Patient-centred professionalism in pharmacy: values and behaviours

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Elvey ◽  
Karen Hassell ◽  
Penny Lewis ◽  
Ellen Schafheutle ◽  
Sarah Willis ◽  
...  

Purpose – Research on patient-centred professionalism in pharmacy is scarce compared with other health professions and in particular with pharmacists early in their careers. The purpose of this paper is to explore patient-centred professionalism in early career pharmacists and to describe reported behaviours. Design/methodology/approach – This study explored patient-centred professional values and reported behaviours, taking a qualitative approach. In all, 53 early-career pharmacists, pharmacy tutors and pharmacy support staff, practising in community and hospital pharmacy in England took part; the concept of patient-centred professionalism was explored through focus group interviews and the critical incident technique was used to elicit real-life examples of professionalism in practice. Findings – Triangulation of the data revealed three constructs of pharmacy patient-centred professionalism: being professionally competent, having ethical values and being a good communicator. Research limitations/implications – It is not known whether our participants’ perspectives reflect those of all pharmacists in the early stages of their careers. The data provide meaning for the concept of patient-centred professionalism. The work could be extended by developing a framework for wider application. Patient-centred professionalism in pharmacy needs further investigation from the patient perspective. Practical implications – The findings have implications for pharmacy practice and education, particularly around increased interaction with patients. Social implications – The data contribute to a topic of importance to patients and in relation to UK health policy, which allocates more directly clinical roles to pharmacists, which go beyond the dispensing and supply of medicines. Originality/value – The methods included a novel application of the critical incident technique, which generated empirical evidence on a previously under-researched topic.

Author(s):  
Kate Yue Zhang ◽  
Bart Rienties

Purpose Global staffing has remained a main focus within the field of international human resource management (IHRM) since the 1970s. However, research in the psychological contract (PC) of expatriates is limited. The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences in PC breach and violation for organisational expatriates and self-initiated expatriates (SIEs). Design/methodology/approach A survey questionnaire was developed covering 52 organisational expatriates and 119 SIEs from 35 countries/regions working in China. Four follow-up focus group interviews including four organisational expatriates and 12 SIEs were conducted to further explain the findings of the survey. Findings The findings indicate that organisational expatriates experience significantly lower levels of PC breach and violation than SIEs. Three broad thematic areas arose from the triangulation of focus group interviews, including uncertainties in functioning of contracts, differences in job securities and career development opportunities, and cultural differences. Practical implications Employers should give a comprehensive orientation and cultural training to meet the needs of SIEs. Moreover, long-term career advancement paths should also be provided to SIEs to alleviate their vulnerability and insecurities working abroad. Originality/value The study contributes to the scholarship of self-initiated expatriation and PCs and give implications to IHRM strategies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 666-690
Author(s):  
Sangeeta Arora ◽  
Harpreet Kaur

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop, measure and empirically validate a scale that captures the full dimensionality of selection attributes considered by customers when choosing a bank. Design/methodology/approach Focus group interviews were conducted and a well-structured questionnaire was designed. The validity of this scale was tested in accordance with the psychometric scale development procedure. Findings Contrary to some assertions in past literature, the results suggested service delivery and cost/price as among the most important determinants of the bank selection decisions of consumers. Practical implications The practical implications drawn from this study involve the seven constructs which could be adopted by the bank managers, advertising executives and marketing experts in providing good quality services resulting in overall higher levels of customer satisfaction. These decision makers can apply the constructs from the study to identify factors most appealing to both potential and existing customers and build up effective marketing strategies to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Originality/value This research paper signifies the leading studies for advancing a validated tool to measure the customers’ selection decisions for banks. As a result, this valid and reliable scale would bring standardization to research conducted in the field of bank selection attributes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa E. Basford

Purpose – Despite the harmful impact of supervisor transgressions, they have received little empirical attention. The purpose of this paper is to addresses this important gap, examining the nature of transgressions committed at work by supervisors against subordinates. Design/methodology/approach – A critical incident technique was employed in which employees described a transgression committed by their supervisor. Qualitative responses were then analyzed, resulting in the emergence of supervisor transgression themes. Findings – In total, 11 themes emerged, including: performance criticisms, demeaning insults, false accusations, undue demands, unfair employment decisions, inconsiderate treatment, inequitable behavior, inappropriate contextual selections, disregard of opinions, undersupplied resources, and underprovided recognition. Research limitations/implications – While this approach is not without limitations, including the potential for participant memory error and researcher analytical bias, it offers a necessary initial exploration into the content of supervisor transgressions. Findings open new areas for continued research exploration into the nature and functioning of supervisor transgressions. Practical implications – Practitioners also stand to benefit from this work, as this identification of supervisor transgression themes affords organizations knowledge about how to best target supervisory interventions. Originality/value – Though researchers have just begun to examine the nature of leader transgressions, they have yet to analyze the content of supervisor transgressions. This study offers an original investigation into how supervisors transgress against subordinates at work.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiina-Kaisa Kuuru ◽  
Elina Närvänen

