Methodology for assessing the appropriateness of Continuing Professional Development for pharmacy professionals’ revalidation

From April 2010, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) will be responsible for the statutory regulation of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain (GB).[1] All statutorily regulated health professionals will need to periodically demonstrate their fitness-to-practise through a process of revalidation.[2] One option being considered in GB is that continuing professional development (CPD) records will form a part of the evidence submitted for revalidation, similar to the system in New Zealand.[3] At present, pharmacy professionals must make a minimum of nine CPD entries per annum from 1 March 2009 using the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) CPD framework. Our aim was to explore the applicability of new revalidation standards within the current CPD framework. We also wanted to review the content of CPD portfolios to assess strengths and qualities and identify any information gaps for the purpose of revalidation.

Participation of future pharmacists in a professional development certificate scheme; the paradox of personal identity

The white paper ‘Pharmacy in England’ advocates establishing a new pharmacy regulator, building leadership and integrating undergraduate education.[1] Students must morph into competent pharmacists with the skills, expertise and confidence to lead the profession to 2020 and beyond.[2] One way individuals are encouraged to ‘professionalise’ is through participation in personal/professional development schemes. The British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA) and the College of Pharmacy Practice have operated a professional development certificate (PDC) scheme since 2001. The scheme rewards students with a joint certificate for evidence of participation in five accredited activities in one academic year. Although the scheme is relevant to development of students, less than 2% of BPSA members take part annually. We wanted to understand the reasons for the low uptake. Our primary objectives were to examine the portrayal of the scheme and to investigate what it signifies to individuals. We describe our attempts to apply social marketing techniques[3] to the PDC, and we use ‘logical levels of change’[4] to highlight a paradox with personal identity.

The professional development certificate scheme for undergraduates

The professional development certificate scheme, developed by the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association, can bridge the gap between pharmacy undergraduates, tutors and employers. Jamie Wilkinson, Chris Cairns and Parastou Donyai explain.

Do construction companies need to match employees' expectations?

Commitment of employees is relatively low in construction. This problem is exasperated by companies inability to attract, motivate, and retain talent that is then often channelled into other more attractive industrial sectors where the prospects, conditions and rewards are perceived to be much higher. The purpose of this study is thus primarily to develop a generic model to maximise employees' engagement, improve their motivation and increase the retention levels. To achieve this aim, the investigation looks into how perceived employment obligations and expectations impact commitment and through that organisational performance. The study is based on the postulations of Luhmann's theory of social systems with communication viewed as a constitutive element of a social system. Consequently expectations of a particular party in an employment relationship are represented in a communicative space requiring the other party's understanding in order to align expectations of both sides in the relationship. Explicitly, alignment of by an employee perceived manager's expectations determines his/ her commitment to fulfil obligations towards the manager. The result of this first stage of research is a conceptual model developed following the substantial supporting evidence in the literature and it forms the framework for mitigation of low commitment, motivation and retention of employees. The model particularly focuses on factors affecting employees' perceived expectations like reneging, incongruence and the process of communication. In the future the model will be validated using empirical data from a combination of observational and enquiry-based research. Once completed, the model will provide a framework for informing Human Resource Management policies with the aim to improve commitment of employees, increase the levels of retention and consequently improve the performance of construction organisations.

Biosecurity in agriculture: an economic analysis of coexistence of professional and hobby production

One component of biosecurity is protection against invasive alien species, which are one of the most important threats worldwide to native biodiversity and economic profitability in various sectors, including agriculture. However, agricultural producers are not homogeneous. They may have different objectives and priorities, use different technologies, and occupy heterogeneous parcels of land. If the producers differ in terms of their attitude towards invasive pests and the damages they cause, there are probably external effects in the form of pest spread impacts and subsequent damages caused. We study such impacts in the case of two producer types: profit-seeking professional producers and utility-seeking hobby producers. We show that the hobby producer, having first set a breeding ground for the pest, under-invests in pest control. We also discuss potential policy instruments to correct this market failure and highlight the importance of considering different stakeholders and their heterogeneous incentives when designing policies to control invasive alien species.

