Professional Accreditation Bodies Research Articles

Immunization requirements in medical school accreditation standards

Healthcare workers (HCW) are at risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases and spreading these infections to their patients. Vaccination against preventable diseases prior to clinical training can mitigate this risk. Accreditation guidance can be used as an opportunity to enforce desirable norms and standards. Standards from 144 national accreditation organizations spanning 123 member states listed in the Directory of Organizations that Recognize/Accredit Medical Schools by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research were reviewed and summarized. Findings were further stratified by World Bank income group and WHO region. While higher-income countries were more likely to have accreditation guidelines available than lower- or middle-income countries, few national medical school accreditation bodies specifically request immunization status of trainees as a standard. Further, almost none mention specific antigens for which immunity should be assessed. These findings should be used by medical school and other health professional training accreditation bodies to inform future policy direction to protect trainees as future HCW.

Child protection and safeguarding in initial teacher education: A systematic scoping review

To improve educational outcomes for maltreated children, there is an urgent need to strengthen the capacity of the education workforce to respond appropriately to their needs. We conducted a systematic scoping review to synthesize current evidence about child protection and safeguarding in initial (pre-registration) teacher education with the aim of developing a knowledge base, and understanding what we — as researchers, teacher educators, and professional accreditation bodies — can and should be doing better. Thirty-one studies (reported in 38 papers) met the inclusion criteria. Studies were coded inductively against standardised criteria and critically appraised. Coding of study aims yielded three themes forming a descriptive map of research in the field: (i) studies investigating student teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to deal with child protection and safeguarding (n = 15); (ii) studies investigating preparation for child protection and safeguarding in initial teacher education courses (n = 14); and (iii) studies investigating student teachers’ preferences for future training (n = 2). We identified key contents or topics covered, teaching methods and delivery modes, time allocations, and personnel involved in course delivery. Findings show that child protection and safeguarding are seldom investigated in initial teacher education, averaging only one published study per year over a 32-year search period with most studies having been conducted in Australia and the UK. Time allocated to child protection and safeguarding in initial teacher education courses varied from 1 to 16 h. Content covered was limited to several core topics with primacy given to child maltreatment subtypes, indicators, and reporting duties. Delivery methods were dominated by lectures, workshops, and discussions. Few studies had investigated the efficacy of innovative and interactive teaching strategies or online learning. We conclude that child protection and safeguarding in initial teacher education may be improved by leveraging off existing well-designed, rigorously evaluated programs, which have been found to be feasibly delivered and acceptable to future professionals.

Towards a framework for designing and evaluating online assessments in business education

With the recent and rapid transition to online teaching and learning in higher education, this explanatory study investigated the key design considerations used by business educators designing assessments suitable for online delivery. From a comprehensive literature review, we identified five key design considerations for online assessments: they must (1) assure academic integrity; (2) allow for provision of quality feedback; (3) support a positive learning experience for students; (4) assure the integrity of student information; and (5) ensure all students have an equal chance to complete the assessment successfully. An additional consideration (authenticity) was identified through a survey of educators and four focus group discussions. Our analysis confirmed that scale of delivery and resource limitations, along with institutional policies and accreditation requirements, are broader and interrelated contextual factors that influence practices and decisions about assessment design. Focus group participants also identified constraints and trade-offs they negotiated in designing, evaluating and implementing online assessments. Based on our findings we propose a framework to assist educators in best-practice decision-making about online assessment design and contribute to the discourse between educators, higher education providers and professional accreditation bodies regarding online assessment.

