Self-assessment is an integral component of learning and developing decision making and critical thinking skills in the practice of dental hygiene. Dental hygienists must think critically and develop problem-solving strategies during their formal education to ensure lifelong quality and ongoing development of their personal knowledge and skill as related to providing comprehensive, evidence-based patient care. The primary focus of this qualitative investigation was to obtain undergraduate dental hygiene students' perceptions of and experiences with self-assessment. The sample consisted of an intact undergraduate dental hygiene class of seventeen students in their final semester of a two-year, entry-level dental hygiene program at a community college in the southeast United States. Data for this research were obtained from three sources: 1) a program-designed self-assessment survey assignment, 2) in-depth interviews with four second-year dental hygiene students, and 3) program-de...

Extant literature has highlighted that business schools have been accused of promoting an educational ethos that emphasizes shareholder value and the pursuit of short-term profits and thereby preparing overly competitive future generations interested in profit maximization. This paper highlights the importance of integrating CSR into the mainstream of business schools' curricula, arguing for the responsible role that business schools should play but also emphasizing the strategic case for such integration. The paper analyzes the main challenges and opportunities that both hinder and facilitate mainstreaming of CSR at the heart of the business school curriculum and the role that the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) can potentially play in this regard. The paper illustrates these drivers and constraints in the context of one specific business school in Lebanon that has successfully experimented with CSR mainstreaming, leading to a nuanced reflection on the pos...

Extant literature has highlighted that business schools have been accused of promoting an educational ethos that emphasizes shareholder value and the pursuit of short-term profits and thereby preparing overly competitive future generations interested in profit maximization. This paper highlights the importance of integrating CSR into the mainstream of business schools' curricula, arguing for the responsible role that business schools should play but also emphasizing the strategic case for such integration. The paper analyzes the main challenges and opportunities that both hinder and facilitate mainstreaming of CSR at the heart of the business school curriculum and the role that the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) can potentially play in this regard. The paper illustrates these drivers and constraints in the context of one specific business school in Lebanon that has successfully experimented with CSR mainstreaming, leading to a nuanced reflection on the possibilities of a real paradigmatic change in the context of higher management education at this critical juncture and what it is going to take to catalyze a real transformation beyond " bells and whistles " and mere rhetoric.

In this study, the history and diversity of interior architecture education are accounted for. During the historical course, it is seen that discrete educational understandings have formed and reflected on contemporary interior architecture education. The differences in professional education are causing alienation in the professional knowledge base and culture. In order to protect the professional culture, rights, and limitations, professional organizations were formed. Additionally, to eliminate educational differences and for standardizing educational programs accreditation organizations have been formed.
In this study, the competencies constituted by the Higher Education Council, the criteria defined by ECIA in Europe and CIDA in the United States are explored. According to the mentioned criteria, the need for re-structuring of educational programs and the creation of a more unifying educational model is discussed.

There is considerable argument concerning the number of sentinel node biopsy cases with axillary dissection that surgeons should perform before they are eligible on abandoning axillary dissection in negative sentinel node patients. Papers that (1) address directly or indirectly the subject of credentialing or of learning curve, (2) report on a surgeon's performance, (3) are reported as feasibility or learning curve studies, or both, (4) discuss the learning curve issue, and (5) express an expert's opinion on the learning curve. The number of procedures of the learning curve can not be fixed for all surgeons. Only surgeons in specialized breast cancer centers can succeed in meeting current recommendations with 20 to 30 cases. Surgeons from affiliated community hospitals will need more than 30 cases, whereas broad-based surgeons might need as many as 60 cases with their current caseload. Not all surgeons will be able to offer the procedure to their patients by the current reco...

The number of universities in Taiwan has increased enormously over the last ten years; this has raised concerns over the quality of the engineering programs. In 2003 the Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET) was established, to ensure quality control of the programs via outcomes-based accreditation. This paper describes key elements of IEET, a provisional signatory to the Washington Accord, and the lessons learned in the application of the scheme. Currently, nearly a quarter of all four-year engineering programs have participated in accreditation. Work in progress includes the fine-tuning of the accreditation process and accreditation of master's degree programs beginning in 2007. The work of IEET should help other economies that are in the process of establishing their own accreditation systems.

