scholarly journals It’s good to talk! Reflective Discussion Forums to support and develop Reflective Practice among Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Practitioners in Ireland.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris O'Connor ◽  
Joe O'Hara
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Confidentiality Agreement

<p><strong>Background</strong></p><p>Since the mid 1980’s, reflective practice has become formally acknowledged and adopted as a key strategy for learning and has become one of the cornerstones of medical education for doctors, nurses, and many of the allied healthcare professions. In the education of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland, it is only in the last decade that the notion of reflective practice has been tentatively approached.  Indeed until recently it has largely been ignored by practitioners and educators alike, who have been slow to engage with this new way of learning. This paper explores the attitudes of practitioners to the use of a reflective discussion forum to encourage and support reflection and reflective practice among pre-hospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland.  It also examines the experiences of practitioners who participated in a collaborative reflective discussion forum.</p><p><strong>Literature</strong></p><p>The research was informed by reviewing literature from a number of areas including:  Adult Learning, Reflective Practice, Educational Research directly relating to Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and EMS &amp; Nursing Journals and publications.</p><p><strong>Methodologies</strong></p><p>This paper is part of a larger project which consisted of three cycles of action research.  Data was collected via an online survey questionnaire, and by conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with participants in the reflective discussion forum.  These included all three clinical levels of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners and the three hierarchical levels within the organisation.</p><p><strong>Findings</strong></p><p>The collaborative reflective discussion forum was found to be beneficial.  Among the benefits cited were, the opportunity to draw on the experience of more experienced colleagues, the development of critical thinking skills, and the potential for use as part of a mentoring process.  It was also felt that the collaborative nature of the forum had the potential to improve workplace relationships through the empowerment of the staff. Concerns were raised regarding the potential for abuse and misuse, particularly in relation to the areas of patient confidentiality and a lack of trust within organisations.</p><p><strong>Recommendations</strong></p><p>The establishment of a regular Reflective Discussion Forum within organisations as a key learning strategy. Any collaborative forum must be chaired by a trusted, experienced and highly skilled facilitator. A learning contract for all participants and faculty, including a confidentiality agreement, must be in place prior to the establishment of any collaborative forum.</p>

scholarly journals Reflections on Reflective Practice among Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Practitioners in Ireland.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris O'Connor ◽  
Joe O'Hara
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Reflective Learning ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Education Standards ◽  
Confidentiality Agreement ◽  
Voluntary Organisations

<p><strong>Background</strong></p><p>This paper examines the level of engagement of Irish pre-hospital emergency care practitioners with reflection and reflective practice.  It also explores the attitudes of practitioners to reflection and to methodologies designed to support reflective practice such as reflective discussion and video-assisted structured reflection.  Finally it outlines the main barriers to reflection, both individually and collaboratively, and reflective practice gaining widespread acceptance as key learning strategies among pre-hospital emergency care practitioners and educators in Ireland.</p><p><strong>Methodologies</strong></p><p>This paper is part of a larger project which consisted of three cycles of action research.  Data was collected via an online survey questionnaire, and by conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders.  These included all three clinical levels of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners and educators from emergency service providers, private ambulance services, and voluntary organisations.</p><p><strong>Findings</strong></p><p>Many practitioners consider themselves to be reflective practitioners.  However, very few of them use a structured model of reflection. Reflection, and reflective practice are not part of the education standards for practitioners in Ireland, and consequently receive very little attention in most education programmes. Practitioners within voluntary organisations perceived that reflective practice was encouraged by their organisation in greater numbers than those from other organisations. Collaborative forums were perceived to be beneficial, although concerns were raised about their potential for abuse and misuse.  These concerns appear to emanate from a lack of trust within certain organisations.</p><p><strong>Recommendations</strong></p><p>Reflective practice to be included in the education standards for all levels of practitioners in Ireland. Develop and roll-out an education programme for existing practitioners regarding reflection, reflective learning, reflective practice, and structured models of reflection, as part of their CPC requirements. Provide education for all EMS course faculty regarding reflection, reflective learning, reflective practice, and structured models of reflection. A learning contract for all participants and faculty, including a confidentiality agreement, must be in place prior to the establishment of any collaborative forums. Further research to explore the reasons for lack of trust within organisations should be undertaken. Further research is recommended to explore the reasons for the disparity of opinion between volunteer and professional organisations regarding the encouragement of reflective practice.</p>

scholarly journals The process of handover in the busy emergency centre: A pre-hospital perspective from Johannesburg, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew William Makkink ◽  
Christopher Owen Alexander Stein ◽  
Stevan Raynier Bruijns
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Hospital Perspective ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Explanatory Mixed Methods ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive ◽  
To Receive

