Curriculum Recommendations Research Articles

Ensuring quality of care through implementation of a competency‐based musculoskeletal education framework

Introduction As the Bone and Joint Decade 2000–2010 draws to a close, it is timely to review its impact on musculoskeletal medical education, which was clearly identified by the World Health Organization as a key factor contributing to less than optimal musculoskeletal care (1). The increasing burden of musculoskeletal disorders (including chronic bone and arthritic conditions) and the uncertain quality of care provided (2,3) has meant that there is a growing imperative to ensure that optimal, evidence-based, and cost-effective treatment is being provided to people with musculoskeletal disorders by medical practitioners (4). In 2004, the Bone and Joint Decade established the International Education Task Force and Undergraduate Curriculum Development Group to develop strategies to address the issue of insufficient and/or inadequate medical education, particularly in the areas of basic and clinical science (5,6). They released global core recommendations for a musculoskeletal undergraduate medical curriculum, which were designed to enable the development of a locally applicable musculoskeletal curriculum that was able to meet national guidelines and be reflective of local needs, priorities, and opportunities (5). Despite the release of the global core recommendations for a musculoskeletal undergraduate medical curriculum, in 2007 Woolfe and Akesson identified that the poor quality of medical education and a lack of coordination between the different disciplines and professional specialties working in musculoskeletal health care have meant that people do not receive the best practice treatment (6). Furthermore, in 2007 Day et al demonstrated significant deficiencies in the knowledge of chronic arthritic conditions in graduating medical students (2). Deficiencies in undergraduate education in musculoskeletal science have also been identified by medical students and graduates in studies conducted in a number of countries (2,7–10), and there is an obvious requirement for clinically relevant, evidence-based curriculum design that integrates traditional scientific and clinical disciplines. The Australian Musculoskeletal Education Collaboration (AMSEC) project began in Australia in 2005, with the aim of developing nationally agreed musculoskeletal core competencies (based on the Bone and Joint Decade curriculum recommendations) for implementation in all Australian medical schools. Initiated by the Australian Orthopaedic Association and funded by the Australian government, this project has succeeded in bringing together all key musculoskeletal specialist and representative organizations in a national, multidisciplinary education collaboration (including orthopedics, rheumatology, general practice, rehabilitation medicine, sports medicine, endocrinology, neurology, geriatrics, radiology, pediatrics, nursing, and interested allied health professions). While the Bone and Joint Decade recommendations formed the base from which the Australian competencies were developed, it was also vital that specific Australian standards and requirements were considered. The AMSEC competencies were therefore also related directly to the Australian Medical Council standards and principles and The National Patient Safety Framework (11,12). The purpose of this article is to outline the relevance of a competency-based approach to musculoskeletal education and to describe the development of theAMSECmusculoskeletal core competencies. Furthermore, we demonstrate the significance of the AMSEC competencies and the competency education process for optimal education in musculoskeletal medicine relative to chronic rheumatic disease.

Classroom‐level teacher professional development and satisfaction: teachers learn in the context of classroom‐level curriculum development

This qualitative study examined the impact of classroom‐level teacher professional development (CTPD) and curriculum transmission on teacher professional development and satisfaction. Based on work with English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language college teachers and students, data analysis showed that CTPD significantly improved student–teacher subject, pedagogical and curricular skills and professional satisfaction. Data analysis, however, indicated that teacher curriculum transmission resulted in neither teacher professional development nor satisfaction. The study provided recommendations for teacher, curriculum and school development.

