Developments in occupational health and safety qualifications.

Standards of competence for health and safety practitioners are being developed by the Occupational Health and Safety Lead Body (OHSLB) within the overall context of the national changes in vocational training. These changes focus on the development of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs).     

当前中职校学生的思想道德与心理素质教育分析

中职学校不仅要教授学生的专业基本知识,更有责任和义务对学生进行思想道德教育;加强中职校学生的心理健康教育和加强思想道德教育一样已成为刻不容缓的紧迫任务,需要全校上下齐心协力共同关心学生的思想道德和心理问题,因势利导、循循善诱;随着社会经济主体多元化、利益主体多样化的发展,为避免许多纷繁复杂、光怪离奇的不良社会现象对学生的影响,需要社会各方面的大力支持和配合,共同做好思想道德心理素质教育。     

Challenges to early childhood education in rural China: lessons from the Hebei province

This research study examined the challenges faced by early childhood education (ECE) in rural China based on a qualitative study of 217 kindergarten classrooms in a large agricultural, rural province. This study utilised onsite teacher surveys, interviews, and observational field notes. This investigation's findings revealed important information in regard to (a) enrollment, class size, and student–teacher ratios; (b) facilities, basic furnishings, and materials; (c) teacher qualifications; and (d) curriculum and pedagogy. Kindergartens in the rural province of Hebei, typical of Chinese provinces with economically disadvantaged students and inadequate ECE funding, were found to be of poor quality across every ECE indicator measured. For the future improvement and well-being of children and their families in rural China, the authors recommend reform policy to increase ECE quality by affiliating quality kindergartens with existing elementary public school structures and to improve teacher quality by advancing teacher benefits, professional status, and professional development opportunities.     

The McFarland Institute, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana

In less than three years, The McFarland Institute has grown from the equivalent of a single hospital department to a school of pastoral care and counseling serving over 100 students and 18 different institutions. It remains to be seen whether the community will support the education and service provided through grants and donations. If additional funding is secured, there are unlimited opportunities for learning and service in New Orleans and in the surrounding region.     

Learning together—social work and nursing

Current reforms, in particular Caring for People (Department of Health 1989a), The NHS and Community Care Act 1990, and Working for Patients (Department of Health 1989c, 1990), are generating new calls for interprofessional collaboration in the face of organizational fragmentation of care provision. Budgetary devolution and fund holding has altered the power between professions. Internal markets have introduced competition within which collaboration is somehow expected to coexist. The growth in provision by the private and voluntary sector, and the creation of NHS trusts, has put collaboration into a more complex inter-organizational context. At the same time, the ways in which the Government is responding to workforce issues that affect areas of professional activity and the reforms in vocational education alter the context of shared learning. The impact of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) also need to be taken into account. Shared training between social workers and nurses has now gained a momentum in the field of learning disability. This paper charts the difficult development of collaborative training initiatives in that field and examines the broader policy context in which training and professional development is placed. The argument forwarded is that there are lessons to be learned from collaborative developments between social work and nursing in the field of learning disability, which could have wider application in other areas of professional activity.     

Vocational education students: a difficult-to-reach population at risk for smoking-related cancer

Vocational education high school students comprise a significant proportion of the school-based population. Recent studies indicate vocational education students are at greater risk for cigarette smoking behavior than their non-vocational education counterparts. Vocational students have higher prevalence rates of smoking than do non-vocational students and are more likely to report that they expect to be smoking in the future. Characteristics of adolescents who participate in vocational education and their cigarette smoking behavior are reviewed, as well as the need to develop, implement, and evaluate new educational approaches designed to prevent cigarette smoking and the use of other tobacco products in this difficult-to-reach population.     

Cultivating managers of the future

The concrete experience of pupils and students, together with authentic and authoritative career information, are essential to allow for an educated career or vocational training choice. Such a choice is an essential part of the Government philosophy detailed in recent White Papers. The National Health Service, along with other public bodies, has lacked examples of structured student work placements to provide concrete experiences which have the potential to formally link with academic qualifications and hence provide an easing of access to further vocational development. The article charts the introduction application and evaluation of one such structured and practical scheme. The scheme is based on the "Young Manager" package produced by Henley Distance Learning Ltd and Cambridge Training and Development and piloted by the National Health Service Training Division.     

