1,095 research outputs found
Learning to prescribe - pharmacists' experiences of supplementary prescribing training in England
Get PDFBackground: The introduction of non-medical prescribing for professions such as pharmacy and nursing in
recent years offers additional responsibilities and opportunities but attendant training issues. In the UK and in contrast to some international models, becoming a non-medical prescriber involves the completion of an
accredited training course offered by many higher education institutions, where the skills and knowledge
necessary for prescribing are learnt.
Aims: to explore pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of learning to prescribe on supplementary prescribing (SP) courses, particularly in relation to inter-professional learning, course content and subsequent use of prescribing in practice.
Methods: A postal questionnaire survey was sent to all 808 SP registered pharmacists in England in April 2007,
exploring demographic, training, prescribing, safety culture and general perceptions of SP.
Results: After one follow-up, 411 (51%) of pharmacists responded. 82% agreed SP training was useful, 58%
agreed courses provided appropriate knowledge and 62% agreed that the necessary prescribing skills were gained.
Clinical examination, consultation skills training and practical experience with doctors were valued highly;
pharmacology training and some aspects of course delivery were criticised. Mixed views on inter-professional
learning were reported – insights into other professions being valued but knowledge and skills differences
considered problematic. 67% believed SP and recent independent prescribing (IP) should be taught together, with more diagnostic training wanted; few pharmacists trained in IP, but many were training or intending to train. There was no association between pharmacists' attitudes towards prescribing training and when they undertook training between 2004 and 2007 but earlier cohorts were more likely to be using supplementary prescribing in practice.
Conclusion: Pharmacists appeared to value their SP training and suggested improvements that could inform
future courses. The benefits of inter-professional learning, however, may conflict with providing professionspecific training. SP training may be perceived to be an instrumental 'stepping stone' in pharmacists' professional project of gaining full IP status
Teaching nurses to teach: A qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions of the impact of education and skills training to prepare them to teach end-of-life care.
Get PDFAims and objectives To explore nurses’ perceptions of the impact of a programme designed to train them to teach end-of-life care. Background Central to national and international policies is the need for generalist healthcare staff to have education in end-of-life care. Much end-of-life care education is provided by specialist nurses who often have no specific education development to prepare them to teach. To address this gap an Education Development Programme (EDP) was developed and delivered to specialist nurses. We report on the evaluation of the programme. Design A qualitative programme evaluation methodology was adopted Methods Data were collected through focus groups, at three hospice education centres in North West England, with a total of 20 participants. Nurses who had completed the EDP were purposively sampled. Data were digitally audio-recorded and subjected to thematic analysis to organise, reduce and refine the data. Ethical approval was obtained. COREQ guidelines have been adhered to in the reporting of this study. Results Two main themes were identified; learning to teach and building skills to change teaching practice. Participants felt more confident and better prepared to teach. Conclusions It cannot be assumed that specialist staff, with teaching in their role, have the skills to facilitate learning. This programme offers a potential method of improving facilitation skills for nurses who have an education element to their role. Relevance to clinical practice Quality end-of-life care is only possible with a skilled workforce, confident and able to apply the principles of compassionate end-of-life care to everyday practice. Appropriately trained, specialist staff are better able to teach others how to deliver good quality end-of-life care. Specialist staff with teaching responsibilities should be provided with, or engage in, Continuous Professional Development to develop their skills and improve their efficacy when teaching
The 'Parekh Report' - national identities with nations and nationalism
Get PDF‘Multiculturalists’ often advocate national identities. Yet few study the ways in which ‘multiculturalists’ do so and in this article I will help to fill this gap. I will show that the Commission for Multi-Ethnic Britain’s report reflects a previously unnoticed way of thinking about the nature and worth of national identities that the Commission’s chair, and prominent political theorist, Bhikhu Parekh, had been developing since the 1970s. This way of thinking will be shown to avoid the questionable ways in which conservative and liberal nationalists discuss the nature and worth of national identities while offering an alternative way to do so. I will thus show that a report that was once criticised for the way it discussed national identities reflects how ‘multiculturalists’ think about national identities in a distinct and valuable way that has gone unrecognised
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