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A decentralised clinical training programme (DCTP) is one of the transformative teaching and learning approaches that has been adopted in health professions education in South Africa (SA). The benefits of DCTP include: (i) development of graduates who are better fit for purpose; (ii) meeting the increasing demand for clinical service placement for work-integrated learning; and (iii) fostering social accountability among health science graduates. Despite these advantages, DCTP is yet to be implemented at a university of technology in SA. The literature shows that DCTP has predominately been implemented in medical, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, optometry and nursing health science programmes in traditional SA universities. The available evidence also suggests that existing practices of implementing DCTP in these universities involve placement of students in remote sites (community-based centres, primary care facilities and district hospitals) and in the SA public health sector, with subsequent omission of the private health sector. In view of the newly adopted SA National Health Insurance Bill, we argue that this is a gap in the implementation of DCTP. This article presents the stance of the Durban University of Technology in attempting to roll out DCTP in the context of existing implementation gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), University of Cape Town (UCT) adopted the primary healthcare (PHC) approach as its lead theme for teaching, research and clinical service in 1994. A PHC working group was set up in 2017 to build consensus on indicators to monitor and evaluate the PHC approach in health sciences education in the FHS, UCT. Objective. To develop a set of indicators through a Delphi technique for monitoring and evaluating the PHC approach in health sciences curricula in the FHS, UCT. Methods. A national multidisciplinary Delphi panel was presented with 61 indicators of social accountability from the international Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet) for scoring in round 1. Nineteen PHC indicators, derived from a mnemonic used in the FHS, UCT for teaching core PHC principles, were added in round 2 to the 20 highest ranked THEnet indicators from round 1, on recommendation of the panel. Scoring criteria used were relevance (in both rounds), feasibility/measurability (round 1 only) and application of the PHC indicators to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and assessment (round 2 only). Results. Of the 39 indicators presented in the second round, 11 had an overall relevance score >85% based on the responses of 16 of 20 panellists (80% response rate). These 11 indicators have been grouped by learner needs (safety of learners - 88%, teaching is appropriate to learners' needs and context - 86%); healthcare user needs (continuity of care - 94%, holistic understanding of healthcare - 88%, respecting human rights - 88%, providing accessible care to all - 88%, providing care that is acceptable to users and their families - 87%, providing evidence-based care - 87%); and community needs (promoting health through health education - 88%, education programme reflects communities' needs - 86%, teaching embodies social accountability - 86%). Conclusion. The selected indicators reflect priorities relevant to the FHS, UCT and are measurable and applicable to undergraduate and postgraduate curricula. They provided the basis for a case study of teaching the PHC approach to our undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Clinical education is a vital aspect of the education of health sciences students and consists of two components, i.e. the clinical learning environment and supervision. Objectives. To determine the undergraduate allied health sciences students' perceptions regarding clinical educators' attributes and the clinical learning environment. Methods. This cross-sectional study included 169 undergraduate students, randomly recruited from various allied health professions programmes of the University of Ghana. The McGill clinical teacher evaluation tool and the clinical learning environment inventory were used to determine students' perceptions of clinical educators' attributes and the clinical learning environment, respectively. The Kruskal-Wallis test and independent t-tests were used to test for relationships between students' level and programme of study and their perceptions. The level of significance was set at 95%. Results. Of the 169 participants, there were 99 (58.6%) male students, 79 (46.7%) third-year students and 82 (48.5%) medical laboratory science students. Only 16 (9.5%) participants indicated visits by lecturers during clinical rotations. The third-year students had a statistically significant perception of their clinical learning environment (p=0.000), while the differences between perceptions of clinical learning environment among the various programmes were also statistically significant (p=0.028), but not for clinical educators' attributes (p=0.261). Conclusion. Allied health sciences students have positive perceptions of their clinical learning environment and clinical educators' attributes. More frequent visits by lecturers to students during clinical rotations may ensure that student innovation is achieved in accordance with their classroom tuition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Simulation has taken centre stage in health sciences education in the context of the increasing adoption of a competency-based curriculum. Simulation replicates facets of the real world in an interactive manner that allows students to learn clinical skills and develop clinical reasoning skills in a safe learning environment. Facilitators have a responsibility to provide adequate instructional and psychological support to the students, while facilitating active and self-directed learning in the simulation environment. Objective. To explore and describe students' perceptions of support and active learning regarding simulation-based education (SBE) in Lesotho. Methods. A quantitative descriptive exploratory study was conducted using a validated questionnaire. A