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Professional Identity (professional + identity)
Selected AbstractsCorporate Strategy and Gendered Professional Identities: Reorganization and the Struggle for Recognition and PositionsGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 3 2001Bente Rasmussen Will decentralization of responsibilities in services give women service workers at the lower levels of the organization better and more ,professional' jobs and a recognition of their importance in the organization? This article looks at the valuation of so-called women's skills in services in reorganization processes involving dehierarchization and decentralization of responsibilities. Through four cases of reorganized private and public services in Norway it is shown that more focus on customers and decentralization of responsibilities for the services may lead to recognition of gendered skills and an improved position for women service workers at the lowest levels of the organization. When the tasks of the workers are closely linked to the core function of the organization and not dominated by the organization's ,dirty work', the women at the lowest levels may obtain a more ,professional' work role and their work be recognized as important for the organization. [source] Professional identity as a resource for talk: exploring the mentor,student relationshipNURSING INQUIRY, Issue 4 2008Pam Shakespeare This paper discusses a study examining how mentors in nurse education make professional judgments about the clinical competence of their pre-registration nursing students. Interviews were undertaken with nine UK students and 15 mentors, using critical incidents in practice settings as a focus. The study was undertaken for the English National Practice-Based Professional Learning Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. This paper reports on the conversation analytic thread of the work. The mentor role with pre-registration nursing students is not only supportive but involves formal assessment. Central to the relationship is communication. In professional education, communication is seen as a skill to be applied and assessed in practice settings but is also the medium mentors and mentees use to talk about the relationship. Analysis of excerpts of conversation in the interviews shows that episodes of communication are used as topics of conversation to establish professional identity. It also reveals that judgments about the extent of professional capacity of both students and mentors are grounded in everyday behaviours (for example, enthusiasm, indifference and confidence) as well as professional competence. In addition to focusing on clinical issues, mentors can and do use mundane communication as a resource for judgments about competence. [source] Re-inscribing Gender in New Modes of Medical Expertise: The Investigator,Coordinator Relationship in the Clinical Trials IndustryGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 2 2010Jill A. Fisher This article analyses the ways in which research coordinators forge professional identities in the highly gendered organizational context of the clinic. Drawing upon qualitative research on the organization of the clinical trials industry (that is, the private sector, for profit auxiliary companies that support pharmaceutical drug studies), this article explores the relationships between predominantly male physician-investigators and female research coordinators and the constitution of medical expertise in pharmaceutical drug development. One finding is that coordinators actively seek to establish relationships with investigators that mirror traditional doctor,nurse relationships, in which the feminized role is subordinated and devalued. Another finding is that the coordinators do, in fact, have profound research expertise that is frequently greater than that of the investigators. The coordinators develop expertise on pharmaceutical products and diseases through their observations of the patterns that occur in patient,participants' responses to investigational drugs. The article argues, however, that the nature of the relationships between coordinators and investigators renders invisible the coordinators' expertise. In this context, gender acts as a persistent social structure shaping both coordinators' and investigators' perceptions of who can be recognized as having authority and power in the workplace. [source] ,Have You Got a Boyfriend or are You Single?': On the Importance of Being ,Straight' in Organizational ResearchGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 3 2006Attila Bruni The article focuses on heterosexuality as a covert feature of organization studies as well as of organizational research. In fact, while organization studies have discussed the gendered and the gendering aspects of organizational practices and organizational theory, the implication of heterosexuality has yet to receive intensive analysis in these fields. And while the mutual and reflexive constitution of the observer and the observed has been the topic of a considerable amount of research, the dimension of (heterosexual) desire in this process of mutual constitution is still largely unexplored. Referring to three different episodes that occurred while the author was doing organizational ethnography, the article suggests that a heterosexual model of desire is called into action both in organizational and research activities and that focusing on it can be an occasion to question not only the gender (and heterosexual) biases of organizational practices but also the way in which gender and sexuality are mobilized while doing research. In particular, on the basis of the concept of cathexis, the article shows how heterosexuality is learnt and enacted as a situated practice and through a variety of processes: performing power, negotiating and displaying that one belongs to an organizational culture, obscuring the hetero-normativity of professional identities and neglecting the emotional engagement that characterizes research activities and that exposes the researcher