Haunted, Yet Haunting: A Visual Analysis of The Afghan Girl

Taylor Callwood asks what makes National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry\u27s 1985 photo of an Afghan girl in a refugee camp so unforgettable

The "values journey" of nursing and midwifery students selected using multiple mini interviews; year two findings

Aim: To explore how adult, child, mental health nursing and midwifery students describe their “values journey” after completing their second year following exposure to the clinical practice environment. Background: Where student nurses and midwives are selected using multiple mini interviews, in a values‐based recruitment process, the conservancy and or development of their personal values remains unclear. Design: A hermeneutic, cross‐professional longitudinal study was commenced at one university in England in 2016 with data collection points at the end of years one (DC1), two (DC2) and three (DC3). From the 42 participants recruited in year one, 28 went on to participate in data collection at DC2 (3 adult, 6 child, 3 mental health nurses and 16 midwifery students). Methods: Four semi‐structured focus groups were conducted. Data analysis incorporated inductive and deductive approaches in a hybrid synthesis. Findings: Participants did not feel their values had changed fundamentally since year one. However, the prioritization of their values and how they were “put into practice” had changed. Key themes identified were: “changed sense of self as a healthcare practitioner”; “influences on values in practice” and “reflection on values.” Conclusion: Reframing of personal values is an integral part of learning across clinical and academic settings. Critical reflective practice should be integrated into preregistration health education programmes to support student nurses and midwives sustain their learning around values; to maintain “good” values in the face of observed “bad” values

Accents and Ebonics: When the Hood Goes to College

Taylor Callwood investigates prejudices that society associates with dialects and discovers that, on first impression, college students tend to associate ebonics dialects with lower intelligence

Developing a robust tool: advancing the multiple mini interview in pre-registration student midwife selection in a UK setting

Background: Published research has shown the multiple mini interview (MMI) to be a reliable assessment instrument in medical and nursing student selection internationally. Objectives: To develop, pilot and examine the reliability of MMIs in pre-registration student midwife selection in one Higher Education Institution a UK setting. Design and setting: BSc (Hons) Midwifery Studies students at a Higher Education Institution in the UK volunteered to participate in ‘mock’ MMI circuits during the first week of their programme. DeVellis’s framework for questionnaire development underpinned the generation of interview scenarios. Participants’ responses to scenario questions were rated on a 7 point scale. Internal consistency was calculated for each station. Results: An eight station model was piloted. Communication skills were assessed at each station as a generic attribute. Station specific attributes assessed included compassion and empathy, respect for difference and diversity, honesty and integrity, intellectual curiosity and reflective nature, advocacy, respect for privacy and dignity, team working and initiative, the role of the midwife and motivation to become a midwife. Cronbach’s alpha scores for each station ranged from 0.91 – 0.97. Conclusion: The systematic development of the MMI model and scenarios resulted in ‘excellent’ reliability across all stations. These findings endorse the MMI technique as a reliable alternative to the personal interview in informing final decisions in pre-registration student midwife selection

Preliminary Design and Evaluation of a Tethered Balloon System with a Constant Volume Torus Envelope for Low Altitude Operations in Light Winds

This document proposes the use of a tethered aerostat system with a constant volume, torus-shaped envelope as a platform for atmospheric monitoring at low altitudes. Manufacturers can make balloons into a variety of shapes, but the most common are spherical and ellipsoidal. Tethered balloons and constant volume balloons have been in use for years but not in combination. This document serves to guide the reader through the preliminary development and evaluation of a tethered balloon system with a constant volume torus envelope. This design study concluded that a balloon system using a tethered, constant volume torus envelope is viable but the envelope must be large to withstand low to moderate winds

Value-based recruitment in midwifery: do the values align with what women say is important to them?

