This qualitative study investigated the complex social aspects of communication required for students to participate effectively in Problem-Based Learning and explored how these dynamics are managed. The longitudinal study of a group of first-year undergraduates examined interactions using Rapport Management as a framework to analyse communication…

Assessment of clinical skills is a critical element of undergraduate medical education. We compare a traditional approach to procedural skills assessment--the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) with the Integrated Performance Procedural Instrument (IPPI). In both approaches, students work through "stations" or…

Recent investigations into the UK National Health Service revealed doctors' failures to act with compassion and professionalism towards patients. The British media asked questions about what happens to students during their learning that influences such behaviour as doctors. We listened to 200 medical students' narratives of professionalism…

This article deals with transformations in eighteenth-century medical education. Its focus is the work of an individual surgeon, Thomas Tomlinson, who delivered one of the earliest anatomical courses in provincial England. It examines methods of medical education between 1760 and 1825, when apprenticeship was being transformed into a more learned…

Interviews with nursing students, practitioners, and educators in England and case studies of clinical experience in adult and mental health settings revealed a need for teachers to negotiate and clarify roles with practitioners and students and to provide practitioners with relevant information about their courses. A lack of trust and respect…

This article presents the outcomes of the Mobile Technologies Pilot Project for the Assessment and Learning in Practice Settings (ALPS) Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL). ALPS is a partnership of five Higher Education Institutions (HEI) that aims to develop and improve assessment, and thereby learning, in practice settings for…

The knowledge and skills needed by critical care nurses and the content and strategies of England's existing critical care nursing education programs were examined to identify core competencies that could provide a central foundation for and promote national comparability of critical care nursing programs throughout England. The study included a…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of educational preparation for mental health nursing in multi-professional, multi-agency team environments in a range of mental health settings in England. The following data collection activities were conducted: an extensive literature review; local focus groups with mental health service users, care providers,…

A study examined the effectiveness of existing nursing education programs to prepare individuals in the United Kingdom for employment as community specialist practitioners in the context of public health. The study was designed in three strands as follows: (1) a questionnaire-based source of 52 directors and leaders from community specialist…

The knowledge needed by nurses to educate patients and their caregivers on medication use was examined to provide policymakers, practitioners, and others with the information needed to plan nursing education programs in England. The study focused on the following topics: the contributions of nurses to medication education; their preparation for…

The assessment of practice in nursing and midwifery education programs across England was examined to determine its validity, reliability, fairness, and effectiveness in maintaining and developing the quality of care. The research was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 was designed to identify theoretical and practical areas of concern that would…