One of the requirements for proper running of a pathology laboratory is implementation of a quality assurance programme. Forensic pathology is not exempted, especially so when cases are increasing in complexity. It is not difficult to introduce a quality assurance programme even in a small forensic centre. Among the steps that can be implemented including introduction of a set of

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Advanced maternity care training in family medicine is highly variable at both the residency and fellowship levels. Declining numbers of family physicians providing maternity care services may exacerbate disparities in access to maternal and child care, especially in rural and other underserved communities. Accreditation of maternity care fellowships and board certification may be one potential avenue to address this trend. This study sought to understand the perceptions and beliefs of key family medicine stakeholders in advanced maternity care regarding the formalization of maternity care training through fellowship accreditation and the creation of a certificate of added qualification (CAQ). METHODS In 2014 and 2015, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 51 key stakeholders in family medicine maternity care. Transcribed interviews were coded using an iterative process to identify themes and patterns until saturation was reached. RESULTS Pa...

A High Quality Workforce: NHS Next Stage Review outlines the Department of Health future intention that all educational supervisors in secondary care undergo 'mandatory training and performance review'. This pilot study reports on the development and introduction of a system of portfolio-based accreditation and review in 16 London trusts. A number of considerations, constraints and challenges are identified which need to be addressed which have implications for the introduction of such a system across the UK.

Background Over the past decade, hospitals in many countries, including Israel, have undergone an accreditation process aimed at improving the quality of services provided. This process also refers to the protection and promotion of patients’ rights. However, reviewing the criteria and content included in this category in the Israeli context reveals definitions and implications that differ from those presented by the law – specifically the Patient’s Rights Act 1995. Moreover, the rights included in it are not necessarily equally represented in other legislation. Methods This study seeks to examine the question of whether and to what extent the scope, contents, and definitions of patients’ rights in the JCI Standards are similar to or different from patients’ rights as they are addressed and protected in national legislation. The article provides a comparison and examination of the different regulatory frameworks of patients’ rights, especially those in the accreditation of healthcar...

Transfer of knowledge from the basic biopsychosocial sciences to patient care is a major task for dental students during their education. Computer-based interactive patient simulations can help students affect this transfer because simulations allow students to develop and practice problem solving and decision-making skills interactively within the context of patient problems. A program for authoring computer-based interactive simulations is described. Patient simulations can effectively integrate basic science relevance, preparation for clinical problem solving, teaching new clinical content and several other necessary elements into curriculum infrastructure. Case simulations also can contribute to evolving educational standards set out by accrediting bodies.

Accompanying the rise in the number of mental health agency personnel tasked with quality assurance and improvement (QA/I) responsibilities is an increased need to understand the nature of the work these professionals undertake. Four aspects of the work of quality assurance and improvement (QA/I) professionals in mental health were explored in this qualitative study: their perceived roles, their major activities, their QA/I targets, and their contributions. In-person interviews were conducted with QA/I professionals at 16 mental health agencies. Respondents perceived their roles at varying levels of complexity, focused on different targets, and used different methods to conduct their work. Few targets of QA/I work served as indicators of high quality care. Most QA/I professionals provided concrete descriptions of how they had improved agency services, while others could describe none. Accreditation framed much of agency QA/I work, perhaps to its detriment.

Total Quality management (TQM) has many principles, and the objective of this study was to determine highest TQM principle which has the greater impact on overall hospital effectiveness as perceived by healthcare professionals working in accredited governmental hospitals in Jordan. A study survey instrument, designed to measure the impact of applying TQM principles on overall hospital effectiveness, then to find out the greater TQM principle which influence more the overall hospital effectiveness, Study questionnaire was administered to the healthcare professionals in the five governmental accredited hospitals in Jordan, The data collection where 1290 questionnaires. The response rate was 83.6% of the total questionnaires distributed. TQM principles were: Leadership commitment to quality, Customer focus, Continuous improvement, Teamwork, Employee involvement, and education and training. Multiple regression analysis using Beta Coefficient conducted, the result shows that the greater ...

ISO certified institutions expect to enjoy high level of accreditation as both ISO and accreditation support quality management system of higher education. This study aims to analyze the costs and benefits of the application of ISO 9001 which intersects with accreditation (APT) in the quality management system of higher education. The research was conducted through case study and descriptive approach. The research team conducted a survey of 120 new students of State Polytechnic in Batam with quota sampling technique for benefit estimation. Furthermore, a survey was conducted to 17 employees of the polytechnic who is responsible for the fulfillment of ISO 9001 certification and accreditation in all departments with purposive sampling technique to compare the benefits and costs. The research team found that both accreditation and ISO benefited the polytechnic. However, accreditation offers more benefits on performance improvement, student number, student satisfaction, and organizational reputation compared to that by ISO. Nevertheless, ISO benefits more on document improvement than accreditation. In terms of costs, ISO is considered to require a larger cost and more work time than accreditation. Thus, based on cost benefit analysis of both tangible and intangible aspects, quality management of higher education using accreditation is superior to using ISO alone.