to an otherwise vulnerable position. [source] Gender and New Public Management: Reconstituting Academic SubjectivitiesGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 4 2002Robyn Thomas This article is located within the context of British Higher Education. It examines the ,radical reforms' of New Public Management (NPM) (marketization and managerialism) in the management of university organizations. The article has two main aims. First, to explore the extent to which NPM initiatives have influenced individual women academics's day,to,day experiences of the gendered academy and their professional identities. Second, to understand individuals' active responses to NPM to develop theorizing of individual resistance in public service organizations. Adopting a Foucauldian feminist framework, it is suggested that the introduction of NPM presents a site for political struggle for women academics. The article explores the gendered nature of NPM, to determine how, in three individual universities, different women academics have responded to the ,managerialist challenge'. Finally, the article focuses on the ways in which different women academics might accommodate, resist, or transform the discourses of NPM, the factors facilitating this, and the material outcomes. [source] Obstacles to instructional innovation according to college science and mathematics facultyJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 1 2007Jeffrey J. Walczyk Numerous studies have documented the infrequent use of learner-centered instruction in college science and mathematics classrooms and its negative effects on undergraduate learning and motivation. The present research deepened understanding of why. Specifically, an Internet survey was constructed that explored obstacles, supports, and incentives for instructional innovation in the classroom and was sent out to college science and mathematics faculty of Louisiana. Results revealed that colleges generally were perceived to assign little or an indeterminate weight to instruction in personnel decision making. Faculty members generally have little training in pedagogy; but when they do, they are more likely to consult sources of instructional innovation and consider teaching an important part of their professional identities. Data concerning the most common sources of instructional innovation information are presented. Several suggestions are made for institutional reform that if enacted might contribute to systemic improvement in the quality of instruction undergraduates receive. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach [source] ,Doing femininity' at work: More than just relational practice1JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 1 2006Janet Holmes Workplaces constitute one of the more interesting sites where individuals ,do gender', while at the same time constructing their professional identities and meeting their organisation's expectations. Drawing on interactional data recorded in New Zealand professional organisations, this paper focuses in particular on how participants manage and interpret the notion of ,femininity' in workplace discourse. In much current usage, the concepts ,feminine' and ,femininity' typically evoke negative reactions. Our analysis suggests these notions can be reclaimed and reinterpreted positively using an approach which frames doing femininity at work as normal, unmarked, and effective workplace behaviour in many contexts. The analysis also demonstrates that multiple femininities extend beyond normative expectations, such as enacting relational practice (Fletcher 1999), to embrace more contestive and parodic instantiations of femininity in workplace talk. [source] ,You're judged all the time!' Students' views on professionalism: a multicentre studyMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 8 2010Gabrielle Finn Medical Education 2010: 44: 814,825 Objectives, This study describes how medical students perceive professionalism and the context in which it is relevant to them. An understanding of how Phase 1 students perceive professionalism will help us to teach this subject more effectively. Phase 1 medical students are those in the first 2 years of a 5-year medical degree. Methods, Seventy-two undergraduate students from two UK medical schools participated in 13 semi-structured focus groups. Focus groups, carried out until thematic saturation occurred, were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed and coded using NVivo 8, using a grounded theory approach with constant comparison. Results, From the analysis, seven themes regarding professionalism emerged: the context of professionalism; role-modelling; scrutiny of behaviour; professional identity; ,switching on' professionalism; leniency (for students with regard to professional standards), and sacrifice (of freedom as an individual). Students regarded professionalism as being relevant in three contexts: the clinical, the university and the virtual. Students called for leniency during their undergraduate course, opposing the guidance from Good Medical Practice. Unique findings were the impact of clothing and the online social networking site Facebook on professional behaviour and identity. Changing clothing was described as a mechanism by which students ,switch on' their professional identity. Students perceived society to be struggling with the distinction between doctors as individuals and professionals. This extended to the students' online identities on Facebook. Institutions' expectations of high standards of professionalism were associated with a feeling of sacrifice by students caused by the perception of constantly ,being watched'; this perception was coupled with resentment of this intrusion. Students described the significant impact that role-modelling had on their professional attitudes. Conclusions, This research offers valuable insight into how Phase 1 medical students construct their personal and professional identities in both the offline and online environments. Acknowledging these learning mechanisms will enhance the development of a