Professional Personal Growth Research Articles

“What is it like to be(come) a social worker?” professional-identity formation from final-year social work students’ perspectives – photovoice-based study

ABSTRACT In applied professions achieving a professional identity is a key educational goal during the transition from student to professional. To facilitate this transition within academic teaching, it is essential to establish dedicated reflective spaces using creative methods. The study investigated the perspectives of final-year social work students on their professional identity formation as near-future social workers, using the photovoice methodology. Conducted within a dedicated research seminar course, the study involved 29 participants between 2018 and 2021, resulting in the collection of 289 photovoices. Four components of the social worker’s professional identity emerged: a) between the personal and the professional; b) professional responsibility; c) spaces of guidance, maintenance, and support; and d) personal-professional growth. From the reflexive perspective of final-year social work students, this study indicates a dynamic approach to understanding their professional identity formation as near-future social workers, shaped by the interconnectedness of knowing, being, and doing social work.

Bearing witness: Medical education and reflecting on the Holocaust then and now.

Despite advocacy from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and The Lancet Commission on medicine, Nazism, and the Holocaust, Holocaust education is lacking in medical education. To address this gap, students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) viewed an Association of American Medical College (AAMC) webinar about medicine during the Holocaust as part of the required curriculum for first year medical students introduced in 2022. As part of their doctoring course, Physician and Patient Centered Care (PPCC), students viewed the AAMC webinar "The legacy of the role of medicine during the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance" and participated in two structured reflections: a written reflection on how webinar topics inform students' professional development and a verbal reflection on learning from the Holocaust to develop a sense of moral courage, advocacy, and activism in medicine. Researchers conducted qualitative analysis of written reflections and analyzed session surveys to determine key themes and impact of the session. Of the 108 enrolled in PPCC, 59 (54.6%) completed a post session Likert scale survey assessing the impact of the webinar on their personal and professional development. As an average, respondents moderately agreed that the webinar impacted their personal and professional development, with 91% slightly, moderately, or strongly agreeing. Additionally, thematic analysis of required written reflections indicated a majority of students (62.5%) identified the need for additional medical humanities education about the Holocaust and its relevance to medicine. Holocaust education encourages medical students to bear witness to past medical atrocities and critically assess the profession and their personal-professional growth. Continued structured integration of the Holocaust in medical education supports critical self-reflection and the development of morally courageous physicians who endorse and practice social accountability in medicine.

ADVANCING THE NURSING PROFESSION, RESEARCH AND PERSONAL CAREER GROWTH: NOVICE FACULTY AND COLLABORATIVE WORK

Introduction: Pre-tenure early career researchers within academic settings play an important role as catalysts for new research and methodological innovations. However, the tenure-track process can be a high-pressure experience for such faculty. Examining organic collaborations amongst new pre-tenured faculty can afford opportunities for internal capacity building. However, literature is lacking in the benefits of developing such partnerships among novice faculty members with other novice faculty members. Research Objectives: This study aimed to examine the research programs of three novice tenure-track nursing faculty members and the connections between such programs for current and future collaborations, advancement of the nursing profession and scholarship, and personal-professional growth. Methodology: Narrative Inquiry with a specific focus on self-study was utilized with participants who identify as tenure-track nursing faculty members and are also the three investigators on this study. Each participant underwent a self-reflection process directed by a question guide informed by the literature and theoretical lens of Creamer (2003), and an aspect of the Narrative Reflective Process. Participants reflections were analyzed against each other and with relevant literature for co-construction to occur, moving participants’ experiences from being an individual activity to one that can have social significance for others with diverse programs of research. Results: The study explored common narrative threads that emerged from the faculty members’ reflections: stakeholder collaboration and involvement; nursing policy, practice, and research leadership. Final Considerations: This study has demonstrated potential areas for future collaborations between novice faculty members leading to benefits for the nursing profession, nursing research and personal career growth.

