Resident Assessment of Clinician Educators According to Core ACGME Competencies.

BACKGROUND: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires faculty to pursue annual development to enhance their teaching skills. Few studies exist on how to identify and improve the quality of teaching provided by faculty educators. Understanding the correlation between numeric scores assigned to faculty educators and their tangible, practical teaching skills would be beneficial. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify and describe qualities that differentiate numerically highly rated and low-rated physician educators. DESIGN: This observational mixed-methods study evaluated attending physician educators between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2021. Quantitative analysis involved descriptive statistics, normalization of scores, and stratification of faculty into tertiles based on a summary score. We compared the highest and lowest tertiles during qualitative analyses of residents' comments. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-five attending physicians and 111 residents in an internal medicine residency program. MAIN MEASURES: Resident evaluations of faculty educators, including 724 individual assessments of faculty educators on 15 variables related to the ACGME core competencies. KEY RESULTS: Quantitative analyses revealed variation in attending physician educators' performance across the ACGME core competencies. The highest-rated teaching qualities were interpersonal and communication skills, medical knowledge, and professionalism, while the lowest-rated teaching quality was systems-based practice. Qualitative analyses identified themes distinguishing high-quality from low-quality attending physician educators, such as balancing autonomy and supervision, role modeling, engagement, availability, compassion, and excellent teaching. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insights into areas where attending physicians' educational strategies can be improved, emphasizing the importance of role modeling and effective communication. Ongoing efforts are needed to enhance the quality of faculty educators and resident education in internal medicine residency programs.

Residents-as-teachers: A Needs Assessment of Residents' Teaching Skills in the Clinical Setting Using Direct Observation of Teaching.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Residents play a significant role in teaching undergraduate medical students though most residents have not received formal training in teaching and may be adopting ineffective teaching strategies. Many institutions have established a residents-as-teachers (RaT) programme to improve residents' teaching skills. However, many RaT programmes were established without a context-specific needs assessment. This study describes a need assessment survey of residents' teaching skills. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the residents' selfperceived and true learning needs for facilitating clinical teaching, the preferred important topics and methods of instruction for a RaT programme. METHODS: This cross-sectional, prospective, observational, quantitative study involved self-assessment of residents' teaching skills and assessments of those residents by medical students and an observer during actual clinical bedside teachings using the Maastricht Clinical Teaching Questionnaire. RESULTS: Thirty-nine (78%) out of 50 residents participated in the study, of which 20 agreed to direct observation of teaching. Sixty-two (85%) of the 73 medical students completed 82 evaluations of residents' teaching. The residents' self-perceived and true learning needs were in the domains of exploration, scaffolding, modelling, coaching and reflection. The leading preferred topics were communication skills, leadership, the teaching of procedural skills, and bedside teaching. The preferred methods of instruction were interactive sessions with teachers and working in small groups with a facilitator. CONCLUSIONS: Residents performed well in creating a safe learning environment but were poor in exploration, scaffolding, modelling, coaching and reflection domains of teaching. These findings will inform the design of a tailor-made RaT programme.

