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"human"

This paper discusses the interaction between healthcare policy at the European, UK and Scottish levels and the funding of education that underpins specific health policy priorities. Stroke is used throughout to illustrate the relationship between a designated European and UK health priority and the translation of that priority into clinical delivery. The necessity to build a responsive and sustainable culture to address the healthcare education that underpins changing healthcare policies is emphasized. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The skills required of construction craftsmen are determined by factors related to their work environment such as the prevailing technology, materials and methods of work, and their employment relationships. As these factors change over time, it follows that the skill sets of the craftsmen will also change. An argument put forward by several writers is that the traditional classes of skills are inadequate to cope with the range of work required in today's construction sector. In addition, these changes, which create new knowledge, skills and attitudes that the craftsman requires for adequate work performance, highlights the crucial role of training in ensuring that the craftsmen are equipped with the appropriate skills. The Kenyan construction sector has experienced dramatic changes in the work environment of craftsmen over the last 20 years, driven mainly by the decline of the formal sector, the increased casualisation of operatives, and the growth of informal procurement. This has arguable led to equally significant changes in the nature of and demand for crafts skills. This paper reports on the findings of a pilot study that sought to investigate the type of skills that Kenyan craftsmen are acquiring. The results show that, in addition to the traditional trade skills, the craftsmen are acquiring generic skills e.g. material specification, estimation, supervision and costing. These new skills are driven mainly by changing employment relationships, particularly between the craftsmen and employers utilising informal procurement rather than the skills required by the formal construction sector. Consequently, the changing skills requirement among craftsmen highlights the need to overhaul the existing training programmes to meet the changing needs of the construction sector.

Much attention has been focused on integrating competency-based curricula into educational programs in health management. Achieving the benefits of competency-based curricula requires substantial effort to identify competencies that are both specific and comprehensive, and that reflect consensus among faculty and stakeholders. The objective of this paper is to describe an approach to competency-based curriculum development and monitoring of students' progress toward competency achievement. Our approach identifies 20 competency areas, organized in technical, analytical/conceptual, and interpersonal domains. We demonstrate how individual courses can be mapped to these 20 competency areas and provide survey data on students' and graduates' self-rated competencies. We find the self-rated competencies of new graduates were significantly higher than the self-rated competencies of entering students in 17 of the 20 areas. Our work illustrates an approach to competency-based education that is feasible and helpful for program planning and evaluation. The list of competencies is tractable; the mapping of competencies to didactic coursework and practical experiences is clear and reflects reasonable consensus among faculty and preceptors. Finally, the approach is flexible, as competency areas can be added and removed to be responsive to new research evidence and the changing needs of the field.

[No abstract available]

Background: Few studies have assessed the efficacy of communication skills training for postgraduate physician trainees at the level of behaviors. We designed a residential communication skills workshop (Oncotalk) for medical oncology fellows. The intervention design built on existing successful models by teaching specific communication tasks linked to the patient's trajectory of illness. This study evaluated the efficacy of Oncotalk in changing observable communication behaviors. Methods: Oncotalk was a 4-day residential workshop emphasizing skills practice in small groups. This preintervention and postintervention cohort study involved 115 medical oncology fellows from 62 different institutions during a 3-year study. The primary outcomes were observable participant communication skills measured during standardized patient encounters before and after the workshop in giving bad news and discussing transitions to palliative care. The standardized patient encounters were audiorecorded and assessed by blinded coders using a validated coding system. Before-after comparisons were made using each participant as his or her own control. Results: Compared with preworkshop standardized patient encounters, postworkshop encounters showed that participants acquired a mean of 5.4 bad news skills (P <. 001) and a mean of 4.4 transitions skills (P <. 001). Most changes in individual skills were substantial; for example, in the bad news encounter, 16% of participants used the word "cancer" when giving bad news before the workshop, and 54% used it after the workshop (P <. 001). Also in the bad news encounter, blinded coders were able to identify whether a standardized patient encounter occurred before or after the workshop in 91% of the audiorecordings. Conclusion: Oncotalk represents a successful teaching model for improving communication skills for postgraduate medical trainees. ©2007 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

We consider the link between apprenticeship and large employers in Britain, in terms of the contribution of apprenticeship to intermediate skills and the contribution of large employers to the Advanced Apprenticeship (AA) programme. Evidence is taken from interviews with managers in 28 organizations. We find that apprenticeship functions to only a limited extent outside AA, and then primarily because of the ineligibility of particular categories of trainee. The use that employers make of apprenticeship varies considerably, in association with its cost-effectiveness relative to recruitment and upgrade training within human resource management strategy, and with employers' evaluations of the technical content of AA qualifications. The prospects for increased sponsorship of apprenticeship by large organizations are curbed by the greater appeal of recruitment and upgrade training in various contexts. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2007.

