Continuous Professional Development Courses Research Articles

Using Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAMed) for Emergency Medical Service education

Background: Continuous professional development (CPD) is a registration requirement for all healthcare professionals in South Africa. The shift-driven work environment of emergency and critical care providers often means it is logistically impractical to attend CPD events. FOAMed and online learning could make CPD activities more accessible. The aim of the study was to determine to what extent available FOAMed resources could be used to supplement the outcomes for successful completion of a CPD course. Methods: A retrospective content analysis was used to review FOAMed resources posted within a two-month period for their ability to cover outcomes of the Ambulance Emergency Assistant (AEA) refresher course (a CPD course). Data were subject to a three-step process of content analysis that was matched to 17 identified course outcomes (themes). Results: A total of 441 FOAMed posts were reviewed during a two-month period. Of the 441 posts, 269 (61%) were excluded, and 172 (39%) FOAMed posts were determined relevant to cover the 17 identified themes of the AEA refresher course. The two most frequently observed themes were related to (i) professionalism, with 45 (26.2%) posts, and (ii) other general medical emergencies, with 39 (22.7%) posts. The remaining 15 themes had 88 (51.1%) posts distributed between them. Conclusion: The study highlights the potential of FOAMed resources to supplement the delivery of education, such as a CPD course. Given that the outcomes were unequally represented, educational institutions should be aware that despite the value of FOAMed, due caution must be given to the critiques and limitations of this educational approach.

The role of university Knowledge Transfer Offices: Not just commercialize research outputs!

While there is a prevailing rich body of studies on the role of university knowledge transfer office (KTO) in the commercialization process as part of the Third Mission, research on its role in community engagement activities is relatively neglected, even as funding agencies and policy makers conceive these as instrumental to sustaining social and economic development. This article focuses on the role of university KTO in supporting, facilitating or undertaking Third Mission community engagement activities. Drawing on data from the annual Higher Education Business and Community Interaction survey for the years 2007–2012, this paper empirically explores the relationship between a range of Third Mission activities by university KTO and performance of three key business-community services – provision of consultancy, provision of continuous professional development courses (CPD), and leasing of facilities and equipment (FE). It emerges that the routines of developing strategic plan and creating spin-off are positively associated with all types of community knowledge transfer (CKT) activities. Further, the routines of establishing partnerships with local and regional bodies, and licensing are positively related to CPD and FE, respectively. The article is concluded with implications for theory, practice, policy, and suggestions for future research.

Inquiry-based science learning in the context of a continuing professional development programme for biology teachers

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine if teachers who participated in a continuous professional development (CPD) programme were able to develop an understanding of inquiry-based science education (IBSE). The CPD programme was designed to IBSE in both formal and informal, Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) contexts, to discuss its role as a tool to improve pedagogic practises in science teaching and to explore the application of the method in teaching biodiversity and climate change. A qualitative design using pre- and post-programme questionnaires was used to investigate teachers’ understanding and classroom implementation of inquiry. Evolution of teachers’ practises were also evaluated during the different steps of CPD course and served as a checking and a remind of what is really an authentic scientific inquiry. The results of two-year independent courses suggest that the CPD programme appeared beneficial in resolving teaching misconceptions about IBSE. Teachers were able to experience, evaluate and reflect on their own practise. At the end, they developed new approaches to apply scientific inquiry while teaching biodiversity and climate change in the context of their own classrooms.

