Doctors’ engagement with a formal system of continuing professional development in Ireland: a qualitative study in perceived benefits, barriers and potential improvements

ObjectivesTo examine experiences of participation in a mandatory system of continuing professional development (CPD) among doctors in Ireland, in order to identify areas for improvement.DesignA qualitative cross-sectional design was used.Participants1408 participants (701 male, 707 female) were recruited via email from a population of 4350 doctors enrolled on a Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Professional Competence Scheme (PCS) for the 2017/2018 year, and completed an online survey as part of a larger study examining experiences and attitudes towards participation in PCS. A subset of the sample (434 participants) responded to an optional open-ended question about PCS participation. Responses to the open-ended question were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsThematic analysis resulted in five main themes relating to perceived barriers to PCS participation across a wide range of areas: ‘Evidence of participation’, ‘The structure of PCS’, ‘Questioning the benefits of formal CPD’, ‘Workplace challenges’ and ‘Access issues’.ConclusionsTaken together, the five themes outlined in this study give a wide-ranging, in-depth picture of the challenges faced by Irish doctors, which expand on well-documented factors such as time constraints, to illustrate a series of complex, interacting factors. Some barriers, such as difficulty obtaining evidence of participation, may be relatively easily addressed. Others, such as issues with the way the PCS is structured, are more intractable, and require further research to understand more fully and develop appropriate solutions.

Industry Context as an Essential Tool for the Future of Healthy and Safe Work: Illustrative Examples for Occupational Health Psychology from the Hospitality Industry

Contextual nuance holds value for occupational health and safety, particularly as workplace challenges and solutions become more complex. However, disciplines that inform occupational safety and health vary in the degree to which they target breadth and depth of understanding. The future of work presents challenges related to work, the workplace, and the workforce, and an appreciation of the context of industry will ready researchers and practitioners with the most informed solutions. Broadly developed solutions for future of work challenges may flounder without an appreciation for the context of industry, as evidenced by two examples provided in this review. As occupational safety and health disciplines answer the call provided by the future of work, this review provides an account for the value of industry context and recommendations for achieving both breadth and depth of scientific inquiry and practical reach.

“Covid Just Amplified the Cracks of the System”: Working as a Frontline Health Worker during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified existing workplace stresses and created new challenges for people working on the healthcare frontline, including rapid workplace changes and increasing uncertainty at work, along with fear of contracting the virus. The purpose of this study is to examine the workplace challenges described by Australian frontline health workers during the pandemic. Drawing on a national online anonymous survey of 9518 healthcare workers, we analysed free-text responses to the question: “What did you find to be the main challenges that you faced during the pandemic?” A qualitative content analysis was undertaken. We identified five key themes relating to participant experiences of workplace challenges. These were: Work-life imbalance; Following orders or caring for patients; Unpredictability, disruption, and inconsistency at work; The right to be safe at work; and (Un)preparedness in the workplace. We argue that working during the COVID-19 pandemic illuminated existing occupational health and safety issues that have serious implications for job satisfaction, health workforce retention, and ultimately, patient care.

Covid-19, Workplace Challenges

Workplace now, workplace then, the new normal is a conceptual paper written to enlightened how organizations monitor employees' work performance from home as versus working in the office as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The objective of this article was to determine how organizations are able to measure the performance of their employees when they are working from home. Secondly, to evaluate how organizations are able to monitor virtual workload as versus traditional workload. And finally, through scrutinizing the new workplace normal articles, the author derived the third objective which is to determine how the employees balanced their work and family disputes during the Covid 19 pandemic. Several related articles were scrutinized to demonstrate the current workplace scenario as opposed to the traditional practices. At the end of the article, we proposed monitoring measures and how employees' performance can be improved during the Covid19 pandemic. Flexibility in goal setting, teamwork, and regular performance feedback will psychologically lead to positivity in work performance. Whilst, social support, job autonomy, workload, and monitoring would reduce employees' procrastination in carrying out their virtual workload. And finally, a 360° social support, flexible schedule, mental therapy, and boundary management able to overcome work and mental stress thus create a healthy working environment.

