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This study conducted a citation network analysis (CNA) of human performance technology (HPT) to examine its current state of the field. Previous reviews of the field have used traditional research methods, such as content analysis, survey, Delphi, and citation analysis. The distinctive features of CNA come from using a social network analysis approach to see relational and network patterns in the citation data. This CNA found that the Performance Improvement Quarterly network showed more widely but loosely connected and less centralized structural attributes than the human resource development network; the 10 most influential articles in the field were identified; frequently co-cited articles were recognized as having a strong relationship by subsequent researchers; and five cohesive subgroups showed key topics in the field (performance, instructional design, performance support, organization/workplace, and transfer of training). Implications from the results of the CNA were elaborated on for future research in HPT. © 2011 International Society for Performance Improvement.

[No abstract available]

Background: Family medicine has some constraints, which may be considered critical for physicians' career choice, and motivation may be one of them. Motivation should be seen as a determinant of career success, particularly in educational context. The aim of this study was to develop an understanding about the family medicine residents' professional motivation, based on psychological and cognitive factors. Objectives: The following objectives were set: (1) to characterize the residents, in terms of cognitive-motivational variables; (2) to evaluate their assertive skills during the vocational training. Method: In 2005, we designed a mail survey applied to all graduates entering Family Medicine, in Portugal (N = 228), at the start of their specialty program. As part of a larger observational study, a 57 Likert scale items questionnaire was designed to collect descriptive data. In this cross sectional study we present data from professional project, professional commitment, intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy expectancies, results control expectancies, initial motivation to the specialty and assertiveness skills (cross sectional study). Results: From the target population, 109 completed questionnaires (47.8%) were returned. Most of the participants indicated high levels of professional orientation (77.1%) for family medicine and 92.6% had been globally committed in practice. At the beginning of the residency, the participants had medium (59.6%) or high (33.9%) levels of motivation for choosing this specialty, 89% were intrinsically motivated and 60.5% proved to be quite assertive in their patient approach. Conclusions: These findings suggest that medical graduates, studied in this research, were globally motivated for practicing in a Family Medicine context, contradicting the overall perception of a physicians' declined interest for this specialty. These results may have implications in the design of real-life training programs for postgraduate education in Family Medicine, a time when physicians are forming expectations about their career performance and professional well being. Future researches should continue studying more deeply the professional motivation of that population, throughout the vocational training in Family Medicine residency. © 2011 CELOM.

The change toward competence-based education has implications for teachers as well as school management. This study investigates which professional development activities teachers undertake related to this change and how these activities differ among schools with various human resource (HR) policies. Two types of HR policy were involved: (1) a government-enforced, national system of Integrated Personnel Management and (2) a voluntary, integrative approach of Schooling of teachers, Organizational development of schools and teacher training institutes, Action- and development-oriented research, and Professional development of teachers. Semi-structured interviews with 30 teachers in nine schools with different HR policies were held and analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Findings show that teachers undertake professional development activities in five categories: maintaining knowledge base, applying and experimenting, reflection, collaboration, and activities indirectly related to teaching practice. Teachers' professional development activities were found to be relatively similar across schools with different HR policies. It is concluded that neither government-enforced nor voluntary HR policies seem to play much of a role in the participation by teachers in professional development activities. Implications for further research and school practice are discussed. © 2010 The Author(s).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the opportunities and challenges involved in providing clinical inter-professional education (IPE) to physical therapy (PT) students in the acute-care setting from the perspective of PT clinical instructors (CIs). Methods: Focus groups were conducted in four acute-care hospitals in Toronto. Participants were recruited using a purposive and convenience sampling approach in order to enhance our understanding of the perceptions of acute-care PT CIs. Eighteen full-time PT CIs with an average of 11 years in practice participated. A constant comparative process was employed to identify recurrent issues and themes within and between groups Results: Three main themes emerged from the focus groups: (1) Clinical IPE happens when inter-professional collaboration (IPC) occurs; however, IPC differs according to setting, access to other professions, time, support, and structure. (2) IPE is a lifelong learning process that applies to both CIs and students. (3) Student preparedness is a prerequisite for clinical IPE. Conclusions: IPC is an integral part of clinical IPE that requires ongoing commitment and reflection by CIs to ensure that they are ready to instruct students who have some preparation in formal IPE. More knowledge about providing clinical IPE in a structured manner, through academic and health institutions, will allow CIs to become role models for future generations of PT students.

