Karen Mattick | University of Exeter (original) (raw)

Papers by Karen Mattick

Journal of Applied Microbiology, Oct 1, 2002

Aims: To determine the prevalence and number of Salmonella and Campylobacter in sausages and to e... more Aims: To determine the prevalence and number of Salmonella and Campylobacter in sausages and to evaluate their destruction during cooking. Methods and Results: One hundred and sixty-two packs of uncooked economy or catering sausages, comprising 53 packs of frozen and 109 of chilled sausages, were purchased in Devon between March and July 2000. All were tested for the presence of Salmonella and 51 packs of chilled sausages were also examined for the presence of Campylobacter spp. To investigate the heat tolerance of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 in sausage-meat, chilled, handmade and frozen sausages were inoculated with approx. 1·5 × 104 bacterial cells per sausage (∼300 cfu g−1) and then cooked by frying, grilling or barbecuing. The levels of creatinine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase in uncooked and cooked sausages were measured to evaluate their potential as indicators of adequate cooking and, therefore, pathogen elimination. Salmonella were detected in 7·5% of frozen and 9·1% of the chilled sausages (8·6% overall) but Campylobacter spp. were not isolated. After cooking, a visual assessment suggested that all of the sausages were thoroughly cooked. Despite this, barbecuing and frying sometimes allowed Salmonella cells to survive and the temperature profiles during cooking indicated that the lethal range was sometimes not reached. The enzyme levels tested were not reliable indicators of the inactivation of bacterial pathogens because Salmonella were sometimes isolated from sausages with low values of all three enzymes. Conclusions:Salmonella spp. are present in a significant proportion of sausages and are not always killed during the cooking process. Significance and Impact of the Study: These findings have clear implications for public health.

British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Jan 10, 2013

Prescribing is a complex task and a high risk area of clinical practice. Poor prescribing occurs ... more Prescribing is a complex task and a high risk area of clinical practice. Poor prescribing occurs across staff grades and settings but new prescribers are attributed much of the blame. New prescribers may not be confident or even competent to prescribe and probably have different support and development needs than their more experienced colleagues. Unfortunately, little is known about what interventions are effective in this group. Previous systematic reviews have not distinguished between different grades of staff, have been narrow in scope and are now out of date. Therefore, to inform the design of educational interventions to change prescribing behaviour, particularly that of new prescibers, we conducted a systematic review of existing hospital-based interventions. METHODS Embase, Medline, SIGLE, Cinahl and PsychINFO were searched for relevant studies published 1994-2010. Studies describing interventions to change the behaviour of prescribers in hospital settings were included, with an emphasis on new prescibers. The bibliographies of included papers were also searched for relevant studies. Interventions and effectiveness were classified using existing frameworks and the quality of studies was assessed using a validated instrument. RESULTS Sixty-four studies were included in the review. Only 13% of interventions specifically targeted new prescribers. Most interventions (72%) were deemed effective in changing behaviour but no particular type stood out as most effective. CONCLUSION Very few studies have tailored educational interventions to meet needs of new prescribers, or distinguished between new and experienced prescribers. Educational development and research will be required to improve this important aspect of early clinical practice.

Implementation Science, Dec 17, 2020

British Educational Research Journal

Doctors and teachers in their first year of practice face steep learning curves and increased str... more Doctors and teachers in their first year of practice face steep learning curves and increased stress, which can induce poor mental health, burnout and attrition. Informal workplace support from colleagues can help smooth transitions and aid professional development. A three‐phase comparative research design was used to explore who provides informal workplace support to early‐career professionals, types of support and influencing factors. Phase 1 was a systematic secondary analysis of interviews and audio diaries from 52 UK doctors in their first year of foundation training (F1s). Phase 2 involved new narrative interviews with 11 newly qualified teachers (NQTs) from English secondary schools. Phase 3 was a comparative analysis to produce a model of workplace support. Given barriers to accessing senior doctors, F1 doctors drew upon nurses, pharmacists, microbiologists, peers/near‐peers and allied healthcare professionals for support. NQTs gained support from allocated mentors and seni...