Medical Care as Flea Market Bargaining? An International Interdisciplinary Study of Varieties of Shared Decision Making in Physician–Patient Interactions

Phenomenon: Shared decision making (SDM) is a core ideal in the interaction between healthcare providers and patients, but the implementation of the SDM ideal in clinical routines has been a relatively slow process. Approach: In a sociological study, 71 interactions between physicians and simulated patients enacting chronic heart failure were video-recorded in China, Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey as part of a quasi-experimental research design. Participating physicians varied in specialty and level of experience. The secondary analysis presented in this article used content analysis to study core components of SDM in all of the 71 interactions and a grounded theory approach to observe how physicians responded actively to patients even though they did not actively employ the SDM ideal. Findings: Full realization of the SDM ideal remains an exception, but various aspects of SDM in physician–patient interaction were observed in all four locations. Analyses of longer interactions show dynamic processes of interaction that sometimes surprised both patient and physician. We observed varieties of SDM that differ from the SDM ideal but arguably achieve what the SDM ideal is intended to achieve. Our analysis suggests a need to revisit the SDM ideal—to consider whether varieties of SDM may be acceptable, even valuable, in their own right. Insights: The gap between the SDM ideal and SDM as implemented in clinical practice may in part be explained by the tendency of medicine to define and teach SDM through a narrow lens of checklist evaluations. The authors support the argument that SDM defies a checklist approach. SDM is not uniform, but nuanced, dependent on circumstances and setting. As SDM is co-produced by patients and physicians in a dynamic process of interaction, medical researchers should consider and medical learners should be exposed to varieties of SDM-related practice rather than a single idealized model. Observing and discussing worked examples contributes to the physician’s development of realistic expectations and personal professional growth.

Student Polymotivation as a Factor of Personal Professional Growth

The article studies the peculiarities of the students' motivational and need sphere. The concept of polymotivation, which contains interpretations of the internal consistency of the motivational sphere, ways of eliminating contradictions in it regarding personal and social choices, is considered. In the context of professional development, polymotivation appears as a significant structural force and a meaningful center of personal professional growth. Due to the need to study effective mechanisms that will contribute to the development of an individual subject, modern approaches to the interpretation of the motivation of personal growth are analyzed, which allows the individual to direct efforts to mastering the chosen professional activity, desired and, at the same time, socially demanded social role; to adequately assess the discrepancy between where a young person is now and where he wants to be in order to realize himself and enjoy his life. The purpose of the study was to identify the impact of value orientations of student youth on the structure of their motivational and need sphere. To solve the set goal, the following methods were used: T. Ehlers' personality diagnosis method for success motivation and S. S. Bubnov's method for diagnosing the real structure of the value orientations of the individual. The subjects were full-time students of the National Aviation University. The obtained data showed that most of the subjects have high and moderately high indicators of motivation to achieve success and socially significant value orientations. The highest scores were obtained on the scales that determine the value of prosocial activities: "High social status and people management", "Social activity to achieve positive changes in society", "Communication". It has been proven that the intrapersonal and social determinants of the educational environment influence the formation of the structural integrity of the personal orientation of students, contribute to the development of self-regulatory processes within the educational activity at the level of the value orientations determined by them. We consider the selection of educational and narrowly personal factors that will influence the internal consistency of the motivational-needs sphere of student youth to be a further promising direction of research.

From teacher professional development to teacher personal-professional growth: the case of expert STEM teachers

ABSTRACT Following Self-Determination Theory, scholars theorize that professional well-being is essential for teachers’ satisfaction and personal-professional growth. However, teacher professional development programs (TPDPs) primarily focus on promoting student achievement and only partially and indirectly address teachers’ professional well-being. The lack of teachers’ voices in this discrepancy is noticeable. This study aimed at confronting teachers’ perceptions about their professional well-being needs with how actual practices in effective TPDPs address these needs. Well-being components (competence, relatedness, autonomy, and aspirations) were thematically identified within 20 interviews with expert STEM teachers. The findings show that teachers attribute importance to their professional well-being in all components. In particular, aspirations for personal-professional growth, pointed out by teachers as the most important, were totally ignored by effective TPDPs. The findings emphasize the need to establish well-being as an additional characteristic of effective TPDPs. This additional characteristic may have practical and theoretical implications for designing and assessing TPDPs’ effectiveness.