CONTEXTE ET OBJECTIFS: Les résidents jouent un rôle important dans l'enseignement des étudiants en médecine de premier cycle, bien que la plupart des résidents n'aient pas reçu de formation formelle en enseignement et puissent adopter des stratégies d'enseignement inefficaces. De nombreuses institutions ont mis en place un programme de résidents en tant qu'enseignants (RaT) pour améliorer les compétences pédagogiques des résidents. Cependant, de nombreux programmes RaT ont été établis sans évaluation préalable des besoins spécifiques au contexte. Cette étude décrit une enquête sur les besoins en compétences pédagogiques des résidents. Les objectifs spécifiques de l'étude étaient de déterminer les besoins d'apprentissage auto-perçus et réels des résidents pour faciliter l'enseignement clinique, les sujets importants préférés et les méthodes d'instruction pour un programme RaT. MÉTHODES: Cette étude quantitative prospective observationnelle transversale impliquait une auto-évaluation des compétences pédagogiques des résidents et des évaluations de ces résidents par des étudiants en médecine et un observateur lors d'enseignements cliniques en direct au lit du patient à l'aide du Questionnaire d'Enseignement Clinique de Maastricht. RÉSULTATS: Trente-neuf (78 %) des 50 résidents ont participé à l'étude, dont 20 ont accepté l'observation directe de l'enseignement. Soixantedeux (85 %) des 73 étudiants en médecine ont complété 82 évaluations de l'enseignement des résidents. Les besoins d'apprentissage auto-perçus et réels des résidents étaient dans les domaines de l'exploration, de l'échafaudage, de la modélisation, du coaching et de la réflexion. Les sujets préférés étaient les compétences en communication, le leadership, l'enseignement des compétences procédurales et l'enseignement au lit du patient. Les méthodes d'instruction préférées étaient les séances interactives avec les enseignants et le travail en petits groupes avec un facilitateur. CONCLUSIONS: Les résidents se sont bien comportés dans la création d'un environnement d'apprentissage sûr mais étaient faibles dans les domaines de l'exploration, de l'échafaudage, de la modélisation, du coaching et de la réflexion de l'enseignement. Ces résultats orienteront la conception d'un programme RaT sur mesure. MOTS-CLÉS: Résidents en tant qu'enseignants, évaluation des besoins, enseignement clinique au lit du patient, évaluation, compétencespédagogiques.

Evaluating the impact of a teaching course for GP speciality trainees.

INTRODUCTION: Near-peer teaching offers mutual benefits for clinical trainees and the students they teach. However, General Practice Speciality Trainees (GPSTs) are typically less involved in community-based teaching than their hospital-based peers and often do so without formal pedagogical training. This study details the immediate and longer-term evaluation of a teaching skills course delivered to final year GPSTs. It addresses a gap within existing near-peer literature which, although extensive, is predominantly hospital-based and limited to short-term outcomes. METHODS: The course was designed and delivered to all local final year GPST schemes. Pre- and post-course questionnaires scoring confidence, comfort, and understanding of teaching roles were analysed across two years' delivery. Furthermore, individual interviews of participants 4-6 months after attendance were thematically analysed to explore how GPSTs translated course content into practice. RESULTS: GPSTs reported a decline in their teaching activities as they embarked on their final year of GP teaching. Immediate post-course teaching-related confidence and knowledge scores increased. However, follow-up interviews revealed that GPSTs' initial enthusiasm was short-lived and outweighed by competing demands within an intensive short-duration training scheme. They expressed concerns about their own learner status as they themselves developed competency in a vast and varied speciality, and cited a lack of support from their trainers. CONCLUSIONS: Teaching skill courses alone are insufficient to address the ongoing challenges of enhancing the teaching role of GPSTs. Further work is now needed to explore multi-level interventions to promote the role of GPSTs as near-peer teachers to harness the mutual benefits to all involved.

Twelve tips for promoting consistent, good quality medical education across diverse clinical settings through faculty development approaches.

When students attend clinical attachments in diverse locations, a key challenge is in ensuring consistently good teaching over all areas. To meet this challenge, a faculty development intervention called TiMEtoTeach was created with the aim of reaching all involved in teaching medical students. The programme takes a holistic view of workplace (professional clinical attachments) learning with the recognition of all who are part of the student learning journey, including staff in clinical environments, charitable organisations, fellow students and the patients and carers. Empowering and upskilling this diverse group, we create a Universal Faculty. We engage this group with a comprehensive and accessible faculty development programme, enabling a consistent, authentic, and realistic learning experience for students. This supports graduate preparedness for their roles as junior doctors. The twelve tips described in this article relate to simple, achievable processes that faculty developers within medical education can apply to help improve consistency and quality in clinical workplace experience for students, recognising the challenges of engaging the large and diverse group of people who support education within the clinical arena.

Successful implementation of a longitudinal skill-based teaching curriculum for residents.

