Professional experiences in the transition of Cuban-trained South African medical graduates

Background: Medical educators have been tasked to provide Cuban-trained Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) with adequate learning exposures to become integrated into the South African healthcare workforce. International research suggests that FMGs face multiple challenges during the transition from practising medicine in countries other than where they had been trained. The transitional experiences of international FMGs are well documented, but little is known about the challenges faced by Cuban-trained graduates upon reintegration into South Africa. An improved understanding of the challenges will provide insight into how medical educators can best support Cuban trained graduates in their final phase of training in the South African context.This study explored the challenges experienced during the professional transition of Cuban-trained FMGs with reference to Schlossberg’s transitional theory.Methods: A qualitative case study was used to interview a purposive sample of 20 Cuban-trained FMGs who studied between January 1997 and December 2007. Data were collected through audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews, which were analysed thematically.Results: The findings indicate that FMGs’ experienced educational and social stress, which was linked to the transitional situation itself. Challenges during reintegration included bias and discrimination, language, educational differences, and becoming familiar with patients from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds. They drew on peer and institutional support that was mainly informal and varied across disciplines and the medical schools.Conclusion: Recommendations include a national multidisciplinary consolidated approach to provide personal and professional support at national, institutional, and departmental levels. The creation of mentoring networks will optimise Cuban-trained FMGs’ transitional experiences for returning students.

TRANSITIONAL EXPERIENCES OF TERTIARY EDUCATION SUBSIDY GRANTEES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

This is a qualitative research describing the transitional experiences of Tertiary Education Subsidy grantees in Eastern Visayas. The participants were fifteen (15) purposively selected key informants from different SUCs in Region VIII. Using thematic analysis, the results revealed that prior to inclusion to the Tertiary Education Subsidy Grant the participants experience financial difficulties in sustaining their school and household needs; as a TES grantee, participants indicated a positive impact of the grant to their family and personal economic capacity; participants reported the problems they encountered such as delayed release of fund and difficulty in the enrolment of new cash card; the grantees claimed that they were thankful for the said grant and expressed their gratitude to the government. KEYWORDS: TES Grantees, transitional experiences, personality adjustments, subsidy

Transitional Experiences from Clinical Nurse Experts to Novice Nurse Lecturers in the University for Local Development in Thailand: A Phenomenological Study

Background: Nurse lecturers play a vital role in producing professional and competent nurses through teaching and practicing in universities. It is challenging for clinical nurse experts to adapt to being nurse lecturers in the university for local development. Exploring this transitional experience is essential to learn how nurses adapt themselves to their new roles.Purpose: This study aimed to describe the transitional experiences from clinical nurse experts to novice nurse lecturers in the context of the university for local development.Methods: The Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology was used as a research methodology. The purposive sampling was utilized to select eight novice nurse lecturers as participants. Data were ethically collected using in-depth interviews, observations, field records, and voice recordings. The collected data were then transcribed verbatim, and a thematic analysis based on van Manen’s method was applied for data analysis.Results: The findings showed five major themes and four sub-themes, including: (1) Reasons for becoming a nurse lecturer in the university for local development, consisting of having a successful career and desiring to serve the community in their hometown; (2) Learning to work by relying on themselves; (3) Learning and teaching through an offered service for local development; (4) Seeking support, consisting of focusing on students as moral support and asking for recommendations from colleagues; and (5) Confidently moving forward.Conclusion: Understanding transitional experience from clinical nurse experts to novice nurse lecturers in the university for local development is very challenging, especially in managing difficulties in the role transition. It is expected that nursing schools provide an effective orientation and mentorship programs to help nurse lecturers promote their role transition efficiently.

Responding to Covid‑19: Experiences of Ashesi University’s Student Affairs Team

The Covid‑19 pandemic has revealed the abilities or lack thereof of many higher education institutions to adequately support the academic and co‑curricular needs of students in times of crisis. In this reflective practitioner account, Schlossberg’s Transition Theory is used to analyse the transitional experiences of students amid the Covid‑19 pandemic and how the Office of Student and Community Affairs (OSCA) team at Ashesi University successfully supported students as they navigated the academic semester. One-to-one interviews with department heads of the five OSCA units were conducted alongside focus group discussions with a cross-section of 17 students. The findings suggest that (i) advising, (ii) engagement, and (iii) timely online support interventions contributed immensely to students’ success in transitioning from in‑person to remote learning.

‘I was really, really shocked’: A sociological exploration of the transition experiences of English Youth Academy male footballers from school to work

The world of football arguably brings together and unites people in support of their teams and countries, while inspiring young children and adolescents to dream of a professional career. Existing research in the field has sought to begin to understand what professional footballers experience on their journey through the game. However, much of this UK-based research has focused on first team players and their professional experiences, including transitions from youth team to first team and to retirement. This study, therefore, aimed to examine players during their youth academy scholarship at one English Championship club. This study focused on the transitional experiences of youth players from school to the academy and their resulting embodying of a footballer’s identity. Twelve semi-structured interviews with players aged 17–19, were conducted and then analysed by thematic analysis using figurational sociology concepts. Three different types of transition were identified. Among other reasons, early specialisation in football was a prevalent factor that partly influenced the way the players experienced their transition. The transition into the academy coincided with the transition from youth to adulthood that was arguably anything but linear as players managed the dominant sub-cultures present in the club.

Navigating the territories of transition: An exploration of the experiences of transnational social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand

This qualitative study conducted three focus groups with transnational social workers (TSWs) in three cities of Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim of the study was to examine the transitional experience of TSWs, particularly in relation to any strategies and mechanisms existing in the host country to facilitate their personal and professional transition. A significant finding is that a coherent profession-wide programme for facilitating the transition is absent as the existing practices are mostly within the employer–employee relationships. Transitional experiences of TSWs are explained using the metaphor of ‘territory’ and some strategies for effective transition are suggested.

Transitioning, Belonging, and the Black Student Experience: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the orientation and transitional experiences of Black undergraduate students at Metropolitan State University (MSU, pseudonym) an urban, public research university in the southeastern region of the United States. MSU is a unique research site for this study, as Black students’ six-year graduation rates equal that of White students. Using sense of belonging as a conceptual framework, the research team collected data from 28 participants in seven focus groups throughout the 2018-2019 academic year. Findings revealed that participants experienced disparate orientation and transitional experiences, as well as a poor racial climate throughout their time at MSU. Specifically, participants noted a shortage of Black faculty, limited Black cultural programming, and a need for identity-based space. Among working with campus partners to improve the racial climate, implications for orientation professionals include recruiting professional and student staff members who represent the racial composition of the university and ensuring culturally relevant content during orientation programs.