This study examined how recent Doctor of Physical Therapy graduates from a health professions graduate school with an interprofessional curriculum conceptualize their professional and ...interprofessional identity (i.e., dual identity). Theoretical frameworks included social identity theory, intercontact group theory, and the interprofessional socialization framework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 graduates in their first 1–2 years of practice in inpatient settings. Transcripts were analyzed using iterative and inductive phenomenological analysis to identify themes. Four themes related to professional identity emerged: from patient to physical therapist, profession exceeding expectations, connection with patient, and role affirmation through meaningful work. Six themes related to interprofessional identity emerged: valuing different mindsets, the authenticity of interprofessional education, feeling misunderstood, perceived versus true hierarchy, differing team dynamics, and being on the same page. Approaches to interprofessional education that focus on longitudinal socialization from professional education through clinical practice might best support the development of clinicians who value interprofessional collaborative practice.
Considering the expansion of online graduate education, higher education practitioners must support student belonging and academic writing in this growing context. The purpose of this mixed-methods ...study was to use social cognitive theory to explore how students in an online Doctor of Education program experience becoming academic writers and to examine trends in students’ belonging and writing self-efficacy. This explanatory sequential design study included quantitative data collection via an electronic survey followed by individual and focus group interviews with participants. Seventy-four students completed the survey (29% response rate) and eleven students participated in interviews. Survey results revealed that students had a moderate to high sense of belonging related to the writing process and a significant negative correlation between writing self-efficacy and belonging uncertainty. Qualitative analysis of the interviews resulted in five themes: (1) writing is experienced as a journey, (2) unclear expectations are painful, (3) English is viewed as a privilege, (4) peer support is needed, and cannot be forced, and (5) developing writers view writing as a craft and identified writing tools. This study provides supporting evidence that belonging is possible in online doctoral education. Recommendations for practice include the strategic engagement of peers and clear, timely notes from instructors.
Many institutions of higher education have implemented workshops for hiring committee members to familiarize them with the pernicious effects of implicit bias and how to counteract them. ...Unfortunately, the enthusiasm for implicit bias trainings is not matched by the evidence for their effectiveness. Recognizing the difficulty of removing entrenched biases and the potential for trainings to backfire, we introduced the role of equity advocate (EA) at one institution. EAs are trained volunteer faculty and staff members who serve on search committees outside their home departments to identify behaviors and judgments that might have a disparate racial effect in hiring. We conducted focus groups to document the perspectives of both EAs and non-EA search committee members who completed a cycle of academic hiring. Search committee members credited EAs with helping to mitigate bias by questioning their assumptions and introducing standardized tools for evaluating candidates. By contrast, EAs reported a more contentious relationship with the rest of the search committee and expressed less confidence that the process was free from bias. Both groups agreed that the EAs added valuable race-conscious equitable practices, and untrained committee members identified ways they could apply the lessons of bias reduction in other parts of their professional roles. Our study provides evidence for how to engage all faculty and staff members in sustainable, equity-minded efforts.
The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the academic productivity of health sciences faculty members in one graduate school in the United States. Thirty-two ...faculty members completed an electronic survey comparing academic productivity in the year prior to the pandemic to a year during the pandemic. In total, 90.7% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that time dedicated to teaching increased, and 81.2% agreed or strongly agreed that they prioritized teaching over research during the pandemic. Participants presented an average of 2.72 peer-reviewed papers at an academic conference the year before and 1.47 during the pandemic, with females more adversely affected than males. Journal submissions with survey participants as the first or last authors decreased during the pandemic. Twelve faculty members including genetic counseling, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech and language pathology participated in one-to-one interviews. Three themes emerged from qualitative data analysis: stressed systems, balancing act, and meaningful connection. Faculty members were faced with an external locus of control during the pandemic and noted a lack of autonomy and pressure to help students graduate on time and maintain the quality of teaching while dealing with uncertainty in both their professional and personal lives. The pandemic disproportionately impacted women and junior faculty members as connectedness and mentorship declined. Collaboration and research mentorship must be prioritized moving forward to continue to advance healthcare and health sciences education.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a global transition from in-person to online instruction leaving many higher education faculty with little time or training for this responsibility. Physical therapist ...education programs were especially impacted since a large part of the development of skills rely on face-to-face onsite practice. This phenomenological study explored the perceptions of physical therapist educators in three countries—Brazil, Cyprus, and the United States, who transitioned to an entirely virtual medium of teaching during the pandemic. Sixteen faculty participated in 1:1 semi-structured interviews. Trustworthiness of qualitative inquiry was ascertained using triangulation, thick descriptions, and peer reviews. Four major themes emerged from analysis of participants’ interview data: adapting pedagogy in real-time, expected excellence, limitations of the medium, and informing future teaching practice. All participants described teaching during the pandemic as one of the most challenging experiences of their professional careers. Despite available resources, faculty noted challenges in making authentic connections with students, adapting to technological interruptions, assessment of student understanding of content, and managing work-life balance. Despite the challenges, faculty worked collaboratively with peers to innovate new approaches of creating social, cognitive, and teaching presence. Unique opportunities arose from the pandemic to enhance future teaching practice.
Background
Neck pain is the fourth leading cause of years lost to disability in children warranting a comprehensive assessment of neck pain and its impact on activities and participation. Hence, the ...purpose of this study was to develop a new measure (i.e., Activities and Participation Children and Adolescents -neck APCAN) specific to evaluating activity limitation and participation restrictions in children and adolescents and to establish its content validity.
Methods
Development and content validation of the APCAN was completed in four steps: (1) item development, (2) item evaluation by content experts, (3) content validity calculation, and (4) cognitive testing via interviews to ensure readability and comprehension of the items on the APCAN.
Results
An initial pool of 52 items was created that was revised to 20 items after modified Delphi process and cognitive interviews. Each item was rated on a 0–10 numeric rating scale (0 = not difficult at all, 10 = extremely difficult) with higher scores indicating higher perceived disability secondary to neck pain. All 20 items retained the content validity ratio critical value and the overall content validity index was 0.88 indicating excellent content validity.
Conclusion
The APCAN provides an easy to use, comprehensive assessment of functional limitations associated with neck pain in children.
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