BACKGROUND: Despite significant teaching responsibilities and national accreditation standards, most residents do not receive adequate instruction in teaching methods. Published reports of residents-as-teachers programs vary from brief one-time exposures to curricula delivered over several months. A majority of interventions described are one or two-day workshops with no clear follow-up or reinforcement of skills. A three-year longitudinal teaching skills curriculum was implemented with these goals: 1) deliver an experiential skill-based teaching curriculum allowing all residents to acquire, practice and implement specific skills; 2) provide spaced skills instruction promoting deliberate practice/reflection; and 3) help residents gain confidence in their teaching skills. METHODS: One hundred percent of internal medicine residents (82/82) participated in the curriculum. Every 10 weeks residents attended a topic-specific experiential skills-based workshop. Each workshop followed the same pedagogy starting with debriefing/reflection on residents' deliberate practice of the previously taught skill and introduction of a new skill followed by skill practice with feedback. Every year, participants completed: 1) assessment of overall confidence in each skill and 2) retrospective pre-post self-assessment. A post-curriculum survey was completed at the end of 3 years. RESULTS: Residents reported improved confidence and self-assessed competence in their teaching skills after the first year of the curriculum which was sustained through the three-year curriculum. The curriculum was well received and valued by residents. CONCLUSIONS: A formal longitudinal, experiential skills-based teaching skills curriculum is feasible and can be delivered to all residents. For meaningful skill acquisition to occur, recurrent continuous skill-based practice with feedback and reflection is important.

Transfer of communication teaching skills from university to the clinical workplace - does it happen? A mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Communication skills learned in the classroom do not transfer easily into clinical practice because they are not reinforced by teachers in the workplace setting and because lack of faculty training restricts the transfer of communication skills in real patient encounters. Trained university-based communication skills teachers often work simultaneously as doctors in clinics. This study explored if and how the skills of these teachers play a role in communication skills training in the clinical workplace. METHODS: We used an exploratory sequential design: a mixed method approach that combined a survey with communication skills teachers, and qualitative individual interviews with these teachers and their educational leaders in clinical departments. The questionnaire was analysed using descriptive statistics. The interviews were analysed using content analysis. RESULTS: The response rate was 34 %. A majority (93 %) used their communication skills when communicating with patients and relatives. Less than half taught communication in clinical departments. Approximately half of the respondents stated that encouragement from their leaders or colleagues would inspire them to use their teaching skills in the workplace. However, only 20 % had told their leaders about their competencies in teaching communication. One third thought that they needed further teacher training to teach in the clinical workplace. Qualitative analysis showed that teaching opportunities existed but mainly consisted of random, one-off sessions that came about through the initiative of the communication skills teachers themselves. The teachers described several barriers, such as the challenge of teaching colleagues, as communication relates to identity and hierarchical structures, as well as a lack of requests from colleagues or management, and department culture prioritizing topics relating to medical expertise. None of the educational leaders made use of the teachers' specific communication skills in a structured way: some saw it as unimportant, while others saw it as a potential resource. CONCLUSION: Transfer of the teaching skills of communication skills teachers trained for university-based clinical communication training happened, but to a limited degree. Although both opportunities and barriers for transferring communication skills existed, barriers seemed to dominate, and opportunities for communication skills training in the workplace setting were not used to their full potential.

Self-Assessment of Teaching Skills Among Psychiatric Residents.

OBJECTIVE: Psychiatry residency programs have increasingly emphasized the role of resident-as-teacher; however, little is known about resident self-perceptions of teaching skills. This study reports on psychiatry residents' self-perceived skills in teaching medical students and compares cohort ratings with anonymous medical student evaluations of residents as teachers at our large academic residency program. METHODS: In May-June 2016, 84 residents in our program were surveyed using an anonymous, web-based survey, and this data was then compared to 3 years of aggregate data from anonymous student evaluations of resident teaching at our institution. RESULTS: Forty-seven (47) residents responded to the survey (56% response rate). Residents reported self-perceived deficits in several specific teaching competencies. Medical students consistently rated residents higher with respect to teaching skills than residents rated themselves, and these data were highly statistically significant. CONCLUSION: This study underscores the benefits of resident self-assessment in comparison to medical student evaluations of residents as teachers and this information can be used to inform training programs' resident-as-teacher curricula.

