Specific Professional Roles Research Articles

Prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in healthcare workers in Latin America and the Caribbean: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Tuberculosis remains a significant global health concern, and healthcare workers (HCWs) face a high risk of acquiring latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) through occupational exposure. In the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region, where the burden of tuberculosis is substantial, understanding the prevalence of LTBI among HCWs is crucial for effective infection control measures. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of LTBI among HCWs in LAC countries. Our search included MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, focusing on relevant English-language records. We looked for observational studies from inception until December 2023. Our analysis included 38 studies representing 15,236 HCWs and 6,728 LTBI cases. These studies spanned the period from 1994 to 2023 and were conducted in Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, and Chile. The mean prevalence of LTBI among HCWs was 35.32% (range 17.86-56.00%) for interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) and 43.67% (range 6.68-70.29%) for tuberculin skin test (TST). The pooled prevalence of LTBI among HCWs was 34.5% (95% CI 25.4-44.1%) for IGRA and 43.0% (95% CI 35.5-50.7%) for TST. When considering both IGRA and TST tests, the overall prevalence of LTBI among HCWs was 40.98% (95% CI 34.77-47.33%). LTBI was associated with longer lengths of employment and exposure to patients, family members, or any person with TB. Additionally, older HCWs faced a higher risk of LTBI. Specific professional roles (such as nurses, nurse technicians, or physicians), smoking, and deficient TB infection control measures increased the likelihood of LTBI. However, information regarding gender and BCG vaccination status showed discordance among studies. Our findings underscore a substantial burden of LTBI among HCWs in LAC countries. Implementing adequate infection control measures is essential to prevent and control transmission within healthcare settings.

Core competencies in disaster management for social workers in China: A modified e-Delphi study

A modified e-Delphi study was conducted to identify the core competencies required by social workers for disaster management in China. A list of competencies was compiled through an integrative review and in-depth interviews. We then conducted a three-round e-Delphi survey with 25 experts including social work practitioners and academics, government officials and other professionals. After a 4-month period of data collection and analysis, we proposed a specific social work competence framework for disaster management in the unique context of China. A total of 87 competencies were identified and categorised into knowledge, values and skills needed for the mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery phases of disaster management (a total of 15 categories). Through a further thematic analysis, we identified four interconnected themes related to disaster resilience building and social justice in various phases. This ground-breaking competence framework can inform Chinese social work practice and training in disaster management, thus enabling social workers to better identify their specific professional roles and tasks in disaster contexts. The framework can also enhance transdisciplinary collaboration among social workers and the various disaster management stakeholders, and can also be of value when developing social work core competencies outside of China.

Health care professionals' perceptions of unprofessional behaviour in the clinical workplace.

Unprofessional behaviour undermines organizational trust and negatively affects patient safety, the clinical learning environment, and clinician well-being. Improving professionalism in healthcare organizations requires insight into the frequency, types, sources, and targets of unprofessional behaviour in order to refine organizational programs and strategies to prevent and address unprofessional behaviours. To investigate the types and frequency of perceived unprofessional behaviours among health care professionals and to identify the sources and targets of these behaviours. Data was collected from 2017-2019 based on a convenience sample survey administered to all participants at the start of a mandatory professionalism course for health care professionals including attending physicians, residents and advanced practice providers (APPs) working at one academic hospital in the United States. Out of the 388 participants in this study, 63% experienced unprofessional behaviour at least once a month, including failing to respond to calls/pages/requests (44.3%), exclusion from decision-making (43.0%) and blaming behaviour (39.9%). Other monthly experienced subtypes ranged from 31.7% for dismissive behaviour to 4.6% for sexual harassment. Residents were more than twice as likely (OR 2.25, p<0.001)) the targets of unprofessional behaviour compared to attending physicians. Female respondents experienced more discriminating behaviours (OR 2.52, p<0.01). Nurses were identified as the most common source of unprofessional behaviours (28.1%), followed by residents from other departments (21%). Unprofessional behaviour was experienced frequently by all groups, mostly inflicted on these groups by those outside of the own discipline or department. Residents were most frequently identified to be the target and nurses the source of the behaviours. This study highlights that unprofessional behaviour is varied, both regarding types of behaviours as well as targets and sources of such behaviours. This data is instrumental in developing training and remediation initiatives attuned to specific professional roles and specific types of professionalism lapses.

