Developing cultural competence among health professions educators through an international faculty development program: a mixed-methods study.

Clinical educators' perspectives of allied health student placement supervision: A mixed methods study.

INTRODUCTION This study explored clinical educators' perspectives on their supervision experiences, focusing on successes and challenges, including experiences working with allied health students who underperformed or failed practice placements. METHOD This study used a convergent mixed-methods design. Universities in Australia and New Zealand (n = 19) that deliver allied health programs (n = 14 professions) were invited to participate. An online questionnaire administered to allied health clinical educators collected quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, and content analysis was used to analyse free-text responses. Occupational Adaptation Theory was applied as an interpretative framework. RESULTS Sixteen universities consented to participate. Data from 66 questionnaires representing clinical educators from 10 professions were compared and triangulated. Constructed themes described that positive placement experiences were shaped by clinical educators' embracing their supervisory roles, having strong professional connections and supportive workplaces. In contrast, negative placement experiences were associated with students lacking foundational skills, learning under pressure, or limited professional readiness. DISCUSSION Clinical educators reported being equipped to recognise overt student supports but underestimated the impact that environment and educational relationships had on students' capacity to adapt or seek assistance during situations of underperformance. Applying Occupational Adaptation Theory to support data interpretation highlighted that, in addition to supervisory training, mastering their roles and having actionable strategies to support learners in difficulty, requires adequate resourcing and recognition to ensure CEs are equipped to manage every element of student learning.

Health Professions Education Health Professions Education

IMPROVING ASSESSMENT COMPETENCIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS: PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES AND INNOVATIONS

This mixed-methods study examined primary school teachers' assessment competencies, with particular attention to formative assessment, digital assessment tools, culturally responsive practices, and professional development. The quantitative component analyzed survey responses from approximately 100 teachers working in urban, suburban, and rural school settings, while qualitative evidence was obtained from open-ended responses and follow-up interviews or focus groups with a purposively selected subset of participants. Descriptive findings showed that 85% of teachers reported using formative assessment regularly; verbal questioning (92%), classroom observation (75%), and peer feedback (68%) were the most common practices. However, 45% reported difficulty using assessment evidence to adjust instruction. Only 40% felt confident using digital tools for data analysis, and consistent implementation of culturally responsive assessment was reported by 36%. Teachers who had access to ongoing professional development reported substantially greater confidence in assessment design and implementation than those without such support (78% versus 45%). The findings indicate that assessment competency depends not only on teachers' knowledge of techniques but also on sustained professional learning, collaboration, time, resources, and institutional support. The article recommends practice-based training in formative assessment, digital assessment literacy, culturally responsive design, and collaborative analysis of student evidence.

Bridging Knowledge and Practice: Exploring the Application of Health Equity Education in Graduate Medical Education Clinical Settings.

BACKGROUND Despite growing emphasis on health equity education in graduate medical education, little is known about how classroom learning translates into clinical practice. OBJECTIVE To examine how Internal Medicine residents, fellows, and faculty trained in health equity navigate applying health equity principles in practice and what internal and external factors facilitate or hinder implementation. DESIGN Constructivist study using semi-structured interviews and grounded theory to examine individual developmental processes within multilevel contextual influences. PARTICIPANTS Eleven Internal Medicine physicians (seven residents/fellows, four faculty) at a military academic medical center who participated in a case-based health equity curriculum. APPROACH Interviews explored experiences applying health equity principles. Two researchers independently coded transcripts using constant comparative method. Thematic analysis examined patterns across career stages within three domains: individual awareness and identity development, interpersonal dynamics in clinical encounters, and institutional and structural contexts. KEY RESULTS Participants' ability to apply health equity skills developed through iterative cycles of awareness, reflection, and deliberate practice, but this growth was continually shaped by external constraints. Clinical encounters served as learning opportunities only when attending physicians created space for reflection and dialogue. Infrastructure gaps, policy limitations, and organizational culture frequently restricted what physicians could enact, contributing to moral distress, particularly among trainees who felt unable to apply what they had learned. Developmental patterns showed movement from reactive navigation of barriers to more proactive efforts to influence team processes and environments. CONCLUSIONS Health equity in clinical settings emerges through negotiation between individual transformation and environment. Without attention to power dynamics, resource allocation, and institutional culture, health equity educational interventions risk developing demoralized physicians who recognize inequity but lack support to address it. Programs require aligned curriculum, faculty development, and institutional infrastructure to enable equity-oriented action.

Narrative simulation with a standardized patient in aging psychology education: an experiential learning approach to professional competency development.

The training of future psychologists requires pedagogical approaches that effectively bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and the complex competencies demanded in professional practice with older adults. This study aimed to evaluate the educational impact of a narrative simulation with a standardized patient implemented in an undergraduate Aging Psychology course. A pilot mixed-methods design was conducted with 56 third-year psychology students. Quantitative data were collected through an ad hoc questionnaire assessing satisfaction, perceived usefulness, methodological design, and professional transferability, while qualitative data were obtained from written reflective narratives. Descriptive analyses showed very high overall satisfaction and perceived professional relevance of the experience. Thematic analysis revealed four core learning domains: development of communicative and empathic competencies, emotional self-regulation and reflective awareness, humanization of aging through narrative identity, and the pedagogical value of structured debriefing. The integration of findings indicates that narrative simulation provides a psychologically safe and experientially rich learning environment that supports the development of key gerontopsychological competencies beyond what traditional instructional methods typically achieve. These results highlight the potential of narrative simulation with standardized patients as a transferable and impactful educational strategy in aging psychology education, with implications for curriculum design and competency-based training in gerontology-related disciplines.

Developing the pedagogical competencies of medical residency educators: Abem’s social accountability

ABSTRACT Introduction: Developing pedagogical competencies of health professional’s educators is complex and requires continuous evaluation to ensure effectiveness and sustainability. Objective: To describe a national postgraduate course model in pedagogical competencies, to characterize the sociodemographic and educational profile of participants involved in medical residency programs, and to analyze changes in self-reported pedagogical competencies before and after course completion. Methods: This cross-sectional study included faculty and preceptors selected through a national public call, comprising three cohorts of a postgraduate course, with 45 places distributed across nine regional divisions of the Brazilian Association of Medical Education. Eligible participants were actively involved in medical residency programs. All participants completed baseline questionnaires addressing sociodemographic characteristics and professional background. Participants from the first cohort that had completed the course additionally performed self-assessment of pedagogical competencies in four domains: role as educator, relationship with learners, teamwork, and assessment systems. These evaluations were conducted before and between one and six months after course completion. Comparisons were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: Of 261 selected candidates, 97 (71.85%) filled the 135 available places, representing all regions of the country. Among these, 62 (63.91%) were involved in medical residency programs, predominantly physicians (74.22%). Regarding institutional affiliation, 29.03% worked exclusively in public institutions and 19.35% exclusively in private institutions. In terms of academic qualifications, 29.03% held a doctoral degree and 40.32% a master’s degree. Half of the participants had more than 20 years of experience in preceptorship. In the first completed cohort (n=30), self-assessment demonstrated significant improvements across all pedagogical competency domains (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The proposed training model proved feasible, with low dropout rates and promotion of geographical equity at a national level, despite some unfilled places. The observed improvement in self-reported pedagogical competencies suggests a meaningful contribution to enhancing the quality of medical residency training and education.