Workplace challenges and nurses recovered from COVID-19

Background: Although many studies have addressed COVID-19, the challenges faced by nurses in their workplace after recovering from this disease have not been investigated. As the backbone of the health system and at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, nurses are exposed to serious risks of infection and even death. They may also face numerous challenges in their workplace after recovering from COVID-19. It is therefore ethically recommended that the problems of these nurses be solved to increase their job satisfaction and encourage them to remain in their profession. Objectives: The present research was conducted to determine the workplace challenges faced by nurses who had recovered from COVID-19. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using the interpretive phenomenological approach proposed by van Manen. The data collected through 17 in-depth semi-structured interviews with 14 eligible nurses at different occupational levels were analyzed using the six steps proposed by van Manen. These nurses had also recovered from COVID-19. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Urmia University of Medical Sciences (IR.UMSU.REC.1399.318). Findings: Four themes and 20 subthemes extracted from analyzing the data explained the challenges faced by the nurses after their return to work. The themes included declined ethical values (four subthemes), infected nurses, forgotten patients (three subthemes), gradually leaving the job (six subthemes), and corona phobia (seven subthemes). Conclusion: The present findings can be used to lay the foundations for adopting humanitarian policies in health organizations in terms of ethical care provision during future pandemics.

Challenges Encountered by Healthcare Providers in COVID-19 Times: An Exploratory Study

Healthcare establishments are unique and complex. The Indian healthcare system comprises of public and private healthcare establishments. Different challenges are encountered by the healthcare professionals in their daily operations. The sudden emergence of COVID-19 posed a new threat to the already burdened healthcare system. The pandemic changed the healthcare paradox with newer workplace and societal challenges faced by the healthcare personnel. The purpose of this study is to identify the antecedents of workplace and societal challenges faced by the healthcare personnel. Our study conducted in Kolkata and other adjoining areas of West Bengal included respondents who volunteered for individual in-depth interviews. The sample size was kept at n = 20 after due technical considerations. Freelisting and pile sorting was done to generate clusters. The qualitative study identified five constructs with 18 items under workplace challenges and three constructs with five items under societal/community challenges. Workplace challenges included resource availability, adequacy and allocation, financial issues, perceived managerial ineffectiveness, inconsistent guidelines and perceived occupational stress, while societal/community challenges included dread disease, social adaptiveness and challenges related to essential services. A salience threshold was established and the multidimensional scaling provided four major clusters: financial support and sustainability, adaptive resilience, infection risk mitigation and healthcare facility preparedness. Suggestive actions for the identified challenges were summed as enhanced production of diagnostic kits through public–private partnership models and industrial production reforms. Enhanced testing facility for COVID-19 will help to identify new cases. Financial stresses need long-term sustainable alternative that will avoid pay cuts and unemployment. Treatment regimen, diagnostic protocols, waste disposal guidelines should be worked upon and leading national agencies be consulted for technical support, research and development.

Barriers, knowledge, and training related to pharmacists’ counselling on dietary and herbal supplements: a systematic review of qualitative studies

Background Pharmacists are recognized as one of the most accessible healthcare providers and are licensed to advise patients on drugs and health products including dietary and herbal supplements (DHSs). The objective of this study was to identify barriers, knowledge, and training that pharmacists report related to DHSs counselling. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED and CINAHL were systematically searched from database inception to May 8th, 2020. Eligible articles contained qualitative data with a specific focus on pharmacists’ perceived knowledge, training, and barriers to DHSs counselling. Relevant data were extracted, and a thematic analysis was conducted. Results Nineteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The following three main themes were identified: challenges to pharmacists obtaining DHSs education, postgraduate workplace challenges surrounding DHSs, and pharmacists’ perceived role and importance on DHSs. Low knowledge of DHSs and the limited regulations surrounding DHSs acting as a barrier to counselling were common findings supported by the eligible articles. Conclusions A lack of pharmacists’ knowledge and awareness of DHSs stems from a variety of factors including a lack of education and training in the field, limited regulations surrounding DHSs, and inadequate availability of DHS information resources in the pharmacy. Pharmacists were unable to confidently counsel patients due to these aforementioned factors in addition to reporting that they lacked time. Further research that reviews pharmacy education and workplace training, and improving DHS regulations are warranted future directions.