The SGIM TEACH Program: A Curriculum for Teachers of Clinical Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Demand for faculty with teaching expertise is increasing as medical education is becoming well established as a career pathway. Junior faculty may be expected to take on teaching responsibilities with minimal training in teaching skills. AIM: To address the faculty development needs of junior clinician-educators with teaching responsibilities and those changing their career focus to include teaching. SETTING: Sessions at two Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) annual meetings combined with local coaching and online learning during the intervening year. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-nine faculty scholars in four consecutive annual cohorts from 2013 to 2016. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Scholars participate in a full-day core teaching course as well as selective workshops at the annual meetings. Between meetings they receive direct observation and feedback on their teaching from a local coach and participate in an online discussion group. PROGRAM EVALUATION: Sessions were evaluated using a post-session survey. Overall content rating was 4.48 (out of 5). Eighty-nine percent of participants completed all requirements. Of these, 100% agreed that they had gained valuable knowledge and skills. DISCUSSION: The TEACH certificate program provides inexperienced faculty teachers an opportunity to develop core skills. Satisfaction is high. Future research should focus on the impact that this and similar programs have on teaching skills.

Observed Structured Teaching Experiences (OSTEs) in a Students as Teachers Course.

Introduction: Teaching is an important competency in graduate medical education (GME). Many residency programs have implemented curricula to develop residents' teaching skills and observed structured teaching experiences (OSTEs) have been used to assess these skills. There is an increasing focus on building teaching skills earlier in the medical education continuum, however, there is limited literature on assessing medical students' teaching skills. The authors developed an OSTE for medical students enrolled in a students-as-teachers course to address this gap and provide formative feedback on teaching skills. Materials and Methods: OSTEs were conducted for fourth-year medical students (M4s) enrolled in a Students as Teachers Advanced Elective at a US medical school. An M4 observed a first-year medical student (M1) during a simulated encounter with a standardized patient. The M4 gave feedback and a chalk talk. A physician observer assessed the M4's teaching using the modified Stanford Faculty Development Program (SFDP) questionnaire. The M1s and M4s also completed the SFDP. The M4 completed pre- and post-OSTE self-efficacy surveys (score range 6-30) and a post-OSTE acceptability survey. Results: All (30/30) M4s completed the OSTE. The SFDP identified common teaching strengths and areas for growth. ANOVA tests demonstrated significant differences between the mean (SD) scores from physician assessors, M1s, and M4s [4.56 (0.63) vs. 4.87 (0.35) vs. 4.08 (0.74), p<0.001]. There was a statistically significant difference in mean (SD) self-efficacy scores pre- and post-OSTE [18.72 (3.39) vs. 23.83 (3.26), p<0.001]. All M4s (30/30) somewhat or strongly agreed with all three OSTE acceptability questions. Lessons Learned: The authors successfully conducted an OSTE in an M4 advanced elective. The OSTE was highly acceptable to participants, and M4s demonstrated improved teaching self-efficacy. Further research should explore the validity of the OSTE to measure medical students' teaching skills and the long-term impact of developing teaching skills in medical school. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01952-3.

Microteaching, an efficient technique for learning effective teaching.

Microteaching, a teacher training technique currently practiced worldwide, provides teachers an opportunity to perk up their teaching skills by improving the various simple tasks called teaching skills. With the proven success among the novice and seniors, microteaching helps to promote real-time teaching experiences. The core skills of microteaching such as presentation and reinforcement skills help the novice teachers to learn the art of teaching at ease and to the maximum extent. The impact of this technique has been widely seen in various forms of education such as health sciences, life sciences, and other areas. The emerging changes in medical curricula by the Medical Council of India and the role of medical teachers envisage the need of this special training of teachers and monitoring of their skills for their continued efficient performance at any age. The alleged limitations of microteaching can be minimized by implementing this at the departmental level in several sequences. The author made literature search of research and review articles in various educational databases, journals, and books. From the reference list of published articles, books were also reviewed. This paper presents an outline of the various phases of microteaching, core teaching skills, implementation aspects, and the impact of microteaching on medical education.