total of 275 nursing students participated in the study. A stratified systematic random sampling method was used and data were analysed using SPSS version 27. Results. The majority of participants (87.9%) had a positive perception of support that was offered prior, during and after simulation, which they appreciated. Active learning was also perceived positively, as most of the participants indicated that they actively participated in, and not merely observed, simulation. The results showed significant associations between an opportunity given to students to discuss simulation objectives with the teacher and various institutions (p<0.05 (p=0.01)). Institutions with trained simulation facilitators provided students the opportunity to discuss simulation objectives with their teacher. Conclusion. The study showed that student support and active learning are essential when conducting SBE. Supporting students and actively involving them in the learning process lead to effective learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Student engagement in curricular transformation is topical at the University of Cape Town (UCT), including in its Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS). Teamwork, which is essential to contemporary interprofessional healthcare, is an objective of transformative health sciences education. This study offers a contemporary contribution from the perspective of students to earlier work on shared learning at UCT FHS. Objectives. There is a paucity of research literature on this study's target population. Therefore, a qualitative design was used to explore first-year health sciences students' perceptions and experiences of teamwork within an undergraduate shared learning programme. Methods. The primary data collection method was focus group discussion. Two additional qualitative methods, free-listing and pile-sorting, were used to expand upon data collected in the focus groups. Results were analysed thematically. Results. The study sample (N=32) included first-year audiology, medical, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language pathology students. The findings revealed that although their experiences of teamwork varied, students had a comprehensive perception of what teamwork entailed in their educational context. Therefore, the findings were used to generate a heuristic for teamwork learning for undergraduate health sciences students. Conclusion. The study positions students to contribute tangibly to the curricular transformation process at their university. Students' perspectives of teamwork may be useful in the future design and delivery of entry-level interprofessional courses aiming to instil teamwork skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities, in particular, the health professional graduates they produce, contribute significantly to a workforce that aim to meet the healthcare needs of societies. The core competencies for a newly graduated health professional include compassion and care, effective communication, awareness of multiculturalism in patient care, collaboration with other health professionals and leadership in change management.[1] To achieve this end, many institutions of higher education have integrated community-based education into their health sciences programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. A case study is a teaching strategy that is used in other professions, such as nursing and medicine; however, there are no studies that focus on the experiences of occupational therapy (OT) students regarding the use of a case study to learn about spirituality. Objectives. To explore undergraduate OT students' experiences of using a case study as a teaching strategy to learn about spirituality. Methods. Exploratory-descriptive qualitative research was conducted, using purposive sampling to select and recruit second-year OT students (N=25) who consented to participate in the study. Transcribed data from three focus group discussions were thematically analysed through a credible process. Results. Two major themes were identified. Theme 1, the importance of a case study as a teaching method, deals with students' learning experiences of using a case study. Theme 2, skills learnt through a case study, highlights profession-specific and academic skills that students managed to acquire and apply by using a case study as a learning strategy. Conclusion. This study provided insight into the OT students' experiences of using a case study. The findings are consistent with previous research that focuses on the use of a case study as a teaching strategy, which enabled students to apply their knowledge in a real-life situation by recognising and solving problems through engaging in critical reflection and using various skills. This work contributes to existing knowledge of health sciences education by providing teaching and learning strategies that educators may use to facilitate students' engagement in collaborative learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Clinical mentorship in health sciences education is a nurtured venture where mentees are guided through practice by their more experienced mentors. However, recent research suggests that there are problems with clinical mentorship. Objective. To explore problems in work-integrated learning within the mentor/mentee relationship. Methods. The cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) was used to interpret data gathered from diaries and focus group interviews. Results. Difficulties identified were poor communication between the university and the mentors at clinical platform sites. The unclear roles and responsibilities of mentees and mentors led to a breakdown of trust. Conclusions. Better university training and development of mentors would aid in the holistic development of mentors and mentees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on medical science education that were presented at the Fifth National Conference of the South African Association of Health Educationalists including the development of clinical reasoning skills in undergraduate paramedic learners, continued professional development and professional development of registrars.