genuinely student-focused professionalism curriculum. [source] Forming professional identities on the health care team: discursive constructions of the ,other' in the operating roomMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 8 2002L Lingard Background, Inter-professional health care teams represent the nucleus of both patient care and the clinical education of novices. Both activities depend upon the,talk' that team members use to interact with one another. This study explored team members' interpretations of tense team communications in the operating room (OR). Methods, The study was conducted using 52 team members divided into 14 focus groups. Team members comprised 13 surgeons, 19 nurses, nine anaesthetists and 11 trainees. Both uni-disciplinary (n = 11) and multi-disciplinary (n = 3) formats were employed. All groups discussed three communication scenarios, derived from prior ethnographic research. Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed. Using a grounded theory approach, three researchers individually analysed sample transcripts, after which group discussions were held to resolve discrepancies and confirm a coding structure. Using the confirmed code, the complete data set was coded using the ,NVivo' qualitative data analysis software program. Results, There were substantial differences in surgeons', nurses', anaesthetists', and trainees' interpretations of the communication scenarios. Interpretations were accompanied by subjects' depictions of disciplinary roles on the team. Subjects' constructions of other professions' roles, values and motivations were often dissonant with those professions' constructions of themselves. Conclusions, Team members, particularly novices, tend to simplify and distort others' roles and motivations as they interpret tense communication. We suggest that such simplifications may be rhetorical, reflecting professional rivalries on the OR team. In addition, we theorise that novices' echoing of role simplification has implications for their professional identity formation. [source] Gender and professional identity in psychiatric nursing practice in Alberta, Canada, 1930,75NURSING INQUIRY, Issue 4 2005Geertje Boschma This paper examines gender-specific transformations of nursing practice in institutional mental health-care in Alberta, Canada, based on archival records on two psychiatric hospitals, Alberta Hospital Ponoka and Alberta Hospital Edmonton, and on oral histories with psychiatric mental health nurses in Alberta. The paper explores class and gender as interrelated influences shaping the work and professional identity of psychiatric mental health nurses from the 1930s until the mid-1970s. Training schools for nurses in psychiatric hospitals emerged in Alberta in the 1930s under the influence of the mental hygiene movement, evolving quite differently for female nurses compared to untrained aides and male attendants. The latter group resisted their exclusion from the title ,nurse' and successfully helped to organize a separate association of psychiatric nurses in the 1950s. Post-World War II, reconstruction of health-care and a de-institutionalization policy further transformed nurses' practice in the institutions. Using social history methods of analysis, the paper demonstrates how nurses responded to their circumstances in complex ways, actively participating in the reconstruction of their practice and finding new ways of professional organization that fit the local context. After the Second World War more sophisticated therapeutic roles emerged and nurses engaged in new rehabilitative practices and group therapies, reconstructing their professional identities and transgressing gender boundaries. Nurses' own stories help us to understand the striving toward psychiatric nursing professionalism in the broader context of changing gender identities and work relationships, as well as shifting perspectives on psychiatric care. [source] Occupational therapists' perception of their practice: A phenomenological studyAUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2009Liv Grethe Kinn Background:,International literature seems consistent in reporting that occupational therapists value their methods. However, little empirical evidence has been generated supporting the basic system of belief for occupational therapy. Few studies have explored the nature of the occupational therapists' experiences and thoughts about their use of occupation as means and ends, and which strategies they use to implement their tools in their current practice. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to explore how occupational therapists understood and presented their practice and interventions. Methods:,A sample of six occupational therapists graduated in different decades, from diverse client populations and health-care settings was selected to participate in a semistructured interview. Results:,Three main themes were developed: ,To make the client's potentials visible', ,reaching a position one values' and ,looking with other eyes'. Whatever their specialities, the participants were unanimous in the way they described their role. Their common focus was ,activities of daily living'. However, they had problems describing their therapeutic tools, and were not able to clearly articulate the ,common sense aspects' of their own methods. The participants were engaged in constructing their professional identities, and stressed the need to construct professional boundaries relevant to their particular work. Conclusion:,The occupational therapists perceived their practice and interventions as distinctly different from other team members, thus, they provided a ,counterpoint'. The participants used various ways of marketing their perspectives. While the novices tended to go along with the team, the experienced therapists tended to assert their own special contribution. [source] "Even if I Don't Know What I'm Doing I Can Make It Look like I Know What I'm Doing": Becoming a Doctor in the 1990s,CANADIAN REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY/REVUE CANADIENNE DE