Review of Education

Given the importance of their roles in society, the education of professionals is a central conce... more Given the importance of their roles in society, the education of professionals is a central concern for providers and recipients of public services. In this article we consider the contribution of research on professional learning to current debate on the form and content of professional education. This mapping review asked, ‘What does the research literature tell us about the characteristics of research into professional learning across professions?’ We identified and synthesised primary research involving post‐qualification professionals' professional learning. We searched seven databases using terms such as ‘professional learning’, ‘professional development’ and ‘continuing education’ from 2000 to date. We carefully screened articles against agreed criteria, extracted data and mapped the findings. After removing duplicates, 20,616 records remained. After full text screening, 356 articles were included: 266 from teaching (75%), 77 from healthcare (22%) and 13 from another prof...

International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 2022

Introduction People with palliative care needs often use prescription medication to achieve sympt... more Introduction People with palliative care needs often use prescription medication to achieve symptom control. Prescribing and medication use are complex, multi-step processes influenced by prescribers, patients, carers, and contexts. They are shaped by historically established divisions of labour and normative rules. However, in the care of palliative patients, approximately 20% of NHS serious incident reports involve prescription medications with causes and contributing factors poorly understood (1). Understanding the mismatches between what is intended to happen and what is experienced in practice is key to improving safety and confidence in palliative care. Phase one of this study focuses on how the processes of prescribing and medication use are intended to happen, and comprises stakeholder engagement (presented here) and a scoping review. Aim To develop a model of intended processes of prescribing and medication use for symptom control in palliative care across the contexts of h...

The Oxford Handbook of Expertise, 2019

Expertise is inherently linked to the context in which experts work. Qualitative methods are used... more Expertise is inherently linked to the context in which experts work. Qualitative methods are used to provide answers to “how” and “why” questions and to disentangle the impact of different interactions occurring in complex and uncertain situations. Such approaches are critical in order to understand context and be open to unexpected findings, and to truly understand how expert judgment works in the real world. This chapter considers how and why qualitative methods make important and distinct contributions to understanding expertise development in professional work. The application of qualitative methodologies to the study of expertise provides researchers with tools to explore and explain contextualized and social practices. Close-to-practice qualitative methodologies are described, highlighting the different research questions these approaches can answer and explaining why the methodologies are well suited to exploring the messiness and complexity of expertise.

BMJ Open, 2022

IntroductionPrescribing and medication use in palliative care is a multistep process. It requires... more IntroductionPrescribing and medication use in palliative care is a multistep process. It requires systems coordination and is enacted through activities of patients, informal carers and professionals. This study compares practice to idealised descriptions of what should happen; identifying when, how and why process disturbances impact on quality and safety. Our objectives are to:Document an intended model (phase 1, scoping review).Refine the model with study of practice (phase 2, ethnography).Use the model to pinpoint ‘hot’ (viewed as problematic by participants) and ‘cold’ spots (observed as problematic by researchers) within or when patients move across three contexts-hospice, hospital and community (home).Create learning recommendations for quality and safety targeted at underlying themes and contributing factors.Methods and analysisThe review will scope Ovid Medline, CINAHL and Embase, Google Scholar and Images—no date limits, English language only. The Population (palliative), ...

Perspectives on Medical Education, 2019

Introduction The decision-making process for students as to which medical schools to apply to is ... more Introduction The decision-making process for students as to which medical schools to apply to is open to many factors and influences. Research has identified several factors which influence prospective students’ choice of medical school and career. There is also evidence that websites and prospectuses may be creating potential barriers to widening access. Methods The websites and prospectuses of 33 medical schools in the United Kingdom were searched for relevant images. These images and the people in them were subjected to inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data about the images and people were recorded so that a content analysis could be performed. The relative proportions were compared with pre-existing data relating to the medical profession and society. Results From 33 medical schools, 650 images were included, with 1,817 people depicted. The largest group for the assumed roles was ‘student’, as expected, with 1,423 people (78%). For the overall theme of the image, community placemen...