THE EFFECT OF INTERNALIZATION OF LOCAL CULTURE ON AUDITOR'S SKEPTICISM

For several hundred years tribes in the Maluku of Eastern Indonesia have followed the cultural practice of pela-gandong. Pela-Gandong is a form of brotherhood between two or more villages, with its foundation being in blood relationships. Socially, pela-gandong is acknowledged as beneficial in spreading peace and harmony among differing ethnic groups. However, the practice raises questions of its influence on specific professional roles such as auditing. Using Self-Determination Theory, this study examines the impact of pela-gandong on an auditor’s personal values, particularly the need for impartial auditor skepticism. By collecting data from 69 auditors across three local government municipalities and one city in Maluku, the findings suggest that the personal value (openness to change) and internalization of Pela–Gandong decreases auditor skepticism. The study recommends the need to further develop an approach that will increase auditors’ awareness of cultural issues.

Shared Leadership and Team Creativity: Construction Industry Perspective

The construction industry is a multiteam continuum, where in addition to the civil engineers, a wide array of experts and tradesmen provide necessary inputs to complete projects on time and schedule. Such essential inputs are provided by the skilled teams working in parallel and along with the civil engineers, but through separate leaders who are usually led by a project manager who is often a civil engineer or an architect. However, it is a growing concern that if such teams are given more autonomy in the form of shared leadership, it can lead to extended team creativity in a construction project. This study attempts to evaluate such an argument. This study also considers a mediating role of “professional identity salience” that highlights the fact that team members realize their specific professional roles in particular teams and then strive for better knowledge and performance. A moderating role of team coordination is then introduced in this study to assess professional identity salience effect to enhance team creativity. The authors collected a time-lagged data set from 84 working teams in construction projects. The analysis showed that professional identity salience positively mediates the link between shared leadership and team creativity. Furthermore, this relationship is also found to be moderated by the level of team coordination. Based on the results, this study explains how, when, and why shared leadership improves creativity in construction project teams. This study aims to help project managers to understand the shared leadership concept and its implementation in construction projects to enhance team creativity.

Interdisciplinary and experiential learning in urban development management education

To understand and deal with real urban development problems, urban planners, designers, and managers need to combine and synthesize a variety of academic and professional knowledge. As our urban challenges grow more complex, learning how to do this effectively becomes ever more important. For educators, this means teaching students how to work in interdisciplinary settings, i.e. how to jointly discover the different disciplinary dimensions of an urban problem, and how to reflectively design courses of action. In this paper, we explore and evaluate the components of such interdisciplinary experiential learning, develop a framework to design and analyse this type of courses, and use it to position and evaluate a specific urban development management course. Results show that, by performing and reflecting upon specific professional roles, the course stimulates students to both integrate different disciplines and reflect on an array of academic and practical insights. Based on our evaluation, we discuss several didactical aspects that may help lecturers to improve their interdisciplinary teaching in urban planning, design, and management courses—particularly when creating learning experiences in an increasingly diverse professional, societal and educational setting.

Planning and Leading Effective Meetings.

Behavior analysts spend a great deal of time in meetings regardless of their specific professional role (e.g., academic, practice, administration), so effective meeting skills are important. Meetings can serve a variety of important purposes if they are planned and led well. However, many people are not explicitly taught how to plan or lead meetings effectively. The purpose of this paper is to describe the common purposes of meetings and to provide recommendations and tools for planning and leading effective meetings.

The Limits of Confidentiality: Informed Consent and Psychotherapy.

The Limits of Confidentiality: Informed Consent and Psychotherapy.

The UCL EdD: An apprenticeship for the future educational professional?

In 2001, the Institute of Education (now the UCL Institute of Education (UCL IOE)) became one of only three internationally accredited centres for the training of Reading Recovery trainers. To achieve accreditation, the training programme was required by the International Reading Recovery Trainers Organization to be linked to the IOE doctor of education (EdD). Specifically, apprentice trainers were required to complete a minimum of Year 2 of the EdD programme (the Institution-Focused Study) successfully, as a gateway to achieving their professional qualification. The IOE EdD allowed for a unique apprenticeship model that combined academic study and research at doctoral level together with practical experiences. This paper presents a case study of the apprenticeship model as viewed by professionals who have undergone the experience. Findings suggest similarities to previous reports on professional doctorates, but also suggest a bridge and transition from apprentice to an apprentice who is also a mentor. A range of tensions are also suggested, some of which have been described by previous authors, but also others that have not previously been reported. Apprentice trainers reported feeling like 'weird fish' in that although their apprenticeship model was part of the EdD, it did not 'fit' with experiences the rest of their cohorts received. Nevertheless, there was a sense of preparedness for participants' new, complex professional roles. Implications of findings for linking the EdD to specific professional roles are also discussed.

Comparative Initial and Sustained Engagement in Web-based Training by Behavioral Healthcare Providers in New York State.

