ABSTRACT
Introduction: The two-year, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) post-registration foundation programme supports early career pharmacists in patient-facing sectors of practice. The experiential programme, based on an eight-element competency framework, also includes webinars, online resources, and tutor support. Learners complete an online evidence portfolio and undertake a summative OSCE. Aim: The aim of this paper is to report the experiences of the community-pharmacist participants, with a focus on the fitness-for-purpose' of the programme. Methods: This was a longitudinal mixed-methods study theoretically underpinned by Miller's triangle and social cognitive theory. Eligible participants were all pharmacists registering for the programme in Scotland in September 2017 and February 2018, all participating Welsh community-pharmacists, and all tutors. Invitation packs were emailed by NES/HEIW staff with names forwarded to researchers following signed consent. Focus groups/interviews (face-to-face or virtual according to participant preference) were undertaken at start, mid-point and exit of programme, to explore expectations (benefits, social gains, professional identify), experiences (challenges, facilitators, meeting of learners' needs) and barriers. Proceedings were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and managed using NVivo. Thematic analysis (1) was based on social cognitive theory (transferable behavioural skills and professional attitudes). An inductive analysis additionally identified emergent themes. Participants in Scotland were invited to complete an on-line base-line questionnaire to describe their self-assessed competence against the NES Foundation framework (personal and professional practice, membership of healthcare team, communication, patient centred approach to practice). Data was analysed in SPSS using descriptive statistics. Themes from qualitative and quantitative data were integrated. IRAS ethical approval was not required;NHS Research & Development approval was given. Results: 96 pharmacists registered for the programme: 18 community-pharmacists in Scotland (11 health boards);14 community pharmacists in Wales. In Scotland 15 community-pharmacists completed questionnaires: 9 expected an increase in confidence' and 11 to provide better patient care'. Self-assessed competence against the framework was generally high. Across Scotland and Wales, 12 focus-groups (involving 19 community-pharmacists), 12 community-pharmacist interviews, 10 tutor focus-groups (8 community-pharmacist tutors) and 3 community-pharmacist tutor interviews were conducted. At midpoint and exit pharmacists and tutors reported increased confidence, the ability to reflect and pride in their achievement. Barriers: included lack of protected time;workload;and lack of support (tutor and employer). There were also programme issues (practicalities of portfolio;workplace-based assessment, no access to medical records);and cultural issues in community-pharmacy (speed & safety';lack of recognition). Reasons for dropping out of the programme included: moved geographical area;too experienced;workload pressures;no incentive;no employer support. Four community-pharmacists in Scotland and none in Wales completed the programme. Conclusion: Study limitations include the small numbers, programme delivery limited to Scotland and Wales, and limited response rate to focus-groups/interviews, exacerbated by COVID19. Overall community pharmacist expectations were met, and they perceived the programme was fit-for-purpose and worthwhile. However, barriers particularly related to the community pharmacy context, may have led to the high drop-out rate. These findings should be considered as the new UK-wide RPS curriculum for foundation pharmacists (2) is implemented in Scotland, to optimise its successful delivery.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted institutions of higher education, and as a result, many educators are now experiencing Zoom fatigue. Institutions of higher education have moved to online or remote learning and are integrating web conferencing tools such as Zoom, WebEx, and Adobe Connect for course delivery. Many educators have reported an overutilization of technology, which has resulted in technostress. Technostress has been shown to affect physical and mental health. As more institutions of higher education move to remote learning, it will require a collective response from educators and from colleges and universities. The purpose of this article is to explore how the technostress model can be used as the framework to provide strategies to recognize and address Zoom fatigue. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate provider perceptions of telemedicine as an effective method of care delivery and to characterize its impact on provider wellness With in a pediatric tertiary care center's neurology division. Background: Assessing provider wellness has become increasingly relevant given that neurologists have the second highest burnout rate among all specialists. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the institution was building telemedicine infrastructure and tools to assess its effectiveness in care delivery and effects on provider wellness. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted an abrupt switch from in-person visits to exclusively telemedicine visits. Because rapid deployment of telemedicine was critical to sustaining high quality patient care, determining feasibility, acceptability, and impact on provider wellness occurred in real time. Design/Methods: From March to July 2020, neurology providers that completed a telemedicine visit were sent periodic REDCap surveys to elicit feedback on technology feasibility and impact on patient care, work-life balance, and professional fulfillment. Provider data was de-identified and analyzed for trends for over time. Results: There were four cycles of survey collection with 102 responses. The majority of providers reported that telemedicine was an adequate alternative to in-person exams. Technical issues were commonly reported, including communication interruptions (53%) and problematic video (61%) or audio (74%) quality. The reported frequency of problematic video and audio quality decreased from March to July (22% and 43% respectively). There was considerable reduction in provider commute. From March/April to June/July, providers reported improved professional fulfillment (32 % to 49%) and work life balance (51% to 77%) with telemedicine use. Nearly all providers (97%) would consider some form of telemedicine in the future despite the occurrence of technical difficulties. Conclusions: Despite the rapid deployment of telemedicine, providers reported that it was a feasible and acceptable method of care delivery that may improve provider wellness.