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2016

Background: "Pet Therapy", better defined as Animal-assisted Intervention (AAI), is based on the ... more Background: "Pet Therapy", better defined as Animal-assisted Intervention (AAI), is based on the interaction between animal and human being and is a tool which may complement and support traditional therapies. It can be used on patients affected by different diseases, improving their quality of life from behavioral, physical and psychosocial point of view. Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of AAI in improving quality of life and compliance to standard pharmacological treatment in a cohort of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) patients. Methods: 42 SSc patients attending at Scleroderma Unit and undergoing iloprost intravenous infusion were divided in three groups: 1) 14 SSc patients (mean age 60.4±8.6 yrs) submitted to 20 AAI sessions with a professional team (doctor, nurse, couple of animal-handler); 2)control (C1) 14 SSc patients (mean age 63.4±5.3 yrs) engaged in alternative social activity as create a cookbook; 3)control (C0) 14 SSc patients (mean age 62.3±6.8 yrs) without any alternative activity. All patients underwent psychological evaluation at baseline (t0) and at the end of project of AAI (t1); moreover the following test (italian standardized version) was performed at the beginning (s0) and at the end (s1) of each single session:

Medical Education, 2020

Introduction It seems logical to suggest that investing in educators will lead to improved educat... more Introduction It seems logical to suggest that investing in educators will lead to improved educational outcomes. However, in the case of faculty development, it is unclear how these benefits arise and decisions about investment typically have little basis in evidence. The aim of this realist evaluation was to understand the mechanisms by which investment in faculty development may lead to improved educational outcomes for staff and students. Methods This realist evaluation involved three phases: the development of an Initial Programme Theory based on existing peer-reviewed literature (Phase 1), which was used within 32 realist interviews with key stakeholders at 17 UK medical schools (Phase 2), to underpin the creation of a series of recommendations for faculty development programme designers (Phase 3). Results The findings highlighted the complex and heterogenous nature of faculty development programmes. Programme developers must consider a range of contexts (accreditation, meeting educational needs, learning culture, accessibility, interactivity) that can impact faculty members in variable ways (engagement, sense of value and belonging, motivation, reassurance, building relationships), potentially resulting in a range of staff outcomes (improved competence, satisfaction, confidence, faculty collaboration, curriculum changes) that may ultimately benefit students. The improved understanding resulting from Phases 1 and 2, and the recommendations from Phase 3, will enable the design and tailoring of new and existing faculty development initiatives. Discussion This study deepens our understanding of the role of context in faculty development through the realist methodology employed and extends pre-existing knowledge to provide insights into evidence-based interventional strategies that may be effective. In particular, faculty development leads need to develop a clear implementation strategy, improve transparency of cashflow, establish effective formal or informal communication systems and evaluate the efficacy of their faculty development initiatives.

Medical Education, Jun 1, 2008

OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine the relative contributions made by transferable skills a... more OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine the relative contributions made by transferable skills and content-specific skills to Year 2 medical student performance in a clinical skills examination. METHODS Correlated trait-correlated method models were constructed to describe the performance of 2 year groups of students in examinations held in the summers of 2004 and 2005 at Peninsula Medical School in the UK. The transferable skills components of the models were then removed to indicate the contribution made to the fit of the models to the data. RESULTS Although content-specific skills made the greater contribution to the 2 models of student performance (accounting for averages of 54% and 43% of the variance, respectively), transferable skills did make an important but smaller contribution (averages of 13% and 16%, respectively). When the transferable skills components of the models were removed, the fit was not as good. CONCLUSIONS Both content-specific skills and transferable skills contributed to performance in the clinical skills examination. This challenges current thinking and has important implications, not just for those involved in clinical skills examinations, but for all medical educators.

