Irish and Jordanian general student nurses’ attitudes towards people with mental illness (PWMI) and their relationship to cultural and religious beliefs

Background Attitudes held and cultural and religious beliefs of general nursing students towards individuals with mental health problems are key factors that contribute to the quality of care provided. Negative attitudes towards mental illness and to individuals with mental health problems are held by the general public as well as health professionals. Negative attitudes towards people with mental illness have been reported to be associated with low quality of care, poor access to health care services and feelings of exclusion. Furthermore, culture has been reported to play a significant role in shaping people’s attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviours, but has been poorly investigated. Research has also found that religious beliefs and practices are associated with better recovery for individuals with mental illness and enhanced coping strategies and provide more meaning and purpose to thinking and actions. The literature indicated that both Ireland and Jordan lack baseline data of general nurses’ and general nursing students’ attitudes towards mental illness and associated cultural and religious beliefs. Aims: To measure general nursing students’ attitudes towards individuals with mental illness and their relationships to socio-demographic variables and cultural and religious beliefs. Method: A quantitative descriptive study was conducted (n=470). 185 students in Jordan and 285 students in Ireland participated, with a response rate of 86% and 73%, respectively. Data were collected using the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill instrument and a Cultural and Religious Beliefs Scale to People with Mental Illness constructed by the author. Results: Irish students reported more positive attitudes yet did not have strong cultural and religious beliefs compared to students from Jordan. Country of origin, considering a career in mental health nursing, knowing somebody with mental illness and cultural and religious beliefs were the most significant variables associated with students’ attitudes towards people with mental illness. In addition, students living in urban areas reported more positive attitudes to people with mental illness compared to those living in rural areas.

Convergence and translation: attitudes to inter-professional learning and teaching of creative problem-solving among medical and engineering students and staff

Background: Healthcare worldwide needs translation of basic ideas from engineering into the clinic. Consequently, there is increasing demand for graduates equipped with the knowledge and skills to apply interdisciplinary medicine/engineering approaches to the development of novel solutions for healthcare. The literature provides little guidance regarding barriers to, and facilitators of, effective interdisciplinary learning for engineering and medical students in a team-based project context. Methods: A quantitative survey was distributed to engineering and medical students and staff in two universities, one in Ireland and one in Belgium, to chart knowledge and practice in interdisciplinary learning and teaching, and of the teaching of innovation. Results: We report important differences for staff and students between the disciplines regarding attitudes towards, and perceptions of, the relevance of interdisciplinary learning opportunities, and the role of creativity and innovation. There was agreement across groups concerning preferred learning, instructional styles, and module content. Medical students showed greater resistance to the use of structured creativity tools and interdisciplinary teams. Conclusions: The results of this international survey will help to define the optimal learning conditions under which undergraduate engineering and medicine students can learn to consider the diverse factors which determine the success or failure of a healthcare engineering solution.

National, inter-institutional, graduate modules – blended learning approaches for PhD education in Ireland

This paper is a case study that describes the design and delivery of national PhD lectures with 40 PhD candidates in Digital Arts and Humanities in Ireland simultaneously to four remote locations, in Trinity College Dublin, in University College Cork, in NUI Maynooth and NUI Galway. Blended learning approaches were utilized to augment traditional teaching practices combining: face-to-face engagement, video-conferencing to multiple sites, social media lecture delivery support – a live blog and micro blogging, shared, open student web presence online. Techniques for creating an effective, active learning environment were discerned via a range of learning options offered to students through student surveys after semester one. Students rejected the traditional lecture format, even through the novel delivery method via video link to a number of national academic institutions was employed. Students also rejected the use of a moderated forum as a means of creating engagement across the various institutions involved. Students preferred a mix of approaches for this online national engagement. The paper discusses successful methods used to promote interactive teaching and learning. These included Peer to peer learning, Workshop style delivery, Social media. The lecture became a national, synchronous workshop. The paper describes how allowing students to have a voice in the virtual classroom they become animated and engaged in an open culture of shared experience and scholarship, create networks beyond their institutions, and across disciplinary boundaries. We offer an analysis of our experiences to assist other educators in their course design, with a particular emphasis on social media engagement.

Relevance of anatomy to medical education and clinical practice: perspectives of medical students, clinicians, and educators

Introduction: Against a backdrop of ever-changing diagnostic and treatment modalities, stakeholder perceptions (medical students, clinicians, anatomy educators) are crucial for the design of an anatomy curriculum which fulfils the criteria required for safe medical practice. This study compared perceptions of students, practising clinicians, and anatomy educators with respect to the relevance of anatomy education to medicine. Methods: A quantitative survey was administered to undergraduate entry (n = 352) and graduate entry students (n = 219) at two Irish medical schools, recently graduated Irish clinicians (n = 146), and anatomy educators based in Irish and British medical schools (n = 30). Areas addressed included the association of anatomy with medical education and clinical practice, mode of instruction, and curriculum duration. Results: Graduate-entry students were less likely to associate anatomy with the development of professionalism, teamwork skills, or improved awareness of ethics in medicine. Clinicians highlighted the challenge of tailoring anatomy education to increase student readiness to function effectively in a clinical role. Anatomy educators indicated dissatisfaction with the time available for anatomy within medical curricula, and were equivocal about whether curriculum content should be responsive to societal feedback. Conclusions: The group differences identified in the current study highlight areas and requirements which medical education curriculum developers should be sensitive to when designing anatomy courses.