Transforming assessment in accounting education to align with online learning

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to provide insights into challenges and opportunities in transforming assessment of learning in accounting education from established practices to technology-based methods. 10; 10;Design/methodology/approachThis reflective commentary is based on personal reflections and experiences of three senior academics from the same university on the accelerated utilisation of online assessment in accounting education due to COVID-19. Further information was obtained from document analysis, informal conversations with colleagues and observations.FindingsThe findings of this paper suggest that despite numerous challenges, online assessments may replace traditional face-to-face assessments such as tests and exams in accounting and if done properly, this could drive significant improvements in student learning and outcomes. Institutions need to invest in appropriate technology, provide appropriate staff training and ensure good online assessment design that incorporates principles of authenticity and fairness. Robust online assessment practices need to be integrated with e-proctoring systems to ensure academic integrity is upheld.Practical implicationsThe paper provides functional insights to higher education management, teaching staff and other stakeholders such as professional accreditation bodies on challenges and opportunities in utilising online assessments. It offers guidance to educators on transforming assessment of learning using the power of technology.Originality/valueThe ideas in this paper are original. The paper shares our lived experiences in transforming established assessment practices in accounting courses to align with online teaching and learning due to COVID-19.

Considering the roles of professional accrediting bodies in online programme quality: the case of the NASPAA

ABSTRACT While there has been a good deal of discussion of what principles and practices tend to foster online education quality, there has been very little about what professional accrediting bodies at the university level could or should do to ensure appropriate levels of quality. This study uses five practice areas derived from the literature to survey 144 member institutions in the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA). The article provides an analysis of the findings related to institutional support, student readiness, faculty (i.e. teaching staff) motivation, course delivery consistency and systemic online quality standards. The findings highlight that explicit use of online quality standards, training of faculty, faculty member motivation to teach online and technical support for faculty and students are the most highly correlated with perceived quality of programme. Generalisable recommendations for practice and considerations for future research are discussed.

Poverty and health inequalities: Perceptions of social work students and nursing students.

This study describes student perceptions on health inequalities and causes of poverty. As frontline providers, social workers and nurses are expected to engage with patients from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds. In this cross-sectional study, a socio-demographic questionnaire, a questionnaire on health inequalities and the Perceived Causes of Poverty Scale were administered using a convenience sample of 155 students in social work and 266 students in nursing undergraduate programmes at a state university in Turkey. Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman correlation coefficient were used in the analysis of the data. Social work students were more likely to attribute the cause of poverty to social injustice and a lack of opportunities, whereas nursing students had more fatalistic explanations or beliefs, maintaining that outcomes are pre-determined and therefore cannot be changed. In both groups, those who agreed that there were problems and deficiencies in health service provision and that there was ill-health among poor groups were more likely to associate poverty with social injustice and lack of opportunities. Those without a systemic understanding of poverty and health inequalities showed a tendency to hold more individualistic/fate-related perspectives. The nursing students, as compared to the social work students, tended to explain poverty more on the basis of individual responsibility and fatalism and were less likely to link poverty with health inequalities and to advocate for policies to end health inequalities. The students' perceptions on the causes of poverty affected their views on health inequalities. These findings suggest the need to develop curricula that equip nursing students with an understanding of poverty as a systemic cause of health inequality. Health inequality and poverty need to be positioned at the centre of training curricula by professional accreditation bodies. Interdisciplinary collaboration is recommended to foster advocacy skills in students. Furthermore, transformative changes are needed in nursing and social work education to prepare students to adequately address the Social Determinants of Health. Curricula should incorporate leadership and political activism within courses to facilitate structural change.

