Learning about Professionalism within Practice-based Education: what are we looking for?

Health and social care professions are being held to account concerning their professionalism in ways that would have been unprecedented in the recent past. Students of the School of Health Sciences (HSC) within the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the United Kingdom have professionalism taught and assessed in a number of ways and have overt opportunities to develop their professional performance during practice education. In order to augment this further, a UEA Professionalism Charter has been developed, which helps students to define, learn and apply professionalism in a particular way. Since professionalism is being scrutinised by a number of bodies it is important that there is agreement about its nature. Without an overt definition of professionalism from the Health and Care Professions Council (the regulatory body for occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy) this study set out to explore what could be learned about this body’s perspective through analysis of its Fitness to Practice hearings. The outcome revealed that a definition could be identified and that this bears a close resemblance to that used within the UEA Professionalism Charter. The study therefore supports the continued use of the Charte

True Grit: How Important is the Concept of Grit for Education? A Narrative Literature Review

An abundance of literature exists that explores the potential applications of grit in predicting several academic outcomes. Regardless, the concept of grit has been heavily criticised due to the number of inconsistencies among current research. Fully understanding the usefulness of grit in an educational context is a worthwhile pursuit and could yield incredibly influential implications. The current narrative review aimed to address and explore these inconsistencies to determine the true impact of grit on the academic outcomes of school students. Such that, it aimed to establish whether grit was useful in improving outcomes such as academic achievement, attendance and retention. Research posits that grit is a strong predictor of academic outcomes for many, but not all, students. Furthermore, it seems that the predictive abilities of grit can be enhanced by concentrating on the perseverance of efforts component of grit, rather than overall grit. While the importance of grit’s perseverance component has been confirmed; there are several recommendations for future research. Likewise, a number of inconsistencies are discussed relating to grits practical applications within an educational context. Cultivating grittiness, specifically perseverance of efforts, in student populations would reap huge rewards. Indeed, the educational rewards for students would be substantial, as well as the financial benefits for schools and educating institutions. The usefulness of cultivating a perseverance of efforts in students is discussed

An International Validation of the Bolton Unistride Scale (BUSS) of Tenacity

Academic success at University is increasingly believed to be a combination of personal characteristics like grit, resilience, strength-use, self-control, mind-set and wellbeing. The authors have developed a short 12-item measure of academic tenacity, the Bolton Uni-Stride Scale (BUSS) which incorporates these elements. Previous work in the UK had established the reliability and validity of the BUSS. The present paper reports the findings of an International validation of BUSS across 30 countries (n = 1043). Participants completed the BUSS alongside other recognised scales. Factor analysis revealed an almost identical two-factor solution to previous work and the reliability and validity of the scale were supported using an international sample. The authors recommend however that the scale be used as a single score combining all 12 items. In the light of this, the authors suggest that the BUSS will be a useful measure to incorporate in studies of academic attainment

Program Update: Multi-State Extension Conference Addresses Food Diversity from Farm to Table

In 2005 and 2006, The Ohio State University Extension, University of Kentucky, Kentucky State University, and Purdue University Cooperative Extension Services developed and coordinated two conferences addressing food diversity from farm to table. The overall goal of the conferences was to foster a tri-state network of multi-disciplinary approaches to meet the needs of diverse audiences related to food. Self-reported email evaluation surveys suggested that conference goals and objectives were achieved. Future diversity trainings should continue to be multidisciplinary and should seek to attract others working in non-extension roles

Barriers and facilitators to physical activity promotion in eyecare: A qualitative study of eyecare professionals’ perceptions