Изучение специфики отношения к гибким навыкам студентов вуза при обучении деловой коммуникации

Nowadays learning Russian in business communication is a major part of vocational education and training and within this academic subject it is possible for university students to develop soft skills. This research examined the formation, development and application of a universal set of soft skills to help graduates adapt to the modern labor market. The study was conducted with 196 first-year students in the Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service. A subjective scale technique was applied using a survey-questionnaire. The data were processed using systematization and generalization methods. The results showed that subjective attitudes to the application of soft skills were developed in students studying Business Russian. The building of soft skills helps students use knowledge in practice and to increase their motivation for personal professional growth and development. The research revealed that 21 out of 24 declared soft skills are actively formed in students in the course of teaching. In addition, the analysis gave an objective view of the abilities, interests and tendencies of each student. This information is necessary to improve the educational process. The results of the research play an important role in the development of the theory of competence model of successful modern graduates. The research results can be used by universities to develop and improve working curricula in accordance with the requirements of new educational standards.

PROFESSIONAL IMPRINTING AS A BASIS FOR SYSTEMATIC TRAINING OF LABOR RESOURCES FOR HIGH-TECH INDUSTRIES

Increasingly complex business processes and rapidly changing market conditions force employers to invest more and more resources in human resources development. At the same time, it is not just the professional knowledge and skills of a particular employee that come first, but also their ability to adapt to changing market circumstances. Most Russian higher education institutions are focused on transferring to future specialists a structured system of knowledge and skills that fit into the concept of "hard skills"(skills that can be easily taught and the result of training can be measured), but the current market situation increasingly requires the development of "soft skills" - universal competencies that are difficult to quantify (ability to work in a team, balance, engagement, dedication), but which significantly affect the final result of the employee's work and the formation of competitive advantages of the entire enterprise. These skills contribute not only to personal professional growth, but also to improving the stability of the enterprise management system as a whole. Today, these areas of knowledge are more covered in the field of corporate education. The article considers the prerequisites for the development of the corporate education market, analyzes the existing models of building a system of professional knowledge and considers the role of professional imprinting in the training of specialists.

Developing Soft Skills as Condition for Personal Professional Growth of Teachers of Secondary Vocational Education System

The article discusses the importance of developing soft skills for personal growth and professional development of secondary vocational education teachers.Based on the analysis of the results of monitoring studies, the need to transform the approaches for training teachers of the regional secondary vocational education system is confirmed for organizing effective work and fruitful interaction of all subjects of educational relations.

Mobility and migration experiences of transnational coaches within the Israeli handball context

ObjectivesDespite a growing body of literature on athletes' migration, the mobility and migration experiences of coaches have received limited attention. In this study, we explored the mobility and migration experiences of transnational coaches operating within the Israeli handball context. DesignA qualitative study was conducted, underpinned by our relativist ontology and a constructionist epistemological position. MethodsEight male professionals (e.g., national team coaches, senior team coaches, youth coaches), working (currently, or most recently) in national teams and clubs, who migrated to Israeli handball within the past five years were interviewed. A thematic analysis, integrating inductive and deductive reasoning, was applied in data analysis. Meticulousness was enhanced by focusing on a worthy topic, maintaining credibility, critical friends, producing generalization, and making a significant contribution. ResultsThe analysis yielded raw-data codes, further organized into lower-order themes and three higher-order themes reflecting transnational coaches' migration and mobility experiences within the Israeli handball context, including (a) cultural transition, (b) cultural adaption, and (c) coaches' personal insights about mobility and migration. The findings are conceptually analyzed and discussed in relation to the previous research on coaches' career migration. Discussion and conclusionThe findings emphasize the complexity of the migration process, accompanied by varying motivations, demands and barriers, active decision-making; all within the framework of cultural adaptation. The participants endorsed a transnational coaching career, driven by their open-mind mentality and personal-professional growth.