Emotional Competences of Primary Education Teachers: A Need in School Post COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number of students with mental health problems: depression, anxiety, stress. Faced with this reality, teachers and schools must be prepared to respond quickly and effectively. Therefore, the objective of this article is to analyze the emotional competences of primary school teachers in the city of Valencia based on the following sociodemographic variables: sex, age, professional experience, type of center and whether they have children. For this purpose, a quantitative methodological approach has been followed, through which the emotional competencies of primary education teachers are analyzed. These results allow us to establish teacher profiles according to sociodemographic variables and help to detect possible training deficiencies. A sample of 371 teachers of primary education in the city of Valencia has been analyzed. The Questionnaire on Teaching Competences of Primary Education Teachers, carried out under the Planned Action Model, has been used, and descriptive, univariate, bivariate and cluster analyses have been carried out. The mean, the standard deviation and the interquartile range (IQR) have been analyzed, as well as non-parametric tests such as the Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis or Z test. The most significant results are that teachers have a greater ability to interpret emotions and to listen to students. On the contrary, it is teachers who most reject prejudice, discrimination and racism. Younger teachers are the ones who implement more inclusive learning environments. Finally, in general, all teachers are very respectful of students and claim to know how to manage classroom conflicts. The results obtained, in general terms, coincide with most of the research on teachers' emotional competencies. Some aspects simply do not coincide with the literature. The teachers who participated in our research perceive themselves as having a greater capacity to observe and interpret students' emotions, to generate learning situations that cater to diversity and to listen to their students. Other studies place these competencies at lower levels.

Feasibility of Including Hands-On Microteaching in the Medical Faculty Development Program in India: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background Medical faculty development programs (FDPs) often lack hands-on training in teaching skills. Microteaching, a short, focused teaching practice, could be a feasible way to bridge this gap. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of including hands-on microteaching in a medical FDP in India. Methodology This mixed-methods study involved fresh medical faculty members who never attended FDP on the basics of medical education technologies, stakeholders, and students from a recently established autonomous medical institute of national importance in India. Participants completed a pre-test survey on their teaching skills and received a hands-on microteaching session during an FDP. After the session, participants completed a post-test survey and provided feedback on the feasibility and acceptability of hands-on microteaching in the program. Program evaluation was done by application of Kirkpatrick's Model levels one, two, and three. Results According to the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation level one (Reaction), the participants reported improved teaching skills and greater confidence in their ability to teach after the microteaching session. They also reported that hands-on microteaching was an effective way to learn teaching skills and receive feedback. Stakeholders opined that microteaching is a very effective tool for improving teaching skills and should be a part of FDP. Evaluation at level two (Learning) shows that there was a significant improvement in the mean score of post-tests. As per level three (Behaviour Change) evaluation, the majority of the students informed that there is observable improvement in the effectiveness of teaching of faculties in the past two months, i.e., since the participation of faculty in hands-on microteaching in FDP. Conclusions Hands-on microteaching could be a feasible and effective way to enhance the teaching skills of medical faculty members in India. The study findings suggest that including hands-on microteaching in FDPs could help bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical teaching skills.

Teaching Skills Training for Pre-clinical Medical Students Through Weekly Problem-Based Learning Teaching Topic Presentations and Directed Feedback.

Problem: Medical students commonly encounter scenarios in which they are charged with teaching medical content, but studies find a paucity of teaching skills training especially in the pre-clerkship phase of undergraduate medical programs. Intervention: Videos lessons were created to instruct on five teaching skills identified as useful for presenting short lessons on medical topics: effective learning objectives, appropriate lesson complexity, audience engagement, relevance to practice, and resource selection. A rubric was generated to assess the performance level of each teaching skill. Context: First-year medical students viewed the video lessons and were instructed to implement these teaching skills for the creation and delivery of weekly learning issue (LI) presentations within a problem-based learning (PBL) course. PBL facilitators assessed students by using the rubric to assign a score of 0-2 corresponding to the level of skill performance. Impact: Scores in every dimension of our LI assessment rubric showed significant improvement above week 1 at the end of the initial 4 weeks of practice and assessment. Follow-up assessment showed durable performance and significant improvement for 3 out of 5 at weeks 8 and 12. Lessons Learned: Our novel framework was effective in fostering the adoption and implementation of five teaching skills among first-year medical students over a 4-week period, with most skills remaining durable over 12 weeks. Furthermore, end-of-course surveys showed that students found feedback received using the framework helpful in improving their LIs, and faculty reported that student LI presentation quality improved overall. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01912-x.