Oral Cancer Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Dentists in the State of Qatar.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess existing knowledge on oral cancer (OC), attitude toward OC examination, and clinical practice among dentists practicing in the governmental health sector in the State of Qatar, including the influence of personal characteristics. Materials and Methods: All 271 dentists practicing in Primary Health Care Centers (PHCC) and the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study. Of these, 177 completed a self-administered, 48-item questionnaire. Based on the responses, knowledge of the risk factors for and clinical presentation of OC was categorized as high, medium, or low, and then further separated into satisfactory (medium/high) and unsatisfactory (low). Information on attitudes toward OC examination and clinical practice was also taken from the questionnaire. Results: The mean score for knowledge of the clinical presentation of OC was 7.59 (standard deviation [SD] = 2.40) out of 14. The mean score for knowledge of the risk factors for OC was 8.96 (SD = 2.31) out of 16. Dentists with ≤10 years of experience were more likely to have satisfactory knowledge of OC compared to dentists with >15 years of experience. Attending a continuous professional development (CPD) course on OC showed a trend with satisfactory clinical knowledge, although it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study identified gaps in dentists’ knowledge of OC; dentists demonstrated unsatisfactory knowledge of the clinical presentation of and risk factors for OC. The findings highlighted the need for educational interventions on OC, which are essential to improving health care outcomes and delivery of care.

The ERA-EDTA today and tomorrow: a progress document by the ERA-EDTA Council.

Scientific societies are increasingly seen as central to the advancement of information sharing and collaboration among scientists and clinical investigators for the progress of medical research and the promotion of education, professional competence, integrity and quality studies. To more effectively serve the practicing nephrologists and investigators dedicated to renal science, the Council of the European Renal Association and European Dialysis and Transplantation Association (ERA-EDTA) reorganized and integrated the various activities of the society into two branches, the Clinical Nephrology Governance branch and the Renal Science branch. New affordable initiatives to promote research, education and professional development and to advocate for the recognition of chronic kidney disease as a major public health issue at the European level will be put in place and/or potentiated in the new organizational frame. Educational initiatives will be espoused to Continuous Professional Development and, starting from 2019, 14 Education & Continuous Professional Development courses will be held covering the full range of knowledge areas of modern nephrology. Consolidation and development is the short- and medium-term mantra of the ERA-EDTA. The society has a rich portfolio of successful activities and brilliant, creative scientists among its members. Integrating the various activities of the ERA-EDTA and treasuring the expertise and wisdom of its most accomplished members will facilitate collaborative research, education and its public impact at large.

The ERA-EDTA today and tomorrow: a progress document by the ERA-EDTA Council.

Scientific societies are increasingly seen as central to the advancement of information sharing and collaboration among scientists and clinical investigators for the progress of medical research and the promotion of education, professional competence, integrity and quality studies. To more effectively serve the practicing nephrologists and investigators dedicated to renal science, the Council of the European Renal Association and European Dialysis and Transplantation Association (ERA-EDTA) reorganized and integrated the various activities of the society into two branches, the Clinical Nephrology Governance branch and the Renal Science branch. New affordable initiatives to promote research, education and professional development and to advocate for the recognition of chronic kidney disease as a major public health issue at the European level will be put in place and/or potentiated in the new organizational frame. Educational initiatives will be espoused to Continuous Professional Development and, starting from 2019, 14 Education & Continuous Professional Development courses will be held covering the full range of knowledge areas of modern nephrology. Consolidation and development is the short- and medium-term mantra of the ERA-EDTA. The society has a rich portfolio of successful activities and brilliant, creative scientists among its members. Integrating the various activities of the ERA-EDTA and treasuring the expertise and wisdom of its most accomplished members will facilitate collaborative research, education and its public impact at large.

Content, Language and Method Integrated Teacher Training (CLMITT) in Training Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and Beyond

<p>Content, Language and Method Integrated Teacher Training (CLMITT) is an educational model for teacher training developed by the author. It refers to an approach where trainees learn teaching methodologies through experiencing them while simultaneously integrating English language development into the training process. CLMITT can be used to train teachers in any context where the course content includes teaching strategies, skills, approaches or methods and where trainees also need to learn English (or another foreign language). Therefore, it is an ideal approach for training non-native English speaker teachers. Applying CLMITT involves the teacher trainer teaching a classroom method or technique by using that method itself during training sessions while using materials about that method. In this way, the content of the session and the method used to teach the session are the same, and trainees are not only learning <em>about</em> a teaching model or strategy but also <em>experiencing </em>it in action from a student perspective at the same time. In addition, they are also improving their English, since the whole exercise takes place in English. CLMITT can be applied in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Programs as well as Continuous Professional Development courses. Trainee feedback after a CLMITT session showed that students felt it provided them with a much deeper understanding of the methods, approaches and strategies covered, while at the same time improving their English during the process.</p>