Aim The aim of this study is to explore the barriers and facilitators to implementing physical activity promotion into eyecare services, from the perspective of eyecare professionals. Subject and methods Eleven eyecare professionals were recruited for qualitative interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes within the interview data. Results Five themes which represented barriers to physical activity promotion were identified in the interviews: lack of time available to discuss physical activity, health and safety concerns, fear of creating a negative experience for the patient, lack of knowledge, and resistance from patients. Facilitators to physical activity promotion identified in the interviews were categorised into two themes: easy access to information about physical activity, and organisational change. Conclusion To enable physical activity promotion in eyecare, individual and organisational change is required. Organisational change includes providing time and resources to enable physical activity promotion in eyecare. Individual change can be facilitated by providing training, which enables eyecare professionals to be confident providing physical activity advice

Moving on: greener travel for the UK

Transport is the highest emitting sector in the UK, despite the rise in electric vehicles (EVs). To reduce the number of miles driven by car, we must travel differently, using more public transport, walking and cycling. This move away from cars to other types of transport is known as ‘modal shift’. To achieve this, it is important to understand the intersections of the UK’s transport system, how the public responds to changes in policy and what the costs to the government or the public might be. We worked with academics at the University of Cardiff to build a ‘modal shift model’ which allowed us to experiment with combinations of measures to reduce car miles driven, such as improving public transport or changing speed limits. Its outputs show the impact a mix of policies could have, the cost to the government and users, and the revenue the government might expect to gain. Using this, we developed a set of scenarios, each designed to cut total UK car mileage by 25 per cent. This report showcases alternative transport futures decision makers could opt for to meet climate targets and the considerations to be taken into account when designing modal shift policies

Cytokine Expression in Staphylococcal and Streptococcal Endophthalmitis

Background: Endophthalmitis is an infection of ocular tissues, often with devastating outcomes for vision. Immunomodulation is an emerging avenue for therapeutic intervention in endophthalmitis, with the expression of cytokines central to potential mechanisms. This literature review with a systematic approach characterizes the cytokine expression in both animal and human staphylococcal and streptococcal endophthalmitis. Method and Results: Four online databases were searched for studies profiling cytokine levels in animal models or human populations with staphylococcal and/or streptococcal endophthalmitis. Of the 1,060 articles identified, 14 studies were included in this review comprising eight animal models and six human populations. Mouse, rat, and rabbit models of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae endophthalmitis had elevated levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-8, with earlier peaks observed in S. epidermidis infection. Human endophthalmitis demonstrated significantly increased mediator levels compared to controls for a range of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors. Several associations were established between cytokine concentrations and both initial visual acuity and visual prognosis, with no consistent correlations across trials. Conclusions: It may be that virulence factors and the combinations of toll-like receptors activated influence the pathogen-specific visual outcomes observed in endophthalmitis. Furthermore, disease severity and potential therapeutic targets may be dependent on synergistic and compensatory cytokine pathways and the expression of anti-inflammatory mediators. Future research should aim to better characterize the roles of inflammatory mediators and solidify associations between pathogens, inflammation, and endophthalmitis outcomes. This has exciting implications for the prevention and treatment of endophthalmitis in clinical settings

An international validation of the Bolton Unistride Scale (BUSS) of tenacity

From PLOS via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: received 2021-09-30, collection 2022, accepted 2022-02-19, epub 2022-03-11Publication status: PublishedFunder: University of Bolton; funder-id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010042Academic success at University is increasingly believed to be a combination of personal characteristics like grit, resilience, strength-use, self-control, mind-set and wellbeing. The authors have developed a short 12-item measure of tenacity, the Bolton Uni-Stride Scale (BUSS) which incorporates these elements. Previous work in the UK had established the reliability and validity of the BUSS. The present paper reports the findings of an International validation of BUSS across 30 countries (n = 1043). Participants completed the BUSS alongside other recognised scales. Factor analysis revealed an almost identical two-factor solution to previous work and the reliability and validity of the scale were supported using an international sample. The authors recommend however that the scale be used as a single score combining all 12 items. In the light of this, the authors suggest that the BUSS will be a useful measure to incorporate in studies of academic attainment

COVID-19 and children’s mental health

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