Journal of Interprofessional Care, 2005

Research into interprofessional education is often performed by professionals in practice alongsi... more Research into interprofessional education is often performed by professionals in practice alongside their other "core" duties, thus additional help and support to achieve quality research outcomes would be beneficial. This study aimed to create a virtual community of researchers with shared interest in quantitative studies of interprofessional learning using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. An e-resource was built which provided access to relevant resources, helped to coordinate research effort, and promoted communication. Use of the resource was monitored over a 14-month period and evaluated at the end of this time. Forty-eight researchers across six different countries were assigned usernames and passwords. According to a self-report measure, 23/27 (85%) respondents to the evaluation questionnaire had accessed the resource and 95% planned to use it in the coming year. This paper shares our experiences and observations from the study.

The Journal of Pathology, Aug 1, 2004

Changes are occurring in undergraduate medical curricula and there is limited published informati... more Changes are occurring in undergraduate medical curricula and there is limited published information about how contemporary tissue pathology is taught. The aim of this study was to collect information on this topic and to invite expert opinion about best teaching practice. A postal questionnaire survey of medical schools in the UK was performed, with a response rate of 23/28 schools (82%). The two most striking findings were the variation in teaching and learning strategies between schools and the spirit of the respondents, some relishing the challenges associated with reorganization and some thoroughly demoralized. The main concerns about pathology teaching were a feeling of lack of ownership of the content taught, an overall lack of visibility of tissue pathology in teaching and assessment, and staff shortages. Respondents valued the autopsy as an educational tool but were finding it increasingly difficult to provide. On the other hand, key opportunities for pathology teaching were highlighted through the questionnaire. The potential for developments in information technology and the possibility of creating national forums to develop core curricula and generate e-resources was recognized. The findings of this study will provide a milestone against which future change in pathology education can be measured.

Medical Education, Apr 1, 2006

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the recommendations of the Consensus Statement published 7 years a... more OBJECTIVE To determine whether the recommendations of the Consensus Statement published 7 years ago have been implemented. DESIGN Postal questionnaire survey of 28 UK medical schools. METHODS A survey was sent to the lead individual for teaching and learning at each medical school. This questionnaire enquired about the undergraduate ethics and law curriculum, including its design, teaching, assessment, staffing, and individuals' hopes and concerns for the future. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Information relating to undergraduate ethics teaching in UK medical schools. RESULTS Significant changes in the teaching and assessment of medical ethics and law that could be directly attributed to the Consensus Statement were identified. Whilst most schools covered all 12 recommended topics in their curriculum, only 3 felt all the topics were covered thoroughly and 3 schools said at least 1 topic was not covered at all. Only 16 schools identified 1 or more full-time academics who took direct responsibility for ensuring undergraduate medical students learnt about ethics; these were usually at lecturer grade. CONCLUSIONS The Consensus Statement has had a significant impact on the teaching of undergraduate ethics but, even 7 years on, not all its recommendations have been implemented fully.

Journal of Medical Ethics, Mar 1, 2006

To characterise UK undergraduate medical ethics curricula and to identify opportunities and threa... more To characterise UK undergraduate medical ethics curricula and to identify opportunities and threats to teaching and learning. Design: Postal questionnaire survey of UK medical schools enquiring about teaching and assessment, including future perspectives. Participants: The lead for teaching and learning at each medical school was invited to complete a questionnaire. Results: Completed responses were received from 22/28 schools (79%). Seventeen respondents deemed their aims for ethics teaching to be successful. Twenty felt ethics should be learnt throughout the course and 13 said ethics teaching and learning should be fully integrated horizontally. Twenty felt variety in assessment was important and three tools was the preferred number. A shortfall in ethics core competencies did not preclude graduation in 15 schools. The most successful aspects of courses were perceived to be their integrated nature and the small group teaching; weaknesses were described as a need for still greater integration and the heavily theoretical aspects of ethics. The major concerns about how ethics would be taught in the future related to staffing and staff development. Conclusions: This study describes how ethics was taught and assessed in 2004. The findings show that, although ethics now has an accepted place in the curriculum, more can be done to ensure that the recommended content is taught and assessed optimally.