G+ COMMUNITY: MEASURING TEACHERS� READINESS AND ACCEPTANCE

The purpose of this paper is to explore teachers� acceptance and readiness in using the cloud-based community as a platform for professional collaboration related to their teaching and learning. Familiarity with certain social networking platforms has made the preferable collaboration among teachers only limited to using Facebook, WhatsApp or Telegram. However, with time and space constraints in schools, some of the sharing sessions could not be done effectively most of the time. The study focuses on teachers� acceptance and readiness of having their community in the cloud when they were introduced to the platform during a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) course. A total number of 61 teachers used Google Community named as �Contemporary Children�s Literature (CCL) 2016� as a platform for their Professional Learning Community (PLC) during the course. Descriptive analysis was done using Google Sheets and the findings show that these teachers are receptive towards Google Community in terms of its engagement level, usefulness as well as ease of use. The introduction to Google Community has created a new pathway for their collaboration especially for teaching and learning purposes. In a nutshell, their acceptance towards the cloud-based community indicates that, given the right training channel, teachers are positive and opened to utilising and integrating the cloud-based technology in their current teaching practice.

Profiling Self-regulated Learning in Online Mathematics Teacher Training: A Case Study of a GeoGebra Course

Online training has now become an alternative means of delivering continuousprofessional development courses to improve teacher competencies. The benefits of online training are flexibility of access, cost efficiencies, ease of content updates, and uniformity of content. However, there are many aspects that determine if teachers can be successful in online training, and one is self-regulated learning. This study aims to profile self-regulated learning as case study in an online mathematics teacher training held by PPPPTK Matematika using GeoGebra. Using a survey method, this study describes the participants’ self-regulated learning profile as they accomplished nine tasks in the GeoGebra course.

The Training Dilemma: Three Teachers’ Views of CPD

Continuous professional development (CPD) courses enable teachers to keep up with the latest developments in the field of teaching and learning. However the modus operandi of conducting and delivering CPD courses is constantly questioned. The purpose of this research is to explore the issues related to the conducting and delivery of a CPD course. For the purpose of this study, three teachers who attended a CPD course were chosen. An interview protocol with ten open-ended questions was used to solicit information related to their experience in conducting an in-house course in their respective schools. The responses from the open-ended questions revealed that the teachers were unable to render the same experience to their colleagues due to a variety of reasons such as time factor, priority given by the school administrators and a lack of confidence. The findings suggest that the course organisers should stipulate the amount of time every school should allocate when conducting in-house courses and sufficient time should be allocated to teachers attending CPD to practise what they have learnt before they are asked to conduct an in-house course.

Knowledge and skills needed to improve as preceptor: development of a continuous professional development course - a qualitative study part I.

BackgroundPreceptors are expected to have the skills to be able to form an effective learning environment and facilitate a constructive clinical learning experience for students and new employees. Internationally, access to education for preceptors varies, with preceptors worldwide requesting more education in preceptorship. This article is based on a two-part study focusing on both the development and evaluation of a continuous, credit-bearing professional development course. The aim of this part of the study was to investigate and include preceptors’ requests and educational needs when developing a continuous professional development course on an advanced level.MethodsThis study used a qualitative research approach. In total, 64 preceptors (62 women and two men) answered one single written, self-administered global question online. The participants were all interested in teaching and had completed an undergraduate training in preceptorship. The collected data was analysed by content analysis inspired by Burnard’s description of the method.ResultsThe participating preceptors illuminated two main themes: ‘Tools for effective precepting of students and healthcare professionals’ and ‘in-depth knowledge and understanding of preceptorship in an academic setting’. The results suggest that vital components for preceptor preparation could be a) teaching and learning strategies, b) reflective and critical reasoning, c) communication models, d) the role of the preceptor, and e) preceptorship.ConclusionUsing the results from this study as a guide, a continuous professional development course was designed to assist preceptors in deepening their knowledge of preceptorship in regard to planning, leading and implementing educational activities directed at students, healthcare professionals, patients and their families. The course content focuses on skills needed for preceptorship and is based on adult learning principles. A continuous, credit-bearing professional development course must include an exam by which participants are formally assessed and graded; therefore, a written assignment was included as part of the course.

