Professional Skills Course Research Articles

Norman Sartorius: The Mental Health Crusader Who Simply Won’t Stop

Abstract Professor N. Sartorius, MD, PhD, FRCPsych, previously the Director of the Mental Health Program of the World Health Organization and President of the World Psychiatric Association and of the European Psychiatric Association, now serves as President of the Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programs, a nongovernmental organization located in Geneva, Switzerland. Professor Sartorius holds several professorial positions in Europe, the USA, and elsewhere. He has published more than 500 papers in peer-reviewed journals and authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited more than 120 books. However, more than all these, Professor Sartorius will be remembered by posterity as a relentless crusader for mental health and against stigma toward mental illness. Professor Sartorius has focused his sustained attention on the reduction of the stigma of mental illness, on the comorbidity of mental and physical disorders, and on support to carers of people with mental disorders. He has been particularly interested in the education of young professionals and conducted leadership and professional skills courses in some 60 countries involving more than 3000 psychiatrists early in their careers. In this interview, he briefly but importantly talks about the phases of his life, work, passion, vision, and mission, and leaves important messages for future generations.

Reform of the construction of the professional skills course cluster of musicology in colleges and universities in the context of aesthetic immersion action based on the VAR model

Abstract In the context of aesthetic education infiltration action, the construction of musicology majors in colleges and universities needs to design diverse teaching contents. This paper analyzes the dynamic impact of the construction of musicology professional skill course clusters with the help of the variable impulse response function of the VAR model and explores the promotional relationship between aesthetic education and music professional literacy. Aiming at the problem that the VAR model cannot reflect the time-varying features and nonlinear features, the TVP-VAP model is used to capture the time-varying features, and at the same time, the Bayesian algorithm is used to calculate the parameters in the model to improve the operation efficiency of the model. After the design was completed and put into practical use, the professional knowledge scores of musicology majors in colleges and universities and students’ aesthetic ability scores in January-October 2023 were selected as databases to establish the TVP-VAR model. When implementing aesthetic education, the response value is 0. From the second month onwards, aesthetic education will have a lasting positive effect and level off, and the response value is around 0.003. The value of the impact effect of students’ professionalism on aesthetic education is 0, which indicates a lag, and shows a gradual upward trend in periods 1-4, with a maximum response value of 0.26. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of the effects of integrating aesthetic education and music and proposes a new direction for reforming the curriculum of the music major.

Utilizing Stakeholder Consultations to Identify Context-Specific Professional Skills for Veterinary Graduates in Bangladesh.

Despite professional skills being part of the Day One Competences published by national as well as international accreditation bodies, veterinary schools in Bangladesh have limited associated teaching within their curricula. Therefore, our study aimed to identify the most important professional skills for veterinarians in Bangladesh through local consultation to inform future initiatives to change the curriculum. Eleven focus groups were conducted with 45 stakeholders who included veterinarians who supervise students on workplacements, faculty, recent graduates, final year students, and clients. The audio recordings were transcribed, translated into English from Bengali and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. Professional skills were considered essential by all stakeholder groups. The most important professional skills were identified as communication, ethical conduct, teamwork, career options, financial management skills, lifelong learning, time management and self-appraisal. One of the best opportunities to practice many of the skills was identified as being during final year workplacements, while participating in extracurricular activities, learning by observing others and self-motivation were also considered valuable. Participants identified a need for more formal professional skills teaching within the curriculum. Challenges included finding space in the curriculum, raising awareness amongst university academics and engaging students and faculty in the new initiatives. This study has identified the most important professional skills in our context. Consultation with relevant regional stakeholders was crucial and will inform curricular change. The results are being used in the development of professional skills courses with the long-term aim of better preparing our graduates for their future careers.