Providing graduates with a set of skills and attributes relevant to their future employment remains a key topic in both higher education policy and research. This paper reports findings from a pilot study of human resource management (HRM) students' perceptions of the graduate work experience. Specifically, it focuses on how these perceptions are shaped, driven by a concern for the uncertainty – and even fear – expressed by the study's participants in relation to their future workplace experiences. The influences of three key factors in shaping participants' expectations are discussed: the graduate recruitment experience, previous work experiences and ‘graduate work folklore’ from the stories of family and friends. With these influences not always providing students with a realistic picture of their future work experience, we conclude that educators need to improve the opportunities for practical experience and industry knowledge through work placements, stronger links with industry and increased exposure to the practicalities of work within the curriculum. © 2011, © 2011 SAGE Publications.

Introduction: This survey set out to identify innovations in teaching of ageing and geriatric medicine delivered to medical undergraduates in the UK. Methods: An electronic questionnaire which asked respondents to report innovations in teaching of which they were particularly proud was sent to all 31 UK medical schools. Results: Twenty-eight schools agreed to participate and full responses were received from 17. Thirteen of these reported innovations that were categorised in six areas - computing and technology, curriculum design, assessment, student-led teaching, multi-professional teaching, and clinical apprenticeships. The use of technology and multi-professional education were the most common areas of innovation. A broad theme touched on by most respondents was the teaching of ageing as a longitudinal theme throughout the course, across many disciplines, rather than in a discrete module. Conclusions: These data reveal a number of innovations in undergraduate teaching of ageing and geriatric medicine within the UK. Work should now focus on how to disseminate current innovations and co-operate at a national and international level to develop future teaching interventions. © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS and European Union Geriatric Medicine Society. All rights reserved.

Background: The ability to place sutures is an essential skill in dentistry. In our institution, the introduction of a video teaching aid and a checklist-based assessment has improved the standardisation of teaching as well as the transparency and objectivity of the assessment of suture skills. The aim of this study was to determine whether this skill once acquired is retained in the short term.Materials and methods: The same cohort of 67 fourth-year students performed the same assessment at two different time points 2 months apart. The first was a formative assessment and the second was a summative assessment. Feedback was collected on both occasions.Results: On the first sitting of the assessment, 93% of the students were successful compared with 79% on the second occasion. Student feedback was similar on both occasions with 77% and 75% reporting that they thought it was an easy exam. On the first occasion, 27% thought that it was a stressful examination compared with 43% on the second occasion, which may have affected their performance.Conclusions: These findings suggest that regular reinforcement is required to avoid deterioration of suturing skills even in the short term. This might involve exposing the students to surgery earlier in the course and introducing regular formative assessments which the students appear to associate with less stress. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Aims and objectives: This paper presents findings from a small piece of interpretive research into the lived experience of trained nurses who fulfilled the role of workplace mentors for Foundation degree students. The interprofessional landscape of workplace learning is also examined. Background: The participants were all employed in acute care settings in a large UK National Health Service hospital and provided mentorship to Healthcare Assistants studying the adult pathway of a Foundation degree in Health and Social Care; in preparation for the role of the Assistant Practitioner. Design: A purposive sample of eight workplace mentors (who had supported at least one Foundation degree student) were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Method: All interviews were audio recorded and subsequently transcribed. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to uncover the lived experience of workplace mentors and 10 major themes were generated from the data. Results: The findings suggest that the mentorship of work-based learners presents mentors with a range of challenges that are quite different from pre-registration students given the situatedness of the learner in their clinical team. Conclusion: While the mentorship of work-based learners in busy clinical environments is challenging, the relationship between mentor and mentee appears to have greater equality due to the situatedness of the student in the clinical team. As a result workplace mentors seem to benefit from a relationship lacking in the hierarchical features that characterise traditional mentoring. Awareness of the unique experience of work-based learners and mentors needs to be raised, particularly where students are seeking to complete their Foundation degree to emerge as Assistant Practitioners. Relevance to clinical practice: Trained nurses undertaking the role of workplace mentor in support of Foundation degree students, do so to provide coaching that (in a developmental relationship), places them in the vanguard of an emerging professional group; the Assistant Practitioner. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Background: General practitioners need the skills to perform a core set of procedures. The increase in community based medical education gives GPs more opportunity and responsibility to facilitate medical students and junior doctors' acquisition of these core skills. Objective: This article summarises how procedural skills are learned and describes a practical framework for constructing a supportive learning environment that is safe for patients and learners. Discussion: Procedural skills are learned in stages starting with a 'big picture' concept of the skill and its place in clinical care. Next the skill becomes fixed through deliberate practice with specific, constructive feedback based on observation. Autonomous practice is reached after further practice and exposure to increased complexity. General practitioners can facilitate skill development by using a staged learning cycle, building on their learner's prior knowledge and skill.