“There hasn’t been a career structure to step into”: a qualitative study on perceptions of allied health clinician researcher careers

Background There are many demonstrated benefits for health service organizations engaging in research. As a result, growing numbers of clinicians are being encouraged to pursue research as part of their clinical roles, including in allied health (AH). However, while the benefits of having clinician researchers embedded in AH services have been well established, the career needs of those engaged in these dual roles are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine perspectives of the career pathway for AH clinicians engaged in “clinician researcher” roles within Australian health services. Methods A qualitative descriptive study was conducted, utilizing semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to ensure selection of varied locations, professions and role types. Results were analysed using thematic analysis. Trustworthiness was established using regular peer debriefing during theme development, and respondent validation of final themes. Results Fifty-seven AH clinician researchers, including those who did and did not have research as a formal component of their current role, participated in semi-structured interviews. Key themes were as follows: (1) clinician researchers prefer roles which are embedded in health services; (2) current opportunities for clinician researcher roles in health are insufficient; (3) there are deficiencies in the pathway for clinician researcher careers; (4) clinician researchers are not always valued or incentivized by health services; (5) the current career challenges impair the viability of clinician researcher careers; and (6) the clinician researcher career path has been improving, and there is hope it will continue to improve. Conclusion This study outlines a number of weaknesses in the current career structure and opportunities for AH clinician researchers in Australian health services. In particular, while there are strong intrinsic drivers to pursue this dual career, extrinsic drivers are poorly developed, including a lack of job opportunities, an unstable career pathway and a lack of valuing or incentivizing this career choice within health services. This often means that clinician researchers feel compelled to choose between a research or clinical career, leading to loss of this valuable combined skill set. The findings of this research may assist health services in developing and supporting improved clinician researcher career pathways.

A mixed method study into obstetric sonographer-led-discharge and other forms of sonographer role extension

Introduction Sonographer-led-discharge was proposed in a maternity unit to provide a holistic service, cut waiting times, ease staffing pressures and increase job satisfaction. This study explored sonographers’ experiences and perspectives of this new extended role and other areas of non-obstetric role extension. Understanding these will inform future practice and the success of the proposed obstetric sonographer-led-discharge and career structure. Methods A mixed methodology, cross-sectional study was performed, with a purposive, non-probability sample using an online data collection tool. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results In total, 93 sonographers participated in the study. Of these, 25% of sonographers currently practising obstetric ultrasound said they would not undertake the proposed obstetric sonographer-led-discharge role extension although 90% of the participants said role extension provides job satisfaction. Several themes emerged from the data, including job satisfaction, benefits to the hospital, improved patient pathway, time, personal factors, litigation and intra- and interprofessional resistance. A total of 54% of staff currently performing a role extension have experienced either inter- or intraprofessional conflict and only 48.5% said their workload was manageable. Conclusions The data collected suggested that, with training and support, the proposed obstetric sonographer-led-discharge role is an appropriate role extension for sonographers. These findings support the premise of the proposed sonographic career structure, although the inter- and intraprofessional resistance identified in the study could form a significant barrier if it is not appropriately considered and managed.

Professional Development In Kosovo – Research Of Training Programs And Tests

Vocational Education Teachers are one of the main important assets for workforce development. This study of the workforce of VET teachers in selected partner countries has two main goals. The aim of this research is to evaluate the level of teacher’s development and training programs and test as well, to inform national policymakers about the situation and the needs of the VET teachers and, secondly, to help monitoring the implementation and the change of the teacher professional development. The methodology to be used is based on qualitative research methods, including interviews und surveys. A major focus of the survey is to enable policy makers to understand what is required to bring along improvements in the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) quality, effectiveness and responsiveness, as well as factors affecting teacher effectiveness in general, such as their motivation and career structure. Professional development for teachers and trainers is widely recognized as a vital tool for the educational reform (Bicaj, 2013). Research shows that the professional development can enduring improve the quality of teaching and learning, enhancing the effectiveness of education and training and providing added value to students, teachers and employers. There is no doubt about the importance of the Continuing Professional Development of VET teachers. Kosovo has for many years developed extensive policies to address this issue, and currently these policies are being implemented.

“There Hasn't Been a Career Structure to Step Into”: A Qualitative Study on Perceptions of Allied Health Clinician Researcher Careers

Background: There are many demonstrated benefits for health service organisations engaging in research. As a result, growing numbers of clinicians are being encouraged to pursue research as part of their clinical roles, including in Allied Health (AH). However, while the benefits of having clinician researchers embedded in AH services have been well-established, the career needs of those engaged in these dual roles is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine perspectives of the career pathway for Allied Health clinicians engaged in “clinician researcher” roles within Australian health services. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted, utilising semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to ensure selection of varied locations, professions and role types. Results were analysed using thematic analysis. Trustworthiness was established using regular peer debriefing during theme development, and respondent validation of final themes.Results: Fifty-seven AH clinician researchers, including those who did and did not have research as a formal component of their current role, participated in semi-structured interviews. Key themes were that: (1) Clinician researchers prefer roles which are embedded in health services; (2) Current opportunities for clinician researcher roles in health are insufficient; (3) There are deficiencies in the pathway for clinician researcher careers; (4) Clinician researchers are not always valued or incentivised by health services; (5) The current career challenges impair the viability of clinician researcher careers; and (6) The clinician researcher career path has been improving and there is hope it will continue to improve.Conclusion: This study outlines a number of weaknesses with the current career structure and opportunities for AH clinician researchers in Australian health services. In particular, while there are strong intrinsic drivers to pursue this dual career, extrinsic drivers are poorly developed, including a lack of job opportunities, an unstable career pathway and a lack of value or incentivization of this career choice. This often means that clinician researchers feel compelled to choose between a research or clinical career, leading to loss of this valuable combined skillset. The findings of this research may assist health services to develop and support improved clinician researcher career pathways.