Medical Education, May 1, 2006

Journal of Applied Microbiology, Oct 1, 2002

Aims: To determine the prevalence and number of Salmonella and Campylobacter in sausages and to e... more Aims: To determine the prevalence and number of Salmonella and Campylobacter in sausages and to evaluate their destruction during cooking. Methods and Results: One hundred and sixty-two packs of uncooked economy or catering sausages, comprising 53 packs of frozen and 109 of chilled sausages, were purchased in Devon between March and July 2000. All were tested for the presence of Salmonella and 51 packs of chilled sausages were also examined for the presence of Campylobacter spp. To investigate the heat tolerance of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 in sausage-meat, chilled, handmade and frozen sausages were inoculated with approx. 1·5 × 104 bacterial cells per sausage (∼300 cfu g−1) and then cooked by frying, grilling or barbecuing. The levels of creatinine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase in uncooked and cooked sausages were measured to evaluate their potential as indicators of adequate cooking and, therefore, pathogen elimination. Salmonella were detected in 7·5% of frozen and 9·1% of the chilled sausages (8·6% overall) but Campylobacter spp. were not isolated. After cooking, a visual assessment suggested that all of the sausages were thoroughly cooked. Despite this, barbecuing and frying sometimes allowed Salmonella cells to survive and the temperature profiles during cooking indicated that the lethal range was sometimes not reached. The enzyme levels tested were not reliable indicators of the inactivation of bacterial pathogens because Salmonella were sometimes isolated from sausages with low values of all three enzymes. Conclusions:Salmonella spp. are present in a significant proportion of sausages and are not always killed during the cooking process. Significance and Impact of the Study: These findings have clear implications for public health.

British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Jan 10, 2013

Prescribing is a complex task and a high risk area of clinical practice. Poor prescribing occurs ... more Prescribing is a complex task and a high risk area of clinical practice. Poor prescribing occurs across staff grades and settings but new prescribers are attributed much of the blame. New prescribers may not be confident or even competent to prescribe and probably have different support and development needs than their more experienced colleagues. Unfortunately, little is known about what interventions are effective in this group. Previous systematic reviews have not distinguished between different grades of staff, have been narrow in scope and are now out of date. Therefore, to inform the design of educational interventions to change prescribing behaviour, particularly that of new prescibers, we conducted a systematic review of existing hospital-based interventions. METHODS Embase, Medline, SIGLE, Cinahl and PsychINFO were searched for relevant studies published 1994-2010. Studies describing interventions to change the behaviour of prescribers in hospital settings were included, with an emphasis on new prescibers. The bibliographies of included papers were also searched for relevant studies. Interventions and effectiveness were classified using existing frameworks and the quality of studies was assessed using a validated instrument. RESULTS Sixty-four studies were included in the review. Only 13% of interventions specifically targeted new prescribers. Most interventions (72%) were deemed effective in changing behaviour but no particular type stood out as most effective. CONCLUSION Very few studies have tailored educational interventions to meet needs of new prescribers, or distinguished between new and experienced prescribers. Educational development and research will be required to improve this important aspect of early clinical practice.

Implementation Science, Dec 17, 2020

British Educational Research Journal

Doctors and teachers in their first year of practice face steep learning curves and increased str... more Doctors and teachers in their first year of practice face steep learning curves and increased stress, which can induce poor mental health, burnout and attrition. Informal workplace support from colleagues can help smooth transitions and aid professional development. A three‐phase comparative research design was used to explore who provides informal workplace support to early‐career professionals, types of support and influencing factors. Phase 1 was a systematic secondary analysis of interviews and audio diaries from 52 UK doctors in their first year of foundation training (F1s). Phase 2 involved new narrative interviews with 11 newly qualified teachers (NQTs) from English secondary schools. Phase 3 was a comparative analysis to produce a model of workplace support. Given barriers to accessing senior doctors, F1 doctors drew upon nurses, pharmacists, microbiologists, peers/near‐peers and allied healthcare professionals for support. NQTs gained support from allocated mentors and seni...

