scholarly journals Perception of Students and Faculty Members of the Impact of a Preparatory Year Program on the Students of Health Professions Education Colleges

Author(s):  
Ahmed Aldarmahi ◽  
Mohammed Alrabia ◽  
Fatimah Alserhani ◽  
Hanan Alzahrani ◽  
Norah Alrabia ◽  
...  

Objective: The Preparatory Year Program (PYP) is a one-year preparatory program to prepare students for a full multi-year degree curriculum. It offers a bridge between students’ high-school and university-level studies. The study aimed at evaluating the impact of the King Abdulaziz University preparatory year program on students of the health professions education colleges from both students' and faculty viewpoints. Methods: This is a descriptive study that depended on the collection of data from both students and faculty members based on their perceptions. It was conducted during the period from May 2019 to January 2020. Data was collected from students through self-administered questionnaires and from faculty members through structured interviews. Descriptive statistics were applied. Results: Around half of the students agreed that the preparatory year made them self-confident and reinforced their discipline (49.2% and 46.9%, respectively). Less than two-thirds agreed that the preparatory year reinforced their sense of responsibility and helped them adapt to the university educational environment (60.6% and 64.3%, respectively). On the other hand, more than half of them (58.5%) disagreed that the preparatory year classes helped them select their majors. Also, more than half of them (57.2%) disagreed that the preparatory year prepared them for their major classes. Conclusion: The impact of the preparatory year on students of the health professions colleges is weak. This is the opinion of both students and faculty members. In-depth studies are needed to further investigate this impact. Keywords: Universities; Health Occupations; Undergraduate; Curriculum; Saudi Arabia.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Hosseini-Nezhad ◽  
Saba Safdar ◽  
Lan Anh Nguyen Luu

This longitudinal qualitative research aimed to investigate the psychosocial adaptation trajectory of Iranian international students in Hungary and the challenges they encountered. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at seven-month to one-year intervals with 20 Iranian students; inductive content analysis was utilized to analyze the interview transcripts. Three topics were identified: (1) visa and banking challenges, (2) the impact of the currency crisis in Iran on mental health, and (3) positive and negative changes in psychological well-being over time. The results revealed that almost all students’ well-being improved over time, despite facing challenges related to visas, banking, and Iran’s recent economic crisis (specifically, the drastic plunge of the Iranian currency).


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1203-1226
Author(s):  
Marcela Costa ◽  
Emilia Kangasjarvi ◽  
Andrea Charise

AbstractFor nearly four decades, researchers have explored the integration of arts and humanities content into health professions education (HPE). However, enduring controversies regarding the purpose, efficacy, and implementation of humanities initiatives suggest that the timing and context of trainees’ exposure to such content is a key, but seldom considered, factor. To better understand the affordances of introducing humanities-based health curriculum prior to the HPE admissions gateway, we conducted a qualitative instrumental case study with participants from Canada’s first Health Humanities baccalaureate program. Fully anonymized transcripts from semi-structured interviews (n = 11) and focus groups (n = 14) underwent an open-coding procedure for thematic narrative analysis to reveal three major temporal domains of described experience (i.e., prior to, during, and following their participation in a 12-week semester-long “Introduction to Health Humanities” course). Our findings demonstrate that perceptions of arts- and humanities content in health education are generated well in advance of HPE admission. Among other findings, we define a new concept—epistemological multicompetence—to describe participants’ emergent capability to toggle between (and advocate for the role of) multiple disciplines, arts and humanities particularly, in health-related teaching and learning at the pre-professional level. Improved coordination of baccalaureate and HPE curricula may therefore enhance the development of capabilities associated with arts and humanities, including: epistemological multicompetence, aesthetic sensibility, and other sought-after qualities in HPE candidates. In conclusion, attending to the pre-professional admissions gateway presents a new, capabilities-driven approach to enhancing both the implementation and critical understanding of arts and humanities’ purpose, role, and effects across the “life course” of health professions education.


