Biomedical subjects

Patricia Solomon

Publications and source records attributed to Patricia Solomon.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

An interprofessional problem-based learning course on rehabilitation issues in HIV.

This study examined students' perceptions of their learning through participation in an interprofessional problem-based course on rehabilitation and HIV. Students representing five health professions participated in an eight-week tutorial course. Qualitative analysis of journals that the students completed throughout the course, and of interviews of the students at completion of the course, revealed that they valued their learning experience. Students gained an appreciation of the roles of others and developed a sense of confidence through justifying their professional role. Through the interprofessional discussions, students were able to increase the breadth and depth of their learning and also gained a rehabilitation perspective. Learning related to HIV and rehabilitation is ideally suited to an interprofessional, problem-based environment.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2003

Integration of persons with HIV in a problem-based tutorial: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: This qualitative study examined the effect of using persons with HIV-AIDS (PHAs) as facilitators of learning in an interdisciplinary problem-based learning curriculum. DESCRIPTION: Ten students representing 5 professions (medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing, and social work) volunteered to participate in an 8-week course on rehabilitation issues in HIV. Two tutorial groups met weekly to discuss problems with the assistance of a faculty tutor and a PHA. Students completed a weekly journal outlining their experiences. At completion of the course, students participated in semistructured interviews. A qualitative analysis of the transcribed interviews and the journals was undertaken. EVALUATION: The PHA provided a unique perspective on living with HIV, acted as a resource, and challenged the students' values and assumptions. The presence of the PHA also presented challenges in that the students worried their comments might offend them. CONCLUSIONS: PHAs contributed significantly to students' learning and can be successfully incorporated into problem-based tutorials.

Curriculum↗

PubMed2002

The influence of a move to program management on physical therapist practice.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how a move to program management (PM) from a traditional department structure affected the professional practice of physical therapists in a large Canadian teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: Twenty-five physical therapists participated in 1 of 5 focus groups, and 4 physical therapists participated in individual interviews. METHODS: Focus groups and structured interviews were conducted by an experienced facilitator who was not a physical therapist. All focus groups and interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. Using an open-coding technique, 2 investigators undertook line-by-line analysis of each transcript to identify and code specific events related to the physical therapists' experiences. The investigators reached a consensus on all coding categories and then identified themes. RESULTS: Seven themes that addressed issues of affect (a sense of loss, low morale, and positive coping), professional practice (loss of professional development activities, professional advantages, the assuming of multiple roles), and patient care were identified. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Physical therapists who were deployed from a department to a program described both positive and negative effects of the move to PM on their practice. There were reported influences on their personal affect, professional practice, and patient care. Staff and physical therapy administrators need to be aware of potential implications of an organization's move to PM on the professional practice of frontline staff.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2001

Perceptions of student peer tutors in a problem-based learning programme.

The use of student peer tutors is an attractive and affordable alternative in a problem-based programme. Previous literature has focused on comparing the academic performance of faculty-tutored and student-tutored groups. This study used qualitative methods to examine a peer-tutoring model from the perspective of the student tutor. Students in the final semester of a two-year accelerated physiotherapy programme kept a reflective journal outlining their experiences in facilitating a group of peers from the same class. Content analysis of 56 journals indicated that the students struggled with basic facilitation skills and had difficulty separating the role of student from that of tutor. Students also developed strategies to allow them to succeed, were able to evaluate their performance in a positive light and appeared to value their tutoring experience.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

A systematic process for content review in a problem-based learning curriculum.

The integrative nature of a problem-based curriculum provides unique challenges to the task of maintaining a current curriculum. This paper describes a systematic process for content review in a problem-based curriculum, which utilizes consultation among students, faculty and the clinical community, use of external reviewers and a faculty consensus process. Advantages of the process include increased communication and cooperation among faculty and development of a curriculum that balances the need for preparing students for new evidence-based practice with preparing them for clinical reality.

Journal Article↗