Exploring current strategies employed by educators of healthcare courses to assess professionalism

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE

PhD Studentship in the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences

Reference RS1703

Applications are invited for a full time PhD (via MPhil) studentship. The studentship is tenable for up to 3 years full-time [subject to satisfactory progress] and will cover the cost of tuition fees at UK/EU rates plus an annual maintenance stipend of £7000 per year. It is expected the successful applicant will commence 1 October 2017. International applicants may apply but will be required to pay the difference in tuition fees.

Project

To practise as a doctor or pharmacist requires the individual not only to demonstrate competence in the tasks they perform but also exhibit traits which establish that they are acting in a professional manner. Measuring academic ability and competency are relatively straightforward using traditional and new teaching and assessment methods (e.g. examinations and observed structured clinical exams) yet instilling and measuring professionalism is more problematic. Within medical education there is recognition that professionalism should be taught even though some educators question whether it can be taught. (Siegler, 2002; Whitcomb, 2005 Coulehan, 2005) In medicine, the need to develop character traits and behaviours associated with professionalism has long been recognised but has also proven one of the most difficult to characterise. (Wagner et al., 2007) In comparison to medicine, pharmacy educators have been slower to address how professionalism should be taught or measured. This might stem from pharmacy being seen as an ancillary service to medicine where accountability to the patient was the doctors’ domain. However, as the pharmacists’ role has changed so too has the need to inculcate students with professionalism. Unfortunately, the United Kingdom’s professional body has not defined pharmacy professionalism and it is therefore open to interpretation by practising pharmacists and educators. In America, a small number of papers have been published exploring pharmacy professionalism. (Hammer, 2006; Duke et al., 2005, Chisholm et al., 2006). This project will initially review the literature and determine what models are best suited for teaching and assessing professionalism.

By exploring and understanding current strategies employed by educators of healthcare courses to teach and assess professionalism, it is anticipated that a number of teaching models will be identified that can be adapted for use within the pharmacy and medicine courses. UK Universities identified by the literature review will be contacted to gain a greater understanding of the use of these models. Field trips to a number of teaching sites will further facilitate this understanding. Key models will be selected to implement with UCLan undergraduates. The implementation of such models will be evaluated to determine if they have any positive impact on student perception and understanding on what constitutes professionalism.


Candidates should have a 2:1 (or above) degree in pharmacy, psychology or one of the Social Sciences, or a closely related discipline and a 2:1 (or above) grade for their final year dissertation. An MSc or MA qualification is desirable (merit or above), though not essential.

The candidate should be enthusiastic about the research area and have excellent written and oral communication skills along with experience of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

International applicants require an English Language level of UKVI IELTs 6.5 (no sub-score below 6.0) or equivalent qualification.



Further information
Informal Enquiries/Information: Additional information on the studentship may be obtained by emailing, Dr Sarah Wilson ([Email Address Removed])

For the application form and full details go to:
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/research/study/studentships.php
Completed application forms should be returned to the Research Student Registry email [Email Address Removed]

Closing Date: 7th July 2017
Proposed Interview Date 14th July 2017

CURRENT UCLAN RESEARCH STUDENTS WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THE RESEARCH STUDENTSHIP