Objective
This study aimed to explore patients' experiences of their involvement in the design and delivery of interprofessional education interventions focussing on mental ill‐health for students studying in undergraduate healthcare and healthcare‐related programmes.
Design
A qualitative methodology using a Grounded Theory approach was used to undertake an iterative series of focus groups with members of a university's Patient, Carer and Public Involvement (PCPI) Group who have a history of mental ill‐health and were involved in the development and delivery of educational interventions for students on undergraduate healthcare and healthcare‐related programmes. Their experiences of being involved in teaching and learning activities, collaboration with academic staff and integration into the academic faculty were explored. Constant comparative analysis facilitated the identification and prioritisation of salient themes.
Results
Five salient inter‐related themes emerged from the data: (1) reduced stigma and normalisation of experience of illness; (2) enhanced self‐worth; (3) improved well‐being; (4) community and connection; and (5) enduring benefits.
Conclusions
A supportive university community and a designated academic PCPI co‐ordinator facilitate a supportive environment for patients and carers to develop as educators, contribute to the training of future healthcare professionals and improve their own personal well‐being. Appropriately resourced and well‐supported initiatives to integrate patients, carers and the public into the functions of an academic faculty can result in tangible benefits to individuals and facilitate meaningful and enduring connections between the university and the wider community within which it is situated.
Patient and Public Involvement
Patients have been involved in the design of the teaching and learning initiatives that this study was primarily focused on. Patients were given autonomy in determining how their experiences should be incorporated into teaching and learning experiences.
Summary
Background
The quality and variability of pre‐registration pharmacist training has been questioned in recent years, with many trainees reporting dissatisfaction with their training experiences. A pilot training event aimed at pre‐registration tutors from all sectors of practice was developed by Health Education England North East (HEENE) in 2016 to address some of these issues, with the overall aim of developing and preparing new tutors for the role of the tutor.
Context
Quantitative data were collected via questionnaires given to the participants before and after training. The questions focused on participants’ perceptions of their competence as a tutor across a range of domains, such as assessing trainee progress in the workplace, providing feedback and reflective practice. Interviews were subsequently held with a subset of participants to help understand the key themes and responses.
Innovation
Results were overwhelmingly positive, with participants reporting an increased level of confidence in their role, having made positive changes to their practice as a tutor. The only domain that did not show a positive shift after training was ‘undertaking of reflective practice’. Participants attributed this to the lack of protected time in the workplace to support reflective practice.
Implications
Results from this evaluation imply that this tutor training event was felt to be worthwhile, met the needs that it was developed to address and has the potential to have a positive impact on the standardisation of pharmacist pre‐registration tutor training nationally. Areas for improvement centre on external factors relevant to pharmacists’ daily practice, such as being allocated time in (or outside of) the workplace to support personal development.
Objectives (i) To provide a preliminary indication of the performance of pharmacy undergraduate students and pre-registration pharmacy trainees in the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA). (ii) To determine the feasibility of administering and delivering the PSA in schools of pharmacy. (iii) To examine the potential relevance of the PSA and associated training materials to pharmacy education. (iv) To assess the attitudes of the cohort towards the PSA and their readiness to prescribe. Methods Four schools of pharmacy in England recruited final year undergraduate pharmacy students and pre-registration pharmacy trainees undertaking training with both hospital and community pharmacy employers in their locality to undertake the PSA. Performance data and feedback from candidates were obtained. Key findings Pre-registration pharmacy trainees in community (n = 27) and hospital (n = 209) settings mean average scores were 86.3% and 85.3%, respectively. There was a significant performance differential between undergraduate pharmacy students (n = 397) and those in pre-registration training, with the mean average score for undergraduate students being 73.0% (t test P < 0.05). Candidates felt their current course did prepare them for the PSA, some highlighted that additional curriculum content would be needed should this become a compulsory high-stakes assessment for pharmacy trainees. The majority of candidates felt that this assessment was useful and applicable to their training. Conclusions The PSA process and associated learning tools could be introduced to pre-registration pharmacy education to support trainees in their development towards future prescribing roles.
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