Enhancing learning and patient care

The project is a collaboration between practice-based educators and academics in the Pedagogic Research area in the School of Health Sciences. Since the focus of this research is on practitioners’ own practice as educators, and not as clinical practitioners, the primary involvement of the Practice Education Research Hub in planning the research and conducting the interviews is pivotal.

Membership of the Hub encompasses the professions of occupational therapy, podiatry, and physiotherapy, thus enabling the multidisciplinary nature of the research team. To enhance rapport and active engagement of participants, peer interviewers from each discipline are paired with an interviewer from the Pedagogic Research Group, alternating the lead role between interviews. 

This project takes a narrative inquiry approach to address the following questions:

• What stories do allied health professionals have to tell about their practice as educators?

• What are the most salient types of situations reflected in their stories?

• What repertoire of personal strategies (practical ways of proceeding) do these practitioners use to sustain their role as effective practice educators in the health care workplace?