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Item Addressing specialization and time to enhance adult learning: Workshop participants’ perceptions(The University of Texas at Austin’s Steve Hicks School of Social Work, 2020-06) Alamdari, Sara M.; Walton, Betty A.; Moynihan, StephanieInterdisciplinary workshops trained and supported supervisors and coaches to implement common assessment tools in practice across social service sectors. By applying adult learning, learning transfer, and situated learning theories, this qualitative study elicited perceptions of trainers and trainees to identify improvement training and technical assistance strategies. Ten semi-structured interviews were completed. Using thematic analysis, six themes emerged (specialization, time, engagement/interest, content, marketing, and technology). Specialized training for experienced adults helped match new knowledge and skills to practice. Addressing time constraints of busy professionals required consideration of participants' availability and training duration. Consistent with applied theories, suggestions for improvement included interactive training, small group discussions, realistic examples or vignettes, and helping participants comprehend the importance of the content. The creative use of technology, pre-training need assessment, reflexive practice, and supportive organizational factors can be helpful to advance continuing education in social service professions. Utilization of suggestions to modify workshops improved engagement and the transfer of knowledge to practice.Item Employment search, initial employment experience, and career preferences of recent pediatric surgical fellowship graduates: An APSA survey, part of the right child/right surgeon initiative(Elsevier, 2022-01) Martin, Abigail E.; McEvoy, Christian S.; Lumpkins, Kimberly; Scholz, Stefan; DeRoss, Anthony L.; Emami, Claudia; Phillips, Michael R.; Qureshi, Faisal; Gray, Brian W.; Safford, Shawn D.; Healey , Patrick J.; Alaish, Samuel M.; Dunn, Stephen P.; Surgery, School of MedicineBackground APSA's Right Child/Right Surgeon Initiative addresses issues concerning patient access to appropriate pediatric surgical care and workforce distribution. The APSA Workforce Committee sought to understand the experiences and motivations of recent graduates of Pediatric Surgery Training Programs entering the workforce. Methods Using APSA membership databases, we identified members who completed fellowship training from 2010 to 2019. An online survey was created using Survey Monkey, and invitations to participate were sent via email. Results 144 of 447 invited participants responded (32% response rate). 91% of respondents participated in dedicated research prior to fellowship, but only 64% perform research during their employment. 23% completed an additional clinical fellowship, but only 54% currently practice within the second field. When asked to identify the top three factors used to choose a position, the most common responses were “location or geography” (71%), “available mentorship” (53%), and “compensation and benefits” (37%). Describing their first position, 77% reported working in an academic institution, 78% reported working in a metropolitan/urban area, and 55% reported working in a free-standing children's hospital. 94% participate in General Surgery resident education, and 49% are faculty within a Pediatric Surgery fellowship. Overall, 92% of respondents were able to find the type of employment position that they had wanted. Conclusion In our survey the overwhelming majority of young pediatric surgeons found the type of job they desired. Most report beginning their practice in more populated, urban areas within academic institutions. Geographic location and work environment played heavily into their employment decisions. These preferences could contribute to continued disparity in access to pediatric surgeons between urban and rural America and to dilution of experience for urban surgeons. Possible solutions include alternative incentive programs for employment in less populated areas or new training models for general surgeons in rural areas to train in fundamentals of Pediatric Surgery.Item Specialization and time: Two core principles for adult learning(Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), 2017-11) Makki Alamdari, Sara; Walton, Betty A.; Moynihan, StephanieOverview: Training plays an important role in the profession of social services to improve the quality of services. Interviewing ten social service providers, data analysis demonstrated that the most important principles pursued by participants are specialization and time. Consistent with adult learning theory, if training is designed to meet these principles, participants will become actively involved in training, and their perceived relevancy and in-depth learning will be improved. Abstract: Training plays an important role in the profession of social services to improve the quality of services through workforce development. Since 2006, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Division of Mental Health and Addiction in collaboration with Indiana University has sponsored training for the staff. Annually, more than 500 trainees attend these in-person statewide workshops. In this study, ten social service providers who attended these trainings were interviewed in order to understand strategies to improve effectiveness of workshops. Grounded theory approach was applied to analyze data. Data analysis demonstrated that the most important principles and values pursued by participants are specialization and time. Participants frequently emphasized the importance of specialized learning tailored toward their needs. Time is also crucial. Adult learners would rather shorter trainings for several reasons. For example, participants leave their workplace for training purposes, when they come back; they face many in-complete tasks, which is overwhelming for them. If trainings are designed to meet these principles, participants will become actively involved in training, and their perceived relevancy and in-depth learning will be improved. These two core principles are consistent with adult learning theory mentioned by Knowles (1980, 1990). According to this theory, understanding of intrinsic value, autonomy, direct impact on the work and meaningful engagement are important components for adult learning. Adherence to these two principles, in designing training for adult, helps meet fundamental components of adult learning theory and attract adult learners. In this case, technology, organizational supportive environment and activities beside and out of workshops can be employed to serve these two principles. It is also helpful to consider dynamics of any specific group of participants to tailor the training toward their needs. In this case, having need assessment a few days before training is recommended to discover expectations.