SOCIOLOGIE, Issue 3 2001Brenda L. Beagan Les processus de socialisation des médecins documentés dans Boys in White et d'autres textes classiques n'ont guère changé, 40 ans plus tard, malgré une population étudiante manifestement plus variée. La plus grande différence se trouve dans la façon dont les étudiants d'aujourdhui intègrent leur identité professionnelle naissante au moi établi avant l'école de médecine. L'identité professionnelle pourrait moins bien correspondre au moi quand les étudiants sont des femmes, plus âgés, de la classe ouvrière, homosexuels ou de groupes minoritaires. Pourtant, ces étudiants pourraient posséder une certaine capacité de résistance à la socialisation professionnelle. The processes of medical professional socialization documented in Boys in White and other classics remain remarkably unchanged 40 years later, despite a markedly more diverse student population. The greatest difference lies in how students today integrate their emerging professional identities with the selves they were before medical school. The professional identity may "fit" less easily when students are women, older, working-class, gay or lesbian, or from visible minority groups. Yet these students may also enjoy a particular ability to resist professional socialization. [source] Fashioning and Demarcation of the Danish Chemical Community in the 19th CenturyCENTAURUS, Issue 3 2007Anita Kildebæk Nielsen The development of Danish chemistry in the 19th century was a complex process involving the establishment of boundaries for chemistry, creation of professional identities, and institutional constructions. Many of these factors can be analysed through detailed studies of the media carrying chemical information. This paper explores the development process by studying three Danish chemical periodicals published in the vernacular. By analysing their contents, editorial lines, and intended audiences, these three periodicals give specific information on the social evolution of chemistry and the process of demarcation of chemistry from non-chemistry. The analysis is linked to the early history of the Danish Chemical Society in order to address the question of what it meant to be a chemist in second half of the 19th-century Denmark. Taken together, examination of specific aspects of the society and the three periodicals provide new perspectives on the relationships between the three most important groups of chemical practitioners: academics, engineers, and pharmacists. [source] ,Allowed into a Man's World' Meanings of Work,Life Balance: Perspectives of Women Civil Engineers as ,Minority' Workers in ConstructionGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 1 2009Jacqueline H. Watts This article discusses how women working as civil engineers within the UK construction industry perceive work,life balance and considers strategies they use to achieve this. The findings are presented of a qualitative research project that explored the experiences of women in this role, focusing on the subcultural context of a profession that is dominated by the values of presenteeism and infinite availability. A feminist post-structuralist framework is used to analyse how women negotiate their personal and professional time and the extent to which their other roles as carers and nurturers unsettle male work practices in this highly gendered profession. There are gradually increasing numbers of women in professional construction roles and their success appears to depend on being able to fit in to the dominant masculine culture of long working hours and the male pub gathering. Despite an increased presence, women's minority status in construction continues to challenge their professional identity and this is central to the conflict many face between the dual roles of corporate worker and private non-work person. [source] Engaging the professional: organising call centre agents in IndiaINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009Ernesto Noronha ABSTRACT The extremely challenging external environment poses numerous challenges to union formation among call centre agents in India. Complicating matters is the acquired professional identity of call centre agents. In this scenario, the union organising call centre employees envisaged that partnership with employers was the only possibility acceptable to call centre agents, employer organisations and society at large, enabling them to regain some acceptability and credibility for the heretofore tainted Indian trade union movement. [source] A qualitative study of mental health nurse identities: Many roles, one professionINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 6 2009John Hurley ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to clarify and build upon current understandings of mental health nurse (MHN) identity. The study adopted a framework of social constructionism and qualitative methodology. Semistructured interviews were conducted, which were thematically analyzed using Nvivo software. Twenty-five MHN were recruited across three geographical sites in the UK. Participants constructed a cluster of seven MHN identity characteristics that constituted a unique contribution to talk-based therapies. These themes of characteristics are: (i) the MHN as generic specialist; (ii) the MHN as adopting a service-user focus; (iii) the MHN as positioning and utilizing the personal self; (iv) the MHN as spending time with the service user; (v) the MHN as delivering talk-based therapies in versatile ways; (vi) the MHN as having an everyday attitude; and (vii) the MHN as having transferable skills. The distinctiveness, and thus, professional identity of mental health nursing, must be understood as a cluster of capabilities rather than a search for a singular point of difference. The breadth of capabilities employed by MHN highlights the value and worth of their contribution to service-user care. [source] Health visitors' understandings of domestic violenceJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 2 2003Sue Peckover BSc MMedSci PhD RGN RHV Background. Feminist work has made visible the extent and nature of domestic violence and the problems women face in having their experiences recognized by health and welfare professionals. Research has demonstrated that many health care professionals, including nurses, midwives and health visitors have little working knowledge about this issue. This impacts on their ability to recognize and respond to domestic violence within their practice. Aim. This paper is based upon a study of British health visitors, which explored their practice in relation to domestic violence. Drawing upon empirical data from interviews with health visitors, it explores their understandings of the extent and nature of domestic violence in the context of their work. Methods. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 24 health visitors selected by convenience and purposive sampling. Data collection took place during 1997,1998. The research draws on the theoretical perspectives of feminist poststructuralism. Findings. The findings demonstrate considerable differences between health visitors in their understandings of the extent of domestic violence in their caseloads and their recognition of different types of abuse experienced by women. There were also differences between participants in their willingness to name situations other than physical violence as abusive, as well as the extent to which they recognized domestic violence within different social groups. Conclusions. A feminist perspective provides critical insight into the professional knowledge base in relation to domestic violence, demonstrating the need for health visitors to develop their understandings further in order to respond appropriately to women and children experiencing domestic violence. This is discussed in the context of ongoing struggles for professional identity within an ever-changing arena of health and welfare provision. [source] The Analytics of PowerJOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION, Issue 3 2007Re-presenting the Design Jury There can be little argument that the design jury features as a key symbolic event in the education of the architect.1 However, while the centrality of the design jury as a site for learning disciplinary skills, beliefs, and values is now widely acknowledged, there continues to be considerable disagreement about what is learnt and how. While critical pedagogues argue that the design jury is a critic-centered ritual that coerces students into conforming to hegemonic notions of professional identity, the more commonly held conception is that the jury is a student-centered event that supports students in the construction of their own architectural identities.2 This article, inspired by Michel Foucault's studies of relationship between power and the formation of the modern self, reports on the findings of a year-long ethnographic study carried out in one British school of architecture.3 The research sought to unravel the complexities of the design jury as a site of dichotomous power relations, and the findings bring into question the efficacy of the design jury as a ritual that supports useful learning. The article concludes by proposing that the design jury be replaced by a new set of pedagogic events that are carefully constructed to support student learning. [source] The Consensus Conference and Combined-Integrated model of doctoral training in professional psychology, Overview of Part 1: Nature and scope of the Combined-Integrated modelJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 9 2004Craig N. Shealy This special series of articles on the Consensus Conference and Combined-Integrated (C-I) model of doctoral training in professional psychology consists of 13 articles in two successive volumes of the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Six articles are presented in Part 1 (Vol. 60, Issue 9), which collectively describe the "nature and scope" of the C-I model (e.g., historic and definitional issues; the potential advantages of this model; implications for the profession). In Part 2 of this special series (Vol. 60, Issue 10), articles 7 through 12 address the broader implications and potential applications of the C-I model within a range of professional and societal contexts (e.g., for interprofessional collaboration; the health care field; development of a global curriculum; the unified psychology movement; issues of assessment and professional identity; and higher education); article 13 provides a summary of the series as well as a discussion of future directions. As an overview, this paper provides the abstract for each of the articles in Part 1, and describes the various topics of the articles in Part 2. Taken together, the articles in this special series are designed to provide a coherent account of how and why the C-I model is timely and relevant, and therefore warrants serious consideration by the larger education and training community in professional psychology. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. [source] ,Who would take whose name?' Accounts of naming practices in same-sex relationshipsJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2008Victoria Clarke Abstract The practice of a woman assuming her husband's last name upon marriage is a deeply embedded norm in some countries. Whether or not individual heterosexual couples reproduce or resist this practice, it provides a context for making decisions about marital names. No conventions, other than heteronormative ones, govern naming practices in same-sex relationships and families, but very little is known about name changing in these contexts. This paper reports an exploratory qualitative study of the ways in which 30 lesbians and gay men in committed relationships made meaning of name changing and keeping. Only one participant reported changing her last name, some considered name changing a future possibility, but most had no plans to change their name. The lack of conventions regarding naming in same-sex families created a dilemma for some participants,who would take whose name? Many participants did not want to entirely give up their name, thus a hyphenated last name was the most popular option for those contemplating a name change. Accounts of name changing centred on doing/being family. This was also a theme in accounts of name keeping, along with maintaining a continuity of personal and professional identity, avoiding hassle, complications and confusion and resisting heteronormativity. The findings are discussed in relation to other research on naming in same-sex families and research on heterosexual marital naming practices. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Our knowledge ourselves: Engineers (re)thinking technology in developmentJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2008Gordon Wilson Abstract A re-conceptualisation of technology (and science) in development is claimed to be taking, or have recently taken place. There is more than one variant, but they have in common a pluralist, constructivist conception of knowledge and its importance for development. What, however, do professional practitioners of technology in development say about their values, their mindsets and their practices, and what, if anything, does this sense-making contribute to the re-conceptualisation? Based on interviews with development-related engineers from a previous research project, and analysis of engineer perspectives that are provided on a private sector company website, this exploratory paper offers some preliminary observations. These include: A positive attitude to working with others and their realities, especially but not exclusively other professional realities A concern with enhancing their professional identity The interplay between retrospective reflection and ongoing enactment through projects The motivation associated with a ,can-do mindset' and the importance of creativity for job satisfaction and enhancement The general importance of shared experience gained through working with others. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Women Solicitors as a Barometer for Problems within the Legal Profession , Time to Put Values before Profits?JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 3 2007Lisa Webley This article will consider the theoretical explanations for why women are not remaining within and progressing through the ranks of the solicitors' profession in England and Wales. It sets out the findings from a Law Society commissioned project to examine the reasons why women have had a break from practice or chosen to leave the profession. Finally, it considers whether one of the purported strategies used to empower women solicitors , the business case for equality of opportunity in the solicitors' profession , is actively working against women and the profession (more broadly), and that only a return to a wider values-based approach to professional identity will meet the criticisms raised by many of the women who participated in this research. [source] Process-oriented group supervision implemented during nursing education: nurses' conceptions 1 year after their nursing degreeJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 7 2008BARBRO ARVIDSSON PhD Aim, To describe the variation in how nurses conceive process-oriented group supervision, implemented during nursing education, 1 year after their nursing degree. Background, Process-oriented group supervision can be an effective support system for helping nursing students and nurses to reflect on their activities. Methods, A descriptive qualitative design was chosen for the study. Conceptions were collected through interviews with 18 strategically selected Swedish nurses in 2005. Results, Three descriptive categories comprising seven conceptions were emerged. Supportive actions comprised: a sense of security, belonging and encouragement. Learning actions involved: sharing and reflecting while developmental actions described: enabling professional identity and facilitating personal development. Conclusions, Process-oriented group supervision has a lasting influence on nurses' development. The possibility to reflect over new stances during nursing education was a prerequisite for the provision of high-quality care. Process-oriented group supervision can make an important contribution to nursing education. Implications for Nursing Management, Process-oriented group supervision provides nurses with the strength to achieve resilience to stress in their work. It may lead to autonomy as well as clarity in the nurse's professional function. This indicates the need for nurse managers to organize reflective group supervision as an integral part of the nurse's work. [source] Use of a think-aloud procedure to explore the relationship between clinical reasoning and solution-focused training in self-harm for emergency nursesJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 2 2009M. MCALLISTER rn edd Self-harm is a risk factor for further episodes of self-harm and suicide. The most common service used by self-injurers is the emergency department. However, very often, nurses have received no special training to identify and address the needs of these patients. In addition this care context is typically biomedical and without psychosocial skills, nurses can tend to feel unprepared and lacking in confidence, particularly on the issue of self-harm. In a study that aimed to improve understanding and teach solution-focused skills to emergency nurses so that they may be more helpful with patients who self-harm, several outcome measures were considered, including knowledge, professional identity and clinical reasoning. The think-aloud procedure was used as a way of exploring and improving the solution-focused nature of nurses' clinical reasoning in a range of self-harm scenarios. A total of 28 emergency nurses completed the activity. Data were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed. The results indicated that significant improvements were noted in nurses' ability to consider the patients' psychosocial needs following the intervention. Thus this study has shown that interactive education not only improves attitude and confidence but enlarges nurses' reasoning