Staff Development

In 2003, the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing (Hartford Institute), in collaboration with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, conducted a survey of baccalaureate schools of nursing in the United States to compare gerontological content to baseline data collected by the Hartford Institute in 1997. Since last surveyed in 1997, baccalaureate nursing programs have been the recipients of substantial new resources and initiatives focused on gerontological curriculum enhancement. While these initiatives are ongoing, and some are in an early stage of development, resurveying baccalaureate programs was seen as a means of taking a midcourse "pulse" as to the effectiveness of these efforts. Data suggest that there has been a fundamental shift in baccalaureate curriculum toward incorporation of a greater amount of gerontological content, integration of gerontological content in a greater number of nursing courses, and more diversity of clinical ...

Information and communication technology can be used to improve the quality and safety of health care and to lower costs. But in both developed and developing countries, there is an inadequate supply of skilled individuals who have the technical skills to use this technology to improve health care. Some studies project workforce needs of tens of thousands in English-speaking developed countries, but it is not known what size workforce will be required in the developing world. It is important to identify and develop the skills, training, and competenciesconsistent with local cultures, languages, and health systems-that will be needed to realize the full benefits of these technologies. We present a framework for answering these questions and for developing estimates of the size and scope of the workforce that may be needed. O ne way to bring about improvements in health, health care, biomedical research, and public health across the world is to make use of knowledge and skills in the implementation and use of information and communication technology. The reach of these technologies in the developing world, via both Internet access and mobile phones, is increasing exponentially. 1 However, the size and skills of the workforce have not kept pace.When information and communication technology is used for health applications, it is called e-health. 2 Its application limited to mobile phone technology is called m-health. 3

To determine the elements of quality clinical and field placements through the eyes of paramedic instructors. Qualitative study. Two large paramedic services in two countries where the entry to practice qualification for paramedics has been set at the Bachelors degree level. Fifteen purposively selected paramedic instructors were invited to voluntarily participate. The criterion for inclusion was that they had supervised at least one university paramedicine student on a field placement. Recruitment ceased when saturation was reached. Face to face semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants who were asked their views and expectations of paramedicine student clinical and field placements. Inductive thematic analysis of the transcripts was completed using Nvivo software. The elements of quality clinical and field placements from the perspective of paramedic instructors were identified. With no agreed clinical and field placement paramedicine standards in the countries s...

In June 2001, the John A. Hartford Foundation of New York awarded the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) a 3.99 million dollar grant to enhance gerontology curriculum development and new clinical experiences in 20 baccalaureate and 10 graduate schools of nursing. Over the 4-year grant implementation period, AACN learned a valuable lesson from the grant's site directors: Faculty development is the single most necessary precursor to the successful implementation and maintenance of geriatric curricular enhancements. Unless faculty members foster positive attitudes toward aging, expand their geriatric nursing knowledge base, and are able to integrate geriatric content into the curricula, progress cannot be made. Enhancing Geriatric Nursing Education project directors recommend that the following steps be taken toward the creation of successful faculty development activities: (1) anoint a champion to mentor and persuade faculty members to embrace gerontology; (2) garner faculty buy-in by engaging the faculty early so that they become active participants in the curricular change process; (3) assess faculty knowledge and comfort level by administering tools developed by the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing and by conducting surveys based on AACN geriatric core competencies; (4) conduct faculty development workshops that include cutting-edge knowledge and research and provide the faculty with opportunities to discuss feelings and stereotypes about aging; (5) elicit the dean's support to encourage and allow time and opportunities for training; and (6) use the many excellent resources that help the faculty integrate geriatric content into their courses. This article will further elucidate such strategies and will highlight the range of faculty development activities in which grant-funded schools engaged. (Index words: Gerontology curriculum; Faculty development) J Prof Nurs 22: [79][80][81][82][83] 2006. A

The National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework has been introduced as part of the Agenda for Change Reforms in the United Kingdom to link pay and career progression to competency. The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications for nurses, their managers and the impact on university departments delivering continuing professional development for nurses. The new system has the potential to increase the human resources management aspect of the clinical nurse managers' role and could have legal implications, for example if practitioners perceive that their needs for continuing professional development have been overlooked to the detriment of their pay and career aspirations. The new system also has implications for providers of continuing professional development in the universities and is likely to demand closer liaison between education providers and trust staff who commission education and training. The Knowledge and Skills Framework is of interest to nurses and nurse educators internationally because the system, if effective, could be introduced elsewhere.