Ensino e práticas de promoção da saúde durante o primeiro ano de medicina - Unicamp

INTRODUÇÃO: Conforme as Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais e as orientações da Abem para ampliar a visão generalista da prática médica, a FCM-Unicamp renovou seu currículo ao implantar, no primeiro ano do curso de Medicina, a disciplina Ações de Saúde Pública, na qual os alunos devem identificar e atenuar um problema da região mediante projetos de intervenção nos Centros de Saúde (CS). Foi desenvolvido um projeto com foco nos motivos e consequências da presença de adolescentes grávidas nas redondezas do CS São Quirino em 2008. OBJETIVO: Contribuir para a melhoria da qualidade de vida de adolescentes e bebês. MÉTODOS: Selecionadas as adolescentes, aplicou-se um questionário e formou-se um Grupo de Gestantes no CS. Oficinas com temas variados foram desenvolvidas. RESULTADOS: Alunos e funcionários do CS trabalharam harmonicamente, o que viabilizou a sustentabilidade do trabalho nos anos seguintes. CONCLUSÃO: As adolescentes reconheceram a importância dos cuidados com a gravidez, e os alunos tiveram contato precoce com as práticas do SUS

The Rationalization of Educational Development: Scientific Activity among International Nongovernmental Organizations

Educational development organizations and related global movements emerged and expanded during the twentieth century. Today, most activities in the educational development field are characterized by a scientific outlook that schooling can be transformed using measurable and generalizable knowledge, and most of its leaders believe that experts can transport this knowledge internationally across diverse contexts. University-level certificates are now available for individuals who wish to become credentialed international development experts, and a cadre of professionals has been trained to apply the procedures of academic research to educational development. Scientific approaches to educational development have thus acquired great legitimacy in the modern world. The organizations and professionals pursuing scientific, expert, and knowledge-based activities have become a powerful international force and are increasingly the key players shaping global policies and practices in educational development, as evident from the global benchmarks laid out in the Education for All movement, as well as in international testing programs. In this article, I analyze the characteristics of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) that pursue scientific, expert, and knowledgebased activities. Although scientific activities are immensely influential in the contemporary world, we have a poor understanding of which organizations engage in scientific activities and what types of organizations avoid or even reject them. Are such INGOs usually based in Western countries or headquartered worldwide? Are scientific activities compatible with alternative charitable and service provision approaches to educational development? Little is known about the types of organizations that are shaping educational development worldwide through their engagement in scientific, rationalized activities. Educational development INGOs can be defined as those seeking to improve education in developing countries. They are neither government nor for-profit agencies, and they have ties to more than one country. One prominent example, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), operates primarily in Bangladesh and secondarily in Afghanistan, both coun

Rose and primary English: are the shackles really off?

This article offers a critical appraisal of some of the Rose Report's recommendations for the primary English curriculum. It is divided into two parts. The first discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the recommendations whilst raising questions about their potential to bring about urgently needed curriculum renewal. The second is a reflective study of a short, intensive teaching programme recently conducted with a Year 6 class which used a children's story to improve writing performance. Dramatic activities and a progressive model for questioning texts made use of pedagogical strategies which were designed to engage children's enjoyment and motivation whilst also ensuring that developmental gains were made in spoken language, thinking and writing. The head teacher who initiated the project had already embarked on a series of new approaches to the curriculum which happened to coincide with Rose's recommendations to make greater use of spoken language and drama in reading and writing development. It is suggested that such approaches can make a strong impact upon children's learning across several areas. However, what is left unresolved is the question of whether high stakes testing and literacy prescriptions will continue to inhibit the real potential which exists for curriculum change.

Examining the “Digital Divide”

Since the concept of “digital divide” first appeared, many researchers have argued for a more nuanced definition that highlights its complexities and better reveals its impact on the appropriation of ICTs. In this paper, the author analyzes the experiences of six Master of Education (M.Ed.) pre-service teachers learning to integrate ICTs into their practice. These case studies demonstrate how novice teachers’ learning processes can be impacted by the unequal distribution of the temporal, material, mental, social, and cultural resources available (van Dijk, 2005). A number of pedagogical and curricular recommendations for the M.Ed. program are then provided.

MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ CONCEPTIONS OF PROOF: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Current mathematics education reforms devoted to reasoning and proof highlight its importance in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. In order to provide students with opportunities to experience and understand proof, mathematics teachers must have a solid understanding of proofs themselves. In light of this challenge, a growing number of researchers around the world have started to investigate mathematics teachers’ conceptions of proof; however, much more needs to be done. Drawing on lessons learned from research and curricular recommendations from around the world, the main purpose of this paper is to review the literature on elementary and secondary mathematics teachers’ conceptions of proof and discuss international implications.