Managing invasive alien species with professional and hobby farmers: insights from ecological-economic modelling

Biosecurity is a great challenge to policy-makers globally. Biosecurity policies aim to either prevent invasions before they occur or to eradicate and/or effectively manage the invasive species and diseases once an invasion has occurred. Such policies have traditionally been directed towards professional producers in natural resource based sectors, including agriculture. Given the wide scope of issues threatened by invasive species and diseases, it is important to account for several types of stakeholders that are involved. We investigate the problem of an invasive insect pest feeding on an agricultural crop with heterogeneous producers: profit-oriented professional farmers and utility-oriented hobby farmers. We start from an ecological-economic model conceptually similar to the one developed by Eiswerth and Johnson [Eiswerth, M.E. and Johnson, W.S., 2002. Managing nonindigenous invasive species: insights from dynamic analysis. Environmental and Resource Economics 23, 319-342.] and extend it in three ways. First, we make explicit the relationship between the invaded state carrying capacity and farmers' planting decisions. Second, we add another producer type into the framework and hence account for the existence of both professional and hobby fanners. Third, we provide a theoretical contribution by discussing two alternative types of equilibria. We also apply the model to an empirical case to extract a number of stylised facts and in particular to assess: a) under which circumstances the invasion is likely to be not controllable; and b) how extending control policies to hobby farmers could affect both types of producers. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The relationships of age and length of service with job satisfaction: an examination of hotel employees in Thailand

Earlier studies suggest age is positively associated with job satisfaction, while others use length of service, or tenure, as a predictor of job satisfaction levels. This article examines whether age and tenure are individual determinants of satisfaction, or whether there is an interaction between the two. The results indicate that employee age is not significantly associated with overall job satisfaction level, but that tenure is. There is also significant relationship between tenure and facets of satisfaction (job, pay and fringe benefits), but the effect of tenure on satisfaction is significantly modified by age.

Forum theorizing in the context of professional practice: The case for middle-range theories

This commentary seeks to complement the contribution of the Building Research & Information special issue on 'Developing Theories for the Built Environment' (2008) by highlighting the important role of middle-range theories within the context of professional practice. Middle-range theories provide a form of theorizing that lies between abstract grand theorizing and atheoretical local descriptions. They are also characterized by the way in which they directly engage with the concerns of practitioners. In the context of professional practice, any commitment to theorizing should habitually be combined with an equivalent commitment to empirical research; rarely is it appropriate to neglect one in favour of the other. Any understanding of the role that theory plays in professional practice must further be informed by Schon's seminal ideas on reflective practice. Practitioners are seen to utilize theories as inputs to a process of continuous reflection, thereby guarding against complacency and routinization. The authors would challenge any assumption that academics alone are responsible for generating theories, thereby limiting the role of practitioners to their application. Such a dichotomized view is contrary to established ideas on Mode 2 knowledge production and current trends towards co-production research in the context of the built environment.

Life histories of music service histories, the past in inductees' present

This article discusses inductee music service teachers (to 25 years of age). It explores how their lives, as perceived, shape current identities in teaching and result in several career problems. Respondents were drawn from a comprehensive life history study of 28 Local Education Authority employees. Of this larger cohort, four were age 25 years and below, and the remaining 24 teachers made retrospective comments. Data were collected and analysed between October 2002 and March 2004. Principal findings suggest that schooling failed to address these educators' needs as musical learners; key childhood experiences were external of schools. This often resulted in an idealistic trajectory, in teenage years, towards an occupation as a performer. An occupation in music education was entirely disregarded. Consequently, inductees now consider training experiences an inappropriate platform for their professional lives. Managing group teaching and children's behaviour engenders considerable anxiety. Music service work is also deemed a transient state of affairs. There are implications for training, retention and professional development.