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Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are increasingly being adopted as an assessment tool by medicine and other health professions in a bid to enhance competency-based health professional education. EPAs are well-defined professional activities that can be entrusted to students to perform with varying levels of supervision. They were introduced to overcome some of the limitations of traditional assessment methods of competency such as individual skills assessment or Direct Observation of Procedures and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations. Could EPAs be beneficial in Australian and New Zealand optometric clinical education for advanced skills training and accreditation including the credentialing assessment of overseas educated practitioners? This paper discusses the historical context of how competencies were introduced and assessed in Australian optometry, the evolution of the concept of EPAs in medicine and other health professions, their design and implementation worldwide and whether EPAs could be adopted into optometric training and assessment in Australia and New Zealand. © 2025 Optometry Australia.

Introduction: This short report introduces an application of curriculum mapping in a postgraduate health professions continuing education setting. Our focus is on the Health Professions Education Evaluation and Research (HPEER) Advanced Fellowship Program, a national interprofessional 2-year program offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Methods: We designed an Excel-based tool to align HPEER domains and competencies with curricular elements. An interprofessional team conducted an independent review of the curricula, ensuring consistency and accuracy in the mapping. Discrepancies were reconciled to maintain consistency. Results: The pilot use of the curriculum mapping tool showed that all planned competencies appeared in at least two sessions per year, with each competency appearing a median of six times. The curriculum featured a balance of didactic and interactive sessions, ensuring diverse learning experiences. Discussion: Our curriculum mapping tool demonstrates a program-wide approach, enabling program leaders to oversee the comprehensive alignment of educational content with fellowship goals. This approach enhances transparency and stakeholder engagement, offering a fresh perspective on curriculum mapping in postgraduate interprofessional education. Our method demonstrates significant potential for quality enhancement in various continuing education settings and demonstrates that CM need not rely on complex digital platforms to be effective. © This material is published by permission of the Health Professions Education, Evaluation and Research Advanced Fellowship Coordinating Center, operated under the Department of Veterans Affairs under Grant No. #3HPECCD2020. The US Government retains for itself, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, non-exclusive, and irrevocable worldwide licence in said article to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government.

Purpose: Integrating diagnostic error and malpractice cases into clinical reasoning education may enhance diagnostic reasoning by highlighting atypical presentations and diagnostic risks in complex contexts. While emotionally engaging, these cases might also affect information retention. This study examines how malpractice, error, and neutral case presentations influence recall for different information types and their interaction with learners’ interest, satisfaction and anxiety levels. Methods: In this two-phase between-subjects experiment, 89 first-year general practice (GP) residents reviewed four clinical vignettes in either malpractice, diagnostic error, or neutral formats. Vignettes were structurally identical, with claim-related details in malpractice versions replaced by general medical information in others. Anxiety was measured pre-and post-exercise. After a one-hour filler task, participants completed a free recall task, and their interest and satisfaction levels were assessed. Recalled idea units (clinical case-specific, medical-theoretical, claim-specific) were analyzed using ANOVAs. Results: Anxiety, interest, and satisfaction levels remained similar across conditions. The proportion of total recalled idea units did not differ significantly (malpractice 11.38%, neutral 12.91%, error 13.12% p = 0.57). However, malpractice participants recalled fewer clinical case-specific units (malpractice 12.19%, neutral 19.43%, error 15.87% p = 0.007) while recalling more claim-specific units compared to medical-theoretical units in the other conditions (malpractice 7.23%, neutral 0.42%, error 1.3% p < 0.001). Conclusion: GP residents retained fewer clinical case-specific details from malpractice claim vignettes than from neutral vignettes, with the missing information substituted by claim-specific details, without an increase in anxiety or interest. Further research is needed to understand the long-term impact of these differences on future diagnostic accuracy in clinical practice. © 2025 The Author(s).

Introduction: When considering personal characteristics in undergraduate medical admission, professional prequalification (i.e., previous work experience in the medical field) and performance on situational judgement tests (SJTs) are prominent criteria. Despite evidence on the ability of professional prequalification and SJT performance to predict general interpersonal skills, their benefit for students’ concrete behavior in everyday situations remains unclear. Methods: With the present study, we examined how undergraduate medical students with prior professional qualification and students with better SJT performance act in actual social situations by using a behavior-focused observer approach. Supervisors rated the students after a mandatory one-week practical training in general medicine on three distinguishable interpersonal dimensions, namely agency (i.e., assured-dominant), communion (i.e., warm-agreeable), and emotional stability (i.e., calm and stable). Prior to admission, participants (N = 210) completed a traditional SJT (i.e., HAM-SJT), a natural science test (i.e., HAM-Nat), and responded to sociodemographic questions. Results: Controlling for cognitive admission criteria, age, and gender, students with prior professional qualifications were rated as more assured-dominant (β = 0.21; 95% CI [0.04; 0.39], p = 0.019), whereas students with better HAM-SJT performance were rated as more warm-agreeable (β = 0.17, 95% CI [0.02; 0.31], p = 0.024). Discussion: The results value both admission criteria as complements to cognitive criteria in undergraduate selection but emphasize their differentiated focus on students’ interpersonal behavior. Medical schools are invited to review their admission criteria based on the present findings and on the question of required and learnable skills. © 2025 The Author(s).