University of Missouri—Kansas City School of Medicine

University of Missouri—Kansas City School of Medicine

Paediatric HERMES: European Curriculum Recommendations for Training in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine

Paediatric HERMES: European Curriculum Recommendations for Training in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine

European Curriculum Recommendations for Training in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine: one step further: Table 1–

The 2010 September issue of Breathe features the Curriculum Recommendations for Training in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine 1; a detailed version of the 24 curriculum modules can also be found online at http://hermes.ersnet.org/. The curriculum is the result of the ongoing work of the Paediatric HERMES (Harmonised Education in Respiratory Medicine for European Specialists) Task Force. It represents the second step of the Task Force’s ongoing work. The goal of the Task Force is to strengthen paediatric respiratory medicine in Europe by increasing quality and harmonising training. The Task Force, consisting of 17 acknowledged experts in PRM, is strongly supported by the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Headquarters and an educational specialist (J. Busari). Wide-ranging consultation has been used throughout the development process since the Task Force took up its work in 2007. Following an online survey, which highlighted the need to update the first European syllabus in PRM 2, the core syllabus was revised and published in March 2009 3. The syllabus lists the knowledge considered necessary for a paediatric respiratory specialist. It is divided into 24 modules and specifies the required level of knowledge. To ensure the acceptability of the results of the Task Force’s work, development of the syllabus included a modified Delphi process involving: respondents from across Europe, who voted on behalf of their respective National Societies; fellows in training from different countries; and the Task Force members themselves. The tertiary care level of training includes 21 mandatory modules and three optional modules, with a specified level of competence that is to be achieved (table 1). The …

Recommended ethics curriculum for medical physics graduate and residency programs: Report of Task Group 159

The AAPM Professional Council approved the formation of a task group in 2007, whose purpose is to develop recommendations for an ethics curriculum for medical physics graduate and residency programs. Existing program's ethics curricula range in scope and content considerably. It is desirable to have a more uniform baseline curriculum for all programs. Recommended subjects areas, suggested ethics references, and a sample curriculum are included. This report recommends a reasonable ethics course time to be 15-30 h while allowing each program the flexibility to design their course.

Opinion: To the point - Protecting the Early Years Foundation Stage

From an early years perspective, it was frustrating that significant recommendations for the primary curriculum did not survive the end of this parliament. It remains to be seen whether Sir Jim Rose's proposal that the Early Years Foundation Stage approach should be continued into Key Stage 1 will be reinstated after the general election, together with more freedom for teachers to exercise their professional judgement.

Emergency Medicine Interest Group Curriculum: Faculty and Preclinical Student Opinions Differ in a Formal Needs Assessment

Medical students and Emergency medicine (EM) faculty may have differing opinions on the ideal curriculum during the preclinical years. To assess the perceived needs of preclinical medical students exploring EM and compare them with those of EM faculty regarding appropriate educational interventions. A survey instrument listing 15 workshops related to EM was administered to preclinical medical students in our Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG), and to EM faculty. Respondents graded the perceived utility of each workshop offered at our medical school and those identified via a web search for EMIG. No recommendations for EMIG curriculum were identified through PubMed. Fisher's exact tests were computed using SPSS (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) with α = 0.05. There were 48 medical students and 15 faculty members who completed the survey. Students strongly desired workshops in suturing (48/48; 100%), splinting (47/48; 97.9%), and basic electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation (47/48; 97.9%). Least desired topics were history of EM (16/48; 33.3%), getting involved in EM organizations (20/48; 41.7%), and wellness (21/48; 43.8%). Women chose the domestic violence workshop more than men (p = 0.036). Faculty strongly supported workshops in conducting focused history and physical examination (14/15; 93.3%), the specialty of EM (14/15; 93.3%), and basic ECG interpretation (12/15; 80.0%). The lowest rated faculty preferences were ultrasound (5/15; 33.3%), history of EM (7/15; 46.7%), and emergency radiology (7/15; 46.7%). Preclinical students and faculty opinions of important educational workshops differed. Faculty favored the approach to the undifferentiated patient and an introduction to the specialty, whereas students preferred hands-on workshops. Both groups agreed that basic ECG interpretation was useful. These data may be useful for designing an educational program that is interesting to preclinical students while still meeting the needs as perceived by medical student educators.