Leadership for Early Career Psychiatrists – A rough guide on theory, practice and what to avoid

AbstractThe presentation will focus on elements of leadership that have been shown to be useful on local and more comprehensive levels. It will be based on experience gained in leadership positions in international and national organizations and during leadership and professional skills courses which were conducted in more than 40 countries over the past thirty years. Among the topics that will be addressed for discussion and further action will be the need to introduce leadership training in the course of postgraduate education and to provide career advice at the beginning and during early years of service.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Teaching professional skills during the pandemic: Does delivery mode matter?

This study explores how the transition to online course delivery during the pandemic impacted a professional skills course that incorporates in-class and out of class experiential learning activities. We compare student performance on a resume writing assignment, a LinkedIn profile creation assignment, a mock interview with members of local businesses, and overall class scores during Fall 2019 when the professional skills course was delivered face-to-face with student performance during Fall 2020 when the course was delivered online. We explore whether the effect of delivery mode varied as a function of student sex, race and first-generation college status. Our results indicate students performed better on the resume and LinkedIn assignments when the course was delivered online than when it was offered face-to-face, and there was no difference in mock interview or overall class performance. Despite concerns that women, racial minorities and first-generation students could suffer disproportionately in the online version of the course, the relationship between class delivery mode and student performance did not vary as a function of these student characteristics. This is encouraging for institutions interested in offering these courses, and underscores the importance of future research that expands our understanding of when different delivery modes are appropriate.

Social and Emotional Development in a Telehealth-Based Ambulatory Care Skills Course

Objective. To determine the impact of telehealth-based simulations on students' social and emotional development.Methods. First-year pharmacy students enrolled in a professional skills course were eligible to participate in the study. Before and after the course, students completed the Personal-Interpersonal Competence Assessment, which codes onto eight subcategories: situation monitoring, inspire others, intimacy, awareness of one's aptitude, initiative to pursue leadership, empathy, sociability, and awareness of one's emotions. Students participated in seven telehealth-based simulations. Prior to each simulation, students watched a role modeling video highlighting social and emotional competence techniques used by a pharmacist during a consultation. Students then participated in simulated consultations that occurred in Zoom breakout rooms. Each student completed one consult while a teaching assistant completed a rubric derived from the Personal-Interpersonal Competence Assessment. Teaching assistants then provided formative feedback related to the student's social and emotional competence. At the semester midpoint, students completed a video log reflecting on their social and emotional development. Statistical analyses compared different time points of students' scores on the Personal-Interpersonal Competence Assessment and scores given by teaching assistants, while qualitative analysis was used for the video logs.Results. At the end of the course, improvement was noted on all factors of the Personal-Interpersonal Competence Assessment. Scores given by teaching assistants showed significant improvement over the semester, with the highest improvement noted on the subcategories inspiration and situation monitoring. On the video log, 80% of students noted improvements in their consideration of others.Conclusion. These findings suggest value in using role modeling, telehealth-based simulations, and teaching assistant feedback on pharmacy students' social and emotional development.

Teaching Professional Skills During the Pandemic: Does Delivery Mode Matter?

The current study explores how the transition to online course delivery during the pandemic impacted a professional skills course which incorporates a variety of in-class and out of class experiential learning activities. In this paper, we compare student performance on a resume writing assignment, a LinkedIn profile creation assignment, a mock interview with members of local businesses and overall class scores during Fall 2019 when the professional skills course was delivered face-to-face with student performance during Fall 2020 when the course was delivered online. We explore whether the effect of delivery mode varied as a function of student sex, race and first-generation college status. Our results indicate that there were some significant differences in student performance across the two semesters. Students performed better on the resume and LinkedIn assignments when the course was delivered online. There was no difference in mock interview performance across the two class delivery modes. Students taking the online version of the course in Fall 2020 did significantly worse in the course overall than students taking the face-to-face version of the course in Fall 2019. Despite concerns that women, racial minorities and first-generation students could suffer disproportionately in the online version of the course, the relationship between class delivery mode and student performance did not vary as a function of these student characteristics. This underscores the importance of future research which can help to identify changes that can be made to online courses to assist students.