This review examines the educational accreditation standards of four licensed complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) disciplines (naturopathic medicine, chiropractic health care, acupuncture and oriental medicine, and massage therapy), and identifies public health and other competencies found in those standards that contribute to cooperation and collaboration among the health care professions. These competencies may form a foundation for interprofessional education. The agencies that accredit the educational programs for each of these disciplines are individually recognized by the United States Department (Secretary) of Education. Patients and the public are served when healthcare practitioners collaborate and cooperate. This is facilitated when those practitioners possess competencies that provide them the knowledge and skills to work with practitioners from other fields and disciplines. Educational accreditation standards provide a framework for the delivery of these competencies. Requiring these competencies through accreditation standards ensures that practitioners are trained to optimally function in integrative clinical care settings.

I discuss the predicament that engineering-ethics education in Japan now faces and propose a solution to this. The predicament is professional motivation, i.e., the problem of how to motivate engineering students to maintain their professional integrity. The special professional responsibilities of engineers are often explained either as an implicit social contract between the profession and society (the “social-contract” view), or as requirements for membership in the profession (the “membership-requirement” view). However, there are empirical data that suggest that such views will not do in Japan, and this is the predicament that confronts us. In this country, the profession of engineering did not exist 10 years ago and is still quite underdeveloped. Engineers in this country do not have privileges, high income, or high social status. Under such conditions, neither the social-contract view nor the membership-requirement view is convincing. As an alternative approach that might work in Japan, I propose a pride-based view. The notion of pride has been analyzed in the virtue-ethics literature, but the full potential of this notion has not been explored. Unlike other kinds of pride, professional pride can directly benefit the general public by motivating engineers to do excellent work even without social rewards, since being proud of themselves is already a reward. My proposal is to foster a particular kind of professional pride associated with the importance of professional services in society, as the motivational basis for professional integrity. There is evidence to suggest that this model works.

Present mass education system that can best be described using the factory metaphor is witnessing criminal wastage of resources. Despite of regulatory framework and accreditation mechanism, the quality in mass higher education system in India still remains elusive. We observe that Lean and Agile practices that have met with great success in manufacturing and software industry can offer few of their practices to higher education in order to reduce the wastage. In this paper we have reflected on some of the current practices in higher education and proposed an Agile Manifesto for education on the lines of Agile Manifesto in the software development. The paper puts forward a novel idea of how we can improve the quality and productivity in education sector by practicing the agile manifesto with the help of ICT.

Accreditation of 3 rd level educational programmes by a suitably recognised professional body is of particular relevance in relation to engineering. The completion of a sequence of modules which leads to the attainment of this professionally recognised award is viewed as integral to the undertaking. The engineering technology fields are developing and expanding rapidly and the third level sector must keep abreast of these changes. This is essential if the third level institutions wish to continue delivering programmes which produce graduates who can successfully complete the transition from 3 rd level to the various engineering sectors.

Objective. To assess current technical quality control (QC) practices within breast cancer screening or surveillance programs internationally. Materials and methods. The International Breast Cancer Screening Network (IBSN) conducted an extensive survey of quality assurance (QA) activities in developed countries known to have population-based breast cancer screening or surveillance programs in place. Twenty-three countries were sent questionnaires that included items about QA and QC requirements at screening sites, the minimum frequencies of QC test performance, and the personnel responsible for performing QC tests. Results. All 23 countries in the IBSN completed general information on their QA practices. Twenty-two countries responded with complete details on their technical QC practices. The responses indicated a pattern of consistently high-quality control practices among population-based breast cancer screening and surveillance programs. Most programs performed the great majority of QC tests. Variations were observed in the performance frequencies of QC tests and in the personnel responsible for performing QC tests. Conclusion. QC practices among population-based breast cancer screening and surveillance programs are highly evolved, with the great majority of responding countries following prescribed QC protocols. Further research is needed on appropriate performance frequencies for mammography QC tests.