Documenting patient risk and nursing interventions: record audit

Objective: The aim was to explore and compare documentation of the nursing process for patient safety in two nursing documentation systems: paper and digital records. Background: The ‘nursing process’ (assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation) is recommended by professional nursing registration and health service accreditation bodies as a key component of understanding nurses’ clinical reasoning. Nurses’ responsibility for patient safety must be supported by comprehensive documentation practices. Study design and methods: A retrospective audit of twenty clinical care records (N = 20) randomly selected from a single acute medical ward at a tertiary hospital in Australia; ten from a digital trial that replicated selected paper forms and ten paper records as controls. The audit was conducted by two nurse researchers using a purpose built data extraction tool. Results: Patient age, gender and primary diagnoses were similar for the digital and paper care records. Documentation of the full nursing process was low in both record types, and comprehensiveness of nursing documentation was similar across the paper and digital records. Compared to the paper documents, the digital documents were more often rated as ‘complete’ (p<0.05). Documentation of risk to skin integrity (p<0.05) and evidence of completed nursing interventions to address risks were more frequent (p<0.05) in digital records. Discussion: The findings of this study highlight an important gap in comprehensive documentation of the nursing process that supports and informs the clinical reasoning of nurses for patient safety. Improvements in digital documents reflect future opportunity to enhance the quality of nurse documentation using technology specific strategies such as prompts, visualisation and nudge. Conclusion: This research identifies that both paper and digital systems of hospital documentation may fail to capture and communicate the clinical reasoning of nurses. Digital systems have the potential to improve capture of the clinical reasoning and nursing process. What is already known about the topic? Professional registration and healthcare accreditation bodies recommend nurses’ clinical decision making is underpinned by processes of assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation. Poor capture of nurses’ clinical decision making in their documentation has negative consequences for the continuity, quality and safety of care; including inadequate detection of deterioration and escalation of care. Electronic systems are expected to enhance capture of nurse decision making in documentation. What this paper adds: Nurses’ clinical reasoning was poorly captured in both paper and digital documentation systems. Nurses documented their intervention responses to identified patient risks more often in the digital system compared to paper records. Digital systems offer an opportunity to proactively nudge nurses towards improved documentation of nursing processes.

The trifecta for curriculum sustainability in Australian universities

<p style="text-indent:20px;">Commercialization and internationalization of tertiary education has opened a new way for universities to grow and make more profit. This in turn has supported sustainable growth of the higher education sector for the last three decades in developed countries. Curricula offered by accredited tertiary institutions must meet the quality standards set by both the governmental agencies and the professional accreditation bodies. These programs must also provide graduates with employment opportunities. Hence, quality and employment opportunities are the two key factors for sustainability of any degree program offered by tertiary institutions. However, changes in regulations and policies by the national government sometimes play a vital role in creating new programs, and maintaining or disestablishing some existing programs offered by institutions in the nation. These changes are not controlled by individual institutions, which has become the third unpredictable factor in curriculum creation and/or sustainability. Using the journey of a new master's program in information technology (IT) in an Australian university as a case study, we explore how this third factor impacted on the initialization, creation, and short life of this program primarily targeting international students in the mid-2000s. We then extend our discussion to the implications of the recent changes to tertiary tuitions from 2021 by the Australian Government on the sustainable future of the Australian tertiary education sector on a broad scale.

Student-faculty partnership in design: Evaluating a co-creation practice and sharing of findings within the South African higher education context

Creation of content in the higher education context has long been considered as a faculty responsibility. However, a drive towards inclusive curriculum transformation was requested by both students and professional accreditation bodies. Teamwork, as part of partnerships and co-creation, is seen as a critical skill for socio-economic development throughout the world, with the industry expecting competent team players. Faculty has long been incorporating teamwork into modules; however, teaching teamwork and tracking these skills remain challenging. Thus, leaving a gap where students form groups and work in teams without the cognisance to improve their teamwork skills or increase the reliability and validity of evaluating team members’ participation and contributions. In the absence of a comprehensive institutional resource on teamwork fundamentals, this study explores the co-creation of such a resource by post-graduate students at a higher education institution in South Africa. As higher education institutions, we assess students on teamwork skills, but we never specifically teach this to students, this resource is addressing this specific need. This will enable higher education institutions to report on assurance of learning where students can demonstrate the competency to effectively work in teams. A project approach was followed in the design of the teamwork resource based on Mayer’s Principles for designing multimedia for e-learning. Tuckman’s five stage development process informed the content design. The project ran over three weeks with weekly scrum meetings monitored by faculty. The study found that co-creating content with students is possible. However, student partnerships can enable quality improvement of teaching and assessing teamwork skills. Finally, the researchers will outline how the practical strategies for enacting partnership, as suggested in the literature, were considered in their practice.