Nurses’ interaction styles when supporting patients in self-management: A profile approach

The rising attention to participation and self-regulation in chronic care requires nurses to move towards an approach in which patients' perspectives and choices are central, and in which patients' competency is fostered. According to Self-Determination Theory, nurses can differ in the way they interact with patients living with a chronic illness. That is, they can interact in an autonomy-supportive, controlling, structuring or chaotic way. However, in practice, nurses often use these styles side by side depending on personal and situational demands. Rooted in Self-Determination Theory, this study sought to identify distinct profiles among nurses involving the co-occurrence of autonomy support, structure, control and chaos (aim 1), and to examine whether such profiles are meaningfully driven by nurse-related indicators (aim 2). A cross-sectional design with latent profile analysis. Data were collected using validated self-report questionnaires among nurses counselling chronically ill patients (N=389). Latent profile analysis was performed to shed light on how nurses use different styles side by side; and subsequent MANCOVA testing was used to examine differences between the profiles in terms of nurse-related indicators. Four profiles could be identified, each characterised by a unique combination of differing degrees of autonomy support, structure, control and chaos. The profiles included a motivating profile (20.31%) characterised by the dominant presence of autonomy support and structure; a demotivating chaotic profile (17.74%) characterised by the dominant presence of chaos; an active profile (24.17%) where all styles were highly present; and an undifferentiated profile (37.79%) characterised by an average presence of all styles. These four profiles were meaningfully related to a set of nurse-related indicators. Multivariate analysis (Pillai's Trace test=.38, F(15, 756)=7.28; p < .001; η2=.13) indicated that job competency, job autonomy and high-quality motivation were most elevated in the motivating profile. Profiling has supported our understanding of the natural co-occurrence of more motivating and demotivating styles among nurses when counselling patients in self-managing their life with chronic illness. The pattern of retained profiles indicates that, for some nurses, it will be important to move away from controlling or chaotic interactions. Future intervention development should augment nurses' competence levels and high-quality motivation, with attention to reduce the pressure in nurses to act in a result-based manner. Profiling can also be valuable to better assign nurses to an employment in chronic care, and to support their personal professional growth.

Features of issues of ethics and morals of the leader

Entrepreneurship is considered as a driving force for the economic development of society. One of the tools of entrepreneurship is the choice of people of a certain type, with certain traits of character, those who will be able to create an innovative approach in the system “ethics – morality – collective – leader – entrepreneurship”. Since entrepreneurship is associated with a person with the process of personal professional growth, social adaptation and development through the formation of business ideas, the development of business projects and their implementation in real practice. The social co-operation of different types of human activity made the problem of leadership one of the most recent and, at the same time, constantly topical problems, the solutions of which were constantly changing both in content and form. Therefore, it becomes a task to consider different directions in the scientific study of leadership from the standpoint of modernity, the meaning of the word “ethics” and “morality”. The purpose of this research is to provide a holistic analysis of the leader's problems through the prism of ethics and morality in entrepreneurship. The ethical climate in the enterprise is described – the order of behavior in the sphere of business and business contacts is established. Etiquette, when understood as established behavior, helps to avoid mistakes or to look at them in accessible, generally accepted ways. Therefore, the basic function or meaning of the etiquette of a business person can be interpreted as the formation of such rules of conduct that promote understanding of people in the process of communication. The second meaning of the etiquette function is the convenience function, that is, expediency and practicality. Starting with the little things, up to the general rules – etiquette is approximate to the everyday system. A survey was conducted in which 156 respondents were interviewed, the purpose of the survey was to determine who is a leader, and on the basis of this research a model of a leader with ethical and moral leadership qualities was proposed. Therefore, to create moral subordinates of ethical care means to form high moral values, the mechanism of moral self-regulation, protection and interest, moral creativity and comfort, and also to accept the moral experience of the collective, to collection It was suggested that modern management covers moral socialization – self-assimilation of a person's life experience, self-acquisition of social qualities, its adaptation to the environment. The same group of activities includes providing a modern level of technical and technological equipment of the work process, rational organization, regulation and payment of prats, aesthetics of the working environment, active participation in social activity, spiritual environment moral and psychological climate of relationships.