skills to include psychosocial needs. This is likely to improve the quality of care provided to patients with mental health problems who present to emergency settings, reducing stigma for patients and providing the important first steps to enduring change , acknowledgment and respect. [source] Building teacher identity with urban youth: Voices of beginning middle school science teachers in an alternative certification programJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 10 2004Amira Proweller Teacher identity development and change is shaped by the interrelationship between personal biography and experience and professional knowledge linked to the teaching environment, students, subject matter, and culture of the school. Working from this framework, this study examines how beginning teacher interns who are part of an alternative route to teacher certification construct a professional identity as science educators in response to the needs and interests of urban youth. From the teacher interns, we learn that crafting a professional identity as a middle-level science teacher involves creating a culture around science instruction driven by imagining "what can be," essentially a vision for a quality and inclusive science curriculum implicating science content, teaching methods, and relationships with their students. The study has important implications for the preparation of a stronger and more diverse teaching force able to provide effective and inclusive science education for all youth. It also suggests the need for greater attention to personal and professional experience and perceptions as critical to the development of a meaningful teacher practice in science. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1044,1062, 2004 [source] Learning to teach physics through inquiry: The lived experience of a graduate teaching assistantJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 6 2004Mark J. Volkmann This investigation examines the difficulties encountered by one graduate teaching assistant as she taught Physics for Elementary Education, a large-enrollment, inquiry-based science course taught at a public Midwestern university. The methodological approach of hermeneutic phenomenology served as the lens to investigate the research question, "What is the lived experience of a graduate teaching assistant as she learned to teach physics through inquiry to elementary education students?" We summarize the findings in terms of the blending of two conceptual frameworks: orientations to science teaching and professional identity. We learned that fundamental beliefs about the nature of science support certain orientations, and if those beliefs remain unchallenged, then the orientation is unlikely to change. Finally, we discuss implications for strategies that may assist college-level instructors with changing their orientation to teaching science. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 584,602, 2004 [source] ,You're judged all the time!' Students' views on professionalism: a multicentre studyMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 8 2010Gabrielle Finn Medical Education 2010: 44: 814,825 Objectives, This study describes how medical students perceive professionalism and the context in which it is relevant to them. An understanding of how Phase 1 students perceive professionalism will help us to teach this subject more effectively. Phase 1 medical students are those in the first 2 years of a 5-year medical degree. Methods, Seventy-two undergraduate students from two UK medical schools participated in 13 semi-structured focus groups. Focus groups, carried out until thematic saturation occurred, were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed and coded using NVivo 8, using a grounded theory approach with constant comparison. Results, From the analysis, seven themes regarding professionalism emerged: the context of professionalism; role-modelling; scrutiny of behaviour; professional identity; ,switching on' professionalism; leniency (for students with regard to professional standards), and sacrifice (of freedom as an individual). Students regarded professionalism as being relevant in three contexts: the clinical, the university and the virtual. Students called for leniency during their undergraduate course, opposing the guidance from Good Medical Practice. Unique findings were the impact of clothing and the online social networking site Facebook on professional behaviour and identity. Changing clothing was described as a mechanism by which students ,switch on' their professional identity. Students perceived society to be struggling with the distinction between doctors as individuals and professionals. This extended to the students' online identities on Facebook. Institutions' expectations of high standards of professionalism were associated with a feeling of sacrifice by students caused by the perception of constantly ,being watched'; this perception was coupled with resentment of this intrusion. Students described the significant impact that role-modelling had on their professional attitudes. Conclusions, This research offers valuable insight into how Phase 1 medical students construct their personal and professional identities in both the offline and online environments. Acknowledging these learning mechanisms will enhance the development of a genuinely student-focused professionalism curriculum. [source] Medical students' first clinical experiences of deathMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2010Emily Kelly Medical Education 2010: 44: 421,428 Objectives, Many medical students feel inadequately prepared to address end-of-life issues, including patient death. This study aimed to examine medical students' first experiences of the deaths of patients in their care. Methods, Final-year medical students at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario were invited to share their first experience of the death of a patient in their care. The students could choose to participate through telephone interviews, focus groups or e-mail. All responses