How are Professional Programs from Diverse Disciplines Approaching the Development and Assessment of Competence at a Mid-Sized Canadian University?

Time-honoured university policies, such as the credit-hour and academic freedom, present challenges for professional education programs tasked with operationalizing entry-to-practice competence frameworks for professional accreditation. A single embedded case study was used to explore how professional programs from one mid-sized Canadian university are approaching and perhaps problematizing the development and assessment of competence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with educational leaders (faculty and staff, n=21) from a sample of nine programs. Following a grounded theory approach to qualitative analysis, the constant comparative method was used to inductively discern similarities and differences across programs, and to begin building theory about approaches to operationalization. While limited in scope given the use of a single university, our findings highlight: (a) diversity in approaches to operationalization across programs, (b) common attributes which can be used to classify the manner in which these programs operationalize competence, and (c) challenges with supporting faculty to buy in to competency-informed pedagogy and assessment. Given these findings, it is recommended that professional accrediting bodies and education programs spend time to consider the role university-based programs play in determining competence for entry-to-practice, as well their intents for implementing a competence framework, to ensure sufficiency in the approaches being used.

Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on interventional cardiology fellowship training in the New York metropolitan area: A perspective from the United States epicenter

BackgroundThe healthcare burden posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic in the New York Metropolitan area has necessitated the postponement of elective procedures resulting in a marked reduction in cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) volumes with a potential to impact interventional cardiology (IC) fellowship training.MethodsWe conducted a web‐based survey sent electronically to 21 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited IC fellowship program directors (PDs) and their respective fellows.ResultsFourteen programs (67%) responded to the survey and all acknowledged a significant decrease in CCL procedural volumes. More than half of the PDs reported part of their CCL being converted to inpatient units and IC fellows being redeployed to COVID‐19 related duties. More than two‐thirds of PDs believed that the COVID‐19 pandemic would have a moderate (57%) or severe (14%) adverse impact on IC fellowship training, and 21% of the PDs expected their current fellows' average percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) volume to be below 250. Of 25 IC fellow respondents, 95% expressed concern that the pandemic would have a moderate (72%) or severe (24%) adverse impact on their fellowship training, and nearly one‐fourth of fellows reported performing fewer than 250 PCIs as of March 1st. Finally, roughly one‐third of PDs and IC fellows felt that there should be consideration of an extension of fellowship training or a period of early career mentorship after fellowship.ConclusionsThe COVID‐19 pandemic has caused a significant reduction in CCL procedural volumes that is impacting IC fellowship training in the NY metropolitan area. These results should inform professional societies and accreditation bodies to offer tailored opportunities for remediation of affected trainees.

Quality assurance of genetic laboratories and the EBTNA practice certification, a simple standardization assurance system for a laboratory network

Abstract Analytical laboratory results greatly influence medical diagnosis, about 70% of medical decisions are based on laboratory results. Quality assurance and quality control are designed to detect and correct errors in a laboratory’s analytical process to ensure both the reliability and accuracy of test results. Unreliable performance can result in misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. Furthermore, improved quality guarantees increased productivity at a lower cost. Quality assurance programmes include internal quality control, external quality assessment, proficiency surveillance and standardization. It is necessary to try to ensure compliance with the requirements of the standards at all levels of the process. The sources of these standards are the International Standards Organization (ISO), national standards bodies, guidelines from professional organisations, accreditation bodies and governmental regulations. Laboratory networks increase the performance of laboratories in support of diagnostic screening programme. It is essential that genetic laboratories of a network have procedures underpinned by a robust quality assurance system to minimize errors and to reassure the clinicians and the patients that international standards are being met. This article provides an overview of the bases of quality assurance and its importance in genetic tests and it reports the EBTNA quality assurance system which is a clear and simple system available for access to adequate standardization of a genetic laboratory’s network.

Simulated versus traditional occupational therapy placements: A randomised controlled trial.