Women in Astronomy in Belgium

<p>We are attempting to gather all information available to study the question of the representation of women in astronomy in Belgium, which is not a straightforward task.</p> <p>In an early study, [1] analysed gender-specific statistics on the Belgian physicists. One of the difficulties they found was that Belgium keeps different statistics for the French-speaking and Flemish universities, and the career structure is different depending on the Communities.</p> <p>As preliminary analysis, we investigated the percentage of women in the International Astronomical Union (IAU) registered in the database for Belgium [2]. The IAU is an international organization with participation from 68 countries that covers the main areas of astronomy, including planetary science. In 2021, 32 out of 144 Belgian members were female (22%). It is important to notice that not all astronomers in Belgium, and in particular not the younger generation where the percentage of female researchers is higher, are member of IAU. Therefore we expect these values to underestimate the true number of women in the field. In view of the fact that it is the same at the level of the funding bodies and, by construction, at the universities, Earth and Space Sciences will be considered together. We will present preliminary results of our study.</p> <p><strong>References:</strong></p> <p>[1] Petra Rudolf, Vice‐President, Christine Iserentant, Muriel Vander Donckt, Nathalie Balcaen, Peggy Fredrickx, Karen Janssens, and Griet Janssen, "Women in Physics in Belgium: Still a Long Way From Achieving Gender Equality", AIP Conference Proceedings 628, 131-132 (2002) https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1505297</p> <p>[2] https://www.iau.org/administration/membership/individual/distribution/</p>

Moving Toward Inclusive Education in Ethiopia Through Itinerant Teachers at Resource Centers

In light of policy reforms in Ethiopia, which emphasize a more inclusive education system catering for children with disabilities and special needs, schools struggle to embrace this new concept in practice. The role of the itinerant teacher within a resource center model, to promote and support inclusive education in the Ethiopian context, is key. Their roles are new to the system and require a coordinating position at resource centers, supporting the assessment and support for children with special educational needs. Perceptions of itinerant teachers on a project in Ethiopia reveal that they are adequately qualified and envisage that mainstream schools become child-friendly and welcoming of children with disabilities. Barriers identified by itinerant teachers to achieving this vision relate to the lack of a career structure with a formal job description for itinerant teachers, negative attitudes of communities and teachers, and lack of capacity at the Ministry of Education to provide support and funding.

Just a Matter of Time? Women’s Career Advancement in Neo-Liberal Academia. An Analysis of Recruitment Trends in Italian Universities

Recently, the Italian higher education system has experienced two profound changes: the strong feminization of its academic staff and the implementation of market-based reforms aimed at fostering cost efficiency and economic productivity. Such reforms include the reshaping of the academic career ladder envisaged by the last university reform, the so called Gelmini reform (law 240/2010), and the adoption of a performance-based funding system. Both elements occurred in parallel with a strong cut in turnover. By accessing unique data on recruitment covering the last two decades, which were provided by the Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research’s statistical office, this study aims at investigating these changes from a gendered perspective. More specifically, it firstly aims at analyzing if the feminization of the academic staff is due to an effective improvement of gender equality in recruitment or, rather, to demographic dynamics; secondly, it investigates to what extent the recent neo-liberal transformations, and more specifically the reshaping of the career structure combined with the limitations on hiring, has had any implications in terms of women’s recruitment and advancement. The results suggest that the road to gender equality is extremely slow and non-linear. The introduction, with the Gelmini reform, of the new fixed-term assistant professor has tightened female access to the tenure track. Moreover, female recruitment remained substantially unchanged over the period among associate and full professors, thus suggesting that the feminization of the academic staff is not due to an effective improvement of gender equality in recruitment, but also to demographic dynamics, such as the retirement of men who are concentrated in the older cohorts.

Frontiers in Human Factors: Embedding Specialists in Multi-disciplinary efforts to Improve Healthcare.

Despite the application of a huge range of human factors (HF) principles in a growing range of care contexts, there is much more that could be done to realize this expertise for patient benefit, staff wellbeing and organizational performance. Healthcare has struggled to embrace systems safety approaches, mis-applied or misinterpreted others, and has stuck to a range of outdated and potentially counter-productive myths even has safety science has developed. One consequence of these persistent misunderstandings is that few opportunities exist in clinical settings for qualified HF professionals. Instead, HF has been applied by clinicians and others, to highly variable degrees – sometimes great success, but frequently in limited and sometimes counter-productive ways. Meanwhile, HF professionals have struggled to make a meaningful impact on frontline care and have had little career structure or support. However, In the last few years, embedded clinical HF practitioners have begun to have considerable success that are now being supported and amplified by professional networks. The recent COVID-19 experiences confirm this. Closer collaboration between healthcare and HF professionals will result in significant and ultimately beneficial changes to both professions and to clinical care.

Crying out for help

For too long, the private, voluntary and independent early years sector has been the ‘Cinderella service’ – what we need now is a national pay and career structure.