Employability skills of vocational high school students are needed to prepare for a reliable, professional, and globally competitive world of work. The poor work skills of vocational high school students are influenced by many factors. This study analyzes the research trends and factors that influence vocational high employability. Type of literature study using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Data collection for 2020-2024 Work skills based on a search of Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases was conducted from October 25 to 31, 2024. VOSviewer application to analyze research trends. Search using keyword employability skills and vocational high school students. The selection process was conducted by inviting three authors to review articles. If an article does not meet the criteria, the solution is to invite other reviewers or experts to help complete it. Data analysis techniques include an identification stage with records from the database and continued filtering of data that meets the criteria and does not. Filtering stage with feasibility assessment Study Stage in Article Review. The results of the study identified 1016 articles, 311 articles, 39 articles, and 96 factors influencing work skills. Six dominant factors determine work skills: creativity (FI_1), communication skills (FI_2), adaptability (FI_3), problem-solving (FI_4), critical thinking (FI_5), and self-confidence (FI_6). The determining factors of work skills internationally are more dominant in self-confidence, adaptability, and communication skills, while in Indonesia, they are communication skills and creativity. A limitation of the data search process is the use of incomplete keywords. The contribution of this study is that six determining factors were used as considerations for the qualifications of student graduates in contextual and meaningful vocational learning. ©: © 2025 Puji Hartini QA et al.

Introduction: Rural Canadians have poorer health indices than their urban counterparts and struggle with worse access to care due to an undersupply of physicians. Research has identified personal factors, such as being raised in a rural environment, and traits, such as lower harm avoidance, among those drawn to rural practice. As well, the impact of aspects of medical training, such as rural rotations, have been recognized in creating rural practice intentions, but the role of specific clinical competencies here has yet to be determined. Emergency medicine is often one of the most challenging components of rural practice and thought by some to have its competencies poorly developed in family practice training. We hypothesized a model for rural practice affinity in which a strong sense of general self-efficacy would be independently mediated by the development of emergency medicine competence and rural practice self-efficacy, leading to stronger intentions to embark on a rural practice career. Methods: This model was tested using the data from a survey of all family medicine residents nearing graduation from 14 of the 17 Canadian medical schools. Demographics and data on factors known to influence a rural career choice were collected and accounted for when determining the strength of the hypothesized relationships. Both existing and specifically designed survey tools were used to assess model components. A partial correlation matrix between the variables of interest (general self-efficacy, emergency medicine competency, rural practice self-efficacy, and rural practice intentions) – controlling for the effects of relationships, financial aspects, personal aspects, and social desirability – was created and subjected to a structural equation model. Results: Our initial rural practice affinity model resulted in a poor fit of the model to the data. However, the addition of a pathway from emergency medicine competence to rural practice selfefficacy improved the model to one showing significant paths as hypothesized as well as excellent measures of fit. Discussion: The importance of general self-efficacy is recognized and is itself mediated by the more specific rural practice self efficacy to rural practice intentions, consistent with the literature. Emergency medicine competency has a central role in both mediating general self-efficacy to rural practice intentions, while also being mediated itself by rural practice self-efficacy to rural practice intentions. This provides new understanding in the development of rural practice self-efficacy. The link of emergency medicine competency to both rural practice self-efficacy and rural practice intentions suggests that this is a curricular area that deserves greater focus and consideration of how to ensure that residents are meeting emergency medicine requirements and receiving robust training in this area. This is especially important as there have been significant concerns from various groups on the efficacy of emergency medicine training in family medicine residency. Conclusion: These findings will help inform residency program curriculum and pedagogies, underlining the critical role of emergency medicine competence to support rural physician identity formation and to improve physician recruitment to rural Canada. © This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Background: The frequent occurrence of public health emergencies in the 21st century has posed significant challenges to global healthcare systems. As crucial members of medical teams, Generation Z nursing interns play a pivotal role in emergency response. However, systematic assessments of preparedness encompassing emergency attitude, professional knowledge, operational skills, and comprehensive competencies among nursing interns remain unexplored. Objective: This study aims to assess the public health emergency preparedness of Generation Z nursing interns in the post-pandemic era and identify key influencing factors, providing insights for optimizing nursing education and clinical training. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 434 Generation Z nursing interns in Zhengzhou, China, from January to February 2025 using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Questionnaire for Nursing Interns, Nurse's Digital Competence Self-assessment Scale, and Professional Identity Scale for Nursing Students. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, Pearson's correlation, and multiple stepwise regression. Results: The total score of public health emergency preparedness of 434 nursing interns was 95.79 ± 11.03, with notable deficiencies in professional knowledge and comprehensive competencies. Multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed that digital competence, professional identity, attitude toward the nursing major, and level of internship hospital were the main influencing factors of emergency preparedness (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings indicate that while Generation Z nursing interns demonstrate a high proficiency in emergency operations and a positive attitude toward emergency response, deficiencies persist in specialized emergency knowledge and psychological intervention capabilities. It is recommended that nursing schools and internship hospitals implement integrated emergency training programs, complemented by enhanced digital competency and professional identity cultivation, to holistically bolster preparedness for future public health emergencies. © © 2025 Duan, Feng, Zhuang, Zhou, Jia, Sun and Zhang.