Interventional radiology is a relatively new speciality and may be referred to as ''image-guided surgery without a scalpel.'' Training and accreditation bodies regard interventional radiology training as being ''different'' from general radiology because of the additional need for dexterity and clinical acumen. Due to the multidimensional role of an interventional radiologist, a practitioner in this discipline must have a number of the competencies of anesthetists, surgeons, and radiologists. The attributes required of an interventional radiologist are akin to those required of a surgeon. This paper gives an overview of the skills required to be a competent interventional radiologist along with a succinct introduction to methods of assessment of technical and non-technical skills.

This article suggests specific training standards are needed to challenge the silence around lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in Counselor Education and to disrupt heterosexist practices in counseling training. The manner in which the CACREP Standards addresses the LGBT population is called into question, as the 2009 and the second draft of the 2016 standards continue to be vague concerning this population. The challenge of utilizing the historically exclusive and presently inclusive term “multicultural” in counseling when considering the LGBT population is examined. Recommendations for Counselor Education programs to go beyond the minimal CACREP Standards for preparing students to provide culturally competent services for the LGBT population are offered. Author's Notes Address correspondence to Omar A. Troutman, Department of Counselor Education, University of South Carolina, 266 Wardlaw College, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. E-mail: troutman@mailbox.sc.edu; omar...

Introduction: Hospital accreditation can be an incentive to improve occupational health and safety (OHS) performance. Objective: This study assesses the relationship between status of accreditation among private Lebanese hospitals and compliance with OHS accreditation standards. Methods: A survey was administered to 68 private Lebanese hospitals to assess accreditation status and specific indicators related to each of the 9 OHS codes in the Lebanese accreditation manual. Chi-square, Fisher's exact test, and independent sample t-tests compared the OHS standards between accredited and non-accredited hospitals. Results: Fifty-six percent of participating private hospitals were accredited. Accredited hospitals reported statistically better OHS performance than non-accredited hospitals based on the standards outlined in the accreditation manual. However, there was inconsistent performance on numerous OHS indicators among participating hospitals. Conclusion: The gaps in OHS performance suggest the need for strengthened OHS guidelines in the national accreditation process to safeguard workers' health. Strategies to fortify OHS performance include tying service reimbursement to OHS compliance and linking OHS standards with national labor legislation.

Assessment of student learning is a critical part of ACB-SP accreditation. Assessment efforts are often undertaken in business programs without the benefit of a complete and systematic approach. The use of a design-based assessment architecture ensures that assessment efforts are deployed in a systematic manner by focusing attention on critical elements. The key aspects include the structure of assessment elements, defining processes, developing organizational competency in assessment, and the use of appropriate technology. This white paper will introduce the use of a design-based approach as an assessment approach that reflects ACBSP requirements at the program and course level as well as evaluation of the performance of the business unit. Complete systems of methods rooted in design thinking ensure that all pieces of the assessment puzzle are put in place in a complete and systematic manner.

(WHO AFRO) established a stepwise approach, using a 0-to 5-star scale, to the recognition of evolving fulfillment of the ISO 15189 standard rather than pass-fail grading. Laboratories that fail to achieve an assessment score of at least 55% will not be awarded a star ranking. Laboratories that achieve 95% or more will receive a 5-star rating. This stepwise approach acknowledges to laboratories where they stand, supports them with a series of evaluations to use to demonstrate improvement, and recognizes and rewards their progress. WHO AFRO's accreditation process is not intended to replace established ISO 15189 accreditation schemes, but rather to provide an interim pathway to the realization of international laboratory standards. Laboratories that demonstrate outstanding performance in the WHO-AFRO process will be strongly encouraged to enroll in an established ISO 15189 accreditation scheme. We believe that the WHO-AFRO approach for laboratory accreditation is affordable, sustainable, effective, and scalable.

The field of environmental engineering is rapidly evolving, and environmental engineering education programmes have been forced to try to keep pace. Keeping up with all of these changes has been difficult for many university programmes, particularly those that do not have a separate environmental engineering curriculum. As a result, many universities are establishing separate environmental engineering degree programmes or even creating a separate Department of Environmental Engineering. This paper describes current curriculum development activities in North America and efforts to accredit these programmes. It also describes the structure and operation of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), an organization in North America that is dedicated to improving environmental engineering education.

