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Introduction: This longitudinal tracking project by the University of Queensland Rural Clinical School (UQRCS) provides data on the early career pathways of alumni since its inception in 2002. Specifically we report on; (1) perceptions of the UQRCS regarding its influence on current career choice, (2) current speciality choices, and (3) factors that influenced these choices. Methods: A retrospective web-based survey of all graduates who undertook clinical Year 3, Year 4 or Years 3 & 4 at UQRCS from 2002 to 2006. Associations with demographics, Year(s) at UQRCS, current workplace and speciality choice were assessed. Results: Response rate was 69, (N 180). Alumni who spent two years (Years 3 & 4) at UQRCS reported significantly higher degrees of encouragement to pursue a rural career. Alumni currently working in a non-urban location had spent two years at UQRCS and were significantly higher in desire to remain rural. 'Time spent at the UQRCS' contributed most to interest in a rural career. General practice and emergency medicine were most preferred specialities. Conclusions: Findings confirm that a longer rural clinical experience is more effective in eventual choice of workplace location and future interest in a rural career. This corroborates the positive impact of Australian rural clinical schools toward rural medical workforce improvement. © 2009 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved.

Background: Learning in a socio-cultural context, in contrast to an individual context, has been highlighted in recent years. The 3-hour meeting concept presents a socio-cultural framework for collaborative educational opportunities; it has run successfully for 6 years at 129 meetings for junior doctors (JDs) in an 850-bed Danish university hospital. Aim: This concept improved the educational environment and activities by engaging JDs in educational initiatives. Method: The concept began with annual meetings that featured self-reflection and plenary discussions regarding all aspects of education. The meetings concluded with the Top 3 of 'educational issues of concern' and an action plan for education initiated by junior doctors. This written material on educational matters from each department provided updated knowledge to department and hospital management and resulted in the development of 'blue prints for educational action'. Results: The compiled actions resulted in the implementation of 76 educational initiatives in the first year, after just one 3-hour meeting and managerial follow-up. Conclusion: The junior doctors' increased engagement in education reinforced educational relationships with senior doctors and management, and this collaboration markedly improved the educational environment and the number of educational activities. Therefore, the 3-hour meeting concept supported the socio-cultural perception of education in the hospital. © 2009 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved.

The use of dental implants has become a widely accepted and well-documented treatment option offering to both patients and dentists an alternative to traditional treatment modalities and at the same time opening a brand new area in dental postgraduate education. As such, it is necessary to define the competencies that the graduate student/dentist will need at the different levels of clinical practice in Implant Dentistry and the educational pathways that are required to convey those competencies in a structured manner. The present position paper provides an initial suggestion for the knowledge, skills and behaviour necessary for a graduate student to practice implant dentistry at the different levels of clinical complexity. An outline of the necessary competencies and structure of various levels of postgraduate university courses is provided together with different educational approaches to support them. The present paper should be evaluated as a platform for discussion for future development of postgraduate curricula in implant dentistry rather than a manual on how to design and operate such curricula. © 2009 Blackwell Munksgaard.

Numerous data from the medical literature show that working as a hairdresser is associated with the highest risk of occupational contact dermatitis. In Europe, hairdressers rank first of all occupation groups with the highest prevalence of occupational dermatitis. It is estimated that 10-20% and even 50% of hairdressers are affected with skin disorders. Skin problems occur soon after commencing hairdressing, in the first 2 years of work, sometimes during vocational training. The most common factors contributing to skin damage include water, shampoos, detergents, conditioners, hair dyes, bleaches, permanent wave solutions and components of gloves. Water and wet work are prime skin irritants - causal factors of irritant contact dermatitis while p-phenylenediamine, glyceryl monothioglycolate, ammonium persulfate and also fragrances, preservatives, disinfectants and metals are the most important allergens, which induce allergic contact dermatitis. © Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. J. Nofera w Łodzi.

Over the last quarter of a century, much attention has justifiably been given to the closure of long-stay hospitals and the subsequent community-based experiences of people with learning disabilities.This has inevitably led to debate regarding how best they might continue to be supported, and by whom. Having identified a range of accredited provision currently available to prepare or develop staff working with adults with learning disabilities in the United Kingdom, this article reviews a range of contemporary literature relating to education in learning disability health and social care that is typically produced and viewed in isolation. Four themes are identified: training social carers, user involvement, (inter)professional practice and work-based learning. Key messages emerge from these themes to form recommendations for the future education of learning disability practitioners across the workforce. © The Author(s), 2009.

