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Objective: This paper outlines the current status of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ (RANZCP) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme, its main drivers and influences, and outlines potential future changes. Conclusions: The three features that appear to be essential for an effective CPD programme are the presence of high internal motivation for CPD participation, membership valuing workplace learning, and to ensure that the content for learning remains largely work-focused. The need to incorporate best learning evidence has witnessed the international trend to include peer, reflective and interactive learning tasks into the CPD programme. For this latter change to be successful, members need to be informed about the value of these new and different learning methodologies. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2019.

Objective: Key factors which positively influence recruitment and retention of doctors to rural practice include rural background and positive rural training experience. Despite this knowledge, there is no well-established conceptual framework to explain how these factors influence intention. The aim of this study was to consider rural practice self-efficacy and its influence on rural career choice by doctors. Questions relating to self-efficacy were formulated using Bandura's four proposed sources of self-efficacy, which include mastery experiences, vicarious experience, social persuasion and emotional and physical response to experiences. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting and participants: Medical school graduates from Flinders University, who completed a rural year as a part of the clinical component of the course between 1997 and 2015. Main outcome measures: Rural self-efficacy; current and intended location of practice in small rural communities (<25 000 people). Result: It was found that 28.5% of participants were currently working in communities of <25 000 people. Levels of intent for future small town rural practice were consistent across career stages after internship. Higher rural practice self-efficacy scores were found in doctors working in smaller towns (<25 000) and small communities (<10 000). Higher self-efficacy was also associated with rural background, more senior career status, earlier speciality decision time and smaller expectation-experience gap. Conclusion: An independent association exists between rural self-efficacy and intention to remain or return to small rural practice. The article offers rural clinical schools the opportunity to consider how they can influence future rural career outcomes. © 2019 The Authors. Australian Journal of Rural Health published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.

Workforce shortages in the field of public health and healthcare are significant. Due to the limitations of career opportunities and compensation, rural hospitals and healthcare centres usually have on-going career openings for all departments. As a result, university departments of public health and healthcare management, and rural hospitals and health centres may need to establish internship and training programmes for undergraduate senior-year students in order to provide opportunities and human resource opportunities for both students and public health professions. The research examined the performance, feedback, and opinions of a university-based one-year-long on-site internship training programme between a university public health and healthcare undergraduate department and a regional hospital and healthcare centre in a rural region in the United States. Individual interview data were collected from management trainees and focus group activities data were collected from hospital departmental supervisors who have completed this one-year-long on-site internship training programme. The results offered an assessment of performance and evaluation of how a one-year-long internship programme could be beneficial to hospitals and health centres in the areas of human resources, manpower management, and skill training to prospective professionals in rural and regional communities. Also, the study provided a blueprint and alternative for universities and partnered sites to redesign and improve their current internship programmes which may better fit their needs for their actual situations. © 2019 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

[No abstract available]

Teaching competency in the diagnosis and clinical management of epilepsy is of utmost importance for the ILAE. To achieve this mission, the Task Force for Epilepsy Education (EpiEd) developed a competency-based curriculum for epileptology, covering the spectrum of skills and knowledge for best medical practice. The curriculum encompasses seven domains, 42 competencies, and 124 learning objectives, divided into three levels: entry (Level 1), proficiency (Level 2), and advanced proficiency (Level 3). A survey of the currently existing ILAE-endorsed teaching activities identified a significant gap in education of basic knowledge of epileptology (Level 1). To bridge this gap, a web-based educational tool is being developed. A virtual campus will be constructed around the curriculum, integrating the various educational activities of the ILAE. This paper describes the development of the curriculum and future tasks necessary to achieve the educational goal of the ILAE. © 2019 Epileptic Disorders

