156156 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 156

In brief

Highlighting and reconciling differences Michael Ross , Centre for Medical Education , The University of Edinburgh , UK

Nineteen lead tutors for clinical placements (clerkships) in the UK were asked how they would react to various high and low evalua-tion scores from medical students in this critical discourse analysis study. Respondents seemed to perceive themselves as being of higher status, and being bet-ter able to determine what and how students should be taught, than either students or the medical school. Respondents also interpreted low evaluation scores in ways that made them seem irrelevant. The fi ndings may help explain why student teaching on clinical placements and clerk-ships differs from that which is intended by the medical school, and highlight the importance of engaging clinical teachers in any planned changes to the curriculum. Graham J , Dornan T . Power in clinical teachers’ discourses of a curriculum- in- action. Critical discourse analysis . Adv Health Sci Educ 2013 ; 18 : 975 – 985 .

The fi ndings of this literature review study suggest that the Bologna Process (a series of higher education reforms led by European Ministers of Education) has had a signifi cant impact on European nursing education: particularly by accelerating the incorporation of nursing into a

higher education context, and the perceived transition from ‘voca-tion’ to ‘profession’; by promoting competency- based curricula at bachelor, master and doctoral levels, including the ‘advanced practice nurse’ (APN) role at master ’ s level; and by promoting Europe- wide collaboration and quality assurance. The impact has been variable between countries, however, and a number of barriers to the process remain. Collins S , Hewer I . The impact of the Bologna process on nursing higher educa-tion in Europe: a review . Int J Nurs Stud 2014 ; 51 : 150 – 156 .

October 2013 brought disturbing news of a senior ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon in China being stabbed to death by a patient who was unhappy with the results of a nasal operation. The authors of this letter to The Lancet highlight that there were 17 243 reported cases of vio-lent attacks against health care workers in China in 2010 alone. Medical student numbers are decreasing, and 83 per cent of the 600 000 Chinese doctors who qualifi ed over the past 5 years have not registered to work in a health care institution. Although this is an extreme example, the issues are not restricted to China, or to medical doctors, and

emphasises the need for all of us to work hard to build relation-ships, mutual respect and trust with our patients, and to ensure that our students and trainees feel safe and well supported in their roles. Zeng J , Zeng XX , Tu Q . A gloomy future for medical students in China . The Lancet 2013 ; 382 : 1878 .

Clinical teachers are increasingly undertaking further training, qualifi cations and higher degrees in clinical education and related fi elds. This study sought to iden-tify and describe structured doc-toral programmes worldwide that offer a PhD in medical or health professions education, and follows a previous study that described master ’ s programmes in this fi eld. Twenty- four programmes were identifi ed and are described. It was also recognised that many institutions worldwide offer unspecifi ed, discipline- specifi c or less structured doctoral degrees related to medical or health professions education, which the author emphasised may be equally valuable and sometimes preferable to the structured programmes. Tekian A . Doctoral programs in health professions education . Med Teach 2014 ; 36 : 73 – 81 .

doi: 10.1111/tct.12216

Michael Ross reads the latest

journals

tct_12216.indd 156tct_12216.indd 156 3/5/2014 5:07:30 PM3/5/2014 5:07:30 PM