The term 'Faculty Development' encompasses all those activities which help faculty members enhance their academic competencies. It comprises three domains: personal development, professional development, and instructional and course development. The objectives of this study were to determine the proportion of medical colleges involved in faculty development activities, to assess the types of faculty development activities, and to identify the factors influencing such activities, along with formulating recommendations for faculty development. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the medical colleges (public and private) of Pakistan from September to December 2010. A questionnaire was designed through literature review, was pre-tested and then sent via mail to principals of the institutions outside Lahore. Questionnaires were self-administered to respondents within Lahore. Apart from describing the data, Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were applied to determine sta...

Background and purpose: Career advancement programs are currently implemented in many countries. In Iran, the first career advancement program was Nurses' Career Advancement Pathway. The purpose of this study was to explore nurse leaders' experiences about implementing the Nurses' Career Advancement Pathway program in Iran. Methods: This exploratory qualitative study was conducted in 2013. Sixteen nurse managers were recruited from the teaching hospitals affiliated to Shahid Behesthi, Qazvin, and Iran Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling method. Study data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The conventional content analysis approach was used for data analysis. Results: participants' experiences about implementing the Nurses' Career Advancement Pathway fell into three main categories including: a) the shortcomings of performance evaluation, b) greater emphasis on point accumulation, c) the advancement-latitude mismatch. Conclusion: The Nurses' Career Advancement pathway has several shortcomings regarding both its content and its implementation. Therefore, it is recommended to revise the program.

To understand the current use of electronic health records (EHRs) in small primary care practices and to explore experiences and perceptions of physicians and staff toward the benefits, challenges, and successful strategies for implementation and meaningful use of advanced EHR functions. Qualitative case study of 6 primary care practices in Virginia. We performed surveys and in-depth interviews with clinicians and administrative staff (N = 38) and observed interpersonal relations and use of EHR functions over a 16-month period. Practices with an established EHR were selected based on a maximum variation of quality activities, location, and ownership. Physicians and staff report increased efficiency in retrieving medical records, storing patient information, coordination of care, and office operations. Costs, lack of knowledge of EHR functions, and problems transforming office operations were barriers reported for meaningful use of EHRs. Major disruption to patient care during upgrad...

Networking and collaboration in educational settings have become increasingly important in terms of supporting innovation and policy developments in many educational systems. However, to date, the role and action of the middle tier remains an under-researched area, especially in the United Kingdom. This paper draws on findings from a study of district level (local authorities (LAs)) capacity to broker and facilitate school-based networks within a context of complex multiple agendas. The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Innovations Unit and the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) involved 19 LAs over a two-year period. The authors worked as second order action researchers supporting local authority staff develop a range of strategies to broker and facilitate school-to-school networks. This paper draws on Habermassian notions of a critical theorem to describe the construction and use of a new theoretical framework outlining the strategies adopted by the middle tier officers within the project.

A High Quality Workforce: NHS Next Stage Review outlines the Department of Health future intention that all educational supervisors in secondary care undergo 'mandatory training and performance review'. This pilot study reports on the development and introduction of a system of portfolio-based accreditation and review in 16 London trusts. A number of considerations, constraints and challenges are identified which need to be addressed which have implications for the introduction of such a system across the UK.

Health care is a dynamic field challenged by development of new technology, response to consumer expectations, and industry consoli. dations and mergers. Effective leadership is essential for health care organizations to survive and thrive. Employers often rate leadership skills as the most important competence for employees. Today's global marketplace offers many opportunities for talented leaders. The challenge for organizations is to retain and develop leaders within their current workforce. This article will describe mentoring as a component of leadership development. Several studies from the literature — relating benefits of mentoring — will be summarized. Analysis of the value of mentoring and the outcomes realized within a single health care system will be discussed. Many organizations use a structured approach to mentoring for development of potential leaders and managers for the future as well as retention of employees. Mentoring can be used to motivate employees by pro...