Background Emergency centre handover usually takes place between the pre-hospital emergency care personnel who deliver the handover and the emergency centre personnel who receive the handover. Handover that is not effective may present risks to patient safety. One factor that may affect handover delivery is the process of handover within a busy emergency centre. Methods The data reported on in this study formed the qualitative component of a sequential explanatory mixed methods study. It used face-to-face, semi-structured interviews to gather data. Fifteen interviews were conducted with pre-hospital emergency care personnel from a range of qualification and scopes in South Africa. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and imported into Atlas.ti® for coding and analysis using a qualitative descriptive methodology. Results Pre-hospital emergency care participants identified a lack of emergency centre staff available to receive handover as a barrier to effective handover and attributed this to emergency centres being overworked and understaffed. This potentiated interruptions to handover and having to deliver multiple handovers for the same patient. Pre-hospital emergency care participants indicated a preference for handing over directly to a doctor. Conclusion Several potential process barriers to effective emergency centre handover were identified, including lack of personnel to receive handover, interruptions and the need to perform multiple handovers for the same patient. Generally, these barriers were attributed to the busy understaffed and overworked nature of emergency centres. We would encourage future research in emergency centre handover, specifically from the perspective of the personnel who receive handovers.

scholarly journals Influence of MOOC learners discussion forum social interactions on online reviews of MOOC

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Wu
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Discussion Forum ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Online Review ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Processing Data ◽  
Learning Progress

AbstractAlthough some studies have explored massive open online courses (MOOCs) discussion forums and MOOC online reviews separately, studies of both aspects are insufficient. Based on the theory of self-determination, this paper proposes research hypotheses that MOOC learning progress has a direct impact on MOOC online reviews and an indirect influence on MOOC online reviews through social interactions in discussion forums, as well. Coursera the largest MOOC platform, is selected as the empirical research object, and data from learners who participated in the MOOC discussion forum and provided MOOC online reviews from August 2016 to December 2019 are obtained from the most popular course, “Machine Learning”. After processing, data from 4376 learners are obtained. Then, according to research hypotheses, multi regression models are constructed accordingly. The results show that the length of MOOC online review text is affected by the MOOC learning progress, the number of discussion forum posts, the number of follow, the online review sentiment and MOOC rating. This study highlights the main factors that affect MOOC online reviews. As a result, some suggestions are put forward for the construction of MOOC.

scholarly journals Service-user efforts to maintain their wellbeing during and after successful withdrawal from antipsychotic medication

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 204512532198913
Author(s):  
Miriam Larsen-Barr ◽  
Fred Seymour
Keyword(s):  
Antipsychotic Medication ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
What Works ◽  
Systemic Factors ◽  
The Impact

Background: It is well-known that attempting antipsychotic withdrawal can be a fraught process, with a high risk of relapse that often leads people to resume the medication. Nonetheless, there is a group of people who appear to be able to discontinue successfully. Relatively little is known about how people do this. Methods: A convenience sample of adults who had stopped taking antipsychotic medication for more than a year were recruited to participate in semi-structured interviews through an anonymous online survey that investigated antipsychotic medication experiences in New Zealand. Thematic analysis explored participant descriptions of their efforts to maintain their wellbeing during and after the withdrawal process. Results: Of the seven women who volunteered to participate, six reported bipolar disorder diagnoses and one reported diagnoses of obsessive compulsive disorder and depression. The women reported successfully discontinuing antipsychotics for 1.25–25 years; six followed a gradual withdrawal method and had support to prepare for and manage this. Participants defined wellbeing in terms of their ability to manage the impact of any difficulties faced rather than their ability to prevent them entirely, and saw this as something that evolved over time. They described managing the process and maintaining their wellbeing afterwards by ‘understanding myself and my needs’, ‘finding what works for me’ and ‘connecting with support’. Sub-themes expand on the way in which they did this. For example, ‘finding what works for me’ included using a tool-box of strategies to flexibly meet their needs, practicing acceptance, drawing on persistence and curiosity and creating positive life experiences. Conclusion: This is a small, qualitative study and results should be interpreted with caution. This sample shows it is possible for people who experience mania and psychosis to successfully discontinue antipsychotics and safely manage the impact of any symptoms that emerge as a result of the withdrawal process or other life stressors that arise afterwards. Findings suggest internal resources and systemic factors play a role in the outcomes observed among people who attempt to stop taking antipsychotics and a preoccupation with avoiding relapse may be counterproductive to these efforts. Professionals can play a valuable role in facilitating change.