Aim: To discuss theoretical conceptualisation and definition of values and values-based recruitment in the context of women’s views about what they would like from their midwife. Background: Values-based recruitment received headline status in the UK government’s response to pervasive deficiencies in compassionate care identified in the health service. Core values which aim to inform service user’s experience are defined in the National Health Service Constitution but clarity about whether these encompass all that women say is important to them is needed. Design: Discussion paper Data Sources: A literature search included published papers written in English relating to values, VBR and women’s views of a ‘good’ midwife with no date limiters. Discussion: Definitions of values and values-based recruitment are examined. Congruence is explored between what women say is important to them and key government and professional regulatory documentation. The importance of a ‘sustainable emotional’ dimension in the midwife-mother relationship is suggested. Conclusion: Inconsistencies are identified between women’s views, government, professional documentation and what women say they want. An omission of any reference to emotions or emotionality in values-based recruitment policy, professional recruitment and selection guidance documentation is identified. Implications: A review of key professional documentation, in relation to selection for ‘values’, is proposed. We argue for clarity and revision so that values embedded in values-based recruitment are consistent with health service users’ views. An enhancement of the ‘values’ in the values-based recruitment framework is recommended to include the emotionality that women state is a fundamental part of their relationship with their midwife

Out on the pitch : sport and mental health in LGBT people

It has become commonplace to associate participation in sport and exercise with positive health, with the NHS even branding sport as a ‘miracle cure’. Such recommendations lean on empirical evidence that emphasises the benefits of physical activity on overall health –both physical and mental. These guidelines are well-meaning, but they rely on a view of sport that is shorn of cultural context, and does not account for how experiences of sport and exercise vary enormously for different groups within society

The 'values journey' of nursing and midwifery students selected using multiple mini interviews: evaluations from a longitudinal study

Values-based practice is deemed essential for healthcare provision world-wide. In England, values-based recruitment methods, such as multiple mini interviews (MMIs), are employed to ensure that healthcare students’ personal values align with the values of the National Health Service (NHS), which focus on compassion and patient-centeredness. However, values cannot be seen as static constructs. They can be positively and negatively influenced by learning and socialisation. We have conceptualised students’ perceptions of their values over the duration of their education programme as a ‘values journey’. The aim of this hermeneutic longitudinal focus group study was to explore the ‘values journey’ of student nurses and midwives, recruited through MMIs, across the three years of their education programme. The study commenced in 2016, with 42 nursing and midwifery students, originally recruited onto their programmes through multiple mini interviews. At the third and final point of data collection, 25 participants remained. Findings indicate that students’ confidence, courage and sense of accountability increased over the three years. However, their values were also shaped by time constraints, emotional experiences and racial discrimination. We argue that adequate psychological support is necessary as healthcare students embark on and progress through their values journey, and propose a framework for this

Developing Educators’ Capacity for Natural and Ethical Caring A Mixed-Methods Study

An ethic of care is central to the role of teaching and educational outcomes. Many Kindergarten-College institutions have “developing caring students or teachers” as a primary goal in their mission or vision statements. However, teachers need to know how to care. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to examine the behaviors that teachers and students perceive as being indicative of the caring teacher; and (b) to develop a guide for the core of teacher caring. These purposes were designed to help educators understand the nature of teacher caring and provide an exemplar for intentional and reflective practice as they identify areas of “care strengths” or “care weaknesses” to enhance their growth and development as caring teachers. The methodology used in this study was a mixed-methods convergent parallel design to understand, both quantitatively and qualitatively, teachers’ subjective viewpoints on caring. Data were collected from a purposive sample consisting of teachers from PreK through College in NYS. The findings suggested that (a) teacher caring impacts key aspects of teaching; (b) teacher caring behaviors are guided by seven primary values which represent the professional model of care; and (c) teacher caring values are primarily expressed using a few pedagogical practices that exemplify the caring model. The seven primary values guiding the caring behavior of teachers included: (a) supportive relationships; (b) empowerment; (c) learning and academic achievement; (d) students’ well-being; (e) accessibility, responsiveness, and flexibility; (f) comfortable atmosphere; and (g) students’ dignity