One-Stop Profile DESCRIPTION OF TILE STATE CONTEXT Several economic shocks occurred in Connecticut during the period of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Widespread downsizing within the defense and insurance industries led to high levels of unemployment in the state. During the three years between 1989 and 1992, over 150,000 jobs were lost and unemployment doubled from 3.7% to 7.5%. In 1992, it was estimated that more than 75% of workers who had lost jobs were permanently laid offthe highest permanent job loss rate on recordand the proportion of unemployed who had not worked during the previous six months had reached the second highest level since the 1940s. Unemployment has, however, declined since 1992 to current levels of about 5%. Partly in response to these rapid structural changes in the state's economy, a farreaching examination of the state's workforce development system was undertaken. Surveys conducted among business and individual customers of the Connecticut Department of Labor at about this time revealed low levels of customer satisfaction with the system. Employers expressed their desire for more customized services that would meet their changing needs in a timely manner. Individual customers complained of "red tape," the fact that they often had to give the same information several times, and contact several DOL employees in order to access the services they required. At the policy level, weaknesses identified by other stakeholders included the existence of multiple and ineffective planning processes, a poor capacity for priority setting, and a lack of overall accountability for workforce development services. In response to these criticisms, a number of initiatives were undertaken in Connecticut to integrate the planning and delivery of workforce development services (described below under Evolution of the State One-Stop Vision). Thus, prior to the receipt of the federal One-Stop Implementation Grant, much of the groundwork for increased coordination, co-location, and integration of DOL-funded workforce development services had already taken place, particularly for the programs operated by the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL). Although originally conceived as a response to assist dislocated workers, Transition Centers eventually served as an important bridge toward providing integrated career services to a universal population. In the spring of 1994, the Connecticut legislature passed Public Act 94-116, which provides formal legislative authority for implementing a statewide system of Job Centers focused on the delivery of workforce development services to the general public.' The Act calls for the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission to set overall policy for the Job Center system. Administrative oversight of the Job Center system is to be shared between the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) and Regional Workforce Development Boards (RWDBs). The legislation also calls for these entities to consult with the Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development to ensure coordination of services with employers and to collaborate with other public and private education, human services, and employment and training providers to deliver coordinated serices to individuals. As part of the One-Stop initiative, Connecticut's existing Job Centers are being transformed into One-Stop centers through the involvement of additional state and local agency partners and development of the capacity to provide integrated services to job seekers and business customers, with an emphasis on the use of self-access services. As described in its application for a federal One-Stop Implementation Grant, Connecticut's initial schedule for the "roll out" of Connecticut Works Centers was very ambitious. The state's goal was to open fourteen out of nineteen planned One-Stop centers during the first year of implementation in 1995. In actuality, only two centers were opened during this formative year. At the time of the site visit in June 1996, seven Connecticut Works Centers had opened; the remaining twelve centers were scheduled to be certified as One-Stop centers in 1997. The Connecticut Employment and Training Commission was intended to be the state's major policy body for issues of workforce development. In addition to CETC's mandate to produce a coordinated workforce development plan, it was designed to iThe same legislation established the framework for a statewide school-to-work system.

In the UK the government is committed to major expenditure on IT infrastructure and systems (electronic records, booking and prescribing) between now and 2008. It is acknowledged that with a projected expenditure of £11.6 billion, the NHS is embarking on a very high-risk project. These pending developments pose big challenges for those involved in Health Informatics education. One concern is whether NHS staff and those currently in training will be ready, willing and able to use new ICT systems in ways which benefit patients. This paper reports on the outcomes of a national survey and three case studies of acute hospitals investigating Health Informatics education, training and development provision for clinicians and health service managers. This work was funded by the Department of Health and the final report was submitted in July 2002. Our evidence suggests that we are some way from integrating Health Informatics into the curriculum. The paper identifies the factors which are holding back progress and outlines steps which need to be taken to ensure education and training keep pace with the planned roll-out of technology into both the acute sector and primary care trusts.

Despite the prominence of work-based training in British national policy debate, published statistics fail to give solid data on training volume or quality. The Labor Force Survey, commonly used to give a picture of increasing training, shows proportions of training over any 4-week period rose from 10.8 percent in 1985 to 15.2 percent in 1994. Closer analysis indicates that, spread over all employees, average time spent on off-the-job training was 39 minutes per week per employee in 1985 and 40 minutes in 1994. Use of proxy interviewing techniques makes reliability of the participation rate questionable. Current surveys provide little useful information about trends in training quality and none about trends in training sponsorship. Proposed typologies of training are based on training quantity, quality, and sponsorship. To develop this proposition, two surveys have been conducted--one focused on individuals, the other on employing organizations--to examine the quantity and quality o...

If you have not heard of Transversal Skills or Competencies you need to get up to date quickly.