Midwives’ experience of participating in the Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics® educational program in Rwanda

High maternal and newborn mortality rates remain a global health issue. Ninety-nine percent of maternal deaths occur in low and middle income countries and many could be prevented by having more qualified health providers. In 2013, 62% of maternal deaths took place in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO ® ) Educational Program is an internationally recognized continuous professional development course aimed at increasing the knowledge, skills, competence, and confidence of health professionals to manage obstetric emergencies. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore midwives’ experiences of translating the knowledge and skills acquired from participating in the ALSO ® program into their professional practice in Rwanda. A purposive sample of nine midwives participated in one-to-one interviews directed at understanding their experience of implementing their new knowledge and skills into practice. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was used to illuminate five themes: 1) Improved midwifery practice, 2) Availability of resources, 3) Inter-professional collaboration, 4) Job (dis)satisfaction, and 5) Autonomy for midwifery practice. The findings revealed that although midwives reported increased knowledge, skills and confidence in management of obstetric emergencies, their ability to change practice was often hampered by non-conducive work environments, a shortage of health care providers, and insufficient equipment and materials. These findings can serve to inform ALSO ® course module development, midwifery education development, and health human resources policy that can address obstetrical and newborn education needs and health service delivery in Rwanda.

Perceptions of preceptorship in clinical practice after completion of a continuous professional development course- a qualitative study Part II

BackgroundFor health care professionals, clinical practice is a vital part of education, and in several countries, teaching is a regulated part of the role of nurses and health care staff. The added responsibility of taking on the teaching of students during clinical practice; thus, balancing clinical and educational demands, might lead to feelings of stress and burnout. Being a skilled and experienced professional is not automatically linked to being a skilled educator as teaching of a subject is a completely different story. Preceptors who participate in educational initiatives are better prepared to address challenges and are more satisfied with the preceptor role. The aim of the current study was to evaluate preceptors’ experiences of preceptorship in clinical practice after completion of a credit bearing continuous professional development course on advanced level.MethodsThis was a small-scale interpretative qualitative study drawing data from focus group interviews and written accounts from reflective journals. Data were analysed through the process of naturalistic inquiry.ResultsOur findings show that the participants, who took part in and completed the CPD course, had developed skills and competences they believed to be necessary to drive pedagogical development at their respective workplaces. This is illustrated by the main category Leading educational development and explained by four sub-categories: 1/ increased ability to give collegial support; 2/ increased trust in one’s abilities; 3/ increased emphasis on reflection; and 4/ increased professional status.ConclusionsA well-structured program based on the needs of preceptors and developed in partnership between educational and clinical settings seems to be successful in terms of preceptors’ perceived increase of their competence, abilities and professional status. What seems to be missing, not only from the current study but also from previous research, is to what extent properly prepared preceptors impact on student learning and this needs to be further investigated.