Review of Education

Given the importance of their roles in society, the education of professionals is a central conce... more Given the importance of their roles in society, the education of professionals is a central concern for providers and recipients of public services. In this article we consider the contribution of research on professional learning to current debate on the form and content of professional education. This mapping review asked, ‘What does the research literature tell us about the characteristics of research into professional learning across professions?’ We identified and synthesised primary research involving post‐qualification professionals' professional learning. We searched seven databases using terms such as ‘professional learning’, ‘professional development’ and ‘continuing education’ from 2000 to date. We carefully screened articles against agreed criteria, extracted data and mapped the findings. After removing duplicates, 20,616 records remained. After full text screening, 356 articles were included: 266 from teaching (75%), 77 from healthcare (22%) and 13 from another prof...

International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 2022

Introduction People with palliative care needs often use prescription medication to achieve sympt... more Introduction People with palliative care needs often use prescription medication to achieve symptom control. Prescribing and medication use are complex, multi-step processes influenced by prescribers, patients, carers, and contexts. They are shaped by historically established divisions of labour and normative rules. However, in the care of palliative patients, approximately 20% of NHS serious incident reports involve prescription medications with causes and contributing factors poorly understood (1). Understanding the mismatches between what is intended to happen and what is experienced in practice is key to improving safety and confidence in palliative care. Phase one of this study focuses on how the processes of prescribing and medication use are intended to happen, and comprises stakeholder engagement (presented here) and a scoping review. Aim To develop a model of intended processes of prescribing and medication use for symptom control in palliative care across the contexts of h...

The Oxford Handbook of Expertise, 2019

Expertise is inherently linked to the context in which experts work. Qualitative methods are used... more Expertise is inherently linked to the context in which experts work. Qualitative methods are used to provide answers to “how” and “why” questions and to disentangle the impact of different interactions occurring in complex and uncertain situations. Such approaches are critical in order to understand context and be open to unexpected findings, and to truly understand how expert judgment works in the real world. This chapter considers how and why qualitative methods make important and distinct contributions to understanding expertise development in professional work. The application of qualitative methodologies to the study of expertise provides researchers with tools to explore and explain contextualized and social practices. Close-to-practice qualitative methodologies are described, highlighting the different research questions these approaches can answer and explaining why the methodologies are well suited to exploring the messiness and complexity of expertise.

BMJ Open, 2022

IntroductionPrescribing and medication use in palliative care is a multistep process. It requires... more IntroductionPrescribing and medication use in palliative care is a multistep process. It requires systems coordination and is enacted through activities of patients, informal carers and professionals. This study compares practice to idealised descriptions of what should happen; identifying when, how and why process disturbances impact on quality and safety. Our objectives are to:Document an intended model (phase 1, scoping review).Refine the model with study of practice (phase 2, ethnography).Use the model to pinpoint ‘hot’ (viewed as problematic by participants) and ‘cold’ spots (observed as problematic by researchers) within or when patients move across three contexts-hospice, hospital and community (home).Create learning recommendations for quality and safety targeted at underlying themes and contributing factors.Methods and analysisThe review will scope Ovid Medline, CINAHL and Embase, Google Scholar and Images—no date limits, English language only. The Population (palliative), ...

Perspectives on Medical Education, 2019

Introduction The decision-making process for students as to which medical schools to apply to is ... more Introduction The decision-making process for students as to which medical schools to apply to is open to many factors and influences. Research has identified several factors which influence prospective students’ choice of medical school and career. There is also evidence that websites and prospectuses may be creating potential barriers to widening access. Methods The websites and prospectuses of 33 medical schools in the United Kingdom were searched for relevant images. These images and the people in them were subjected to inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data about the images and people were recorded so that a content analysis could be performed. The relative proportions were compared with pre-existing data relating to the medical profession and society. Results From 33 medical schools, 650 images were included, with 1,817 people depicted. The largest group for the assumed roles was ‘student’, as expected, with 1,423 people (78%). For the overall theme of the image, community placemen...

