environment hindered more than promoted their development. A consensus emerged among participants, that proper systems and policies are needed to systematically address the CPD of the TEs. Recommendations are made in light of the findings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-111
Author(s):  
Davoud Masoumi ◽  
Javad Hatami ◽  
Javad Pourkaremi

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on mapping the ways in which HE institutions enhance faculty members’ professional development. More precisely, by introducing a case from one of the well-established universities in Iran, the authors aim to examine the focus of faculty development (FD) activities and how FD is conducted, with a view to shedding light on the challenges of and disparities between faculty roles and areas of FD in higher education (HE) in Iran as a developing country.Design/methodology/approachIn order to explore and map the characteristics of FD and analyse the trends that Iranian HE institutions are experiencing in this area, a sequential explanatory multiple sources design, consisting of two distinct phases, was implemented (Creswell, 2012). In this design, the documents regarding the faculty professional development (decisions, agreements, The Job Structure Memorandum, and relevant documents and policies at the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and the studied HE institution) were analysed first. Next, field records were collected by means of a series semi-structured interviews with faculty members in the given HE setting.FindingsThe analysis of the collected data brought to the surface three themes, namely, FD: policies and procedures, faculties professional development in practice, and associated challenges and future prospects. These initial findings helped to understand if and how FD activities occur as well as map the challenges and complexities in faculties’ CPD in Iranian HE. Further, it discusses possible solutions to develop relevant and practical professional development.Research limitations/implicationsThis case study is partly limited to a group of faculty members’ experiences and reflections on FD in one Iranian HE institution. Conducting additional surveys and observations with a large sample of the faculties and students may verify and consolidate the findings of the study and contribute to further insights on the ways faculties’ professional development can be transformed.Practical implicationsTaking into account the findings of the study, a dynamic framework for continued professional development of faculties in Iran is developed.Originality/valueThe findings of the study present valuable insights into the FD procedures, challenges and paradoxes that seem to shape FD in Iranian HE institutions. Moreover, the findings indicated much-needed structural modifications to simplify and harmonise the policies and procedures to harness profession development. To conclude, the initiatives and action plans that may contribute to FD and reshape the Iranian HE landscape is discussed. The applications and implications are also relevant for similar HE systems in developing countries.


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