were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a grounded theory approach. Results, Twenty-nine students reported experiencing the death of a patient in their care. Of these, 20 chose to participate in an interview, five in a focus group and four through e-mail. The issues that emerged were organised under the overlying themes of ,young', ,old' or ,unexpected' deaths and covered seven major themes: (i) preparation; (ii) the death event; (iii) feelings; (iv) the role of the clinical clerk; (v) differential factors between deaths; (vi) closure, and (vii) relationships. These themes generated a five-stage cyclical model of students' experiences of death, consisting of: (i) preparation; (ii) the event itself; (iii) the crisis; (iv) the resolution, and (v) the lessons learned. ,Preparation' touches on personal experience and pre-clinical instruction. ,The event itself' could be categorised as referring to a ,young' patient, an ,old' patient or a patient in whom death was ,unexpected'. In the ,resolution' phase, coping mechanisms included rationalisation, contemplation and learning. The ,lessons learned' shape medical students' experiences of future patient deaths and their professional identity. Conclusions, A tension between emotional concern and professional detachment was pervasive among medical students undergoing their first experience of the death of a patient in their care. How this tension was negotiated depended on the patient's clinical circumstances, supervisor role-modelling and, most importantly, the support of supervisors and peers, including debriefing opportunities. Faculty members and residents should be made aware of the complexities of a medical student's first experience of patient death and be educated regarding sympathetic debriefing. [source] Curriculum reform: a narrated journeyMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 10 2009Geraldine MacCarrick Objectives, Curriculum reform poses significant challenges for medical schools across the globe. Understanding the medical educator's personal and lived experience of curriculum change is paramount. This paper illustrates the use of narrative inquiry as a means of exploring the author's own evolving professional identity as a medical educator engaged in planning and leading curriculum reform and in understanding the meanings she and other medical educators attribute to their roles as agents of change in a medical school. Context, In 2002 it was decided to radically reform a school of medicine's (SoM) traditional 6-year medical degree course (converting it to a 5-year, integrated, case-based programme). This followed a decade of adverse external reports by the national accreditation agency. The 2001 accreditation report was the most significant catalyst for change, and drew attention to the School's need for a ,collective will' to introduce a series of specific curriculum reforms. To support this reform, a new curriculum working group (NCWG) supported by a dedicated medical education unit (MEU) was established. In late 2002 the author joined the School as the director of that unit. Methods, This paper draws on a 3-year study which captured the stories of the curriculum planning project between 2002 and 2005, as well as stories of curriculum reform from past deans of the same medical school dating back to 1965. Narrative inquiry is used as a means of probing the author's own lived experience as coordinator of the new curriculum project and the experiences of key members of the NCWG, including the dean, and of former deans from the same medical school over its 40-year history. Conclusions, Through a living, telling and retelling of the story of curriculum change, narrative inquiry has a role to play in both elucidating the individual lived experience of curriculum change and shaping the evolving professional identity of the medical educator as an agent of change. [source] A mixed-methods study of interprofessional learning of resuscitation skillsMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 9 2009Paul Bradley Objectives, This study aimed to identify the effects of interprofessional resuscitation skills teaching on medical and nursing students' attitudes, leadership, team-working and performance skills. Methods, Year 2 medical and nursing students learned resuscitation skills in uniprofessional or interprofessional settings, prior to undergoing observational ratings of video-recorded leadership, teamwork and skills performance and subsequent focus group interviews. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was administered pre- and post-intervention and again 3,4 months later. Results, There was no significant difference between interprofessional and uniprofessional teams for leadership, team dynamics or resuscitation tasks performance. Gender, previous interprofessional learning experience, professional background and previous leadership experience had no significant effect. Interview analysis showed broad support for interprofessional education (IPE) matched to clinical reality with perceived benefits for teamwork, communication and improved understanding of roles and perspectives. Concerns included inappropriate role adoption, hierarchy issues, professional identity and the timing of IPE episodes. The RIPLS subscales for professional identity and team-working increased significantly post-intervention for interprofessional groups but returned to pre-test levels by 3,4 months. However, interviews showed interprofessional groups retained a ,residual positivity' towards IPE, more so than uniprofessional groups. Conclusions, An intervention based on common, relevant, shared learning outcomes set in a realistic educational context can work with students who have differing levels of previous IPE and skills training experience. Qualitatively, positive attitudes outlast quantitative changes measured using the RIPLS. Further quantitative and qualitative work is required to examine other domains of learning, the timing of interventions and impact on attitudes towards IPE. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||