Exploring Tertiary Health Science Student Willingness or Resistance to Cultural Competency and Safety Pedagogy

There is an increasing body of literature that considers the relevance and experiences of cultural competency and safety training in health professional students. However, less is written about Australian tertiary learners’ experiences of engaging with cultural competency training. The aim of this study is to explore tertiary students’ willingness or resistance to cultural competency and safety pedagogy. Qualitative student feedback to a teaching unit was collected and triangulated with data from focus groups with tutors. Results were thematically analyzed. Willingness and resistance to cultural competency and safety teaching emerged as two key themes. Willingness to engage with the unit was largely due to student interest in the content, teaching environment and relevance of cultural competency to students’ future practice. Resistance was linked to the students feeling personally attacked, or culturally confronted, with tutors noting the topics around sexuality and white privilege being more resisted. Acknowledging reasons for student resistance and developing strategies to reduce resistance can facilitate more student engagement with cultural competency topics, ultimately leading to their future provision of culturally competent healthcare.

The Analysis of Covid-19 Knowledge of Health Sciences Students Based on Their Characteristics

A total of 538 people were respondents in this study. The median knowledge of respondents was 37 and 71% of respondents had good knowledge. Respondents came from Nursing, Midwifery and Nursing Professional Education study programs. As many as 61.3% of students work as health workers. The respondent's province of residence consists of 19 provinces in Indonesia. Respondents aged <20 years to> 40 years, most 45.7% aged 20-25 years. The three most common sources of information COVID-19 are the internet 37%, television 25.3% and superiors and colleagues at work 19.7%. Cumulative Achievement Index (IPK) between 3.0 - 3.5 is the most IPK of respondents (59.7%). Median knowledge scores 37 and 71% of respondents have good knowledge. There was a significant relationship (p <0.05) between COVID-19 knowledge and the student's employment status, study program and health science student age.

From Stacks to Collaborative Learning Commons

The University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) completed a project to transform traditional, print-centric library space into an open, technology-enabled learning commons. The library’s print collection was dramatically reduced to create a new Collaborative Learning Commons in areas formerly occupied by bookshelves. Removal of books, journals, and shelving was carefully planned based on the needs of students, researchers, and clinicians. Following the print collection reduction, the new physical commons development included changing walls, replacing flooring, adding electrical and network connections, installing advanced technology resources, and using innovative furnishings to promote collaboration. The major accomplishments of this project include repurposing of library space to serve modern health science student needs through the creation of vibrant meeting and workspaces, expansion of access to educational technologies, and increased access to library scholarly information resources via a significant investment in electronic resources.

Use Of Clinical Visitations As A Medium To Develop Critical Thinking Skills In Health Science Students

The results of this study suggests that students have positive perceptions regarding Class Supported Clinical Visitation (CSCV) as a learning technique that may promote active learning and critical thinking. While the data obtained from this limited educational experience cannot be generalized, it does offer some insight into the usefulness of the CSCV learning technique. Based upon these findings further work can begin to explore student’s perceptions of its usefulness in a larger diverse health science student population. Second, future work must assess if CSCV is truly effective in developing a student’s ability to think critically. Finally, one must ask is CSCV more effective than other active learning strategies currently used to promote critical thinking.