Clinical educators' skills and qualities in allied health: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The skills and qualities of effective clinical educators are linked to improved student learning and ultimately patient care; however, within allied health these have not yet been systematically summarised in the literature. AIMS: To identify and synthesise the skills and qualities of clinical educators in allied health and their effect on student learning and patient care. METHOD: A systematic search of the literature was conducted across five electronic databases in November 2017. Study identification, data extraction and quality appraisal were performed in duplicate. Qualitative and quantitative data were extracted separately but analysed together using a thematic analysis approach whereby items used in quantitative surveys and themes from qualitative approaches were interpreted together. RESULTS: Data revealed seven educator skills and qualities: (i) intrinsic and personal attributes of clinical educators; (ii) provision of skillful feedback; (iii) teaching skills; (iv) fostering collaborative learning; (v) understanding expectations; (vi) organisation and planning; and (vii) clinical educators in their professional role. Across all themes was the concept of taking time to perform the clinical educator role. No studies used objective measurements as to how these skills and qualities affect learning or patient care. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Despite much primary evidence of clinical educator skills and qualities, this review presents the first synthesis of this evidence in allied health. There is a need to examine clinical education from new perspectives to develop deeper understanding of how clinical educator qualities and skills influence student learning and patient care.

The Value of Programmatic Assessment in Supporting Educators and Students to Succeed: A Qualitative Evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Programmatic assessment has been proposed as the way forward for competency-based assessment, yet there is a dearth of literature describing the implementation and evaluation of programmatic assessment approaches. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the implementation of a programmatic assessment and explore its ability to support students and assessors. DESIGN: A qualitative evaluation of programmatic assessment was employed. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Interviews with graduates (n = 8) and preceptors (n = 12) together with focus groups with faculty assessors (n = 9) from the one Australian university explored experiences of the programmatic approach, role of assessment in learning, and defensibility of assessment decisions in determining competence. ANALYSIS PERFORMED: Data were analyzed into key themes using framework analysis. RESULTS: The programmatic assessment increased confidence in defensibility of assessment decisions, reduced emotional burden of assessment, increased value of assessment, and identified and remediated at-risk students earlier when philosophical and practice shifts in approaches to assessment were embraced. CONCLUSIONS: Programmatic assessment supports a holistic approach to competency development and assessment and has multiple benefits for learners and assessors.

Process evaluation of community kitchens: Results from two Victorian local government areas.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: this paper describes a process evaluation of the participants and organisations involved in Community Kitchens in the Local Government Areas of Frankston City and Mornington Peninsula Shire in Victoria, Australia. METHODS: participants, facilitators and project partners from 17 Community Kitchens were invited to participate in the evaluation via a written survey and focus group discussion (participants) or structured telephone interview (facilitators and project partners). Qualitative data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: ninety-three individuals (63 participants, 20 facilitators, and 10 project partners) participated in the evaluation. Data showed that Community Kitchens reached population sub-groups that face the greatest health inequalities. Project partners were generally satisfied with the project and were able to identify enablers (e.g. support from the project team and running of other concurrent programs) and barriers (e.g. size of the kitchen and transportation) to setting up and sustaining a Community Kitchen. The themes that emerged from participants' and facilitators' experience of participating in the project concerned food and cooking skills, social skills and community participation. CONCLUSIONS: the project enabled the development of food knowledge and cooking skills, as well as social skills and support networks among participants and facilitators. There is a need to determine what impact Community Kitchens may have on participants' nutritional status, as well as the effect of Community Kitchens on food security at an individual, household and community level. Further longitudinal studies are needed to affirm the findings of this study.

Patient Involvement in Education of Nutrition and Dietetics Students: A Systematic Review.

A client-centred approach sits at the core of modern healthcare. Exploration of the patients' role within the education of nutrition and dietetic students has not previously been undertaken. This review aimed to synthesise the learning outcomes that result from involvement of patients in nutrition and dietetic student education, and to consider whether these interactions promote patient-centred care. Five electronic databases were searched, supported by hand-searching of references of included studies. Screening of title/abstract and then full text papers was undertaken; key characteristics and outcomes were extracted and synthesised narratively. The likely impact of interventions was evaluated using Kirkpatrick's Hierarchy; study quality was assessed using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist. Of 7436 studies identified through database searching, and one additional study located through hand searching of reference lists, the final library consisted of 13 studies. All studies reported benefits for student learning from patient involvement, while one paper identified patient benefits from student interventions. Patients as recipients of care mostly contributed in a passive role in student education activities. Quality assessment identified methodological limitations in most studies. Patient involvement in the education of dietitians supports skill development and therefore progression to professional practice. Although nutrition and dietetics education has a focus on client-centred care, the translation of these concepts into an interactive student educational experience has been investigated to a limited extent. Collaboration with patients in student education is an area for further development.