Developing a competency framework for health research ethics education and training

The experiences of preparation and engagement of educators in teaching e-portfolio

INTRODUCTION

A teaching e-portfolio is used to organize the collation and presentation of documents about teaching for the development and evaluation of educators. The current study was aimed at describing teaching e-portfolio components at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. As well, we examined the performance and experience of educators in engaging in the teaching e-portfolio.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was conducted at Shahid Sadoughi University in 2018-2022 in three main stages: (1) Development of the teaching e-portfolio; (2) Implementing teaching e-portfolio, and evaluating teaching documentation quantitatively; and (3) Exploration of educators' experiences by a conventional content analysis introduced by Graneheim and Lundman. The teaching e-portfolio was developed from the perspective of the components, domains, and criteria of scholarship of teaching and learning. The teaching e-portfolio documented the educational activities of educators in 12 areas, including philosophy of education (1 activity), curriculum planning (4 activities), evaluation (7 activities), teaching and learning (1 activity), e-learning (1 activity), professional development in education (1 activity), scholarly activities (2 activities), mentoring and counseling (3 activities), educational leadership (2 activities), education research (6 activities), education reform project (1 activity), and production of scholarship of teaching and learning (13 activities). The educators recorded the documentation of educational activities in their teaching e-portfolio. Their documentation was reviewed by two peers. The reviewers delivered constructive feedback to improve the educators' performance. The quantitative performance of educators in different activities in teaching e-portfolio was examined by descriptive tests (frequency and percentage). The experiences of educators were explored by the conventional content analysis approach which was introduced by Graneheim and Lundman.

RESULTS

In the present study, 148 educators registered in the teaching e-portfolio. A total of 1488 documents of educational activities were registered in the e-portfolio from 2018 to 2022, and 55.24% of the activities received feedback in the peer review process. The experience of participants was categorized into a theme "fear and hope in utilizing teaching e-portfolio". This theme consisted of three categories: "motivational roadmap for personal and professional development in the future", "concern about the consequences of continuous monitoring", and "restriction of resources and capability as resistance sources".

CONCLUSION

The current study showed that the participation of educators in a teaching e-portfolio was at an acceptable level. Support systems and educational policies played an effective role in guiding educators to participate in educational development activities. The educators perceived the teaching e-portfolio as a two-faceted tool. Teaching e-portfolio can provide a road map for their personal and professional development to achieve excellent teaching. As well, the teaching e-portfolio was recognized as a tool for continuous performance monitoring and detection of the inefficiency of teaching quality activities. This perception, along with limited resources such as time, weak technological literacy, and difficulty in working with electronic devices and systems, led to resistance from educators to involve in teaching e-portfolio.

A Competency Framework for Health Research Ethics Educational Programs: Results from a Stakeholder-Driven Mixed-Method Process

Educational programs are integral to building health research ethics (HRE) capacity, but no outcomes framework exists to guide them. We empirically developed a competency framework for health research ethics education-the Framework for Research Ethics Studies Competencies and Outcomes (FRESCO)-using mixed methods, including group concept mapping and a survey of international experts. FRESCO includes seven competency domains: (1) Foundational Knowledge; (2) Laws, Regulations, Guidelines, and Policies for Research Oversight; (3) Ethical-Issue Identification, Analysis, and Resolution; (4) Engagement, Communication, and Advocacy; (5) Lifelong Learning, Education, Research, and Scholarship; (6) Coordination, Stewardship, and Responsiveness in HRE Systems; and (7) Impartiality, Honesty, and Responsibility. These domains are detailed in 27 subdomains. Survey respondents rated FRESCO's relevance to HRE highly. FRESCO can be adapted and implemented in educational programs to refine recruitment and selection processes, educational and assessment methods, and performance measures to ensure that HRE educational programs have their intended effects.

Aligning clinical research ethics with community-engaged and participatory research in the United States

The professional role in ethical review of research in which boards review proposed research involving human beings continues to evolve. The scholarly literature on institutional review boards in academic centers of the United States, at which a majority of the community engaged and participatory research emanates and is reviewed, suggests the need to implement changes in board education, the infrastructure supporting review, and the accountability of review. The recommendations for change advanced in this perspective involve enhancing reviewer knowledge of local community contexts and developing an infrastructure that supports engagement in and dialogue among individuals involved in community-academic research to inform ethical review and the assessment of review outcomes. Additionally, recommendations regarding putting an institutional infrastructure in place are advanced in order to sustain community engaged and participatory research. The infrastructure can also support the collection and review of outcome data as the foundation of accountability. The recommendations outlined intend to improve clinical research ethics reviews of community-engaged and participatory research.

A Six-Step Model for Developing Competency Frameworks in the Healthcare Professions

Competency frameworks are developed for a variety of purposes, including describing professional practice and informing education and assessment frameworks. Despite the volume of competency frameworks developed in the healthcare professions, guidance remains unclear and is inconsistently adhered to (perhaps in part due to a lack of organizing frameworks), there is variability in methodological choices, inconsistently reported outputs, and a lack of evaluation of frameworks. As such, we proposed the need for improved guidance. In this paper, we outline a six-step model for developing competency frameworks that is designed to address some of these shortcomings. The six-steps comprise [1] identifying purpose, intended uses, scope, and stakeholders; [2] theoretically informed ways of identifying the contexts of complex, "real-world" professional practice, which includes [3] aligned methods and means by which practice can be explored; [4] the identification and specification of competencies required for professional practice, [5] how to report the process and outputs of identifying such competencies, and [6] built-in strategies to continuously evaluate, update and maintain competency framework development processes and outputs. The model synthesizes and organizes existing guidance and literature, and furthers this existing guidance by highlighting the need for a theoretically-informed approach to describing and exploring practice that is appropriate, as well as offering guidance for developers on reporting the development process and outputs, and planning for the ongoing maintenance of frameworks.

Developing a Competency Framework of Interprofessional Occupational Health Team: A First Step to Interprofessional Education in Occupational Health Field

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to develop a competency framework for interprofessional collaboration in an occupational health team.

METHODS

This study was carried out in three stages. In the first stage, the viewpoints of different stakeholders on the essential competencies of interprofessional team members in occupational health services (OHS) were assessed. In the second stage, extracted codes were converted into competencies in expert panels. After that, the extracted items were categorized by inductive content analysis approach into competency framework. In the third stage, the content validity of interprofessional competencies in OHS was evaluated.

RESULTS

The competency framework was finalized in six competency domains including prevention, occupational disease management, occupational health assessments, inter-disciplinary and interprofessional collaboration, education, and evidence-based practice and professionalism.

CONCLUSION

The framework could be developed in interprofessional education in OHS based on competency-based education approach.