Introduction: Increasing confidence through learning has the potential to change General Dental Practitioners’ (GDPs) perceptions of clinical practice. By examining how changes in confidence influence the clinical practice of two cohorts of GDPs, during and following an extended period of postgraduate training, we show the importance of confidence to GDPs and that a lack of confidence is a primary reason why GDPs attend postgraduate training courses. Methods: A mixed-method approach was adopted for this study. Quantitative data were collected via a series of linked questionnaires; qualitative data were collected using focus group discussions, interviews and contemporaneous field notes. Analysis was undertaken using SPSS software and a phenomenological approach, respectively. Findings: Participants indicated an increase in confidence in their ability to undertake dental procedures, which led to an increase in confidence in communication skills, and their ability to undertake complex restorative procedures. This led to greater treatment acceptance by patients resulting in better “job satisfaction.”. Discussion: A sense of confidence is central to personal development and ongoing study, leading to first, an improved capability to perform tasks (competence); second, confidence is a product of the relationship and trust of those people associated with the individual/professional and third, the correct level of challenge is important to confidence. Conclusions: The issue of confidence has not been looked at in postgraduate dentistry, but it is well recognised in medical education fields. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Because Career Technical Education (CTE) programs at the community/technical college level are among the few places new construction workers receive training or preparation, they are an important vehicle for educating new and young workers about occupational health and safety (OSH). We developed recommendations for (1) OSH “core competencies” that all postsecondary construction students should achieve and (2) “essential elements” for OSH education in construction training programs. Based on a review of the literature, subject matter expert focus groups, and iterative engagement with an expert advisory group, we identified fourteen core competencies and a list of essential supporting elements at the school, program, and instructor levels. Knowledge and recognition of the importance of effective safety and health management systems served as the foundation for elements and competencies. Findings provide an important starting point for systematically improving the preparation of construction CTE students that can help keep them safe on the job. © The Author(s) 2019.

Objective: The aim of this study was to survey the work that cytotechnologists carry out in Finland. Methods: An electronic questionnaire was planned with the Board of the Finnish Association of Cytotechnologists and an email containing the link was sent to all 107 of its members in January 2018. It included 17 questions on their age and work experience, education and work. There was also space for them to add other comments. Results: Just under half (45%) replied. Their average age was 51 years (range 28-64), 41% had a Bachelor's degree, 59% had college-level training and they had spent an average of 15 years screening cytology specimens. After basic professional education, they had completed their cytology education in many ways and the most common routes were internship training (71%) and 1-year cytology specialisation (38%). Most of the cytotechnologists (85%) had duties other than screening and they mostly included a combination of histotechnology and cytotechnology (37.5%) or just cytotechnology (17%) or histotechnology (9%). The other 15% only screened cytology specimens. All cytotechnologists screened Papanicolaou smears, 94% screened urinary and respiratory specimens, 82% screened effusions and 39% screened fine-needle aspirations. Conclusions: We found that internship training provided essential training for Finnish cytotechnologists after they complete their basic professional studies. They reported many other duties in addition to microscopy screening. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Background: The use of improvizational theater (“improv”) in health professional education (“medical improv”) is an emerging field. However, optimal curricular design features and learning outcomes have not yet been systematically described. Objective: To synthesize evidence on learning outcomes and curricular design elements of improvizational theater training in health professions education. Methods: A literature search with keywords “Improv” and “Improvisational Theatre” was undertaken in January 2016 in Ovid MEDLINE, CINHAL, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and ERIC, with an accompanying gray literature search. Four authors coded and achieved consensus on themes relating to curricular design elements and learning outcomes, which were mapped onto the CanMEDS framework. Results: Seven articles met inclusion criteria. Key curricular design features included (i) facilitators with dual clinical and theater expertise; (ii) creating a low-stakes environment; and (iii) engaging in debrief to highlight clinical relevance. Improv curricula were found to impact most CanMEDS roles, including: Medical Expert (comfort with uncertainty); Leader (team management); Scholar (feedback, self-reflection); Communicator (empathy, active listening, non-verbal communication); Collaborator (culture of trust); and Professional (resiliency and confidence). Mechanisms by which improv may promote acquisition of these professional competencies, and the utility of improv in areas such as interprofessional team development, leadership, and wellness and resiliency are discussed. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Background: Clinical pharmacists must have a complex combination of academic knowledge and practical experience that integrates all aspects of practice. Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2007 launched the Postgraduate Year (PGY) training program to increase the standard of pharmaceutical care. This study aims to develop a pharmacist-specific Chinese-language Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) to evaluate the professional development of postgraduate year trainees. Method: The specialized Mini-CEX was developed based on the core competencies of pharmacists, published literature, and expert opinion. A pilot test and evaluator workshop were held prior to the administration of the main test. Fifty-three samples were recruited. The main study was conducted at two regional teaching hospitals and a medical center teaching hospital in Taiwan between February and June 2012. The results were analyzed with the kappa statistic (inter-rater reliability) and descriptive statistics, while the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to examine the PGY trainees' Mini-CEX scores based on their performances. Results: Trainees who had recently completed PGY programs (C-PGY) and 2nd year PGY trainees (PGY2) earned excellent scores, while the 1st year PGY trainees (PGY1) earned satisfactory scores in overall performance. C-PGY and PGY2 trainees also performed significantly better than PGY1 trainees in the organization and efficiency domain, and the communication skills domain. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility of using the newly developed pharmacist-specific Chinese-language version of the Mini-CEX instrument to evaluate the core competencies of PGY trainees in clinical settings. © 2019 The Author(s).