The importance of reflection and reflective practice are frequently noted in the literature; indeed, reflective capacity is regarded by many as an essential characteristic for professional ...competence. Educators assert that the emergence of reflective practice is part of a change that acknowledges the need for students to act and to think professionally as an integral part of learning throughout their courses of study, integrating theory and practice from the outset. Activities to promote reflection are now being incorporated into undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education, and across a variety of health professions. The evidence to support and inform these curricular interventions and innovations remains largely theoretical. Further, the literature is dispersed across several fields, and it is unclear which approaches may have efficacy or impact. We, therefore, designed a literature review to evaluate the existing evidence about reflection and reflective practice and their utility in health professional education. Our aim was to understand the key variables influencing this educational process, identify gaps in the evidence, and to explore any implications for educational practice and research.
According to the United Nations, the risk of nuclear weapons use is higher than at any time since the Cold War: "The Russian Federation’s recent announcement of plans to station non-strategic nuclear ...weapons in Belarus represents the first 'nuclear sharing' agreement made since the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons entered into force in 1970." At this moment of extreme danger, we are preparing to distribute an editorial on the role of health professionals in reducing nuclear danger. We hope to time the announcement of the release of this editorial to the August 6 anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima to underline the very real danger that nuclear weapons may be used again.
The editorial was co-authored by the group of journal editors and other supporters of the Nobel-prizewinning International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War listed below. All of the authors’ journals will be publishing the editorial.
Having so many respected journals around the world publishing the editorial should attract political and media attention. We hope that giving health professionals a more prominent voice in this debate will encourage profound changes in the system of nuclear arms control that has resulted in the current dangerous situation that threatens the health of people and the planet.
The mental health of health professionals who worked directly in services during the COVID-19 pandemic to care for patients affected by the disease became a fundamental issue to be considered, given ...the several consequences of this activity for these professionals. This article aimed to understand the challenges and demands of health professionals concerning support to address the emotional and physical exhaustion of working on the so-called frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative methodological approach was based on semi-structured interviews conducted online with these professionals after the first months of the pandemic. The hero's place in which they were set, even if only in media discourses, soon gave way to their weaknesses and fragile work relationships to emerge: stress, fear, and the listening and reception desire. Marcel Mauss' gift theory was brought up considering that new ways of reading and interpreting health work relationships contribute to necessary and urgent reformulations of their current context, targeting mental health and, more broadly, the comprehensive health of healthcare professionals.
Communication disability, including aphasia, is prevalent in the stroke population and impacts service delivery. This study explored the experiences of the multidisciplinary stroke team in delivering ...healthcare to patients with aphasia.
A phenomenological approach was used to understand the experiences of delivering healthcare services in the presence of aphasia. Healthcare professionals (n = 16) were recruited across acute and subacute stroke care, with a range of discipline backgrounds and experience. Participants took part in focus groups and data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach.
Five themes were evident: 1) aphasia is time consuming, 2) health professionals do not know how to help, 3) health professionals limit conversations with patients with aphasia, 4) health professionals want to know how to help, and 5) health professionals feel good after successful communication.
Aphasia disrupts usual care. Health professionals want to help but are working in a non-optimal environment where communication and patient-centred care are not adequately resourced.
A video abstract is available in
Supplementary Material
.
IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION
Current hospital systems and ward culture make it difficult to offer patient-centred care to patients with aphasia.
Health professionals want to help patients with aphasia but are working in an environment where patient-provider communication is not adequately resourced.
As a result, health professionals dread, limit or avoid talking with patients with aphasia.
Health professionals need support which may include ongoing education and on-the-job training, and a change in ward culture including key performance indicators focusing on patient-provider communication.
•Stigma of people with SUD by health professionals persists.•Contributors to stigma are: moral model of SUD, negative beliefs about SUD, lack of training in SUD.•Teaching addiction according to a ...medical model of chronic disease, and developing stigma-focused training, could reduce stigma.
Stigma of people with substance and non-substance use disorders (SNSUD) is a long-known phenomenon. The aim of this review was to assess the stigmatization, by health professionals, of people with SNSUD, its characteristics and change over time.
A scoping review of literature reviews was conducted with systematic search of PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO databases.
From the 19 selected reviews, all focused on people with SUD (PWSUD) only and 20% to 51% of health professionals had negative attitudes/beliefs about SUD. Addiction training and clinical experience with PWSUD were associated with a less negative attitude. Health professionals’ negative beliefs, lack of time or support were associated with less involvement in addiction care. Tobacco use disorder, SUDs other than alcohol and tobacco, relapse, psychiatric comorbidity or criminal records were associated with a more negative attitude. The influence of several variables potentially related to stigmatization was inconsistent across selected reviews. The evolution of stigmatization over time was not systematically assessed and showed mixed results.
The stigmatization of PWSUD has an impact on their care, and a change in some variables could reduce its importance: moral model of addiction, health professionals’ negative beliefs, lack of training, time, and role support. Teaching what addiction is according to the medical chronic disease model, and developing stigma-focused training could improve caregivers’ attitudes and further reduce stigma. Further studies are needed to determine whether stigma of PWSUD by health professionals has changed over time and to characterize stigma for people with non-substance use disorders.
