Academic literature on the topic 'Health Professions (miscellaneous)'

Abstract Unpaid caregivers provide >80% of the care for the 6.2 million Americans living with dementia, yet healthcare professionals rarely refer them to community services. The Alzheimer’s Association’s “Direct Connect” (DC) referral program is provider-initiated connecting patients/caregivers with resources to improve care and quality of life. Our interprofessional team created a 15-minute curriculum to educate students about DC and how to advocate for DC use at clinical sites. Champion faculty, from each profession, utilized a common presentation, with minor modifications for professional relevance. Delivery was both synchronous/asynchronous to learners from 2 different universities with knowledgeable clinician(s) available to answer questions. A Qualtrics survey collected feedback (N=218; 105 medicine, 57 nursing, 56 pharmacy). Relevance of the curriculum to each of the 3 professions was high (1-5 scale; mean range 4.46 – 5.00), with nursing rating it as most relevant. Feedback was also quite positive across the professions (78%-92% rated the curriculum quality as excellent/very good overall), with nursing giving the highest ratings. Most learners indicated a strong likelihood of using DC in clinical settings; 64-100% are very likely or somewhat likely to do so, with nursing being most likely to make referrals. In summary, a common dementia DC curriculum was successfully implemented for learners in 3 health professions; it was highly relevant to each profession, well accepted, and perceived to be clinically actionable. Nurses tended to be the most positive on these measures. While these results are promising, DC remains underutilized and initiatives to further increase referrals from providers must be expanded.

The health education profession has made significant advances throughout the past few decades. However, health education is still described as an emerging profession. This article suggests strategies to move health education from its status as an emerging profession into that of an acknowledged profession. The authors assert that actively seeking direct third-party reimbursement will advance health education's emergence as a profession as well as increase its legitimacy in the eyes of other professions. The benefits of direct third-party reimbursement, experiences of the nursing profession's pursuit of direct third-party reimbursement, and the current status of health education are discussed. The article concludes by offering strategies for pursuing direct third-party reimbursement.

Undergraduate education often leaves future healthcare professionals insufficiently prepared for the complex and unpredictable workplace. Competency-based medical education (CBME) is widely utilised in health professions’ education, but a growing literature highlights its limitations. Capability is a complex concept which builds on competence, while embedding the integration and adaptation of knowledge, skills and personal qualities. While capability can prepare learners for uncertainty and complexity, the concept has been slow to progress within health professions’ education. We introduced the concept of capability to over 110 international health profession educators through six conference workshops, using a visual model to facilitate understanding. Participants’ post-workshop qualitative feedback was collated and thematically analysed. One hundred and thirty-three free text comments were received and four main themes identified: conceptualising capability, capability as curriculum goal, educating for capability, challenges to implementation. The need for capability resonated with participants, although most were unfamiliar with the concept prior to the workshop. The workshop enabled participants to recognise the limitations of CBME’s ‘tick box’ culture when preparing learners to address complexity. The model helped educators grasp the concept of capability and its potential value in health professions’ education. Participants were then able to identify challenges and suggest approaches for implementing capability in practice. Educating for capability is fundamental for preparing students successfully for the ‘real world’ of professional practice. Most participants agreed it should be the end goal of healthcare education curricula. Healthcare educators are likely, however, to need support to embrace this paradigm shift.

Research indicates that health disparities may be reduced by increasing the number of ethnic minorities working in health occupations. Establishing health career pathway programs for immigrant and ethnic minority students is one way to address this problem. One such program, Cross-Cultural Education in Public Health (CCEPH), was developed, implemented, and evaluated to determine whether participants expressed greater interest in pursuing health care careers after program completion. A sample of 72 immigrant students in two high schools participated in the program, which was based on Bandura's theory of self-efficacy. Data were gathered using pre- and postprogram surveys that measured academic self-efficacy and career consideration. Results for academic efficacy were not statistically significant, but interest level in health care careers rose substantially. Although further research needs to be conducted to determine whether such programs increase self-efficacy, programs such as CCEPH can increase the consideration of health careers among immigrant and ethnic minority students.