Scaling CPD through professional learning communities: development of teachers’ self-efficacy in relation to collaboration

Whereas much is known about designing effective continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers, little is known about spillover effects of CPD by fostering collegial interactions. In this respect, the self-efficacy expectancy of multipliers to spread CPD issues within their own school is an important predictor for scaling. Self-efficacy can be fostered through various sources within CPD courses, including role-plays and practice phases to test issues. One essential endeavor lies in initiating collaboration in professional learning communities (PLCs). The study discussed here focuses on two courses explicitly supporting multipliers to actively engage in PLCs. In a pre/post-design, participants’ development of self-efficacy was measured in relation to collaboration, and compared with that of a control group. As instrument we applied an adapted version of the self-efficacy scale by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (Skalen zur Erfassung von Lehrer- und Schulermerkmalen, (1999), which yielded a high internal reliability (Cr alpha = 0.950). Our results point to different developments within the two specific CPD courses, with one course featuring a significant development of middle size effect (d = 0.31). In addition, developments were found to differ with respect to the duration of the CPD course.

Examining mathematics mentor teachers’ practices in professional development courses on teaching data analysis: implications for mentor teachers’ programs

In this paper, we report on the training practices of 12 mathematics mentor teachers who developed and implemented five short professional development courses after participating in a 5-month continuous professional development course “Competence-oriented teaching and learning of data analysis.” The intention of this course was to deepen their professional knowledge of teaching statistics using digital tools, and to develop their competences and knowledge for developing and implementing their own professional development courses in statistics. Here, we explore how the professional program itself is reflected in the short courses they designed and implemented. Although the sample is very small, the cases allow for interesting insights into their training practices and challenges that seem to have a major impact on the quality of their professional development courses. On this basis we offer suggestions for how continuous professional development courses for mathematics mentor teachers might be designed to support their diverse needs in the professional development system.

Predictors of E-Learning Satisfaction in Teaching and Learning for School Teachers: A Literature Review

This paper develops a theoretical model of the determinants of e-learning satisfaction in teaching and learning among secondary school teachers. It is based on reviews of past studies on satisfaction in using information technology systems. Three potential groups of determinants of satisfaction among secondary school teachers were identified; user-related characteristics, organisational-related characteristics and the e-learning-system characteristics. Usage is established as a mediating variable between the three potential groups of determinants and satisfaction towards e-learning. Future research could provide a more definitive theoretical statement of e-learning satisfaction and develop an additional proposition which could be derived from a more refined theory. The research yields a theoretical framework that outlines the predictive potential of the three groups of key factors in explaining e-learning satisfaction among secondary school teachers. The factors can be considered when developing future continuous professional development courses and intervention programmes when proposing a new innovation in the curriculum.

Effect of continuous professional development course of Family Medicine Essentials on Physician′s knowledge, skills, and attitude among primary healthcare physicians in Saudi Arabia

Objective: This study was designed to measure the outcome of the continuous professional development (CPD) course (Family Medicine Essentials) conducted and organised by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on the knowledge, skills, and attitude of primary healthcare (PHC) physicians in patient care. Materials and Methods: This study was based on pre- and post-implementation of training evaluation, which included the seven CPD modules in family medicine customised for non-certified family physicians working at MOH and PHCs in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted from March 2009 to 2010 and it included 259 family physicians working in PHCs and MOH. The pre- and post-test scores for mean knowledge, skills and attitude were compared using paired t-test. P Results: The results showed that the percentage of male participants (80.3%) was higher than females (19.7%). The mean age of the participants was 39.6 ± 8.0 years. A significant difference was found in pre- and post-test scores of PHC physicians' attitude, knowledge and skills. Attitude increased from 77.5 ± 6.1 to 83.0 ± 7.8 (P Conclusion: Participants in the CPD course showed significant improvement in their level of knowledge, clinical skills and attitude in patient care. However, further case-control studies and practice evaluations are required to obtain more in-depth information on the impact of this course on PHC physicians.