Professional practise placements in occupational therapy education are critical to ensuring graduate competence. Australian occupational therapy accreditation standards allow up to 200 of a mandated 1000 placement hours to include simulation-based learning. There is, however, minimal evidence about the effectiveness of simulation-based placements compared to traditional placements in occupational therapy. We evaluated whether occupational therapy students completing a 40hour (one week block) Simulated Clinical Placement (SCP) attained non-inferior learning outcomes to students attending a 40 hour Traditional Clinical Placement (TCP). A pragmatic, non-inferiority, assessor-blinded, multicentre, randomised controlled trial involving students from six Australian universities was conducted. Statistical power analysis estimated a required sample of 425. Concealed random allocation was undertaken with a 1:1 ratio within each university. Students were assigned to SCP or TCP in one of three settings: vocational rehabilitation, mental health or physical rehabilitation. SCP materials were developed, manualised and staff training provided. TCPs were in equivalent practice areas. Outcomes were assessed using a standardised examination, unit grades, the Student Practice Evaluation Form-Revised and student confidence survey. A generalised estimating equationapproach was used to assess non-inferiority of the SCP to the TCP. Of 570 randomised students (84% female), 275 attended the SCP and 265 the TCP (n=540, 94.7% retention). There were no significant differences between the TCP and SCP on (i) examination results (marginal mean difference 1.85, 95% CI: 0.46-3.24; P=0.087); (ii) unit score (mean (SD) SCP: 71.9 (8.8), TCP: 70.34 (9.1); P=0.066); or (iii) placement fail rate, assessed using the Student Practice Evaluation Form-Revised (100% passed both groups). Students can achieve equivalent learning outcomes in a 40 hour simulated placement to those achieved in a 40 hour traditional placement. These findings provide assurance to students, educators and professional accreditation bodies that simulation can be embedded in occupational therapy education with good effect.

Competency‐based training and assessment in Australian postgraduate clinical psychology education

BackgroundCompetency‐based training and assessment is considered the best practice internationally in postgraduate clinical psychology education. In Australia, there are still some ways to go as programmes begin to integrate competency‐based pedagogical models into clinical training and assessment. Further understanding of the strengths and challenges of these models will be useful to educators interested in developing a competency‐based approach.MethodsA structured literature review was carried out using the databases PsychInfo, PubMed, and PsychArticles. Keywords were: competency, and “training” or “assessment” or “model” or “clinical” or “psychology” or “medicine” or “allied health.” Articles had to be written in the English language and published in peer‐reviewed journals. Relevant book chapters and web references from professional accreditation bodies were also assessed for inclusion. A total of 54 references were utilised in the review.ResultsThe review supports the relevance of competency‐based learning and teaching. It draws on seminal benchmarking work from the international literature and considers the strengths and limitations of competency‐based approaches to clinical health training and assessment. The review provides support for the ongoing progression towards competency‐based training models in Australian postgraduate clinical psychology.ConclusionsCompetency‐based training and assessment methods offer educators sophisticated mechanisms for ensuring that clinical psychology graduates are prepared to meet the demands of professional practice and public accountability. Further efforts at integrating competency‐based training models into Australian postgraduate curriculum, and associated research into the outcomes, are necessary to ensure a pedagogical culture of best practice in this country.

Development of a Clinical Performance Assessment Tool for an Occupational Therapy Teaching Clinic

Health professional education is experiencing increased accountability from higher education and professional accrediting bodies to produce professionals who are prepared to meet the demands of the complex, fast-paced, ever changing health-care environment. Using competency-based assessment methods to evaluate a student’s performance can assist to decrease the gap between education and practice and ease the critical transition from the classroom to the clinic. A variety of assessment methods that use a CompetencyBased Medical Education (CBME) framework to assess student performance and competency can be found throughout the health professions literature. Because of the lack of literature about the assessment of student performance in occupational therapy education, and because of the inability to find an appropriate assessment tool for the on-site teaching clinics in the author’s program, the author developed a new assessment tool to measure student competency and performance in the clinical education setting. This paper discusses each phase of development; the professional literature used; and the reasoning for domain, item, and scoring selection. The final assessment includes a 5-point rating scale to score 42 items in six domains in order to assess student performance and competency during an occupational therapy teaching clinical education experience.