The education of health professions students is rooted historically in time-honored and silo-bound traditions of pedagogy and content not easily influenced by outside forces. However, the quality chasm work of the Institute of Medicine, Institute of Healthcare Improvement, Quality and Safety Education for Nurses, and other groups has led to a remarkable willingness to change at one academic health sciences university. This article describes one university's strategies, challenges, and successes in delivering interprofessional educational programs. Four interprofessional learning activities, developed using a plan-do-study-act model and focused on teamwork, quality, and safety, are presented. Challenges and successes encountered are described as well as a curricular framework to enhance sustainability.

Background: Most of the efforts to reduce teenagers' tobacco addiction have focused on smoking prevention and little on smoking cessation. A smoking cessation program (TABADO study), associating pharmacologic and cognitive-behavioural strategy, on a particularly vulnerable population (vocational trainees), was developed. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the program which was offered to all smokers in a population aged 15 to 20 years in Vocational Training Centers (VTC). This paper presents the TABADO study protocol. Methods: The study is quasi-experimental, prospective, evaluative and comparative and takes place during the 2 years of vocational training. The final population will be composed of 2000 trainees entering a VTC in Lorraine, France, during the 2008-2009 period. The intervention group (1000 trainees) benefited from the TABADO program while no specific intervention took place in the "control" group (1000 trainees) other than the treatment and education services usually available. Our primary outcome will be the tobacco abstinence rate at 12 months. Discussion. If the program proves effective, it will be a new tool in the action against smoking in populations that have been seldom targeted until now. In addition, the approach could be expanded to other young subjects from socially disadvantaged backgrounds in the context of a public health policy against smoking among adolescents. © 2009 Minary et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

This paper discusses the interaction between healthcare policy at the European, UK and Scottish levels and the funding of education that underpins specific health policy priorities. Stroke is used throughout to illustrate the relationship between a designated European and UK health priority and the translation of that priority into clinical delivery. The necessity to build a responsive and sustainable culture to address the healthcare education that underpins changing healthcare policies is emphasized. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background: Apprentices form the major subgroup in adolescents aged between 16 and 25 years in Germany. Prospectively today's apprentices will display an important role within the society by being the backbone of the future middle class, a socio-economic group of high significance. However, there is little knowledge about the health of apprentices, a major determinant of economic and social capacity. A number of surveys has focussed on the health of adolescents, but these studies failed to provide specific data regarding the subgroup of apprentices. Aims of the study: The aims of this study were to survey the health status and the health behaviour of apprentices in a large range of qualified jobs and to point out possible differences between the occupantional fields and gender-specific items. These differences could serve as a starting point for the development of specially-tailored prevention and health promoting strategies in the dual vocational education system. Methods: 528 vocational first-year scholars aged between 16 to 25 years were enrolled in the study. A standardised questionnaire concerning life-style attitudes, (physical activity, smoking, alcolhol consumption, drug-abuse, the amount of sleep and dietary habits) was provided in different vocational school settings. The survey was conducted as a pilot-study in vocational schools of Bielefeld in spring 2005. Results: The response rate was 100%. Health risk behaviours were common in apprentices. The percentage of smokers was higher than 50%, exceeding the average rate found in contemporary students. Physiological activity and sleeping quantity was significantly reduced compared to the period of regular scholarship, while drug-abuse slightly decreased. Gender, graduation and the vocational choice had an influence on the health behaviour of the apprentices. Conclusions: Depending on gender and the vocational choice, apprentices differed in their health risk behaviour and therefore require specially-tailored prevention activities. Health promotion and physical activity programs as an integrated unit in the daily life in schools and at the working places are necessary to increase the awareness for health-related life-style factors and to counterbalance the effects of occupational exposure. Based on the results both partners of the dual vocational training are challenged to implement effective and coordinated programmes to maintain health in this population. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart.

Working in communities is increasingly a feature of UK (United Kingdom) higher education. Within the last decade communities of practice (CoPs) have migrated from organisational development departments and evolved to become tools for practice based learning in educational settings. More recently, in nursing, the literature reports that CoPs have the potential to blend the skills of both academics and clinicians to transform and create new knowledge that is both scholarly and applicable to practice. Copyright "2008 The Berkeley Electronic Press. All rights reserved.