They are defined by the Education Glossary quite accurately as follows:

’The term 21st century skills refers to a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, and character traits that are believed—by educators, school reformers, college professors, employers, and others—to be critically important to success in today’s world, particularly in collegiate programs and contemporary careers and workplaces.’ https://www.edglossary.org/21st-century-skills/

They are, however, out of date!

On May 2 2018 the EU Government published a ‘Decision’ which was passed earlier on April 18 2018.

‘DECISION (EU) 2018/646 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 18 April 2018
on a common framework for the provision of better services for skills and qualifications (Europass) and repealing Decision No 2241/2004/EC’

This paper cites several examples of the outcomes assessment activities taking place on college campuses and their impact on the freshman educational experience. Outcomes assessment is viewed as the impetus for faculty to make responsive improvements in higher education practices. Improvements derived from assessment activities are being implemented in the areas of registration and preregistration, advising and student-faculty contact, computer usage, emphasis on basic skills, general education, staff development, student-student contact, and curriculum-related matters.

Effective faculty development programs are of paramount importance in this era of profound change in nursing education driven by baccalaureate-degree entry to practice and the concurrent implementation of college/university collaborative partnerships in Ontario, Canada. The overall purpose of this study was to design, disseminate, and evaluate a faculty development program involving nursing faculty from the McMaster University, Mohawk College, and Conestoga College. In keeping with selected conceptual models and responses to a needs assessment, faculty participated in a collaborative faculty development program that included a planned workshop, a mentorship program, and regular faculty development activities. This article presents the qualitative program evaluation component that included focus group discussions and subsequent content analysis to gain an understanding of the experiences and meaning of the faculty who participated in the faculty development program. The overarching theme was that the faculty experienced a sense of evolving as nurse educators in problem-based learning (PBL) through a community of faculty development. The following themes emerged: becoming certain in the midst of uncertainty; developing collegial trust and community; embracing PBL; valuing faculty development; and evolving as a nurse educator in PBL through faculty development. The results attest to the benefits of a collaborative faculty development program, guide future faculty development, and promote mastery in PBL. (Index words: Nursing faculty; Faculty development; Program evaluation) J Prof Nurs 23: 75-82, 2007. A

In 1989, former President Bush stated that, as one of the national goals, “the United States would be first in the world in math and science. ” Little did we realize at that time how this would prove to be quite a challenge as the nation was just gearing up to face the challenges and opportunities put forth by the exploding technology revolution coupled with disappointing science test scores. Many different approaches have been suggested for improving public education in this country. A common element in many of these approaches has been the emphasis on technology. Reform literature often cites the need for more extensive and more effective computer and telecommunication network instructional applications. The motivation underlying these calls for reform potentially was linked to the observation that technology has fundamentally transformed corporate America, yet technology’s impact in our nation’s classrooms has usually been very modest. In 1994, Goals 2000: Educate America Act bec...

Professionalism must be explicitly taught, but teaching professionalism is challenging, because medical teachers are not prepared to teach this content area. This study aims at designing and evaluating a faculty development programme on learning and teaching professionalism in the Arabian context. Programme development: The study used a participatory design, where four authors and 28 teachers shared the responsibility in programme design in three steps: orientation workshop for teachers, vignette development, and teaching professionalism to students. The workshop provided the cognitive base on the salient attributes of professionalism in the Arabian context. After the workshop, authors helped teachers to develop a total of 32 vignettes in various clinical aspects, portraying a blend of professionalism dilemmas. A battery of seven questions/triggers was suggested to guide students' reflection. The programme was evaluated with regard to its "construct" and its "outc...

Key issues Democratic leadership, accessible and relevant education and professional development, the incorporation of evidence into practice and the ability of facilities to be responsive to change are core considerations for the successful maintenance of practice standards ...

Acute exacerbation of asthma requires timely and appropriate treatment. Young children are completely reliant on others in this respect. This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of staff asthma education programs in ensuring correct treatment for young children experiencing asthma exacerbations in formal care. A systematic review was undertaken of studies focusing on staff asthma education in relation to pharmacological treatment of acute asthma exacerbation. Three randomised controlled trials and seven uncontrolled pre-and post-test intervention studies were included for review. Asthma education was found to increase staff knowledge and confidence in managing asthma. There was a distinct lack of staff performance testing and studies undertaken in the pre-school setting. Staff asthma education appears effective in increasing asthma knowledge; however, utility of this measure is limited with respect to staff performance in treating acute asthma exacerbation. Further studies evaluating asthma education through performance are needed.

