Continuing professional development: Designing an interprofessional program for allied health placement educators My name is Kate Thomson. I’m from Sydney Uni. I’m interested in professional learning, my PhD was on informal conversations, so if anyone wants to talk with me, I’m happy to talk to you – research says I’ll probably learn something  This presentation is about some of the teaching that I do with colleagues. We are part of the Work Integrated Learning team It’s a central unit in a large health sciences faculty that coordinates placements across allied health. PT, SP, OT, RC, DR/MRS, EP/ESS. We teach students, and support their educators, and one of the strategies we use is to offer workshops to educators. The focus of this presentation is on the workshops for novice educators. The intention is for us to teach and research across disciplines. Should I use the WIL promotion research thing at some point? Presented by Dr. Kate Thomson, on behalf of Dr. Jennie Brentnall, Ms. Madelyn Nicole, Dr. Belinda Kenny, & Prof. Lindy McAllister

What strategies do you use to review your teaching? Talk to the person next to you for a few minutes about your teaching - what do you do? Your teaching might include Large first year Small online postgraduate Professional development Academic development etc

Reviewing our program for clinical educators To revise our program, we would adopt four main strategies: Draw upon the relevant literature, Create opportunities for educator-led content, Ensure our program uses proven pedagogies for quality continuing professional development, and Include processes for evaluation and review.

According to literature, effective educators: Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills Behave professionally Offer counselling and reassurance Well-organized Understand role of educator/purpose of supervision Are interested in student learning Assess students appropriately Respond well to feedback Encourage student autonomy and active participation Demonstrate best practice Knowledgeable as mentors/role models … Unsurprisingly, many educators feel inadequately prepared for their role!

What do you think a quality continuing professional development (CPD) program looks like? Talk to the person next to you for a few minutes about what you think is quality/best practice and WHY I think we are on the right track, but we’re not there yet. We may never be. Our program includes formal workshops, informal discussions (as needed, by phone or as part of site visits), individualised educator coaching (using face-to-face and tele-support modes), interprofessional peer group mentoring, and online activities (e.g., an access-controlled wiki site for educators).

What questions did we ask? Evaluation questions were informed by the concept of constructive alignment (Biggs & Tang, 2007) used in curriculum design and evaluation and Chalmers and Gardiner’s (2015) Academic Professional Development Effectiveness Framework. Does the program, and its components, represent best practice in CPD for educators? Is there alignment between the needs participants express and the intended learning outcomes of the program offerings? Does the program as delivered engage and meet the expectations of participants? Do participants report gaining knowledge consistent with desirable outcomes (from the literature) and intended learning outcomes (from the curriculum)?

Data sources included literature, intended curriculum, participant feedback, and Empathy mapping and empathy mapping. Some of you might not have seen this. I assume most of you are familiar with participant surveys and literature  Aims Have participants (novice educators) reflect on and identify with educator role Identify for the facilitators the participants’ perceptions, influences and needs (adapted from Patell, 2013)

Empathy mapping – what do novice educators say they need? Map section and example prompt questions Novice educator responses Feelings What have been your positive and/or negative experiences? Anxious/worried (workload, meeting students’ expectations or learning needs) Lacking confidence (not enough training) Pressured to take students Excited (giving back to their profession) Rewarded Student and patient safety Influences What do you hear your colleagues say about students? Negative comments about students Time consuming to support students No down time between placements Overall goal What does success look like? Become a confident and effective educator Provide a quality (organized) placement Pass on fundamental knowledge and skills Students represent and contribute to the profession

Alignment between literature, program, and participant needs and feedback Literature on best practice supervision Intended learning outcomes (LO) •Program sessions/activities Participant needs Participant feedback + positive, • mixed or action-based (ambivalent), - negative, •Appropriate resources and facilities •Organised •Based on learner needs •Organisational culture values learning LO2.Prepare and plan for student learning on placement •planning (resources, activities) •learning styles •Pressured to take students •Provide a structured placement •Create a positive learning environment •Unsupportive colleagues •Preparation: developing orientation resources, structuring placement timetables, +Providing a facilitatory learning environment •Understand teaching •Interested in learning process •Models of supervision and empirical data •Effective feedback LO3.Supervise students using evidence-based education practices and models •implementation (experience, review) •peer learning •feedback (types, examples) •Provide constructive feedback + equipped to provide a quality placement, utilizing peer learning and feedback • Supervision models (e.g., interprofessional)

What answers do we have and where to next? Does the program, and its components, represent best practice in CPD for educators? No, not yet. It’s aligned with best practice, but doesn’t cover all aspects of best practice support. Is there alignment between the needs participants express and the intended learning outcomes of the program offerings? No, their expressed needs don’t align with literature or the program’s intended learning outcomes. This may be due to how they see their role and the context they work within – something for us to work on. Does the program as delivered engage and meet the expectations of participants? Yes Do participants report gaining knowledge consistent with desirable outcomes (from the literature) and intended learning outcomes (from the curriculum)? Yes

Thoughts, questions, comments? Thank you kate.thomson@sydney.edu.au