Improved dissemination is critical to implementation of evidence-based practice in community behavioral healthcare settings. Web-based training modalities are a promising strategy for dissemination of evidence-based practice in community behavioral health settings. Initial and sustained engagement of these modalities in large, multidisciplinary community provider samples is not well understood. This study evaluates comparative engagement and user preferences by provider type in a web-based training platform in a large, multidisciplinary community sample of behavioral health staff in New York State. Workforce make-up among platform registrants was compared to the general NYS behavioral health workforce. Training completion by functional job type was compared to characterize user engagement and preferences. Frequently completed modules were classified by credit and requirement incentives. High initial training engagement across professional role was demonstrated, with significant differences in initial and sustained engagement by professional role. The most frequently completed modules across functional job types contained credit or requirement incentives. The analysis demonstrated that high engagement of a web-based training in a multidisciplinary provider audience can be achieved without tailoring content to specific professional roles. Overlap between frequently completed modules and incentives suggests a role for incentives in promoting engagement of web-based training. These findings further the understanding of strategies to promote large-scale dissemination of evidence-based practice in community behavioral health settings.

Bridging the digital disconnect: Exploring the views of professionals on using technology to promote young people's mental health.

The increasing role of online technologies in young people’s lives has significant implications for professionals’ engagement with technologies to promote youth mental health and well-being. However, relatively little is known about professionals’ views on the role of technologies in supporting youth mental health. This article outlines key findings from a needs assessment survey carried out in Ireland that sought to determine the views of professionals working with young people on the use of online technologies in supporting young people’s mental health and well-being.A total of 900 professionals from across the education, health, and mental health professions completed an online survey. The findings demonstrate the importance of the internet as a resource for professionals working with young people, with over 98% of those surveyed expressing a readiness to use online resources to support young people’s mental health. The nature of preferred online technologies differed according to professional groupings, however, 63% of overall respondents indicated they would look for help on a dedicated mental health website. Guidelines on working with young people and their parents on the promotion of positive mental were requested with the most frequency. Among the barriers identified were concerns about access to reliable information that was relevant to specific professional roles, and the need for organizational support of professionals’ use of online evidence-based resources. Concerns were also expressed that online resources could replace face-to-face support services for young people, and the need for training professionals in their appropriate use. The results highlight the potential role of technology in assisting professionals through the provision of online training, reliable information, and practical resources on the promotion of positive youth mental health.

Taste matters: Cultural capital and elites in proximate Strategic Action Fields

Recent literature suggests that elites are increasingly fragmented and divided. Yet there is very little empirical research that maps the distinctions between different elite groups. This article explores the cultural divisions that pertain to elite factions in two distinct but proximate Strategic Action Fields. A key insight from the article is that the public sector faction studied exhibits a much broader, more aesthetic set of cultural dispositions than their private sector counterparts. This permits a number of inter-related contributions to be made to literature on both elites and field theory. First, the findings suggest that cultural capital acts as a salient source of distinction between elite factions in different Strategic Action Fields. Second, it is demonstrated how cultural capital is socially functional as certain cultural dispositions are strongly homologous with specific professional roles. Third, the article demonstrates the implications for the structure of the State when two culturally distinct elites are brought together in a new Strategic Action Field.

Evaluation of an international inter-professional initiative on the use of case study learning about the United Nations millennium development goals

Results: Survey results revealed that one hundred percent (100%) of attending clinicians agreed that the information presentedwas relevant and that iPad usage could be integrated into their daily work routine. One hundred percent (100%) of attending clinicians also agreed that usage of iPadswas applicable to their specific professional role. Self-assessments by the students and the instructor assessment implied that students understood cognitive learning theories and how the theories can be applied to educational technology. Conclusion(s): This project provided students with a foundational knowledge of cognitive learning theories while providing them hands-on experience with technology. Students gained insight on the importance of using best practice when teaching with technology. The health care providers at the rehabilitation hospital received valuable resources that could be used in their daily practices. Implications: The use of mobile devices such as the iPad can be a part of physical therapy curriculum. Students can apply learning theories when using iPads to educate health care professionals. Physical therapists can usemobile devices to educate patients, quickly retrievemedical information, and improve patient outcomes.

Herramientas de la web 2.0 para la metodología del juego de rol en un entorno universitario interdisciplinar

The main aim of this work is, first of all, to propose an activity by means of a the active methodology called roleplay in an interdisciplinary context, that is to say, an activity that pleads for the interaction of undergraduate students with specific professional roles from different disciplines, as current society demands. Secondly, we will pay special attention to the integration of digital tools of the so called Web 2.0, mainly, to the use of the wikis, blogs, and podcasts so as to carry out successfully the proposed interdisciplinary roleplay task.