Assessing and Exploring the Competency of Prehospital Emergency Medical Service Personnel in Klang Valley, Malaysia: a Mixed Method Approach

Introduction: The notion of competency in pre-hospital emergency medical service (EMS) personnel is mainly focused on the professional proficiency that he/she has to provide intervention outside of hospital setting. Consequently, the effectiveness of pre-hospital EMS performance very much depends upon the capability of the personnel at the scene and as well during transport to the definitive care center. The aim of this study is to appraise and explore the competency of pre-hospital care staff and provide strategies for improvement. Methods: A mixed method approach combining the qualitative and quantitative study design. Of 134 staffs only 111(82.84%) returned the questionnaire. Nine semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions were performed. The main informants were nurses/assistant medical officers, nurse/assistant medical officer administrators, and emergency physicians. Results: From the quantitative finding on the competency of staff handling pre-hospital EMS, all had the essential knowledge and skills. However, most of them reported not having good knowledge and skills for invasive procedures (31%-61%), include giving medications (61%-66%). The qualitative information provided insight about the issues and strategies for the personnel in regards to competency. All the relevant qualitative data were merged into 5 categories relating issues and 5 categories to strategies that could affect the competency of the personnel. Conclusion: Pre-hospital EMS systems need to consider that the competency of pre-hospital EMS personnel has to come along with the responsible attitude of the staff itself, the support of medical direction, clear protocol for guiding them whenever needed, and continuous professional-development courses require them to maintain their professional proficiency.

Status of the Medical Physics Profession in Europe

Medical Physicists in Europe are required to have (a) an advanced degree in Medical Physics (MSc or PhD), (b) a supervised, specialized clinical training in one or more areas of Medical Physics and (c) professional recognition through certification and registration. Furthermore, continuous professional development (CPD) is of vital importance for European Medical Physicists. A study shows that the entry requirements, the required postgraduate studies, the certification and registration processes and CPD schemes for Medical Physicists are far from being harmonized in Europe (EFOMP policy statements, Physica Medica, 24:3ndash;20, 2008). External assessment of the quality of education or training provision is always needed. Accreditation should be based upon standards. Medical Physics CPD courses must be accredited by an independent accreditation body. An accreditation body for Medical Physics courses is needed to be established in Europe. This organization will promote training and accredit programs that meet high standards. Qualification frameworks in Europe should be referred to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for lifelong learning. According to the EQF, learning outcomes are expressed as inventories of knowledge, skills and competences (KSC). To facilitate harmonization of Medical Physics Experts (MPE) qualifications among the member states of the European Union, the European Commission (EC) has developed the ‘Guidelines on Medical Physics Expert’ very recently. According to these guidelines, the MPE should be independently recognized in each sub‐specialty of Medical Physics. Learning outcomes for MPEs are expressed in terms of KSC. A workshop was organized in 2011 Sevilla, Spain, to discuss the status, education and training, recognition and mobility of Medical Physicists. The final draft of the ‘guidelines on MPE’ document was presented and discussed. The forthcoming document will be published in the EC radiation protection (RP) series (EC, Guidelines on medical Physics Expert, Directorate‐General Energy, Luxembourg, in press).

Working with Mathematics and Science Teachers on IBL Approaches: Teacher Concerns [VISIONS 2011: Teacher Education

This paper reports on mathematics and science teachers’ beliefs concerning the use of inquiry-based teaching strategies. Two different surveys were conducted: one with 24 teachers who were to become future instructional leaders; and one with 75 teachers as part of an international baseline study. We found that teachers in Norway would like to use more IBL strategies in their day-to-day teaching. They were also asking for more, and more relevant, continuous professional development courses. Textbooks were not seen as a main hindrance to the use of IBL, but these would need to include more IBL approaches. Even if the curriculum, particularly in the natural sciences, did not represent an important hindrance, in their view, it would need to advocate IBL more explicitly. The results provide deeper insights into teacher beliefs related to IBL, in particular the constraints that prevent them from working in such a manner, and into potential ‘openings’ for using IBL to enhance pupil engagement and deeper learning. Methodologically, the study uses a quantitative approach to investigate teacher beliefs related to IBL that adds to the literature in the field.