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 2016

Background: "Pet Therapy", better defined as Animal-assisted Intervention (AAI), is based on the ... more Background: "Pet Therapy", better defined as Animal-assisted Intervention (AAI), is based on the interaction between animal and human being and is a tool which may complement and support traditional therapies. It can be used on patients affected by different diseases, improving their quality of life from behavioral, physical and psychosocial point of view. Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of AAI in improving quality of life and compliance to standard pharmacological treatment in a cohort of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) patients. Methods: 42 SSc patients attending at Scleroderma Unit and undergoing iloprost intravenous infusion were divided in three groups: 1) 14 SSc patients (mean age 60.4±8.6 yrs) submitted to 20 AAI sessions with a professional team (doctor, nurse, couple of animal-handler); 2)control (C1) 14 SSc patients (mean age 63.4±5.3 yrs) engaged in alternative social activity as create a cookbook; 3)control (C0) 14 SSc patients (mean age 62.3±6.8 yrs) without any alternative activity. All patients underwent psychological evaluation at baseline (t0) and at the end of project of AAI (t1); moreover the following test (italian standardized version) was performed at the beginning (s0) and at the end (s1) of each single session:

Medical Education, 2020

Introduction It seems logical to suggest that investing in educators will lead to improved educat... more Introduction It seems logical to suggest that investing in educators will lead to improved educational outcomes. However, in the case of faculty development, it is unclear how these benefits arise and decisions about investment typically have little basis in evidence. The aim of this realist evaluation was to understand the mechanisms by which investment in faculty development may lead to improved educational outcomes for staff and students. Methods This realist evaluation involved three phases: the development of an Initial Programme Theory based on existing peer-reviewed literature (Phase 1), which was used within 32 realist interviews with key stakeholders at 17 UK medical schools (Phase 2), to underpin the creation of a series of recommendations for faculty development programme designers (Phase 3). Results The findings highlighted the complex and heterogenous nature of faculty development programmes. Programme developers must consider a range of contexts (accreditation, meeting educational needs, learning culture, accessibility, interactivity) that can impact faculty members in variable ways (engagement, sense of value and belonging, motivation, reassurance, building relationships), potentially resulting in a range of staff outcomes (improved competence, satisfaction, confidence, faculty collaboration, curriculum changes) that may ultimately benefit students. The improved understanding resulting from Phases 1 and 2, and the recommendations from Phase 3, will enable the design and tailoring of new and existing faculty development initiatives. Discussion This study deepens our understanding of the role of context in faculty development through the realist methodology employed and extends pre-existing knowledge to provide insights into evidence-based interventional strategies that may be effective. In particular, faculty development leads need to develop a clear implementation strategy, improve transparency of cashflow, establish effective formal or informal communication systems and evaluate the efficacy of their faculty development initiatives.

Medical Education, Jun 1, 2008

OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine the relative contributions made by transferable skills a... more OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine the relative contributions made by transferable skills and content-specific skills to Year 2 medical student performance in a clinical skills examination. METHODS Correlated trait-correlated method models were constructed to describe the performance of 2 year groups of students in examinations held in the summers of 2004 and 2005 at Peninsula Medical School in the UK. The transferable skills components of the models were then removed to indicate the contribution made to the fit of the models to the data. RESULTS Although content-specific skills made the greater contribution to the 2 models of student performance (accounting for averages of 54% and 43% of the variance, respectively), transferable skills did make an important but smaller contribution (averages of 13% and 16%, respectively). When the transferable skills components of the models were removed, the fit was not as good. CONCLUSIONS Both content-specific skills and transferable skills contributed to performance in the clinical skills examination. This challenges current thinking and has important implications, not just for those involved in clinical skills examinations, but for all medical educators.