The Perceptions of Non-native Medical Students Towards Language Barrier on Clinical Teaching and Learning: a Qualitative Study from Saudi Arabia.

Patient-doctor communication is essential for achieving the best healthcare quality for the patients. Saudi Arabia hosts a variety of healthcare providers from diverse cultures and languages, making language barriers distinctive towards effective communication for a predominantly Arab population. There is limited research on the challenges associated with language barriers among non-native medical students. The current qualitative study aims to explore the perceptions and experiences of non-native medical students during clinical encounters with Arabic speaking patient population at a private university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is a qualitative case study employing non-native medical students in clinical years to explore their perceptions and experiences towards language barriers. Participants attended four focus group discussions, following a brief regarding the concept of the challenges that language barriers pose. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic framework analysis was employed to analyze the data. Twenty-two non-native medical students participated in the study. We identified four broad themes constituting problems in patient interaction, development of clinical skills, managing and overcoming language barriers, and student recommendations to overcome language barrier. Participants suggested improvements in available Arabic language courses and the introduction of a professional skills course in Arabic for non-native students. Non-Native medical students perceived language barriers as an obstacle to a meaningful clinical experience. They identified implications for clinical learning environment, professionalism, empathy, and patient care. Recommendations for advanced occupation-related Arabic language courses to facilitate doctor-patient interactions were made to improve patient-student interactions between native patients and non-native medical students.

Design of Assessment Judging Model for Physical Education Professional Skills Course Based on Convolutional Neural Network and Few-Shot Learning.

In recent years, the promotion of quality education and the development of curriculum and teaching materials reform have put forward higher goals and requirements for professional skills in physical education. However, there are still many shortcomings in the nuclear assessment of physical education professional skills, such as lack of clarity in evaluation objectives, lack of scientific in evaluation indexes, lack of systematization in evaluation contents, lack of diversity in evaluation methods, lack of authority in evaluation results, and lack of timely prediction and analysis of students' mastery of classroom teaching skills, thus not giving good play to all the functions that the nuclear assessment should have, thus to a certain extent fettering the further enhancement of physical education. With the development of information technology, artificial intelligence, as a new technology, can guide the improvement of the assessment and judging mode of physical education professional skills courses, and is also an important guiding idea for physical education majors to meet the development demands of information-based society. Based on the analysis of the connotation and characteristics of deep learning, this paper points out the insufficiency of the assessment and evaluation of traditional physical education professional skills courses and proposes a method of assessment and evaluation of physical education professional skills courses based on convolutional neural networks and small sample learning. In the case of a small amount of data in the course assessment, we use a small number of samples to learn, and only need a small number of samples to learn quickly. Using the improvement measures under the teaching concept of deep learning, physical education personnel are required to truly change in terms of professional skills mastery and evaluation. We effectively implement improvement measures, promote the improvement of physical education professional skills, and realize the migration and innovation of sports knowledge and skills.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Veterinary Clinical and Professional Skills Teaching Delivery and Assessment Format.

The limitations posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have been particularly challenging for courses teaching clinical and professional skills. We sought to identify how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the delivery of veterinary clinical and professional skills courses, including modifications to teaching and assessment, and to establish educators' perceptions of the efficacy of selected delivery methods. A branching survey was deployed to 35 veterinary schools in North America in March and April 2021. The survey collected data about curriculum and assessment in spring 2020, fall 2020, and spring 2021. Educators at 16 veterinary schools completed the survey (response rate: 46%). Educators quickly adapted curriculum to meet the requirements of their institutions and governments. Early in the pandemic (spring 2020), curriculum was delayed, delivered remotely, or canceled. Assessment methods frequently included virtual objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) and video-recorded skills assessments. Later in the pandemic (fall 2020, spring 2021), in-person clinical skills sessions resumed at many schools, often in smaller groups. Professional skills instruction typically remained virtual, as benefits were noted. Assessment methods began to normalize with in-person OSCEs resuming with precautions, though some schools maintained virtual assessments. Educators noted some advantages to instructional methods used during COVID, including smaller group sizes, better prepared students, better use of in-person lab time, more focus on essential course components, provision of models for at-home practice, and additional educators' remote involvement. Following the pandemic, educators should consider retaining some of these changes while pursuing further advancements, including improving virtual platforms and relevant technologies.