A Primer for Developing Chalk Talks.

Chalk talks are a ubiquitous teaching strategy in both pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine and medicine in general; yet, trainees and early career faculty are rarely taught how to design, prepare, and present a chalk talk. Skills necessary to deliver a chalk talk are transferable to other settings, such as the bedside, wards during rounds, and virtual classrooms. As a teaching strategy, the chalk talk can involve learners at multiple levels, foster practical knowledge, stimulate self-assessment, encourage the generation of broad differential diagnoses, and promote an interactive learning environment. Suited for both formal and informal learning, the chalk talk can be prepared well in advance or, after some practice, can be presented "on the fly." Furthermore, often on the wards or in the intensive care unit, team members are asked to "teach the rest of the team" at some point during rounds. There is little guidance in medical education for students and trainees to prepare for how to do this, and the chalk talk can serve as an excellent format and teaching strategy to "teach the team" when tasked to do so. To highlight our perspectives on best practices in using the chalk talk format effectively, we first briefly review the literature surrounding this very common yet understudied teaching strategy. We then provide a primer on how to design, develop, and deliver a chalk talk as a resource for how we teach residents, fellows, and early career attendings to deliver their own chalk talks.

Professional Development of Teacher Trainers: The Role of Teaching Skills and Knowledge.

Since the 1990s, the essential function of teacher trainers in academic courses has gradually attained more attention from scholars. Also, the teacher trainers' professional development has acquired worldwide attraction following the concept that teacher trainers are deeply liable for educator education quality. The present mini-review of literature indicates that while teacher trainers have several complicated functions, they obtain the least preparation or opportunities for professional development to perform such functions. Consequently, they require getting the related knowledge and skills after accepting the role of teacher trainers. Besides numerous aspects affecting teacher trainers' professional development, teaching skills, and knowledge have important functions that are at the center of attention in this mini-review of literature. In brief, several implications are presented for the instructional addressees.

Program Evaluation of Healthy Moves™: A Community-Based Trainer in Residence Professional Development Program to Support Generalist Teachers With Physical Education Instruction.

BACKGROUND: Elementary school teachers are often responsible for teaching physical education to their students, with little formal training in that instruction. This study evaluates a trainer in residence professional development program designed to improve physical education instructional attitudes and practices in elementary school generalist teachers. METHODS: Participants were 139 teachers and 3577 first to fifth grade students at 11 public elementary schools in Oregon. Program evaluation measures included pre- and postteacher surveys on teacher attitudes and practices toward teaching physical education for fidelity, postprogram lesson observations for sustainability, and teacher-reported program barriers to and facilitators of feasibility. A multivariate repeated-measures analysis of covariance test assessed changes in teacher attitudes and practices related to physical education instruction. RESULTS: There were main effects of time observed for teacher encouragement and enthusiasm and physical education teaching practices (F2,127 = 9.68, P < .001, ηp2=.132). Postprogram observations indicated sustained use of activity components and an average of 86% of physical education class time spent with students engaged in moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: The trainer in residence community-based approach shows promise as an appropriate professional development strategy for generalist teachers responsible for physical education instruction. However, a longer duration, randomized control trial is needed to determine the efficacy of these programs in promoting student physical education outcomes.

College Students' Learning Performance, Teaching Skills, and Teaching Innovation in Intercultural Communication Class: Evidence Based on Experiential Learning Theory.

In China, the improvement of the learner performance is critical a challenge for the teaching staff and the management in intercultural communication class. Indeed, the administration of the Chinese schools is failed to provide effective learning to the students with innovative methods. The objective of this study was to identify the role of college students' learning performance, teaching skills, and teaching innovation in intercultural communication class. This study is based on the quantitative data collected on a five-point Likert scale from the target respondents who were the students of different colleges and 700 questionnaires distributed for it. The study concludes that there is a significant relationship among abstract conceptualization, active participation, and reflective observation in students' learning performance. Furthermore, this study highlights that the mediating role of teaching innovation is critical for students' learning performance. This study contributes to the literature with a significant theoretical framework. Finally, this study provides significant theoretical implications and practical implications which are key game-changers for improving the performance of the students in the intercultural communication class.