Adjunct Faculty Perceptions of Participation in Online Collaborative Research Teams

Career professionals who serve as adjunct faculty at the university level are expected to engage in continual research and publishing to maintain their status as adjunct (part-time) faculty, to be considered for potential advancement, and to qualify for additional compensation. One way of meeting this objective is to participate in online collaborative research projects benefiting from a set of multiple lenses, multiple insights, and a multitude of considerations in regard to design, methodology, data interpretations, and broader reaching implications. A narrative inquiry approach was applied to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of adjunct faculty working in online collaborative research teams. Data was gathered through phone interviews where adjunct faculty shared their personal experiences and reflections about working as collaborative researchers in an online environment. Using an inductive process, themes were drawn from the responses of the participants to address the research question. The dominant themes found were organizational skills, interpersonal skills, and personal growth and development. The results of the study led to recommendations for supporting adjunct faculty in online collaborative research for building a sense of scholarly community and expanding opportunities for personal professional growth.

Профилактика профессионального выгорания у медицинских сестер психиатрических больниц: балинтовский метод

Purpose: the article deals with the actual problem of practical medicine — professional emotional burnout in nurses. The importance of prevention of emotional (professional) burnout in nurses increases due to the increase in the level of chronic non-communicable diseases that require long-term care of patients in hospitals. The activity of nurses is associated with intensiveworkloads, high returns required in solving labor problems, professional and legal responsibility for the results of actions. Material and methods: training on the method of Balint Groups to prevent professional burnout in nurses, implemented in GBUZ «Psychiatric hospital No 3. V.A. Gilyarovsky DZM». A questionnaire test «Attitude to work and professional burnout» was developed, containing 137 statements reflecting certain emotional reactions and styles of attitude to work of «helping» professionals in the process of burnout development. Are included in the group of 6–15 people (ideally 8–10), working in the same or different medical or mental institutions, but non-service-related or hierarchical relationships. Results: аs a result of work with the average medical staff of psychiatric profile by the method of Balint Group, improvement of perception and understanding of communication with the patient, awareness of the therapeutic importance of interpersonal relationships and their boundaries was noted, the repertoire of communicative stereotypes was expanded, personal professional growth was achieved. Nurses who have been trained on the method of work in the Balint Group, began to better control their workand psycho-emotional load. Discussion: the Syndrome of professional emotional burnout in medicine is considered as a factor negatively affecting the quality and effectiveness of the performance of professional duties of nurses and their relationships with patients and colleagues. The article provides justification and evidence of the effectiveness of the method of Balint Groups for the prevention of the syndrome of professional emotional burnout in a psychiatric clinic.

Collaborative Filtering Algorithm and Factors Analysis of Professional Growth of Innovative Talents Based on Data Mining Technology

With the development of information technology, technology mining technology can help users to find the needed information accurately and efficiently. In this paper, the author makes factors analysis of professional growth of innovative talents based on data mining technology. Knowledge innovation is the starting point of scientific and technological innovation, and the development of innovative talents is the most important and the scarcest resource for enterprises. By analyzing the professional growth of innovative talents, we construct the evaluation index system of innovative talents. The conclusion proves that the balance between supply and demand of enterprise and personal professional growth is the important factor to promote organizational technology progress and the career development of employees.

Using Visual Reflective Diaries of Photographs of School Buildings as a Tool for Empowering Students in Teacher Training

This article explores the uses of photography as a basis for creating a reflective diary for students in teacher training programs. The students engage in creating still photographs of the school building of their placement, during various stages of the course. The study focuses on the analysis of selected photographs of three case studies, in conjunction with written narratives, which are integrated in the visual diaries. The aim of the study is to create an alternative approach for modeling student supervision in the second year of teacher training, enabling freedom of expression that encourages personal professional growth through the use of photography.