Purpose This paper aims to study the embodied nature of service employees’ work in human touch contexts. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts the practice theory as its interpretive approach, using focus group interviews with service employees from different industries. Findings The study identifies four practice bundles related to the embodied dimension of service employees’ work: orienting, attuning, connecting and wrapping up. The findings illustrate how employees’ knowledge, skills and capabilities are used via the body. Practical implications The study provides guidance for managers to use an embodied perspective in the management of service employees. Originality/value This study contributes to the discussion on embodiment in service encounters by highlighting the embodied nature of service employees’ work.


Author(s):  
Bodil Stilling Blichfeldt ◽  
Aurimas Pumputis ◽  
Kiya Ebba

Purpose Travelers are both surrounded by and perform places, thus making places ambiguous sites that “come alive” when travelers use them and engage in various performances. A place many travelers pass through is the airport. Airports are places where travelers’ performances are restricted in many ways and waiting is a key element of the airport experience. This paper contributes with knowledge on what airport terminals “are”, not as designs or material objects but as places enacted by travelers. In doing so, the paper aims to emphasize on both how travelers “see” airports and how they use them. Design/methodology/approach The study uses different qualitative methods and notions of time and waiting. Sources of data are small-scale netnography, focus group interviews, observations done at airports and qualitative interviews. Findings The study shows that airport terminals are heterogeneously enacted environments that are heavily inscribed with the mundane act of waiting and travelers use a series of different strategies to “use”, “spend” and “kill” time. Furthermore, whereas more affluent travelers spend waiting time using airports’ commercial offerings (shopping, restaurants, bars, etc.), less affluent travelers do not have the same options. Research limitations/implications The research points to airport terminals as not only “places of movement and mobility” but also “places of waiting” inscribed with boredom and travelers actively fight boredom by spending, using and killing time in a variety of ways. Furthermore, the study points to significant differences between affluent travelers and other travelers and differences between people travelling alone and in groups. Therefore, a call is made for research focusing on less affluent travelers, people traveling in groups and on waiting and waiting time. Practical implications The study suggests that airports are more than consumerscapes and places of movement, hereby questioning the current focus on commercial revenues. Social implications The study points to airport space as space “inhabited” not only by travelers willingly taking on the roles as consumers but also by travelers that kill, spend and use waiting time in other ways, hereby questioning the idea that airports are places for the “elite”. Originality/value Travelers associate airports with boredom and inscribe them with waiting. However, travelers “fight” boredom and waiting with performances and acts designed to use, spend, pass and “kill” time. Hereby, travelers not only accept but also construct the seemingly mundane act of waiting as restricted, negotiated and confined, but nevertheless meaningful performances.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 450-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lucy Lee ◽  
Yukyoum Kim ◽  
June Won

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the location of sport brands in sport consumers’ minds using a perceptual map of multiple positions; and examine whether there is congruence between the sport brands’ purported images and the targeted consumers’ perception of the brands’ images. Design/methodology/approach A mixed method was used. Four steps of data collections (i.e. face-to-face, focus group interviews, and questionnaires) and analyses (i.e. content analysis, MDS analysis, PROXSCAL analysis, multiple regressions analysis, frequency analysis, and congruence score) were performed. Findings Four positioning typologies (i.e. great quality equipment, equipment for professionals, innovation, and tradition) were identified; each brand’s positions in consumers’ minds were distinctly portrayed in the perceptual map; and the congruence between intended and perceived positions was found in two brands – Titleist and Ping – implying they established a high position-congruity and providing evidence of positioning effectiveness. Practical implications The findings will aid practitioners and scholars in positioning and its effectiveness: the results provide information for managers to select, implement, and manage effective positioning strategies and the study provides initial evidence about whether companies and their brands are well-positioned in the sport consumer’s perception. Originality/value The authors attempt to examine how consumers perceive brands and how effectively brand positions are portrayed in consumers’ minds. The effectiveness and competitiveness of positioning strategies were examined via a perceptional map.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1403-1425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong ◽  
Amy Siu Ian So ◽  
Rob Law