Perspectives and performance changes of parents in aural-oral rehabilitation: From in-person to telepractice.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has reinforced the necessity and importance of telepractice. Although studies suggest frameworks to facilitate telepractice implementation, how parents learn related therapeutic skills via telepractice remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives and performance changes of parents with children enrolled in aural-oral rehabilitation who transition from in-person sessions to telepractice. METHODS: A total of 456 parents were enrolled in an aural-oral rehabilitation program with different online session formats [telepractice (n = 392), consultation (n = 23), and hybrid (n = 41)] during the pandemic. The Parental Teaching Skil Scale and the Parental Behavioral Skills Scale were used to examine parent performance changes before and during the lockdown. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 parents. RESULTS: Parents who scored higher in in-person courses were more likely to enrol in telepractice and make steady progress. Parents who participated in hybrid sessions tended to score lower on Parental Teaching Skill Scale before lockdown and reported that the dual-track, parallel learning method provided them with a set amount of time to discuss teaching difficulties with their therapists without being disturbed by their children. Parents who attended the consultation sessions scored higher on Parental Behavioral Skills Scale than on Parental Teaching Skill Scale during the in-person courses. DISCUSSION: Parents who continued online courses during the lockdown showed consistent and significant gains in most skills related to aural-oral rehabilitation, regardless of session format. Moreover, parents who scored better on Parental Behavioral Skills Scale than in Parental Teaching Skill Scale during in-person courses tended to request consultation sessions during the lockdown.

COVID-19 as an enabler for enhancing online learning and teaching skills for nurse educators at the University of Namibia: Prospects and challenges.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused instability in the education system and has compelled higher education institutions (HEIs) to find alternative ways of teaching and learning by making use of the latest online teaching approaches. Aim: The purpose of the study was to explore how COVID-19 could serve as an enabler for the enhancement of online learning and teaching skills for nurse educators at the University of Namibia with specific emphasis on prospects and challenges. Setting: Semi-structured interviews were conducted in English at a public nursing education institution located in the northeast of Namibia. Methods: A qualitative explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was used. Data were collected by means of in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 nurse educators from the School of Nursing. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Field notes were simultaneously taken to enrich the data. Results: The study revealed three themes: nurse educators' experiences of the use of online learning and teaching skills, COVID-19 as an enabler for enhancing online learning and teaching skills and strategies to sustain online teaching and learning. Conclusion: Internet technology has generated a surge in demand for web-based teaching and learning. The online learning mode was not effectively utilised during the COVID-19 era because of inadequate technological skills on the part of nurse educators. Contribution: These findings can be used by universities to equip students and academic staff with skills to adapt to e-learning as the new modus operandi in learning and teaching in the post-COVID-19 era.

Conceptualizing the next patient interaction: A clinical skillset using an emulation model in critical thinking.

CONCEPTUALIZING: The next patient interaction is logical, essential, and largely done intuitively. MAIN PURPOSE: To design and test a succinct learning guide for student guidance and student-faculty interaction in conceptualizing the next patient interaction. METHODS: In 2021 and 2022, faculty scored questions from 1-5: Recognize deviation from the ideal? Articulate how and how much the situation deviated? Gage consequences of the situation? Assess own capabilities? To what extent does the student have a clear grasp of the procedural outcome? Faculty were also given open-ended questions. RESULTS: Forty-eight reports were completed, 25 D3 and 23 D4. Three hundred thirty-five faculty entries were made in the questions calling for a 1-5 response out of a possible 336 responses. Statistically significant differences were noted. Students were better able to recognize the situation as different from ideal than to articulate how and how much the situation deviated. Students were better able to grasp how and how much this situation differs from the ideal than to assess own capabilities. D4 students were better able to recognize deviation from the ideal and to articulate how and how much the situation deviated than were D3 students. For open-ended questions, more students were scored as "Prepared" than were scored as "Unsure" and "Missed" combined. CONCLUSIONS: The exercise is seen as a succinct and constructive (nonjudgmental) path to guide the student's conceptualization of the next patient encounter before the encounter begins. Next steps will be incremental for wider use in a clinical teaching environment.