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"Humans"

Objectives This study examined the risks and supports to competence discussed in the literature related to occupational therapists, pharmacists, physical therapists and physicians, using epidemiology as a conceptual model. Design Articles from a scoping literature review, published from 1975 to 2014 inclusive, were included if they were about a risk or support to the professional or clinical competence of one of four health professions. Descriptive and regression analyses identified potential associations between risks and supports to competence and the location of study, type of health profession, competence life-cycle and the domain(s) of competence (organised around the CanMEDS framework). Results A total of 3572 abstracts were reviewed and 943 articles analysed. Most focused on physicians (n=810, 86.0%) and 'practice' (n=642, 68.0%). Fewer articles discussed risks to competence (n=418, 44.3%) than supports (n=750, 79.5%). The top four risks, each discussed in over 15% of articles, were: transitions in practice, being an international graduate, lack of clinical exposure/experience (ie, insufficient volume of procedures or patients) and age. The top two supports (over 35%) were continuing education participation and educational information/programme features. About 60% of all the articles discussed medical expert and about 25% applied to all roles. Articles focusing on residents had a greater probability of reporting on risks. Conclusions Articles about physicians were dominant. The majority of articles were written in the last decade and more discussed supports than risks to competence. An epidemiology-based conceptual model offers a helpful organising framework for exploring and explaining the competence of health professions. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

This perspective shares recommendations that draw from (1) the National Study of Excellence and Innovation in Physical Therapist Education research findings and a conceptual model of excellence in physical therapist education, (2) the Carnegie Foundation's Preparation for the Professions Program (PPP), and (3) research in the learning sciences. The 30 recommendations are linked to the dimensions described in the conceptual model for excellence in physical therapist education: Culture of Excellence, Praxis of Learning, and Organizational Structures and Resources. This perspective proposes a transformative call for reform framed across 3 core categories: (1) creating a culture of excellence, leadership, and partnership, (2) advancing the learning sciences and understanding and enacting the social contract, and (3) implementing organizational imperatives. Similar to the Carnegie studies, this perspective identifies action items (9) that should be initiated immediately in a strategic and systematic way by the major organizational stakeholders in physical therapist education. These recommendations and action items provide a transformative agenda for physical therapist education, and thus the profession, in meeting the changing needs of society through higher levels of excellence. © 2017 American Physical Therapy Association.

humans are proposed to have evolved to learn through observation, imitation and practice or mimesis. In this article, the contribution of imitation, as an important but poorly understood aspect of mimetic learning, is advocated to create affordances for dyadic learning. However, learning through imitation is often perceived with negative connotations perhaps framed by viewpoints individuals have derived from experiences of rote learning and repetitive work. Yet, learning through imitation plays a key role in the learning of skills, including many of the non-verbal communicative and tacit aspects of trades work. This article explores the ways trade apprentices learn, with emphasis on the contribution of imitation. Recommendations to improve the reciprocal relationships between mentor and apprentice, initiated and developed through learning by ‘imitation’, are discussed and considered. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

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Background: Student confidence is an important contributor to a successful professional placement experience. The present study aimed to evaluate a placement preparation program for student dietitians and to assess the impact on self-rated confidence with respect to commencing placements. Methods: The present study is part of a design-based research approach that involves students in a cyclic enquiry to evaluate and improve curricula. Nutrition and Dietetics students at an Australian university participated in a 1-week mandatory workshop – Pre-Placement week (PrePW), N = 98 students: in 2015 (n = 54) and 2016 (n = 44). An online survey was conducted before and after PrePW using a five-point Likert scale (1 = not confident; 5 = very confident) to assess self-rated confidence to commence placements. Mean (SD) scores were calculated. Paired and independent t-tests evaluated within- and between-group differences, respectively. Results: Before PrePW, the mean (SD) for student confidence to commence placements overall (in all areas of practise) was ‘somewhat confident’ [2.9 (0.6) in 2015 and 3.0 (0.7) in 2016]. Students were least confident to commence Clinical Practice [2015: 2.5 (0.6); 2016: 2.8 (0.6)] compared to Food Service Management (FSM) [2015: 3.2 (0.9); 2016: 3.1 (0.9)] and Community and Public Health Nutrition (CPHN) [2015: 3.3 (0.9); 2016: 3.2 (0.8)]. Student feedback from PrePW 2015 was used to change the curriculum and PrePW program. The 2016 students reported significantly greater confidence within all areas of practice: Clinical Practice [3.4 (0.6)], FSM [3.7 (0.6)] and CPHN [3.8 (0.6)], including confidence to commence placements overall [3.6 (0.6)] (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Design-based research provides a useful framework for improvement to curricula and, in this case, was successful in enhancing student confidence in preparation for professional placement. © 2017 Commonwealth of Australia. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics © 2017 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