Students’ conceptions about the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change

The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ conceptions of the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change. The study was descriptive in nature and reflected a cross-age design involving the collection of qualitative data from 51 secondary students from three different schools in the Midwest, USA. These data were analyzed for content in an inductive manner to identify student’s conceptions. The categories that emerged from the students’ responses reflected different degrees of sophistication of students’ conceptions about the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change. Based on these findings we make curricular recommendations that build on the students’ conceptions, the IPCC Findings, the NRC (1996) science education standards, and NOAA’s climate literacy framework.

Emotions and interpersonal skills for IT professionals: an exploratory study

The development of intellectual capital of corporations represents one of the most significant challenges for today's managers and one of the most fertile fields for business innovation, human resource management and education research. In information technology (IT) field, human capital is a particularly critical issue, due to its knowledge intensive nature. In this scenario, the importance of 'soft skills' in general and 'interpersonal skills' is beyond any doubt. In this paper, interpersonal skills for IT workers are analysed from the point of view of computer science students. The present study consisted of the analysis of the importance which students in the final year of a Computer Engineering degree place on soft skills, particularly, interpersonal skills, for their professional future. In order to achieve this objective, a questionnaire has been applied in which the various interpersonal skills have been characterised with eighteen associated behaviours. Results show two trends. On one hand, the moderate relevance which students assign to interpersonal skills in contrast to professional practice, while on the other hand, the scarce emphasis which lecturers have placed on the development of such skills in contrast to international curricular recommendations.

IS 2010: Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Systems

The IS 2010 report is the latest output from model curriculum work for Information Systems (IS) that began in the early 1970s. Prior to this current effort, the most recent version of the IS undergraduate model curriculum is IS 2002 (Gorgone et al., 2003), published in early 2003. IS 2002 was a relatively minor update of IS'97 (Davis et al., 1997). Both IS 2002 and IS '97 were joint efforts by ACM, AIS, and DPMA/AITP (Data Processing Management Association/ Association of Information Technology Professionals). IS'97 was preceded by DPMA'90 (Longenecker and Feinstein 1991) and ACM Curriculum Recommendations 1983 (ACM 1983) and 1973 (Couger 1973). IS 2002 has been widely accepted and it has also been the basis for accreditation of undergraduate programs of Information Systems. This report represents the combined effort of numerous individuals and reflects the interests of thousands of faculty and practitioners. It is grounded in the expected requirements of industry, represents the views of organizations employing the graduates, and is supported by other IS-related organizations.

Update on WPA education programs, 2009.