2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 447-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Halcyon St Hill ◽  
Hulya Julie Yazici

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated model of didactic, practice and interdisciplinary service learning in healthcare education, and determine the students’ perceptions on the benefits of this integration. Design/methodology/approach – A pre and post survey design was utilized to examine health professions students’ perspectives with respect to learning outcomes relevant to professional benefits of a service learning capstone. The surveys consisted of 36 items for measuring the interdisciplinary course characteristics and perceived benefits of the integrated approach. The required interdisciplinary (used interchangeably with interprofessional) course was constructed as an integrated didactic, practice interdisciplinary service learning model. The sample consisted of undergraduate students (n=53) who completed the interdisciplinary senior seminar capstone course taught by one faculty member in one of three course sections. Structural equation modeling based on partial least squares was used to analyze the significance of constructs. Students’ reflections on interdisciplinary service learning were also collected and summarized. Findings – The study demonstrated the significance of interdisciplinary course and team preparation on perceived professional benefits and positive community service learning experience. Research limitations/implications – Further studies are needed and being pursued to address practitioners’ perceptions of interdisciplinary education. To fully complete the assessment of interdisciplinary education, longitudinal studies must be pursued with graduates and their employers. A larger sample size could be used to repeat this study. Practical implications – The model employed in this study may be utilized as a component of practice education and clinical practice to address accreditation requirements, quality patient-centred care, and engaging students in valuing interprofessionalism and service. Originality/value – This study presents an integrated model of didactic, practice and interdisciplinary service learning in health professions education, and demonstrates the benefits of the model with health profession students’ perceptions of interprofessional education (IPE). This study contributes to professional learning research as the impact of IPE has been questionable due to lack of rigorous evidence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliéren Honório Oliveira ◽  
Antonio Germane Alves Pinto ◽  
Maria do Socorro Vieira Lopes ◽  
Tânia Maria Ribeiro Monteiro de Figueiredo ◽  
Edilma Gomes Rocha Cavalcante

Abstract Objective: To describe the therapeutic itinerary of people with tuberculosis in face of their health needs. Method: Descriptive, qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with ten patients. Hermeneutic-dialectic method of analysis and concept of therapeutic itinerary as driver of the analysis. Results: Most had classic symptoms at the beginning, however there was a case with coughing for more than one year. Entrance door, access to diagnosis and treatment were predominant in Primary Care, through smear microscopy and X-ray; patients had to pay for exams. Decentralization of treatment for other services when necessary or by link with the professional. The patient followed the decisions of the professionals and the support of relatives; prejudice regarding the disease was noted. Conclusions and implications for practice: Fragility in disease management, importance of bonding and family. It should be considered the impact of the disease and the need to support patients to ensure continuity of care.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Mansouri ◽  
Shoaleh Bigdeli ◽  
Afsaneh Dehnad ◽  
Zohreh Sohrabi ◽  
Somayeh Alizadeh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The importance of mobile phones has become one of the new research topics in health professions education due to the ease of access and flexibility. Although novel approaches to health professions education recommend the use of educational technologies such as mobile applications, a limited number of studies have been conducted with regard to teaching anatomy through mobile applications. Considering the increasing needs of medical students for mobile technology to meet their educational needs, wants and desires, we decided to explore the features of an anatomy mobile application. Methods This qualitative study was conducted in two stages of holding focus groups and an expert panel session. Students of basic Medical sciences, and faculty members of anatomy at Iran University of Medical Sciences formed the research participants. Semi-structured interviews and note-taking were used to collect the data. Brown and Clark methods were used for thematic analysis and feature extraction. Finally, four criteria presented by Lincoln and Guba for qualitative studies were used to ensure the credibility, confirmability, trustworthiness and transferability of the data. Results Based on the data analysis, 37 codes that could be used to design anatomy mobile content for medical students were extracted. These features were categorized into the main themes of “visual richness”, “scientific comprehensiveness”, “audio richness”, “affordability”, “user-friendliness”, “self-assessment”, “interactive content” and “user support”. Conclusion This study explored the features of an anatomy application that can be used by educational app developers. Anatomy departments of universities of medical sciences, policymakers, and planners in the field of medical education can also adopt the findings of the present study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 346-364
Author(s):  
Bob Maseko ◽  
Foster Gondwe ◽  
Symon Winiko ◽  
Symon Chiziwa

This paper explores faculty members’ concerns and level of preparedness for open and distance learning (ODL) at the University of Malawi’s School of Education during the recent Covid-19 pandemic within a context that considers ODL as a means of mitigating the impact of the pandemic on teaching and learning. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with four experienced academic leaders within the school of education. The Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM), particularly stages of concerns, served as a framework to understand the faculty’s concerns about the implementation of ODL initiatives. Inductive and deductive analysis approaches were used to analyse the interview transcripts to identify emerging themes. Deductive analysis revealed that faculty members expressed several concerns such as awareness, informational, as well as consequences concerns as they talked about their feelings and attitudes towards the implementation of ODL. Inductive analysis on the other hand revealed that faculty members’ perceptions such as minimal preparation, negative orientations, and lack of policy awareness hamper the implementation of ODL. These findings underscore the importance of members’ orientation change to ensure effective implementation of ODL in contexts like the institution under study. We discuss these and propose that professional development could help members develop positive attitudes towards ODL.


