Biomedical subjects

Katherine Pollard

Publications and source records attributed to Katherine Pollard.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Race equality education: implications of an audit of student learning.

Racial harassment continues to be a feature of the United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS). It has serious consequences for those at the receiving end and impacts negatively on attempts by the NHS to retain and recruit a diverse workforce. The prevalence and persistence of racist views and behaviours amongst NHS staff raises questions concerning the preparation and education of practitioners. In 2004 the Faculty of Health and Social Care, University of the West of England, Bristol, piloted a training workshop to prepare students on a pre-qualifying adult nursing programme to prevent, recognise and effectively manage incidences of racial harassment in the workplace. Students found the training workshop useful to their learning. They felt more aware of racial harassment issues in the NHS and the specific actions they can take in the prevention and management of these. The findings support introduction of the training workshop as an integral component of the preparation of all students on the Faculty's pre-qualifying nursing programmes.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Second year scepticism: pre-qualifying health and social care students' midpoint self-assessment, attitudes and perceptions concerning interprofessional learning and working.

A study in an English Faculty of Health and Social Care explores the effects of a pre-qualifying interprofessional curriculum incorporating interprofessional modules in each year of study. The study design involves collecting data on entry to the Faculty, after completion of the second interprofessional module, on qualification and after 9 months qualified practice. At each point, students complete questionnaires concerning communication and teamwork skills and interprofessional learning and working. This paper presents results from 723 students at the second data collection point. Although most students were positive about their communication and teamwork skills, they were less positive than on entry to the Faculty. Similarly there was a negative shift in students' attitudes to interprofessional learning and interprofessional interaction. Nevertheless, most students were positive about their own interprofessional relationships. Mature students' responses were more positive than those of younger students. The emergence of differences in responses based on a professional programme suggests that interprofessional education may not necessarily influence professional socialization. Demographic and professional variables affecting students' responses in their second year of study demonstrate the complexity of student learning. The planned follow-up of the students will show whether variables affecting interim data have a long-term effect on attitudes.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2003

Searching for autonomy.

OBJECTIVE: to gain an understanding of what midwives understand by the term 'autonomy',and to discover whether they consider themselves and their colleagues to be autonomous in practice. PARTICIPANTS: a snowball sample of 27 midwives working in five National Health Service (NHS) trusts within the south west of England, based in both hospitals and in the community. METHOD: within a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews with participants were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and analysed using thematic content analysis. FINDINGS: most participants did not fully understand the implications of professional autonomy, particularly in terms of interprofessional collaboration and control of their own practice. There were mixed views among respondents about whether they practised autonomously. Although good relationships with medical personnel were found to facilitate midwifery autonomy, the ongoing dominance of the medical profession was still perceived as a major barrier to autonomy. Many participants did not feel that their midwifery education had equipped them for professional autonomy, although midwives educated by the direct-entry route were perceived to be more capable of exercising autonomy in practice than were nurse-trained midwives. Some participants expressed doubts about the possibility of genuine midwifery autonomy within the present system, while others felt that many midwives do not support their own or other midwives' professional autonomy. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: midwives need to initiate major change at a collective level, or to consider the creation of obstetric nursing posts, both to afford women the choice of genuinely autonomous midwifery care and to alleviate the stresses of practising within a system that requires the accountability and responsibility of midwifery autonomy, yet neither recognises nor supports it.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