Background and objective General practitioners (GPs) need postgraduate training pathways specific to their needs and integrated into local health environments. This scoping review investigates components of integrated GP training pathways including the barriers and enablers of effective pathways for GP recruitment and retention. Methods This review was guided by methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Extension for Scoping Reviews Checklist. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus databases were searched for articles published between 2013 and March 2024. Included articles were analysed and categorised by thematic analysis. Results Twenty-seven articles were included, resulting in six key themes: (1) place-based training; (2) trainee background and connections; (3) support structures; (4) professional identity; (5) trainee demographics; and (6) family factors. Discussion The components, barriers and enablers of GP training pathways identified will guide development and evaluation of improved integrated training pathway options for GP trainees in Australia. © The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners 2025

Background: Various problems, such as a shortage of teachers, especially in certain outlying and underdeveloped provinces, unequal distribution of teachers, low teacher competency, and mismatch between educational qualifications and scientific fields, as well as the demands of increasingly dynamic developments in science and technology, resulting in the need for professional development for elementary school teachers to improve teacher professionalism in Indonesia. These background as a basis for the government to create teacher professional education program for elementary school teachers continuously. It is hoped that it will be able to answer the educational problems facing the Indonesian nation. This research explores the opinions of elementary school teachers who have participated in teacher professional development activities through the in-service teacher professional education program. Methods: We collected data through a written survey of 24 elementary school teachers, as well as article documents relevant to the research topic. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Result: The research produced two main themes: increasing teacher competencies and sustainable teacher development programs. Increasing teacher competency related to social competence, pedagogical competence and professional competence. The sustainable teacher development program is related to the guaranteeing the instructional quality of post-program and multi-sectoral collaboration. Conclusion: Developing teacher professionalism through teacher professional education program in elementary schools in Indonesia positively impacts teachers’ becoming professional teachers. Teacher professional education program is an indication of improving teacher professionalism, especially in developing teaching skills, improving the quality of instruction, teacher motivation and individual development in dealing with various problems in instruction in the classroom, especially in elementary schools, so that the instructional objectives that have been set can be achieved. The professionalism of elementary school teachers will improve if there are sustainable programs such as mentoring programs from the government, universities and parties that focus on improving the quality of education in Indonesia. ©: © 2025. R et al.

The incorporation of emerging technologies in educational environments is an undeniable phenomenon. The successful adoption of these technologies is heavily influenced by teachers' perceptions and understanding of them. In this study, we aimed to investigate the readiness of science teachers in post-basic schools to effectively integrate Augmented Reality (AR) into their instructional practices, taking into account their educational backgrounds. A semi-structured interview approach was used to collect data from a sample of 10 science teachers in two post-basic schools in the Al-Batinah North governorate of the Sultanate of Oman. The results suggested that science teachers show a propensity to use AR; however, not all possess prior familiarity with the technology. Subjects such as physics, chemistry, and biology were identified as areas where AR could significantly enhance learning outcomes. Participants recommended the introduction of instructional programs focused on the application of AR. Additionally, some teachers expressed caution regarding potential adverse effects of AR on humans, a scepticism likely stemming from limited exposure to tangible technological devices. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding by providing empirical evidence that validates the AR Readiness Index as a useful framework for exploring teachers' preparedness to effectively employ emerging technologies. ©2025 the Author(s).