Purpose This paper aims to uncover various types of jaycustomer behaviors, causes of the behaviors and employees’ handling approaches in casinos, which is an underresearched sector in the literature. Design/methodology/approach Using critical incident technique (CIT), the researchers prompted 52 casino employees in Macao to recall critical incidents about jaycustomer behavior that they had encountered. The informants, then, described the circumstances that led up to the situation, the responses of customers and how they and their colleagues handled the situation. Content analysis was used to develop the categories. Findings The findings of this study report 9 categories of jaycustomer behaviors, 9 causes of the behaviors and 12 handling approaches. Different from previous findings, breaking a promise and instigation are identified for the first time. Such causes as a losing experience and superstition are specific to the casino industry. Strict handling approaches are rarely adopted to handle jaycustomers, especially the premium customers. Practical implications Casino operators are recommended to ensure that employees are well-trained and provide clear guidelines on handling jaycustomers. Conniving approaches should be re-evaluated. Seeking support from other personnel has to be tactical. Moreover, customers should be educated to reduce their misunderstanding of gaming and transaction procedures. Originality/value There has been increasing scholarly focus on jaycustomer behaviors. However, very less is known regarding such behaviors, their causes and employees’ handling approaches in casino, a sector which is different from other hospitality sectors. The current study unveiled jaycustomer behaviors which have not been found in previous studies and causes which are specific to the casino sector.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-174
Author(s):  
Teija Norri-Sederholm ◽  
Minna Joensuu ◽  
Johanna Lammintakanen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate opportunities and challenges for multi-professional paramedic-firefighter units in small municipalities in Finland. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected by means of four focus group interviews conducted with managers (N =12) and a questionnaire comprising open-ended questions for the personnel working in the units (n =73). Data from both sources were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Findings The empirical results suggest that the use of multi-professional units (MPUs) may be one means of providing a better standard of service in rural areas. However, the working practices and different professional backgrounds in MPUs are considered challenging by the personnel. Managers had a broader perspective; during the interviews they raised matters such as citizen characteristics, legal issues like varying working hours, and economic aspects. Both the personnel and the managers agreed on the strengths and weaknesses of the MPU model in principle. Practical implications The results of this study may clarify the opportunities and challenges posed by MPUs in rural areas from the perspectives of personnel and managers. Originality/value The study provides novel information on MPUs comprising paramedics and firefighters, who function at the interface of emergency medical services and rescue services and who have new tasks in rural areas, including home healthcare support and accident prevention.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 374-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lotta K. Harju ◽  
Jari J. Hakanen

Purpose – Job boredom is an amotivational state at work, where employees lack interest in their work activities and have difficulties concentrating on them. Although recent research suggests that job boredom may concern a wide range of industries, studies investigating the experience and its emergence in white-collar work are scarce. Thereby the purpose of this paper is to contextualize job boredom by exploring the experience and its preconditions in white-collar work. Design/methodology/approach – This inductive, exploratory study employed data from 13 focus group interviews (n=72) in four organizations to investigate the emergence and experience of job boredom. Findings – Three types of job boredom was found. Each type involved distinct temporal experiences: inertia, acceleration and disrupted rhythm at work. The findings suggest that different types of job boredom involve specific conditions that hamper the activation of individual capabilities and disrupt temporal experience accordingly. Research limitations/implications – Extending the conceptualization of job boredom may enable better understanding of the variety of consequences often associated with the phenomenon. Practical implications – It is also important for organizations to recognize that there are different types and various preconditions of job boredom in white-collar work, as it may have a negative impact on employee well-being and performance. Originality/value – The results indicate that job boredom is a more nuanced phenomenon than earlier believed. By identifying job boredom in white-collar work as an experience with various forms and respective preconditions, this study expands the understanding of the phenomenon and its emergence.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Charles Sondhi

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand prisoner perceptions on being trained and having received take-home naloxone (THN) kits once released from prison back into the community, in order to prevent an opiate-related overdose. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was run of all prisoners receiving THN training across ten prisons in one English region. In total, 142 prisoners were surveyed out of 206 (69 per cent) being trained in THN across the ten prisons. Five focus groups (n=26) with prisoners were conducted across four remand and one open prison that included discussions on THN within a range of topics. Discussions were recorded using short-hand and the data were subsequently thematically interpreted using visual mapping techniques. Findings – The survey highlighted a high degree of exposure amongst prisoners to overdose either directly (54 per cent) or having witnessed another person’s overdose (73 per cent). For prisoners who had overdosed, only a minority (38 per cent) were taken to hospital by an ambulance. In total, 81 per cent of prisoners surveyed also expressed little or no knowledge about THN prior to training. Prisoners were resistant to THN as an intervention resulting from this lack of prior knowledge. Focus group interviews suggested that there was a confused and mixed message in providing a harm reduction initiative within the context of recovery-orientated treatment. Prisoners also exhibited name confusion with other drugs (naltrexone) and there was some degree of resistance to being trained based on perceived side-effects brought on by its administration. Prisoners were also acutely aware of official agency perceptions (e.g. police) if seen to be in possession of THN kits. Practical implications – The distribution of THN within a custodial setting requires consideration of wider marketing approaches to address levels of confusion and misapprehension amongst prisoners. Originality/value – The study is one of the few focused on THN based on a UK prison environment.


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