Three definitions of ``quality'' have entered the qualityassurance (QA) debate: quality as value for money, quality as fitfor the purpose of the institution, quality as transforming. The firstis pivotal for retrospective QA, which sees QA in terms ofaccountability, and conforming to externally imposed standards. The lasttwo are pivotal for prospective QA, which sees QA asmaintaining and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in theinstitution. In this paper, the reflective practitioner is taken as themodel for prospective QA. Three stages are involved in institutionalreflective practice: articulating an espoused theory of teaching, thequality model (QM); continually improving on current practicethrough quality enhancement (QE), in which staff development should playan important role; and making quality feasible (QF), by removingimpediments to good teaching, which often arise through distortedpriorities in institutional policy and procedures. These three stages,QM, QE, and QF, are essential ingredients in prospective QA.

This paper explores issues in developing and implementing a competency-based human resource development strategy. The paper summarizes a literature review on how competency models can improve HR performance. A case study is presented of American Medical Systems (AMS), a mid-sized health-care and medical device company, where the model is being used to improve employee performance and gain a competitive advantage. While there are numerous benefits from using behavior-based competency models, there are also some challenges.

This paper provides a description of the program and formative evaluation of the New England Head Start Teaching Center, one of fourteen funded nationally to study alternative approaches to Head Start staff development. Head Start Teaching Centers are a national demonstration project created to provide participatory training in all Head Start component areas within the context of an exemplary Head Start program. Each Teaching Center employs an independent evaluation project. The New England Teaching Center is designed to provide intensive training during a 3- to 5-day period of residence at the Teaching Center. The purpose of this paper is to describe the Head Start Teaching Center model and its implementation in the New England region. Additionally, formative evaluation data regarding the process of developing and initiating the New England Teaching Center are presented and discussed.

Competency-based medical education (CBME) is both an educational philosophy and an approach to educational design. CBME has already had a broad impact on medical schools, residency programs, and continuing professional development in health professions around the world. As the CBME movement evolves and CBME programs are implemented, a wide range of emerging research questions will warrant scholarly examination. In this paper, we describe a proposed CBME research agenda developed by the International CBME Collaborators. The resulting framework includes questions about the meaning of key concepts of CBME and their implications for learners, faculty members, and institutional structures. Other research questions relate to the learning process, the meaning of entrustment decisions, fundamental measurement issues, and the nature and definition of standards. The exploration of these questions will help to solidify the theoretical foundation of CBME, but many issues related to implementati...

Chicago is home to a vibrant community of academic law libraries which have a wealth of information and experience to share. Yet, day to day work demands and other practical barriers restrict our opportunities to connect on an ongoing basis. In early 2011, The John Marshall Law School Library and Loyola University Chicago's School of Law Library started a job shadow program as a way to provide our staff members with a structure for connecting professionally and discussing our work.

The study reported in this paper builds upon earlier research designed to examine issues associated with initiating an effective teacher evaluation effort and integrating it into district practices. The paper describes four districts which have made substantial progress in initiating and organizing teacher evaluation programs and presents the view that teacher evaluation is primarily an organizational problem, not a technical one. Introductory comments suggest that evaluation is central to teaching quality and educational reform but that interest in evaluation tar outruns the level of effective practice. The four districts that successfully began programs are briefly described in chapter 2, as are lessons offered by the organizational processes involved. Chapter 3, "Organizational Change for Teacher Evaluation," analyzes factors that promote implementation of evaluation programs, including trust between teachers and administrators and commitment to organizational improvement. Enabling conditions that combine to set the stage for a meaningful program are: a triggering event, environmental stability, strong leadership, and active teacher involvement. Chapter 4, "Evaluation Processes and Procedures," concludes that, for most districts, teacher evaluation requires fundamental organizational change in values and practices. Chapter 5, "Accountability and Improvement: Outcomes of Evaluation," details multiple outcomes associated with practices that have enabling characteristics. The conclusion discusses enabling conditions, planning and implementation strategies, and self-evaluation activities. Twenty-six referenrPs are given. An addendum to the report contains five appendices, the first describing the study methodology and the other four presenting data gathered during program implementation in three California school districts-Santa Clara Unified, Mountain View-Los Aitos, ana Moraga-and one district in North Carolina, Charlotte-Mecklenberg. Included are descriptions of each district's setting, evaluation program strategy, staff development and teacher evaluation outcomes, remaining obstacles to overcome, and policy context. (CJH)