Do Programme Coordinators Contribute to the Professional Development of Residents? An Exploratory Study

Background: With the development of training programmes for health professions, the role of programme coordinators has become increasingly important. However, their role in providing educational support for the professional development of resident trainees has not been well investigated. This study aimed to qualitatively analyse the involvement of programme coordinators in educational support for residents.Methods: Semi-structured reflective writing on “support for residents” was collected from programme coordinators in teaching hospitals in Japan in 2017-18 using a web-based questionnaire. Descriptions were qualitatively analysed thematically, using the professional identity formation (PIF) framework. Results: A total of 39 cases of “support for residents” by 31 coordinators were analysed. We found that prior personal problems, including mental health issues and insufficient social skills/unprofessional behaviour, were the most common issues that residents faced. Thematic analysis revealed that coordinators played a variety of educational roles: 1) requesting supervisors to re-consider their teaching; 2) protecting residents from the negative influence of clinical experiences; 3) facilitating residents’ self-assessment and confidence; 4) creating a safer learning environment; 5) providing support for prior personal problems, 5-1) fostering a better atmosphere for the mental health of residents, 5-2) intervening for residents with insufficient social skills/unprofessional behaviour; 6) providing support for isolated residents; and 7) preventing problems with peers. Conclusions: This study identified seven educational roles of programme coordinators for residents from a standpoint of PIF of residents. It also discussed four valuable attributes for coordinators: non-hierarchical relationships with residents, parenting attitudes, sensitivity to residents’ change, and the perspective of a member of the public. These attributes would underpin coordinators’ educational roles and facilitate the professional development of residents. This study provides a basis for defining and revising the role profiles of programme coordinators.

Which leadership roles modify employee perceptions of CSR activities? Job satisfaction implications in the case of the tourism industry

Purpose This paper aims to examine the influence of leadership roles on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as perceived by employees, as well as their impact on job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon a sample of 245 employees in the tourism industry, a structured questionnaire was developed to measure leadership roles and CSR activities as perceived by employees. The competing values model was adopted to operationalize leadership roles. Findings Results indicate that different leadership roles are linked with different dimensions of CSR activities, although innovator role proved to prevail on this association. More specifically, innovator role is related to all CSR dimensions, followed by monitor which is associated with the philanthropic and environmental dimensions. The broker role is related only to environmental CSR actions. Research limitations/implications The possibility to generalize the results to other countries with different characteristics (e.g. regulatory framework, economic development) needs to be investigated further by carrying out similar studies. Practical implications Understanding the nature of the association between leadership and CSR activities would enable practitioners to pursue or cultivate these roles and behaviors creating strategic value by fostering their multidimensional impact upon the social context. Originality/value The present research has led to the diagnosis of the leadership role profiles supporting CSR strategies in the tourism industry. Findings also highlighted the importance of the innovator leadership role in explaining the variance of different aspects of CSR activities.

Remuneration Guidelines for Strength and Conditioning Coaches within Universities in the United Kingdom: International Universities Strength and Conditioning Association (IUSCA) Position Statement

The remuneration of strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches corresponding to the professional services provided across the high school, collegiate and professional sector, has received increased attention in recent times. This appears to be a highly contentious topic regarding the governance of industry awards (National minimum wage) and remuneration. While professional bodies have no legal power to enforce remuneration guidelines, they do provide key recommendations for consideration when entering an employment relationship. In relation to the remuneration of S&C coaches within UK Universities, the International Universities Strength and Conditioning Association (IUSCA) has recently carried out extensive research across UK Universities and found that there is inconsistent grading regarding the role of a S&C coach. In the professional sporting environment, the IUSCA understands that laws of basic economics and supply-and-demand will influence wages, and the value of an S&C coach may therefore be impacted. However, while the IUSCA values free market economies and appreciates that competition will often dictate value, circumstances within UK Universities are different, and warrant fair grading and remuneration. Therefore, the IUSCA has produced this Position Statement to assist Human Resources (HR) departments in developing Job Descriptions, Role Profiles, and associated remuneration packages appropriate to the provision of S&C support within university settings. The IUSCA recommends that these gradings should be incorporated by universities in the UK to ensure a fair and transparent valuation of the work of an S&C coach/practitioner. This should help to standardise the provision within universities and gives the appropriate recognition for the S&C professional. In turn, this will provide a basis for further analysis of remuneration in other countries and sectors within S&C, and perhaps help guide professional sport towards similar standards and recognition.