Journal of Interprofessional Care, 2005

Research into interprofessional education is often performed by professionals in practice alongsi... more Research into interprofessional education is often performed by professionals in practice alongside their other "core" duties, thus additional help and support to achieve quality research outcomes would be beneficial. This study aimed to create a virtual community of researchers with shared interest in quantitative studies of interprofessional learning using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale. An e-resource was built which provided access to relevant resources, helped to coordinate research effort, and promoted communication. Use of the resource was monitored over a 14-month period and evaluated at the end of this time. Forty-eight researchers across six different countries were assigned usernames and passwords. According to a self-report measure, 23/27 (85%) respondents to the evaluation questionnaire had accessed the resource and 95% planned to use it in the coming year. This paper shares our experiences and observations from the study.

The Journal of Pathology, Aug 1, 2004

Changes are occurring in undergraduate medical curricula and there is limited published informati... more Changes are occurring in undergraduate medical curricula and there is limited published information about how contemporary tissue pathology is taught. The aim of this study was to collect information on this topic and to invite expert opinion about best teaching practice. A postal questionnaire survey of medical schools in the UK was performed, with a response rate of 23/28 schools (82%). The two most striking findings were the variation in teaching and learning strategies between schools and the spirit of the respondents, some relishing the challenges associated with reorganization and some thoroughly demoralized. The main concerns about pathology teaching were a feeling of lack of ownership of the content taught, an overall lack of visibility of tissue pathology in teaching and assessment, and staff shortages. Respondents valued the autopsy as an educational tool but were finding it increasingly difficult to provide. On the other hand, key opportunities for pathology teaching were highlighted through the questionnaire. The potential for developments in information technology and the possibility of creating national forums to develop core curricula and generate e-resources was recognized. The findings of this study will provide a milestone against which future change in pathology education can be measured.

Medical Education, Apr 1, 2006

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the recommendations of the Consensus Statement published 7 years a... more OBJECTIVE To determine whether the recommendations of the Consensus Statement published 7 years ago have been implemented. DESIGN Postal questionnaire survey of 28 UK medical schools. METHODS A survey was sent to the lead individual for teaching and learning at each medical school. This questionnaire enquired about the undergraduate ethics and law curriculum, including its design, teaching, assessment, staffing, and individuals' hopes and concerns for the future. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Information relating to undergraduate ethics teaching in UK medical schools. RESULTS Significant changes in the teaching and assessment of medical ethics and law that could be directly attributed to the Consensus Statement were identified. Whilst most schools covered all 12 recommended topics in their curriculum, only 3 felt all the topics were covered thoroughly and 3 schools said at least 1 topic was not covered at all. Only 16 schools identified 1 or more full-time academics who took direct responsibility for ensuring undergraduate medical students learnt about ethics; these were usually at lecturer grade. CONCLUSIONS The Consensus Statement has had a significant impact on the teaching of undergraduate ethics but, even 7 years on, not all its recommendations have been implemented fully.

Journal of Medical Ethics, Mar 1, 2006

To characterise UK undergraduate medical ethics curricula and to identify opportunities and threa... more To characterise UK undergraduate medical ethics curricula and to identify opportunities and threats to teaching and learning. Design: Postal questionnaire survey of UK medical schools enquiring about teaching and assessment, including future perspectives. Participants: The lead for teaching and learning at each medical school was invited to complete a questionnaire. Results: Completed responses were received from 22/28 schools (79%). Seventeen respondents deemed their aims for ethics teaching to be successful. Twenty felt ethics should be learnt throughout the course and 13 said ethics teaching and learning should be fully integrated horizontally. Twenty felt variety in assessment was important and three tools was the preferred number. A shortfall in ethics core competencies did not preclude graduation in 15 schools. The most successful aspects of courses were perceived to be their integrated nature and the small group teaching; weaknesses were described as a need for still greater integration and the heavily theoretical aspects of ethics. The major concerns about how ethics would be taught in the future related to staffing and staff development. Conclusions: This study describes how ethics was taught and assessed in 2004. The findings show that, although ethics now has an accepted place in the curriculum, more can be done to ensure that the recommended content is taught and assessed optimally.

Medical Education, May 1, 2006