This paper describes a one-day workshop format for introducing ethics into the engineering curriculum prepared at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM). It responds to the ethics criteria newly integrated into the accreditation process by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). It also employs an ethics across the curriculum (EAC) approach; engineers identify the ethical issues, write cases that dramatize these issues, and then develop exercises making use of these cases that are specially tailored to mainstream engineering classes. The different activities and strategies employed in this workshop are set forth. Specific references are made to the cases and exercises developed as a result of these workshops. The paper ends by summarizing the different assessments made of the workshop by addressing the following questions: how did it contribute to the overall ABET effort at UPRM; could other universities benefit from a similar activity; and how did the participants evaluate the workshop?

Humans have used dance as a healing art since the beginning of human history, but dance therapy has only begun to be recognized as a formal profession since the mid-1940s. At that time, dancers living in the USA began using dance as a therapeutic medium in health-care settings. Since then, the field has expanded across the world, with dance therapists now practicing in most countries. Professional associations have been established, training courses set up, and processes for registering therapists with government authorities implemented. This article provides an international overview of these developments. Detailed information about progress and challenges in the advancement of the dance therapy profession is offered across six world regions. Progress includes expansion of geographic range to countries where no formal training or networks exist, including many developing nations. Barriers to progress include lack of university-based accredited training and low numbers of professionals, making the establishment of a critical mass of practitioners difficult. Suggestions for future development of the profession internationally are made.

Some rights reserved This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank, all of which are specifically reserved.

Participation in the Australian Council on Hospital Standards' accreditation program provides one of the important stimuli for change in Australian hospitals. This article analyses the impact of the accreditation program upon a random sample of 23 Australian hospitals which were monitored for two years. At the conclusion of the study, those hospitals which had applied for accreditation were compared and contrasted with those hospitals which had not applied. It was found that those hospitals which applied could be differentiated from those hospitals which had not by significant changes in six areas. The areas which showed the least change were those most directly associated with the medical staff. 'Nursing Organisation' and 'Physical Facilities and Safety' were the areas most affected by accreditation.

Chile implemented a new national quality assurance system for its higher education institutions in 2006 that included a set of policies and procedures for graduate education. Ten years after its implementation, this study looks at the perceived alignments and misalignments between the national accreditation goals and the graduate programs’ visions of improvement. By using the concept of loosely coupled systems, we studied eight science and technology master’s and doctoral programs at four research-oriented Chilean universities. In total, we conducted 26 interviews, visited all campus sites, and analyzed related documents. The results indicate that the national accreditation system improved academic quality across programs by strengthening the influence of university central administrations and raising faculty productivity standards. In particular, the accreditation meant a push for internationalization, which was welcomed at all institutional levels. However, after a decade, the accreditation system seems misaligned with programs’ new improvement efforts, such as the promotion of multidisciplinary work. To some extent, accreditation standards, based on strong disciplinary orientations, penalize a diverse student body and curricular innovation and do not consider the challenges of publishing multidisciplinary research.

The purpose of this paper is to review the current status of laboratory quality regulations and accreditation standards in Turkey. Design and method: This paper is written based on the current regulations, information collected by available websites and congress proceedings, and personal communications. Results: A total of 14 private and one public laboratory have been accredited according to ISO 15189 voluntarily. The total number of the JCI accredited hospitals is 24. One hospital has been accredited by HQS. A few medical laboratories have been accredited according to ISO 17025, whereas a lot of them have ISO 9001 certification from Turkish Accreditation Agency, TURKAK. There are no comprehensive laboratory standards and/or regulations to maintain a mandatory minimum quality of laboratories. External QC is not mandatory and there is no national proficiency testing program. It is a requirement to get a license to open a laboratory. There are residency programs for clinical chemistry and clinical microbiology. The Association of Clinical Biochemists, KBUD, is the youngest society in the field of clinical chemistry and is a leader in quality and accreditation activities. KBUDEK is an external QC program of KBUD. KBUD has organized four national and an international symposiums on quality and accreditation in addition to annual congresses and courses. Conclusion: The new standard and regulation should be designed and applied to all laboratories to increase the quality of laboratory service in Turkey. It will be useful if the ISO 15189 standard can be incorporated into the national standards and regulations.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health takes pride in this heritage and is deeply committed to improving the quantity and quality of hospitals and primary health care centers (PHCCs) in Iraq. With the remarkable increase in the number of hospitals and PHCCs in Iraq over the last decade, there is a need to enhance the quality of health services as well as modernize the health care facilities. The emphasis on robust health sector development in the Iraq National Development Plan further highlights the need to use standards and accreditation to assure quality of health services delivery.