Background: Emergency medicine is team work from the field to the hospital and therefore it is also important for physicians to understand the work of paramedics, and vice versa. Interprofessional emergency medicine education for medical and paramedic students in Helsinki was started in 2001. It consisted of a 15 European credit transfer system (ECTS) credits programme combining 22 students in 2001. In 2005, the number of students had increased to 25. The programme consisted of three parts: acute illness in childhood and adults (AI), advanced life support (ALS) and trauma life support (TLS). In this paper, we describe the concept of interprofessional education of medical students and paramedics in emergency medicine. Methods: After finishing the programmes in 2001 and in 2005, the students' opinions regarding the education were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Results: There were good ratings for the courses in AI (2001 vs. 2005, whole group; 4.3 ± 0.7 vs. 4.2 ± 0.4, P = 0.44) ALS (4.7 ± 0.5 vs. 4.4 ± 0.5, P = 0.06) and TLS (3.9 ± 0.7 vs. 4.4 ± 0.5, P = 0.01) in both years. Most of the medical students considered that this kind of co-education should be arranged for all medical students (2001 vs. 2005; 4.8 ± 0.6 vs. 4.4 ± 0.5, P = 0.02) and should be obligatory (3.5 ± 1.5 vs. 3.1 ± 1.3, P = 0.35). Conclusions: Co-education was well received and determined by the students as an effective way of improving their knowledge of emergency medicine and medical skills. The programme was rated as very useful and it should be included in the educational curriculum of both student groups. © 2007 Acta Anaesthesiol Scand.

human Resource Management for the Hospitality and Tourism Industries takes an integrated look at HRM policies and practices in the tourism and hospitality industries. Utilising existing human resource management (HRM) theory and practice, it contextualises it to the tourism and hospitality industries by looking at the specific employment practices of these industries, such as how to manage tour reps or working in the airline industry. It initially sets the scene with a broad review of the evidence of HRM practice within the tourism and hospitality industries. Having identified the broader picture, the text then begin to focus much more explicitly on a variety of HR policies and practices such as: recruitment and selection: the effects of ICT, skills required specific for the industry and the nature of advertising legislation and equal opportunities: illegal discrimination and managing diversity staff health and welfare: violence in the workplace, working time directives, smoking and alcohol and drug misuse remuneration strategies in the industry: the 'cafeteria award' approach, minimum wage and tipping human Resource Management for the Hospitality and Tourism Industries is illustrated throughout with both examples of best practice for prescriptive teaching and discussion, and international case studies to exercise problem solving techniques and contextualise learning. It incorporates a user friendly layout and includes pedagogic features such as: chapter outlines and objectives, HRM in practice - boxed examples, reflective review questions, web links' discussion questions and further reading. Accompanying the text is a companion website which includes extra case studies to aid teaching and learning. © 2007, Dennis Nickson. All rights reserved

Background. Thomas Bessell Kidner is well-known in the United States as a great contributor to occupational therapy. He is not well-known in Canada despite the fact that his first contributions to the profession were made here between 1900 and 1918. Purpose. To tell the story of Thomas Bessell Kidner and his impact on occupational therapy. Methods. Interpretive biography research methods using archival materials, published papers and family papers. Results. Kidner's work as an organizer of manual training in elementary schools in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and as Director of Technical Education for Calgary prepared him for his work as Vocational Secretary of the Military Hospitals Commission during World War I. Kidner developed, implemented and oversaw the reeducation program for injured soldiers across Canada. It included bedside occupations, off-ward and curative workshop activities provided by ward aides, as well as industrial training and apprenticeships in the workplace. Practice Implications. Kidner's story stimulates us to revisit our profession's early emphasis on return-to-work. Knowing about our past helps occupational therapists to build a stronger identity.

Objective: Part 2 of this two-part study identifies current recruitment strategies and existing incentives used by underserviced communities to recruit health science students during the clinical placement stage. Discussion surrounding current gaps in recruitment strategies and potential funding sources are explored. Design: Mixed-method two-part study using a self-administered questionnaire. Settings: Six community hospitals and one private practice. Participants: Community resource contact from seven underserviced communities in Southeastern Ontario. Main outcome measures: Level of community agreement that current recruitment strategies include travel stipends, rent-free accommodation and interprofessional education opportunities. Results: A 100% response rate established that one sample community provides travel stipends, three provide rent-free accommodation, and four offer interprofessional education opportunities. These incentives were frequently offered exclusively to medical students. Conclusions: When considering the results from part 1 of the study, there is a substantial gap between financial incentives students deem important in the creation of an appealing clinical placement opportunity and the provisions offered to them by the sample communities. The findings of this study support the need for a recruitment enhancement program in Southeastern Ontario. © 2007 The Authors; Journal Compilation © 2007 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.