Author(s):  
Abdulaziz Ali ◽  
Khaled Abu Sheirah

The study aims to investigate the perceptions of faculty members in the preparatory year at the University of Ha’il concerning the use of the Blackboard learning management system, and to identify the impact of the study variables (gender, discipline, teaching language, and number of training courses) on the responses of the study sample members. A descriptive methodology has been used, as the study was applied to a sample of (123) faculty members, and to collect information, a questionnaire of (32) items was developed. The results of the study showed that the level of using the Blackboard at the University of Ha’il by faculty members was high. It indicated that there were no statistically significant differences due to gender. Moreover, the results revealed that there were no statistically significant differences (p=0.218) in the use of Blackboard based on the number of training courses, and that there were no statistically significant differences (p=0.390) in the use of Blackboard based on academic ranking.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Meinert ◽  
Scott Reeves ◽  
Jesse Eerens ◽  
Christina Banks ◽  
Stephen Maloney ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Existing research on the costs of delivering courses online courses is limited. The way in which these learning platforms compare in cost to face-to-face learning is also poorly understood. This lack of data has made it difficult to evaluate whether the investments spent by organisations on online learning are effective in comparison to face-to-face instruction. OBJECTIVE The key aim of this scoping literature review is to better understand the state of evidence about whether eLearning demonstrates cost advantages over face-to-face instruction and report the results of a research question centred on: What data exists to define cost calculations related to eLearning? Specifically, we investigate the extent to which the literature can provide details for calculation of the costs for eLearning design, development, and delivery. METHODS Scoping review using a search strategy of MeSH terms and related keywords centred on eLearning and cost calculation with a population scope of health professionals in all countries. The search was limited to English language studies. No restriction was placed on literature publication date. RESULTS In total, 7344 articles were returned from the original search of the literature. Of these, 232 were relevant to associated keywords or abstract references to cost following screening. Full-text review resulted in 168 studies being excluded, with 42 studies providing data and analysis of the impact of cost and value in health professions education. A further 22 studies provided details of costing approaches for the production and delivery of eLearning. CONCLUSIONS There is an emerging body of studies capturing costs in eLearning. However, costs in these studies were collected inconsistently and in relation to a wide variety of factors or had an alternate study-related focus. Although there is a perception that eLearning is more cost-effective than face-to-face instruction, there is not yet sufficient evidence to assert this conclusively. A rigorous, repeatable and data capture method is needed, in addition to a means to leverage existing economic evaluation methods that can then test whether eLearning cost-effectiveness and how to implement with cost benefits and advantages over traditional instruction. CLINICALTRIAL N/A


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATHLEEN LANE ◽  
FIONA POLAND ◽  
SHEILA FLEMING ◽  
NIGEL LAMBERT ◽  
HILARY MACDONALD ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMany older women reduce the amount of cooking and food preparation they do in later life. While cooking may be seen as traditionally associated with women's family roles, little is known about the impact of such reduced engagement with food on their lives. This paper presents the findings from a one-year qualitative study (Changes Around Food Experience, CAFE) of the impact of reduced contact with preparing and cooking meals from scratch for 40 women, aged 65–95 years, living in Norfolk, United Kingdom. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus groups and observations. Women's reasons for reducing food-related activities included changes in health, loss of a partner or a caring role, and new patterns of socialising. Disengagement from cooking and shopping was not found to entail predominantly negative feelings, passive acceptance or searching for forms of support to re-enable more cooking from scratch. Accounts evidenced the dynamic adaptability of older women in actively managing changed relationships with food. In exploring new meal options, older women were not simply disengaging from their environments. CAFE findings linked women's engagement with their environments to how they were using formal services and, even more, to the value they placed on social engagement and being out and about. Through the connections they fostered with friends, family and community, older women actively enabled their continued involvement in their social, public and family spheres. Reduced contact with preparing and cooking meals from scratch, therefore, did not induce or imply passivity or debility in the CAFE cohort. By contrast, it involved their exploring new means of retaining what was important to them about food in the context of their lived situation and social connections with friends, family, the community and public spheres.


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