Thoughts on China's hospital accreditation

The paper described development characteristics of international hospital accreditation, and challenges faced by China's hospital accreditation. The author proposed for such accreditation, as that accreditation entities are the organizational support for building a permanent mechanism of hospital accreditation, and two organizational modes: the first is societies and associations of capacity to build accreditation organizations and the government to build professional hospital accreditation bodies, and the second is to build the assessors system. Key words: Hospital accreditation; Accreditation organization; Accreditation body; Assessor system

Regulating Autologous Adult Stem Cells: The FDA Steps Up

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sought an injunction to prevent a US-based company from offering an autologous adult stem cell treatment for musculoskeletal and spinal injuries. Given the alarming number of clinics promoting stem-cell-based interventions, the outcome of this case could have wide-ranging implications.

Delivering Key Graduate Attributes via Teams Working in Virtual Space

Transferable skills are gaining an increasing emphasis in engineering education. The skills of teamwork, communication, self directed learning and problem solving feature in most of the accrediting agencies criteria. This paper is a case study of a course which uses Problem Based Learning method to deliver key transferable skills to engineering students studying via distance education The students use a range of communication systems including a Learning Management System which offers synchronous and asynchronous communications to work in a team where there is no face to face contact between either the team members or with the supervising academic. The teams solve open ended, contextualised engineering problems. These teams form a learning community which scaffolds individual and team learning goals. Results from a longitudinal study show that students significantly increase their teamwork, communication, problem solving and self directed learning skills. These are key graduate attributes now required by professional accreditation bodies. In addition specific theoretical and technical skills and knowledge are learnt and applied to new problems.

Is landscape architecture?

I was not the first to pose this question; it was first asked in print by Garrett Eckbo, one of the most important landscape architects in America in the twentieth century. One could equally reverse the question and ask: ‘Is architecture landscape?’. In either formulation the question is about the relationship between two arts that are normally understood as separate professions these days. In fact, Eckbo was not the first to puzzle over this issue, even if his exact formulation had no antecedents. The question had already been posed in the nineteenth century, when landscape architecture emerged as a distinct discipline. The early theorists of the field, Humphry Repton and John Claudius Loudon in England, Antoine-Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy in France, and Andrew Jackson Downing in the USA, all wondered about the relationships between these two practices – if indeed they were two. The professional accrediting and licensing bodies that were formed subsequently tried to settle the matter and institutionalise the distinction. But the question may be older, for it is possible to say that the distinction between these disciplines, at least the suggestion of fundamental differences, was debated even earlier in the eighteenth century. The cases I have in mind include the Abbé Laugier and William Chambers; the first compared the routes through a forest to the streets of a town, while the second used landscape aesthetics to evaluate the merits of a building's facade. Despite this tradition and indeed maybe because of it, the questions these theorists asked have not disappeared in our time.

Concept Mapping a Baccalaureate Nursing Program: A Method for Success

The understanding of curricular design and development is paramount for faculty. For novice faculty, learning teaching methods commonly takes precedence over understanding curriculum development. Professional accrediting bodies of nursing programs require curriculum course content to be pertinent and flow logically. Baccalaureate nursing programs can choose to be accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The purpose of this article is to describe an educational innovation that one College of Nursing implemented to orient new faculty to the curriculum and prepare for an accreditation renewal. Assigned faculty developed and implemented a concept mapping process aimed to evaluate and revise course content based on national standards and guidelines. Undergraduate faculty understanding and ownership of the curriculum was evident throughout the process. The concept mapping process proved to be an innovative approach to enhance the curriculum and equip faculty with an understanding of the relationship between concepts and course content.