Applied Grant Writing Training for Future Health Communication Researchers: The Health Communication Scholars Program

Health communication faculty face increasing expectations regarding their academic productivity, including the expectation to seek and secure external funding. Doctoral training in health communication that does not fully prepare students for the challenges of securing external funding is doing them a disservice that will make them less competitive for academic positions and less likely to succeed in the academic positions they assume. The purpose of this study is to share the evaluation of a program, the Health Communication Scholars Program (HCSP), designed to train future health communication researchers in the pursuit of external funding. The HCSP includes a grant-writing workshop, requires interdisciplinary graduate student teams to submit applications, and awards funding to top proposals. HCSP participants responding to an evaluation survey (N = 25) had overwhelmingly positive experiences; respondents felt the program provided great value, improved their writing skills, gave them skills to pursue funding in the future, and helped them secure tenure-track faculty positions. The results of this formal evaluation suggest the HCSP is an experience that builds crucial skills and prepares graduate students for the demands they will face as faculty. It is a relatively low-cost, replicable model that merits consideration and adoption at other institutions that hope to provide professional development for doctoral students interested in health communication.     

Factors Affecting Employment Outcomes for People with Disabilities Who Received Disability Employment Services in Taiwan

Purpose. One of the most important rehabilitation goals is to return people with disabilities to paid employment. The purposes of this study were (1) to explore employment status and (2) to identify factors that may affect the employment outcomes of people with disabilities who received Disability Employment Services (DES). Methods. A retrospective study was conducted on clients who commenced and closed DES between January 2008 and December 2010 in a metropolitan city in Taiwan, using the files from the National Vocational Rehabilitation Services Documentary System. Results. Sixty-nine percent (1,684 out of 2,452) of the clients in this study were engaged in paid employment after receiving DES. Logistic regression analyses indicated that clients with no psychiatric disability or mild impairment and with useful vocational qualifications, typical work experience, more post-employment services, and less pre-employment services were associated with a higher rate of successful employment outcomes. Conclusion. This study provides empirical evidence of the association between person- and DES-related factors and the employment outcomes of people with disabilities. Future improvements in health, school-to-work transition services, and vocational rehabilitation for people with disabilities should place more emphasis on providing work-based work experience, professional vocational training, access to college/professional education, career exploration, effective supported employment services, and other post-employment services.     

以高效就业工作促进卫生职业教育发展

职业教育是就业工作的教育。淮北卫校通过抓实习实训质量,提高学生就业能力;通过电话和网络等途径,寻找就业市场,安排学生成功就业,有效促进了卫生职业教育的发展。     

卫生类高职院“三位一体”职业素质教育体系的构建探索--以江苏建康职业学院为例

职业素质教育体系的构建是卫生类高职院校的重要课题。该文以为江苏建康职业学院例,总结分析相关实践经验,提出：以构建将素质教育融入专业教育的课程体系为基础,强化学生实训实践为保障,深化校院（医院）企合作为抓手的卫生高职人才素质教育“三位一体”模式,实现了第一课堂、第二课堂与第三课堂的有机结合,全面提升学生的职业素质。     

Nurse training. Teenage hang-ups

A survey of acute trusts' nurse cadet schemes in England showed a wide variety in entry requirements and qualifications offered. Most schemes offered successful students a place on a nurse training scheme. Legal issues surrounding 16-year-olds working in hospitals need to be clarified. Standardisation of entry requirements and course qualifications is required. At present, a student could complete a cadet course in one part of the country and not be eligible for nurse training elsewhere.     

中职生健康知识状况及健康教育效果评价

中职生的健康状况也是我们全社会普遍关注的社会问题之一.目前,中职生普遍存在健康、亚健康和心理危机等问题,通过对不同类型中职学校学生健康问题的调查,为学校加强以课堂教学为主的多样化的健康教育,扩大健康教育的涵盖面和受益面,强化学生健康意识,提供了详实准确的调查资料.     

Medical students' professional identity: self-reflection during the preclinical years

Critical thinking, readiness for self-reflection and professional development have recently been emphasized as important goals of medical education. However, little is known about the developmental processes through which a medical student elaborates his or her personal experiences during the training, and about the way he or she gradually develops a professional identity. How does the student identify the opportunities and alternatives offered by the profession and finally commit to the professional values and goals he or she finds personally important? In order to grasp the essential characteristics of the personal development process in depth, qualitative, process-oriented and individually tailored methods are warranted. In this paper, the quality of professional self-reflection and identity formation during the preclinical training are described on the basis of two qualitative materials – learning logs and identity status interviews. Four types of learning log reports on the early patient contact course could be identified: `committed reflection', `emotional exploration', `objective reporting' and `diffuse reporting'. At the end of the preclinical training, the identity status of several students could still be characterized as diffuse or giving rise to only very tentative professional considerations.     