It is incumbent upon those involved in training the next generation of psychiatrists and other physicians to ensure that trainees and practitioners are exposed to the widest possible range of medical and psychiatric knowledge and clinical settings, so that they can develop appropriate clinical skills based on cutting edge knowledge. It is within this context that the WPA has developed an array of educational programming geared toward ensuring that psychiatrists, other physicians, and the general public, no matter where in the world they live or train, will have the advantage of the latest understanding of psychiatric illness etiologies, diagnosis, and treatment. A variety of educational materials are available on the WPA website (www.wpanet.org). A recent education project is the WPA/International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders program on personality disorders 1,2. E. Simonsen and colleagues have produced a work that is comprehensive, but organized in a way that makes access to the material easy for individuals at any stage of their professional careers. Soon after the publication of this issue of World Psychiatry, readers will find that a new and completely revised edition of the educational program on depressive disorders 3is available on the WPA website. An important aim of the revision is to make the new materials useful in the primary care setting. Thus, an important part of the overall project will include collaboration with other organizations to develop material for use in primary care. A newly approved Education Committee statement, entitled “Recommended roles for the psychiatrist in first episode psychosis”, is available on the WPA website under “Educational Resources”. This document was prepared to provide psychiatrists with guidance about the most recent developments regarding knowledge of psychosis onset, and the implications of these findings for early detection and intervention. Another important component of the WPA Action Plan 2008-2011 is a complete revision of the WPA curricular recommendations for medical student and resident education 4. The goal of this project is to ensure that the material is useful for those teaching in a wide range of programs around the world, with extremely variable resources. In addition, the project will include sections on advances in various educational approaches, such as competency based education and evaluation, which were not covered in the previous works because these approaches did not exist at the time. Another important component of future educational programs will be to develop ways to take advantage of existing and future technologies, such as interactive computer based education and telemedicine based educational programming. As a starting point to assess the use of technology in WPA education initiatives, we plan to develop a series of online continuing medical education (CME) programs based on lectures presented at WPA World and International Congresses. We also intend to develop online, interactive continuing medical education (CME) review questions, so that psychiatrists will have the opportunity to gain CME credits. Another example of plans to use technology in education is an ongoing project of the WPA Education Committee to develop a Wikipedia based medical student textbook of psychiatry. Wikipedia is an online, free encyclopedia which has now expanded its scope to include books and textbooks. While this program has not yet received official WPA endorsement, because it is not yet complete and submitted for approval, interested individuals can visit the Wikipedia website for the present draft version, which is http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Textbook_of_Psychiatry. To address the ongoing concern about stigma regarding mental illnesses and psychiatrists, we have initiated the development of a new project on public education. The eventual product will be a separate section of the WPA website with materials available in the major WPA languages and with links to public education materials from WPA Member Societies, all in the languages of the home country. In addition, it is envisioned that these links will also contain WPA developed public education materials in the native language of the local country. We have an extensive and ambitious agenda for the development of our educational programs over the coming years. This is essential for the field, as the pace of change within psychiatry is rapid and dramatic. Anyone interested in assisting with any aspect of our projects is encouraged to contact me, Allan Tasman, WPA Secretary of Education, at allan.tasman@louisville.edu. These are exciting times for the future of psychiatric education, and collaboration with as many of you as possible will make our progress even more impressive.

Seventh grade students' conceptions of global warming and climate change

The purpose of this study was to investigate seventh grade students' conceptions of global warming and climate change. The study was descriptive in nature and involved the collection of qualitative data from 91 seventh grade students from three different schools in the Midwest, USA. An open response and draw and explain assessment instrument was administered to students. These data were analyzed for content in an inductive manner to identify students' concepts. The categories that emerged from the students' responses reflected different degrees of sophistication or conceptualization about global warming and climate change. The students' conceptions of global warming and climate change in this study were similar to previous studies in that they lacked a rich conceptualization of the issue, especially as it pertains to the greenhouse effect and its connection to global warming. At the same time, this study expanded on previous studies by further elucidating students' conceptions of the impact of global warming on the Earth's oceans, weather, and plants and animals. Here too, students lacked a rich conceptualization. Based on these findings we make curricular recommendations that build on the students' conceptions and the NRC (1996) science education standards.

Service Operations Curriculum Recommendations For Undergraduate Business Majors

This article will review the current situation of undergraduate service operations education and will describe the direction that recent educational changes are taking. Given these needs and direction, a proposed curriculum for an undergraduate service operations course is presented. Lastly, a discussion of how undergraduate service operations education needs can be addressed by both industry and academia is included.

Essential veterinary education in water-borne transmission of disease

In this paper, the author reviews the reasons for the current interest in waterborne transmission of infectious agents in the veterinary curriculum. In addition, the paper provides short summaries of some of the major zoonotic outbreaks that have caused this new interest in water-borne diseases. Some curricular recommendations are made, including: basic training in modern methodologies in microbiology; a brief introduction to water and sewage treatment, with some discussion of pathogens in relation to the basic treatment processes of flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, denitrification and phosphorus removal; and an introduction to the regulations being promulgated to reduce the pathogen loading of water on farms.