School leavers with low educational attainment face great difficulties in their school-to-work transitions. They are, however, quite heterogeneous in terms of their personal and social resources. These within-group differences may influence who shows initiative during the school-to-work transition period and thereby helps employers recognize their learning potential at labor market entry. Yet this recognition also depends on the ways employers select applicants, which may prevent them from discovering such within-group differences. We therefore investigate the interplay between agency and its constraints, that is, whether higher cognitive and noncognitive skills and more parental resources provide low-achieving school leavers with new opportunities in the school-to-work transition period or whether their low school attainment causes the persistency of their disadvantages. We use panel data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), which started in grade 9. The NEPS also includes school leavers from special-needs schools. Our sample consists of 3417 low-achieving adolescents (42% female), defined as adolescents who leave school with no or only a lower secondary school-leaving certificate. Their average school-leaving age is 16 to 17 years. Our key findings are that the transition period opens up new opportunities only for those low-achieving adolescents with better vocational orientation and higher career aspirations, leading them to make stronger application efforts. The success of youth’s initiative varies considerably by school-leaving certificate and school type but not by competences, noncognitive characteristics, and parental background. Thus, the label of “having low qualifications” is a major obstacle in this transition period—especially for the least educated subgroup. Their poor school attainment strongly disadvantages them when accessing the required training to become economically independent and hence in their general transition to adulthood. Our results are also of interest internationally, because participation in firm-based training programs functions as the entry labor market in Germany. Thus, similar explanations may apply to low-achieving adolescents’ difficulties in finding a job. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Although there are standards for occupational therapy education, there are no universal standards for the affiliated fieldwork settings, only guidelines from the educational institutions. As a result, a student learning experience often varies dramatically from facility to facility. Several factors that may affect the clinical experience include the preparedness of a student, the willingness of a clinic to work through potential student challenges, and the theoretical foundation a clinic has built for disseminating occupational therapy practice skills. This article highlights the journey of one clinic through a redesign of the occupational therapy fieldwork program and outlines the steps taken to transform student experiences and improve program success. Starting with a self-directed review of the fieldwork process, and through a combination of program redesign, application of a theoretical foundation, and refocus toward a competency-based program, the student success rate at this acute rehabilitation hospital drastically improved and achieved positive feedback fromall involved. © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Attaining a college degree has traditionally been assumed to be key to upward social and professional mobility. However, college graduates from working-class backgrounds achieve less career success in professional, white-collar workplaces compared to those from middle-class backgrounds. Using a cultural models approach, we examine how the independent cultural beliefs and practices promoted by professional organizations disadvantage people from working-class backgrounds, who espouse interdependent beliefs and practices. Our review illustrates how this disadvantage can manifest in two ways. First, despite relative equality in objective qualifications, it can occur at organizational gateways (e.g., interview and hiring decisions). Second, even after people from working-class backgrounds gain access to an organization, it can occur along organizational pathways (e.g., performance evaluations and assignment to high-profile tasks). © 2017

Objective: To evaluate the perception of operation theatre educational environment using surgical theatre educational environmental measure. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, from August 2015 to February 2016, and comprised surgical and allied trainees. The reliability of the surgical theatre educational environmental measure questionnaire was assessed by Cronbach's alpha. The minimum score on the questionnaire was 40 and possible maximum score was 200. A score of at least 120 out of 200 was considered favourable. SPSS 22 was used for data analysis. Results: Of the 103 participants who completed the questionnaire, 52(50.4%) were males and 51(49.5%) females. The results showed favourable operating theatre educational environment with the total score of 129. The overall reliability was calculated to be 0.97. Male residents perceived the educational environment more adequate than females (p<0.05). Conclusion: The questionnaire was found to be an easy, reliable and practical tool for measuring the perception of operating theatre educational environment. © 2017, Pakistan Medical Association. All rights reserved.