Clinical challenges and ongoing role changes for primary health-care nurses

To investigate the perceptions of primary health-care nurses (PHNs) about clinical demands and future challenges. Qualitative content-analysis of open questions from a questionnaire. A total of 121 PHNs from health-care districts in northern Sweden filled in a questionnaire during a mandatory educational day. Key issues that were raised included: defending the specific professional role of the PHNs; strengthening their self-governance and authority; and ensuring adequate care in the future through education that focuses more on nursing practice than on academic work. To ensure that the role of the PHN continues to develop, it is necessary to enable them to articulate, discuss, and evaluate their profession and to learn, in concrete forms, how to implement science in clinical practice.

A method for evaluating health care workers’ personal protective equipment technique

BackgroundGiven the potential for the transfer of infectious diseases among patients in isolation, health care workers (HCWs), and other patients in the hospital environment, the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is paramount. The literature is limited regarding studies of HCWs’ use of PPE in patient care tasks.MethodsA pilot study was conducted to examine the feasibility of using a simulated health care environment to assess HCWs’ technique when implementing standard airborne and contact isolation precautions. The participants (n = 10) were assigned patient care tasks based on their specific professional roles. The encounters were digitally recorded during donning and doffing of PPE, as well as during interactions with the simulated patient. Powdered fluorescent marker was used as a measure of contamination.ResultsThe pilot data show various inconsistencies in the HCWs’ PPE technique. Each of the 10 participants committed at least one breach of standard airborne and contact isolation precautions.ConclusionAn expanded research study of HCW behaviors is needed to properly examine these contamination and exposure pathways. Training programs should be developed that emphasize the common errors in HCWs’ PPE technique.

Spirituality and palliative care

This paper shows how palliative care developed as a reaction to the compartimentalized technical approach of modern medicine. But what does it mean if we say palliative care wants to treat patients as whole persons? A few pitfalls need to avoided. All disciplines involved in palliative care should act within the limits of their own specific professional role. Physicians and nurses should certainly not force patients into spiritual or religious discussions or practices. They should understand that religion and spirituality also influence the ethical (and thus medical) choices people make, respect their own conscience and worldview too and cultivate conscious compassion.

The Influence of Roles, Advocacy, and Adaptation to the Accounting Decision Environment

ABSTRACT: Decision makers often adapt strategies to specific task and context variables by balancing the need to make good decisions with the need to minimize cognitive effort. However, decision makers must have the requisite knowledge, based on training, to choose the most appropriate strategy. We extend the judgment and decision making literature by experimentally examining how training in specific professional roles (tax and audit) influences advocacy attitudes, and how the elements of the decision environment interact with these attitudes to influence accountants’ judgments.Results indicate that attitudes are moderated by the requirements of the specific decision environment. Specifically, judgments of accounting professionals in a tax decision environment closely mirror their attitudes, whereas in an audit decision environment, this relationship is significantly weaker, indicative of a moderating effect of the decision environment. Supplemental analysis indicates that tax professionals are more likely than auditors to adapt to the professional requirements (advocacy or skepticism) of the task at hand.

Tomorrow's Tort Law in Europe: Selected Questions (Le Droit De La Responsabilite Civile De Demain En Europe: Questions Choisies)

In this paper, the recent Austrian, French, Swiss, and Turkish legislative drafts, proposals and pre-proposals concerning tortious liability are analyzed against the background of the Principles of European Tort Law (PETL). We address three issues in particular. First, we deal with the use of the concepts of 'danger' and 'increased danger' as founding principles for both fault-based liability and strict or semi-strict liability for dangerous activities and objects. We argue that the legislative use of general clauses - or standards - rather than a more or less fixed set of rules for strict liability is not to be preferred.Secondly, we address the virtual division of tort law into two systems of tort law, one for natural persons acting without a specific professional role, and one for legal persons, corporations and organizations. It seems that all the drafts, proposals and principles implicitly or explicitly adhere to this bipolar structure of tort law.Finally, we turn to the question what the drafts, proposals and principles learn us about the goals of tort law as perceived by the draftsmen and how these goals are actually served in the drafts.

Health professionals as stigmatizers and destigmatizers of diseases: Alcoholism and leprosy as examples

Two disease entities are used for the analysis of stigmatization processes within the health care system. It is shown how overall cultural norms, specific professional role interpretations and certain characteristics of the disease are contributory factors. Cultural norms of devaluating persons with disabilities are considered. The relative power of the medical profession within the health care system is assessed in order to evaluate their potentially stigmatizing impact. Previously formulated theoretical concepts and findings of empirical studies provide the overall framework for the discussion. The conclusions include implications which might lead to the improvement of treatment and rehabilitation of currently stigmatizing diseases.