Predictors to Private Practice Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Opportunities in Canada: New Evidence suggests New Solutions

Abstract

The study examined predictors to increasing and enhancing fieldwork education opportunities provided by occupational therapists working in private practice. A cross-sectional design that used a self-administered questionnaire was provided to Canadian occupational therapists in private practice. Participants receiving funding from the workers’ compensation sector, those with between 11 and 20?years of work experience, and therapists working full-time hours were more likely to accept a student in fieldwork placement. Respondents who indicated that physical space and resources were not barriers to taking students on placement were more likely to accept students. Therapists more comfortable with the criteria and methods for appropriate and effective student teaching and supervision were also more likely to accept a student for fieldwork placement. The study findings can inform academic programs on how best to support preceptorship and guide university fieldwork coordinators’ strategies for outreach and education for private practitioners.     

Online learning: the potential for occupational therapy education

Online learning continues to have a significant impact on higher education. Increasingly students seek a combination of online learning and face-to-face instruction at undergraduate and graduate levels and occupational therapists ask for online continuing professional development opportunities. However, occupational therapy educators have been slow to adopt web-based instructional technology. This paper presents background information on the use of web-based learning in the general sphere of higher education and outlines the current range of usage in occupational therapy education. Research findings are presented to stimulate discussion regarding online learning and occupational therapy professional socialisation, student satisfaction and outcomes. There is a fine line between full and partial online course delivery, so research on technology-enhanced campus-based delivery is also included in the review. Evidence suggests that blending combinations of technologies with computer mediated learning enhances interaction and could address the higher order learning needs of professional programmes such as occupational therapy.     

Enriching Professional Preparation in School Health through International Study

This article describes how to develop, market, implement, and evaluate an international health education travel study course. The experiences described reflect an international travel study tour of England and Scotland conducted by the authors with 25 undergraduate and graduate students. The trip enhanced both the appreciation and professional knowledge of the students of a variety of perspectives in the health area. International study provides unique opportunities for student development and contributes significantly to the quality of professional preparation of school health personnel. These experiences complement traditional professional preparation programs and can result in improved health instruction and health services in schools.     

Academic careers in general practice and primary care

In the past 10 years, significant developments in general practice teaching and research have led to the considerable growth of academic general practice as a discipline. This paper reviews issues relating to these developments, particularly career pathways and training aspects. The need to extend these advances to the broadening arena of primary health care has given further impetus for the development of academic careers. General practice will need to work closely with secondary care, community health, and social services to develop primary health care in its broadest sense, and an evidence base, generated by relevant research and evaluation, must underpin all of this. Structural and funding changes to undergraduate education, postgraduate training and primary care research have created a range of opportunities for general practice clinicians to define career pathways, not formerly available, within multiprofessional and multidisciplinary departments and groups. Education for future general practice and primary care must underpin developments as much as a research base. Relevant masters' degrees and diplomas are now widely available, and extended vocational training and higher professional education will enable general practitioners in their formative years to consider academic opportunities.     

高职学生自我价值感及其与心理健康的相关研究

目的探讨离职学生自我价值感的特点及其与心理健康的关系．为开展心理健康教育提供依据。方法运用青少年自我价值感量表及症状自评量表（SCL-90），对高职学生746名的自我价值感与心理健康进行测试，并进行相关分析。结果高职学生的自我价值感与其在SCL-90量表各分量表得分呈负相关，且自我价值感较高与较低组的高职学生在SCL-90量表上的得分差异有显著性。结论高职学生的自我价值感与其心理健康相关，其自我价值感水平越高，心理健康状况越好。     

What should professional personnel qualifications certify?

Current and foreseeable challenges facing the UK's National Health Service are calling for new personnel management roles and responsibilities for both line managers and human resource professionals. The existing system of training for human resource professionals needs to change to support these new performance expectations. Identifies seven features of a more appropriate system and four key themes. Discusses the potential contribution of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and the need for a new relationship between NHS employers, academics and learners. Draws conclusions for the training of all professionals who may work in the future NHS.