The utilization of simulated patients for teaching and learning in the pharmacy curriculum: exploring\xa0pharmacy students\u2019 and recent alumni\u2019s perceptions using mixed-methods approach

BackgroundThe use of simulated patients (SPs) is considered a significant resource for teaching and assessing clinical and communication skills in health professional education. We conducted this study to explore pharmacy students’ perspective towards the utilization of SPs in Qatar and to identify areas that require improvement.MethodsAn explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used among students and recent graduates of the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University (QU-CPH). First, their perspectives toward the current utilization of SPs at QU-CPH was explored using a quantitative cross-sectional study design. Following this, we conducted six focus group discussions based on the analysis of the questionnaire results. The findings of the two phases were interpreted through integration of the quantitative and qualitative phases.ResultsThe majority of the participants (> 90%) reported that interactions with SPs are important in building good communication and counseling skills during professional skills course activities. Similarly, most of the respondents (80%) indicated that interactions with SPs prepared them to apply the clinical skills gained during professional skills and patient assessment sessions in real-life. In addition, they reported that interactions with SPs during competency-based assessments were good experiences. The participants disagreed with the notion that interaction with SPs of opposite gender was uncomfortable for them. Themes identified from the focus groups include: interactions with trained SPs compared to faculty SPs, standardization and consistency of SPs’ roles, communication and language barriers, simulations of real-life case scenarios, SPs’ competence and preparedness, psychological impact associated with interaction with SPs, proposed strategies for improving the SP program. Identified areas for improvement include the need for strengthening the SP training and orientation program as well as the SP selection criteria.ConclusionThis study showed a positive impact of the utilization of SPs in this pharmacy curriculum as perceived by students and alumni. However, the SP program needs to be optimized in terms of the training and orientation of SPs.

Based on the New Idea of Improving the Teaching Effect of Physical Chemistry by Reducing Students’ Burden

In order to improve the professional level of college students and promote their overall development, colleges and universities adopt credit system, students are required to learn several elective courses in addition to the basic professional courses and professional skills courses, so that students are constantly passive listening to lectures, is not conducive to the cultivation of students’ independent learning ability and expertise play. The course of physical chemistry is characterized by many formulas and abstract concepts. It is difficult for students to learn and takes up a long time after class. Therefore, it is very necessary to adopt diversified teaching mode, expand teaching links, ensure students’ learning effect in class and reduce their learning burden after class.

Developing Complex Problem-Solving Skills: An Engineering Perspective

While technical skills remain the core foundation for engineering graduates, professional competencies, including communication, teamwork, and complex problem solving, are increasingly important to succeed in work environments. To enhance the employability of our students, we have integrated several professional skills courses into our “Software Design and Engineering” Master study curriculum, and combined each of them with a technical course. In this paper, we present a blended-learning course design including didactic methods for teaching complex problem solving. The course is intertwined with a lecture on software integration topics, which enables the students to apply their complex problem solving skills on real projects in a domain-specific context.

Investigating the validity of web-enabled mechanistic case diagramming scores to assess students' integration of foundational and clinical sciences.