ICT and sustainable tourism development: an innovative perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisha Ali ◽  
Andrew J. Frew
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Sustainable Tourism ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Tourism Development ◽  
Stakeholder Relationships ◽  
Tourism Product ◽  
Electronic Distribution ◽  
Information And Communication

Purpose – The aim of this research is to foreground information and communication technology (ICT) as an innovative approach for sustainable tourism (ST) development of destinations. ICT is the technology required for information processing which facilitates data processing, information sharing, communication, searching and selection. This paper concentrates on the Abernathy and Clark model and its usefulness in applying ICT as innovative in managing ST. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was administered to destination managers and to eTourism experts. Destination managers were selected as they were identified as the person responsible for the overall management of a Destination Management Organisation. eTourism experts were identified as someone who possesses special expertise, knowledge and skills on ICT applications to tourism and offered expertise on which ranged from such areas as electronic distribution, recommender systems, user-generated content, online communities, mobile technology, technology acceptance, tourism networks and Web 2.0. This was followed by semi-structured interviews. Findings – These ICT tools were found to be innovative for information management and distribution for critical decision-making. Innovation was fostered through the use of ICT for ST by leading to a better understanding of the tourism product, monitoring, measuring and evaluating, forecasting trends, developing partnerships and engaging and supporting stakeholder relationships. ICT would provide novel ways of approaching marketing, energy monitoring, waste management, and communication for destinations. Originality/value – This research is important in demonstrating the value that technology can have to ST and further develops the work on tourism innovation theory.

Evaluating a Problem-Based Group Learning Strategy for Online, Graduate-Level Coach Education

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 227-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Driska ◽  
Daniel R. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Critical Thought ◽  
Coach Education ◽  
Reflective Process ◽  
Instructor Interaction ◽  
Practice Skills

Research has shown that coaches learn through reflective practice (Trudel & Gilbert, 2006), that communities of practice can assist the reflective process (Culver & Trudel, 2008), and that problem-based learning can increase critical thought by coaches (Jones & Turner, 2006). To help coaches develop reflective practice skills in an online course, the authors designed and implemented a novel assignment combining the principles of a community of practice with problem-based learning. Small groups of students were presented with a problem scenario and then met synchronously online using a low bandwidth group chat application (EtherPad) to diagnose the problem, strategize, and outline a solution. Students were able to conduct group meetings with only minor technical diffculties, and their written work demonstrated that a moderate level of refection had occurred. Future assignment redesigns should allow more opportunities for student-instructor interaction to facilitate greater development of student reflective practice skills.

Knowledge-Based System supported by Chatbot to assist the Risk Classification Process of Patients in Hospital Emergency care (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marciane Mueller ◽  
Rejane Frozza ◽  
Liane Mählmann Kipper ◽  
Ana Carolina Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Risk Classification ◽  
Conversational Agent ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Knowledge Based System ◽  
Knowledge Based

BACKGROUND This article presents the modeling and development of a Knowledge Based System, supported by the use of a virtual conversational agent called Dóris. Using natural language processing resources, Dóris collects the clinical data of patients in care in the context of urgency and hospital emergency. OBJECTIVE The main objective is to validate the use of virtual conversational agents to properly and accurately collect the data necessary to perform the evaluation flowcharts used to classify the degree of urgency of patients and determine the priority for medical care. METHODS The agent's knowledge base was modeled using the rules provided for in the evaluation flowcharts comprised by the Manchester Triage System. It also allows the establishment of a simple, objective and complete communication, through dialogues to assess signs and symptoms that obey the criteria established by a standardized, validated and internationally recognized system. RESULTS Thus, in addition to verifying the applicability of Artificial Intelligence techniques in a complex domain of health care, a tool is presented that helps not only in the perspective of improving organizational processes, but also in improving human relationships, bringing professionals and patients closer. The system's knowledge base was modeled on the IBM Watson platform. CONCLUSIONS The results obtained from simulations carried out by the human specialist allowed us to verify that a knowledge-based system supported by a virtual conversational agent is feasible for the domain of risk classification and priority determination of medical care for patients in the context of emergency care and hospital emergency.

Bureaucratic organization and innovation : a mixed-methods study of U.S. State Department of Transportation website adoption

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
A. J. Million
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
State Level ◽  
State Department ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Department Of Transportation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Bureaucratic Organization ◽  
Barriers To Change

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This study explores bureaucratic organization and innovation in U.S. state department of transportation (DOT) websites. To determine if working with third parties fosters change in state DOT websites, it employs a two-part, explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. In phase one, an online survey was disseminated to IT managers and communications officers in all 50 states to collect data regarding agency demographics, bureaucratic models, and Web infrastructure. In total, 45 valid responses (or 90 percent) were received from DOTs indicating that most built, hosted, and managed their websites in-house, but that state-level IT consolidations required many to pool resources with third parties. In research phase two, 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted of a maximum variation sample of survey respondents. These interviews were conducted to explain why DOTs built and operated their websites with the support of third parties. Employing a grounded theoretical approach, analysis revealed 6 themes explaining website adoption and showed that working with third parties can foster innovation; however, not all change is positive. Therefore, a need exists for governments to selectively work with others, ascertain future barriers to change, and ensure that adopted innovations meet desired ends. Finally, five best practices informed by study findings are presented that may help decision-makers and civil servants provide e-government services in a flexible manner.

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