Un paso más hacia las tareas docentes en el posgrado

La tarea docente constituye la célula del proceso pedagógico de posgrado, el estudiante se desarrolla de tarea en tarea hasta lograr los fines declarados en el programa. Las tareas pueden ser clasificadas de acuerdo con sus funciones en el proceso pedagógico de posgrado, por ejemplo, tareas que contribuyen a que el estudiante aprenda a sistematizar el conocimiento y gestionarlo con las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones, perfeccionar y especializar su desempeño profesional, innovar e investigar y desarrollar su comunicación profesional. Las tareas se relacionan de forma sistémica entre sí de acuerdo con el fin de lograr los objetivos del programa jugando un papel fundamental durante este proceso pedagógico en el crecimiento personal del profesional que accede a las diferentes formas organizativas del posgrado, desde el curso o el entrenamiento hasta la maestría, la especialidad de posgrado o el doctorado. Entre los componentes a tener en cuenta en la tarea y que aquí se explican están: el clima del proceso pedagógico, el objetivo, la motivación, la orientación, el contenido, el método, el escenario de aprendizaje, el medio, la evaluación, el profesor o tutor y el estudiante de posgrado. En este artículo se presentan algunos ejemplos de tareas y recomendaciones sobre cómo pueden ser utilizadas.

Pedagogic conditions of health saving functioning organization of comprehensive educational estableshment’s headmaster

Purpose: substantiation of pedagogical conditions of health saving functioning organization of comprehensive educational establishment’s headmaster. Material: publications on topic of the research. 40 literature sources have been analyzed. Results: it has been found that pedagogic conditions of effective health saving functioning of comprehensive educational establishment headmaster are: influence of interconnection of district educational administration’s teaching-methodic departments; activation of headmaster’s personality; understanding of values by headmaster and his acquiring of health related knowledge and knowledge about health saving in process of education; realization of self-education by headmaster; renewal and acquiring of new knowledge and experience, which would ensure personal-professional growth of headmaster and facilitate increase of quality of pupils’ education and teaching. Conclusions: self-education provides wide opportunities for improvement of administrative, communicative and reflexive qualities and skills as well as gives proper tools for independent and creative solution of health saving tasks in favor of pedagogic process’s subjects.

Students’ Professional Self-Determination in the Context of the Socially Conditioned Conflicting Realities

The paper discusses the peculiarities of students’ professional identity in the context of socially conditioned conflicting realities. The individual social position is of a particular importance for the professional identity formation, so the authors carried out the research into the students professional self-determination with the reference to their socio-metric status in the academic group; the interpersonal relations were considered as conflict- generating – provoking the conflicting realities of students’ professional self- determination. The theoretical basis of the study involves the concept of personal professional growth with the emphasis on the students’ self-determination in the conflict situations. The research methodology combines the diagnostics of professional self-determination and socio-metric methods. The analysis and synthesis of the acquired empirical data reveal the differences in the expressed levels of components of the students’ professional identity according to their socio-metric status in the group. The research findings include the conformity of conflicting realities arising in interpersonal relationships in the academic process and reflected in the professional identity transformation. The above results can be used for psychological facilitation of students’ successful professional growth.

Project-based faculty development by international health professions educators: Practical strategies

Background: Project design and implementation, applied to real life situations, is emerging as an educational strategy for application of health professions faculty development learning within a supportive environment.Aim: We conducted a retrospective analysis of project evolution to identify common experiences, challenges, and successful strategies of 54 mid-career faculty members from 18 developing countries who attended the Foundation for the Advancement of International Medical Education and Research Institute between 2001 and 2006 and designed, conducted, and evaluated education innovations at their home institutions.Methods: Chronological analysis of the evolution of 54 projects over the initial 16–18 months of the 2-year Fellowship was based on an iterative qualitative analysis of 324 reports and individual interview transcripts collected over 6 years.Results: Useful skill areas for project implementation included educational methods, leadership and management, and relationships/collaboration. Common challenges included competing responsibilities, lack of protected time, and limited resources. Themes identified with the evolution and success of education innovation projects included leadership and organization, collaboration, personal professional growth, and awareness of the relevant societal context.Conclusions: Common challenges and success factors in project-based faculty development were identified. Twelve practical strategies to promote successful project-based faculty development emerged that can be generalized for faculty development.