As medical schools have changed their curricula to address foundational and clinical sciences in a more integrated fashion, teaching methods such as concept mapping have been incorporated in small group learning settings. Methods that can assess students' ability to apply such integrated knowledge are not as developed, however. The purpose of this project was to assess the validity of scores on a focused version of concept maps called mechanistic case diagrams (MCDs), which are hypothesized to enhance existing tools for assessing integrated knowledge that supports clinical reasoning. The data were from the medical school graduating class of 2018 (N = 136 students). In 2014-2015 we implemented a total of 16 case diagrams in case analysis groups within the Mechanisms of Health and Disease (MOHD) strand of the pre-clinical curriculum. These cases were based on topics being taught during the lectures and small group sessions for MOHD. We created an overall score across all 16 cases for each student. We then correlated these scores with performance in the preclinical curriculum [as assessed by overall performance in MOHD integrated foundational basic science courses and overall performance in the Clinical and Professional Skills (CAPS) courses], and standardized licensing exam scores [United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE)] Step 1 (following core clerkships) and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (at the beginning of the fourth year of medical school). MCD scores correlated with students' overall basic science scores (r = .46, p = .0002) and their overall performance in Clinical and Professional Skills courses (r = .49, p < .0001). In addition, they correlated significantly with standardized exam measures, including USMLE Step 1 (r = .33, p ≤ .0001), and USMLE Step 2 CK (r = .39, p < .0001). These results provide preliminary validity evidence that MCDs may be useful in identifying students who have difficulty in integrating foundational and clinical sciences.

Self-Discovery Activities That Facilitate Curricular Engagement And Career Exploration

Location: JC Room C The facilitators of this workshop will share strategies from the first of two Developing Your Professional Skills courses (BUS 103), open to all Mason students, where we focus heavily on student identity and introspection through intrapersonal communication, while simultaneously addressing the 21st century skills employers require and often consider graduates lacking (e.g., critical thinking/problem-solving, written and oral communication, teamwork skills). Throughout this course, we discuss values and self-exploration for the purpose of academic and professional growth, and we encourage students to think about their individual values and how those should (and could) impact their curricular and career choices. Knowing how to assess an organization to see if it aligns with career aspirations is worth consideration in the job search process, as one's within the workplace culture often leads to job satisfaction, engagement, and retention, and is something students will often overlook when considering their futures. By connecting students with their values, they will make more informed and deliberate choices regarding their majors, course selections, and career preparations. This workshop will allow participants to act as students to assess their personal and workplace values, consider how these values impact (or have impacted) their interests, and determine if a path would be a good fit based on those identified values. Participants will walk through the process asked of our students and can gauge how to implement this across disciplines. When and where do career aspirations and values enter into our curriculum? Whose responsibility is it to encourage introspection and self reflection for personal values and career alignment? We will challenge participants to consider how they may encourage students in their own courses to examine their values, in connection to curricular and career choices. While the focus of our courses is on professional skills, and part of that deals with career values, these courses should not be the only space where students consider and reconsider their values and how they impact their trajectory. We will encourage participants to find opportunities within their courses and curriculum to connect to values. This workshop will walk participants through our lesson on values, identifying important readings and assessment tools, sharing discussion prompts, and encouraging individuals to brainstorm diverging paths. Core values will be identified through an assessment tool and the results will be used to evaluate personal choices and passions, allowing for individuals to consider future options and make deliberate choices. Participants will be given time to map out how our shared information could into their curriculum, discuss with others in the session, and potentially identify areas for cross-disciplinary exposure. This self-discovery workshop promotes the yet component of a growth mindset by allowing participants to consider their current and future self (and potential), or what they have to accomplish.

Realising creativity in management education: Putting student energy into action

This paper discusses how creative design in first year undergraduate management education can encourage student engagement in learning. In today's landscape of educational consumerism, educators have to decide whether to offer students what they say they want, or what professional wisdom suggests they actually need. Discussion includes the challenges of creative practice for both students and academic staff, and considers theoretical perspectives that influence the intentional design of a 12 week academic and professional skills course. The paper includes personal narrative from a first year student who encountered the creativity, peer coaching, personal reading, community engagement and self-reflection elements of this approach; and who exemplifies the evolving attitudes of many students to the course.Suggestions are offered on how to manage students’ changing expectations and academic resistance to change, while valuing the professional wisdom that underpins pedagogic innovation; and some potential implications for practice and research.