Role-Based Profiling Using Fuzzy Adaptive Resonance Theory for Securing Database Systems

Very large amounts of time and effort have been invested by the research community working on database security to achieve high assurance of security and privacy. An important component of a secure database system is intrusion detection system which has the ability to successfully detect anomalous behavior caused by applications and users. However, modeling the normal behavior of a large number of users in a huge organization is quite infeasible and inefficient. The main purpose of this research investigation is thus to model the behavior of roles instead of users by applying adaptive resonance theory neural network. The observed behavior which deviates from any of the established role profiles is treated as malicious. The proposed model has the advantage of identifying insider threat and is applicable for large organizations as it is based on role profiling instead of user profiling. The proposed system is capable of detecting intrusion with high accuracy along with minimized false alarms.

Which boys and which girls are falling behind? Linking adolescents' gender role profiles to motivation, engagement, and achievement

Research on gender gaps in school tends to focus on average gender differences in academic outcomes, such as motivation, engagement, and achievement. The current study moved beyond a binary perspective to unpack the variations within gender. It identified distinct groups of adolescents based on their patterns of conformity to different gender norms and compared group differences in motivation, engagement, and achievement. Data were collected from 597 English students (aged 14-16 years, 49% girls) on their conformity to traditional masculine and feminine norms, growth mindset, perseverance, self-handicapping, and their English and mathematics performance at the end of secondary school. Latent profile analysis identified seven groups of adolescents (resister boys, cool guys, tough guys, relational girls, modern girls, tomboys, wild girls) and revealed the prevalence of each profile. Within-gender variations show that two thirds of the boys were motivated, engaged, and performed well in school. In contrast, half of the girls showed maladaptive patterns of motivation, engagement, and achievement, and could be considered academically at risk. By shifting the focus from “boys versus girls” to “which boys and which girls”, this study reveals the invisibility of well-performing boys and underachieving girls in educational gender gap research.

Developing the advanced nurse practitioner role in a memory service

This article describes how one NHS trust in northern England developed the advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) role within its memory services. It discusses how ANP roles were developed and implemented across four localities of a large NHS trust that provides a number of locally based memory services to improve the diagnostic pathway for people referred to the service and their carers. Advanced practice is considered more broadly followed by a review of the literature related to the role of the ANP and non-medical prescriber in mental health and, more specifically, memory assessment and diagnostic services. Challenges to gaining the requisite competency to work as an ANP are discussed. The need for a clear agreed strategy to ensure practitioner competence and effective governance for the introduction of these roles is described. It is argued that using this model allowed for mental health nurses within memory services to make a major contribution to the transformation of such services and receive recognition for the expansion of their role and appropriate remuneration linked to national NHS employment role profiles. The potential benefit of the ANP role more broadly in mental health services is discussed, together with factors that may have previously hindered their contribution to the transformation of services. The strategic development and planning process that led to implementing the ANP role within memory services is presented, together with a description of how the relevant higher level clinical skills required for the roles were achieved and formally accredited.

Developing the advanced nurse practitioner role in a memory service

This article describes how one NHS trust in northern England developed the advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) role within its memory services. It discusses how ANP roles were developed and implemented across four localities of a large NHS trust that provides a number of locally based memory services to improve the diagnostic pathway for people referred to the service and their carers. Advanced practice is considered more broadly followed by a review of the literature related to the role of the ANP and non-medical prescriber in mental health and, more specifically, memory assessment and diagnostic services. Challenges to gaining the requisite competency to work as an ANP are discussed. The need for a clear agreed strategy to ensure practitioner competence and effective governance for the introduction of these roles is described. It is argued that using this model allowed for mental health nurses within memory services to make a major contribution to the transformation of such services and receive recognition for the expansion of their role and appropriate remuneration linked to national NHS employment role profiles. The potential benefit of the ANP role more broadly in mental health services is discussed, together with factors that may have previously hindered their contribution to the transformation of services. The strategic development and planning process that led to implementing the ANP role within memory services is presented, together with a description of how the relevant higher level clinical skills required for the roles were achieved and formally accredited.