Health services in a country are affected by many factors, one of which is the
human resources that render those services. One of the dimensions of human
resources that will impact on the effectiveness of the health services is their
competence. There are three phases of health education, namely basic health
professions education; postgraduate health professions education; and
continuous professional development. This study will focus on the third phase
of continuous professional development of health professionals.
The purpose of continuous professional development is defined in this study
as high quality patient care and the outcomes to improve, maintain and
further develop competencies regarding skills, knowledge and attitude in
order to meet the changing needs of both patients and the health care
delivery system. Globally there is more emphasis on the role of higher
education institutions in continuous professional development. It was evident
from the literature that higher education institutions should have a strategy as
continuous professional development providers in order to be effective and
efficient in contributing to attaining the outcomes of continuous professional
development.
The question that has arisen was, âHow should the model to manage
continuous professional development for alumni of a private higher education
institution (PHEI) be composed in order to be conducive to the outcomes of continuous professional development, which are improved competencies of
health professionals?â
Given the situation the problem that was addressed was that there was no
model to be implemented by the Foundation for Professional Development [a
Provisionally Accredited Private Higher Education Institution in terms of
section 54(3) of Act No. 101 of 1997 (RSA 1997)] focusing in the health
sector to enable it to take accountability to plan, organise, lead and control
continuous professional development for its alumni which will support
attainment of the purpose of continuous professional development. The aim
of this study was to develop a model to manage continuous professional
development for alumni of private higher education institutions in an effective
and efficient manner.
In the attempt to attain the aim the objectives pursued were a literature
study to develop a framework of the model to manage continuous
professional development inclusive of the most effective and efficient
components of continuous professional development, while a questionnaire
survey followed to identify the most preferred components of a model to
manage continuous professional development for alumni of a PHEI to ensure
effective implementation of the model. This was done by means of a custom
designed questionnaire. The final objective in attainment of the aim was the
triangulation of the information from the literature study, the results of the
questionnaire survey, and conclusions to develop a model to manage
continuous professional development.
An empirical, non-experimental research design was followed in this
quantitative study. A cross-sectional survey was employed because the
respondents were approached only once to complete questionnaires and it
was possible to make comparisons between subgroups and look at
relationships between variables. Descriptive and inferential statistics were
calculated and used to answer the research questions. The custom designed self-administered questionnaires collected information
on respondentsâ personal profiles, professional profiles, employment
backgrounds, geographical profiles, communication preferences in an alumni
network, alumni network interaction preferences, accreditation preferences by
an alumni network, educational product needs in an alumni network, areas of
expertise and interest, alumni network membership needs, and the alumni
patient profile.
The sample population for the current study was defined as:
âLearners at the Foundation for Professional Development during August 2006
to November 2006â.
On completion of their training these learners would become alumni of the
Foundation for Professional Development and would become eligible for
inclusion in a continuous development alumni programme. This population
were therefore best positioned to test certain assumptions about a continuous
professional development alumni network and start the building of a model to
manage continuous professional development.
A total number of 1968 learners attended workshops during this period and
the entire population were presented with an opportunity to participate in the
study. No sampling technique was therefore required.
The objective of the literature review was to gather information to develop a
framework for the model to manage continuous professional development.
Continuous professional development with specific attention to the origin and
the purpose of continuous professional development was reviewed. Then the
purpose was defined, the process was reviewed and subsequently the trend
of regulation of continuous professional development globally. The concept of
credentialling was reviewed in relation to continuous professional
development and integrated to assessment in continuous professional development. To gain a global perspective a review on international and
South African trends in providers of continuous professional development and
coordination of the function was provided. It was also necessary to review
adultsâ learning preferences, needs assessment, and continuous professional
development learning methods as part of identifying best practices in
composing the framework for managing continuous professional development
for alumni of a PHEI. For the same reason learning networks, mentoring and
personal continuous professional development plans were reviewed.
The model to manage continuous professional development for the alumni of
a PHEI is a triangulation of the literature study, the research results and
conclusions. Application of the model will ensure fulfilment of the continuous
professional development functions of a PHEI in their responsibility towards
their alumni in a planned and coordinated manner. It is supportive of
continuous professional development in a cyclic and continuous manner,
applying the principles of adult learning and credentialling. Assessment is an
integral part of the quality assurance on the various levels. It is based on a
network principle in that it utilises existing infrastructure and expertise in a
decentralised manner to make continuous professional development
convenient and relevant to learners.
Integrated in the model is managed communication with alumni based on the
research results. Information to plan, organise, implement and evaluate
continuous professional development is another integral component of the
model.
According to the level of assessment alumni will be accredited in the network
on five levels with associated benefits to promote continuous professional
development and nurture a culture of lifelong learning with an emphasis on
planned learning and improvement of practice. The researcher is of the opinion that PHEIs shall be capacitated by the model
developed and through implementation of the model to manage continuous
professional development for alumni of a PHEI, the overall goal, aim and
objectives of the study to facilitate continuous professional development in
South Africa will contribute to the optimisation of health care in South Africa.
The researcher did not imply that this model should be implemented in its
original form, but that the intention is that each HEI should customise the
model according to its own unique situation and alumni needs and
expectations. However, the process followed and components of the model
could be repeated without reinventing the wheel. The implementation plan
could therefore be utilised as a useful guideline.
The researcher is of the opinion that components of this contribution could
also facilitate the management of continuous professional development in
public HEIs in South Africa. Furthermore the researcher is also of the opinion
that components of the contribution could be implemented internationally by
HEIs. Therefore the overall goal, aim and objectives of the study were
reached.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-10232008-124229 |
| Date | 23 October 2008 |
| Creators | Castleman, E M |
| Contributors | Prof MM Nel |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-10232008-124229/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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