Contemporary Professional Skills Development for Pharmacists in the Middle East

Objective. To determine professional skills development and its utility among the "bridge" curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students in the Middle East. Methods. Qatar University College of Pharmacy offers a part-time Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program for licensed pharmacists, which includes pre-internship or "bridge" courses adapted from the undergraduate baccalaureate program. Assessments for all professional skills courses delivered in the undergraduate and post-baccalaureate part-time PharmD curriculums between 2011 and 2015 academic years were inventoried. The number and nature of assignments and exams administered to both student cohorts were identified and aggregate class scores recorded. Results were compared using Mann-Whitney tests for non-parametric continuous data with significance level (2-sided) set at α <.05. Results. Twenty-seven common assessments were conducted over a 5-year period. Overall, the performance between the undergraduate and graduate students was comparable except for specific assignments and in certain cohorts. Chart note documentation skills were poor among part-time PharmD students in both professional skills years and may be attributed to lack of prior instruction or current use in practice. Conclusion. Our comparison of graduate and undergraduate student performance in a professional skills course series has reinforced its legitimacy in our part-time PharmD bridge curriculum. Such quality assurance is relevant for programs offering advanced degree training for licensed professionals to ensure ongoing alignment of student abilities with desired educational outcomes and ultimately, delivery of patient care.

ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS: AN AWARENESS RAISING EXERCISE

In today’s world, jobs have become very competitive and demanding in terms of some companies’ requirements. It often happens that an unlimited number of individuals may apply for an announced vacancy. To screen and filter out the many interested applicants, a great number of companies no longer solely rely on a well designed CV, an appealing job application letter (JAL) and good performance in an interview. In addition to the above, many companies all over the world necessitate that prospective job applicants sit for personality attributes tests. Such tests supplement the initial assumptions made about the applicants’ capabilities through the CV, the JAL and the interview. This study reports on the use of one such tests in a professional communication skills course for engineering students at a private English-medium university in the United Arab Emirates, and how it is utilized to better prepare students for workplace requirements and enable them to negotiate test results and refer to them as evidence for possessing highly requisite personal attributes. Pre- and post- test survey results point to students’ gains in understanding test purposes and how these can be geared towards self-marketing.

Objective structured clinical examination for pharmacy students in Qatar: cultural and contextual barriers to assessment.

This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and psychometric defensibility of implementing a comprehensive objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) on the complete pharmacy programme for pharmacy students in a Middle Eastern context, and to identify facilitators and barriers to implementation within new settings. Eight cases were developed, validated, and had standards set according to a blueprint, and were assessed with graduating pharmacy students. Assessor reliability was evaluated using inter-class coefficients (ICCs). Concurrent validity was evaluated by comparing OSCE results to professional skills course grades. Field notes were maintained to generate recommendations for implementation in other contexts. The examination pass mark was 424 points out of 700 (60.6%). All 23 participants passed. Mean performance was 74.6%. Low to moderate inter-rater reliability was obtained for analytical and global components (average ICC 0.77 and 0.48, respectively). In conclusion, OSCE was feasible in Qatar but context-related validity and reliability concerns must be addressed prior to future iterations in Qatar and elsewhere.

Teaching Professional Skills to Chemistry and Biochemistry Majors

Our department houses both an ACS‐certified Chemistry major and an ASBMB‐certified Biochemistry major. For a number of years, the department has required completion of a sophomore‐level professional skills course for all majors, meeting 1.5 hours per week. This course includes searching the scientific literature (including the use of PubMed and SciFinder), scientific writing, oral and poster presentation skills, career planning and resume writing, and scientific ethics. Enrollment is capped at 12, to allow each student to give two in‐class presentations. A challenge has been allowing students to pick topics that interest them, that have scholarly sources available, and that can be accomplished by a student presently enrolled in second‐semester organic. Students have particularly struggled to include enough chemistry in their presentations. We will share several strategies that we have used to run a course that serves students from both majors.