Research indicates that health disparities may be reduced by increasing the number of ethnic minorities working in health occupations. Establishing health career pathway programs for immigrant and ethnic minority students is one way to address this problem. One such program, Cross-Cultural Education in Public Health (CCEPH), was developed, implemented, and evaluated to determine whether participants expressed greater interest in pursuing health care careers after program completion. A sample of 72 immigrant students in two high schools participated in the program, which was based on Bandura's theory of self-efficacy. Data were gathered using pre- and postprogram surveys that measured academic self-efficacy and career consideration. Results for academic efficacy were not statistically significant, but interest level in health care careers rose substantially. Although further research needs to be conducted to determine whether such programs increase self-efficacy, programs such as CCEPH can increase the consideration of health careers among immigrant and ethnic minority students.

Summary The academia and the profession have long overlooked the importance of material interest in the profession of social work. In order to address this research gap, we first reviewed the historical role that material interest has played in differentiating professions from nonprofessions and analyzed its decreasing status along the development of professions due to the two competing discourses of professionalization and de-professionalization. We concluded with the fundamental question, “does material interest still matter for the professions under the current professional environments,” and answered this question by purposively selecting one of the most important organizational outcomes of the social work workplace—turnover intentions—as our dependent variable. We then conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between salary and turnover on 24 studies with a combined sample of 9343 social workers. Findings The results showed that salary was negatively related to social workers’ intentions to leave organizations (r = −.18, ρ = −.21). Specifically, both social workers’ actual salary and their satisfaction with pay and benefits were negatively associated with individual employees’ turnover intentions. Applications This research also supported Barth’s argument that despite social workers’ earnings are “unresponsive” to the labor market, they are not so different from other professions in the workforce market. Research implications both for the third model of the profession—institutionalist professionalism—in contemporary society and for salary raises were discussed.

Abstract Health professions underwent an intense institutionalization process (creation, organization and regulation) and most saw their professional councils established and regulated by the mid-20th century. To evaluate physical education professionals’ level of knowledge regarding the PE code of ethics, a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 63 physical education professionals working in 27 gyms in the city of Jequié, Bahia, Brazil. Results showed no statistical association between knowing the Code of Ethics for Physical Education Professionals and having a specialization. The interviewed professionals showed reasonable knowledge regarding the code of ethics, considering it an essential element in their professional practice.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated model of didactic, practice and interdisciplinary service learning in healthcare education, and determine the students’ perceptions on the benefits of this integration. Design/methodology/approach – A pre and post survey design was utilized to examine health professions students’ perspectives with respect to learning outcomes relevant to professional benefits of a service learning capstone. The surveys consisted of 36 items for measuring the interdisciplinary course characteristics and perceived benefits of the integrated approach. The required interdisciplinary (used interchangeably with interprofessional) course was constructed as an integrated didactic, practice interdisciplinary service learning model. The sample consisted of undergraduate students (n=53) who completed the interdisciplinary senior seminar capstone course taught by one faculty member in one of three course sections. Structural equation modeling based on partial least squares was used to analyze the significance of constructs. Students’ reflections on interdisciplinary service learning were also collected and summarized. Findings – The study demonstrated the significance of interdisciplinary course and team preparation on perceived professional benefits and positive community service learning experience. Research limitations/implications – Further studies are needed and being pursued to address practitioners’ perceptions of interdisciplinary education. To fully complete the assessment of interdisciplinary education, longitudinal studies must be pursued with graduates and their employers. A larger sample size could be used to repeat this study. Practical implications – The model employed in this study may be utilized as a component of practice education and clinical practice to address accreditation requirements, quality patient-centred care, and engaging students in valuing interprofessionalism and service. Originality/value – This study presents an integrated model of didactic, practice and interdisciplinary service learning in health professions education, and demonstrates the benefits of the model with health profession students’ perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE). This study contributes to professional learning research as the impact of IPE has been questionable due to lack of rigorous evidence.

Massage therapy education programs are responsible for preparing graduates for complex professional environments, while also ensuring graduates can access the profession by passing the regulatory body’s standardized certification or licensing examination. Massage therapists are regulated health care professionals in four Canadian provinces. They are autonomous practitioners and an integral part of the health care regime for patients with complicated health presentations. As such, they must think critically about patients’ presentations and determine the most appropriate care. This article describes the process undertaken by the faculty team of Humber College’s Massage Therapy Program in an effort to transform the existingteaching and learning strategies by incorporating principles of inquiry-based learning (IBL).