Centre for Health Professions Education
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Browsing Centre for Health Professions Education by browse.metadata.advisor "Couper, Ian"
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- ItemClinical associate students’ perceptions of factors influencing their developing professional identity(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Mgobozi, Aviwe Palesa; Couper, Ian; McNamee, Lakshini; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Centre for Health Professions Education.ENGLISH SUMMARY : The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Lancet Commission called for educational reforms to improve the preparation of 21st century healthcare professionals through strengthening of professional identity in medical education. The factors influencing professional identity amongst nurses and doctors emerge as role modelling, patient encounters, clinical experience, and professional practice. However, factors influencing professional identity within the clinical associate profession have not been described. The study explores clinical associate students’ perceptions of factors that influence their developing professional identity. The research question is positioned within the phenomenological research paradigm. The research inquiry used a qualitative descriptive interpretivist approach. The study was conducted at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. The population for the study were all undergraduate clinical associate students enrolled at the University of Witwatersrand in 2018. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was utilised. Sampling were done from first-year and the final-year group of students. Three focus group discussions were held per year of study. The focus group discussions were guided by the researcher utilising semi-structured interview questions. Focus group discussions were audio recorded. Ethics approval was received from Stellenbosch University and the University of Witwatersrand. Three themes emerged from the results, namely, individual factors, training related factors, and perceptions of identity. The focus on professional identity aims to provide formal educational opportunities to enhance factors that positively influence student professional identities and dispel negative factors. Strengthening professional identities produces healthcare professionals who embody the professional qualities, values and dispositions required in an effective profession. The study reveals clinical associate students’ perceptions of factors that influence their professional identity. The information suggests a need to increase marketing and advocacy of the profession, improve student selection into the programme, include inter-professional education and faculty development, and utilise clinical associate role models at clinical learning facilities.
- ItemThe perceptions of preceptors regarding assessment of clinical associate students at Walter Sisulu University(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Kakia, Aloysious; Couper, Ian; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Centre for Health Professions Education.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Introduction: Preceptors are vital stakeholders in the training of clinical associate students at district hospital training sites in the Walter Sisulu University Bachelor of Medical Clinical practice (BMCP) programme. They conduct teaching and learning, and assessment activities. Whereas preceptors have facilitated learning and assessment for clinical associate students for ten years, their perceptions of the assessment process had not been explored and factored into clinical associate training. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of preceptors regarding assessing clinical associate students at district hospital training sites. Methods: This was a qualitative study using a phenomenological approach. Nine preceptors were purposively selected and interviewed from three district hospitals. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and thematic analysis was conducted. Results: Four themes emerged from data analysis with several subthemes and categories. The themes were: assessment issues, student issues, preceptor issues and university issues. The subthemes under assessment issues were conduct of assessment, tools of assessment, validity of assessment and ease of assessment. The theme of student issues had the subthemes of poorly performing students, student demands, and conflicts with students. The theme of preceptor issues included the subthemes of preceptor skills for assessment, affect related to assessment, and preceptor motivation. The theme of university issues had one subtheme which was university support for assessment. Discussion: Preceptors were found to be actively engaged with students at the district hospitals, are highly motivated, and obtained satisfaction from the assessment that they do. There was no training of the preceptors in preparation for their role. They therefore employed various individual techniques to train and assess students which resulted in a heterogeneous picture across the sampled sites. The lack of training coupled with reluctance to fail poor performing students and the possibility of subjectivity bring the reliability of assessment by preceptors into question. Conclusion: The district hospital training sites are seen to be appropriate for training and assessing clinical associates. There is a need for training and continued support of preceptors so as to assure reliability and uniformity of the assessment process.
- ItemPerceptions of the learning environment by medical students at a new medical school in Nigeria(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Obadeji, Adetunji; Louw, A. J. N. (Alwyn Jacobus Nicolaas); Couper, Ian; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Centre for Health Professions Education.ENGLISH SUMMARY: There is an increasing interest and concern about the role of the learning environment in undergraduate medical education. The learning environment as experienced by students has been described as one of the most important factors in determining the success of any medical curriculum. Not only does it form the basis for effective learning, it also determines the extent to which learning objectives or outcomes will be achieved. It is a determinant of students’ satisfaction and achievement. Assessment of the learning environment provides an essential approach for evaluating the quality of the medical curriculum and training programmes by identifying the strengths and the weaknesses of the curriculum and the priority areas for improvement; thereby ensuring high quality medical education. The Ekiti State University Medical School (ESUMS) is in its early formative years with various challenges, reforms, and modifications. An assessment of how students perceive the learning environment will not only provide insight into the various challenges, but also identify the strength of the learning environment that can be enhanced in order to maximize learning and ensure learning outcomes are achieved. With this understanding, this study aimed to understand how medical students in this new medical school perceive their learning environment. With the assumption that learning is socially constructed, a qualitative approach to inquiry using focus group interviews was adopted to assess how students perceived the learning environment. An interview guide based on the five subscales of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) i.e. students' perceptions of learning, teaching, academic self-perceptions, atmosphere, and social self-perceptions, alongside other areas of interest was employed to navigate discussions. Four data sets were obtained from the transcriptions of four focus group interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted by the researcher with the aim of identifying various themes from the data sets. Although globally the learning environment was rated below average, findings of the study also identified some strengths of the learning environment namely, adequacy of classes, laboratories and seminar rooms, the good students-teachers relationship that exist, the relatively high teacher-student ratio with greater opportunity for students’ engagements in patients’ care. Nevertheless, key weaknesses were also identified, namely inadequate teaching aids and essential hospital equipment to facilitate teaching and learning, the absence of opportunities for financial aids or scholarships, and a negatively perceived social environment and an irregular supply of electricity. Again, a few of the participants also highlighted the issue relating to bullying or the use of derogatory language by some of their lecturers. These were believed to impact negatively on teaching and learning. In addition, the participants described their ideal medical school as one with good physical structures with basic facilities for comfort, teaching and learning, recreation, with opportunity for inter-school competitions, financial aids and scholarship and besides one must be aware of the date of graduation at the time admission, this, they believe will motivate students to want to learn. On the average, participants rated the current circumstances at the university as 30-40% of their expected ideal due to inadequacy or absence of some of the factors highlighted above. The identified key strengths and weaknesses, as well as challenges confronting teaching and learning in this learning environment provide the foundation from which educational managers can improve the learning environment and thereby, enhance the learning outcomes.