Coping orientation and psychological distress in healthcare professionals: The utility of appraising coping acceptability

The purpose of this study was to examine interaction effects of healthcare professionals' coping orientation (i.e., engagement versus disengagement) and appraisal of coping acceptability (ACA) on psychological distress, taking into account the individuals' job specificity and the psychological climate in their work environment. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted, and Japanese healthcare professionals (N = 189; 117 female; mean age: 40.1 ± 11.2 years) reported the coping strategies that they employed for task‐related or interpersonal stressors, their cognitive appraisal of the stressors, their ACA, and the psychological distress evoked by the stressors. The results showed that adding consideration of the ACA to the variable of coping orientation significantly improved predictions of psychological distress for both task and interpersonal stressors. There was no significant interaction between the coping orientation and the use of coping strategies that incorporated the ACA. These results suggest that considering the ACA, in addition to the coping orientation, would be useful for understanding individual differences in the mediators of healthcare professionals' coping in stressful situations.     

The transnational experience of sport psychology practitioners from training to practice

ObjectiveDespite a growing body of literature examining the migratory experiences of athletes, limited attention has been paid to the migratory experience of sport psychology practitioners (SPPs). This study explores SPPs’ experiences of transnational migration; specifically, for those who expatriated to receive their training and repatriated to begin their professional careers.DesignAdhering to consensual qualitative research methodology, we conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews.MethodsFollowing criterion-based sampling, we interviewed six female and four male SPPs who worked in academic (n = 3), applied (n = 3), and governmental (n = 4) environments. We used an analytical procedure encompassing concurrent deductive and inductive processes.ResultsParticipants described their motivations for expatriation and repatriation. They shared the challenges and benefits they faced throughout their transnational experience, recognizing the value that this experience brought to their lives. In most cases, SPPs shared how their training abroad became a professional advantage, once repatriated. They also described how the process of repatriation was more challenging than expected due to personal and professional difficulties.ConclusionsParticipants highlighted the positive influence that their transnational experience had in their personal and professional lives. Their transnational experience helped them grow personally and professionally, and provided them with professional advantages. However, our participants’ stories also highlighted systematic barriers that professional organizations could address to facilitate the transnational experience of practitioners, which would subsequently enhance the cultural growth of the field. Recommendations for professionals engaging in similar transnational experiences are discussed.     

Palliative-care professionals' experiences of unusual spiritual phenomena at the end of life

Research literature has highlighted unusual phenomena occurring at the end of life. Palliative-care professionals often feel ill-prepared in managing these and in talking to patients and family members about them. This study aimed to explore the meanings and interpretations ascribed to these phenomena by palliative-care professionals. Eight participants were interviewed, and interpretative phenomenological analysis used to identify themes within their accounts. Four themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Who are we to say what's out there?: a connection with something beyond what can be seen; (2) It opened up conversations: the experience of talking about unusual experiences; (3) It knocked me sideways: managing the emotional impact of these experiences; and (4) The fact that she was so accepting made it easier: the value of acceptance in relation to unusual experiences. These findings are discussed within the context of existing literature and implications for palliative-care professionals are discussed.     

How well can the theory of planned behavior account for occupational intentions?

We tested the capacity of an extended version of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to account for intentions to work for the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) as a nurse, physiotherapist or radiographer amongst three groups: professionally unqualified (N = 507), in professional training (N = 244), and professionally qualified (N = 227). We found strong support for the three core TPB variables attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control as predictors of behavioral intention, and limited support for two additional variables: moral obligation and identification. There were some differences in the relative importance of TPB variables between groups. We conclude that the TPB has utility for more complex behaviors as well as simpler ones that are more frequently researched. However, more attention should be paid to differences in people’s circumstances, particularly regarding past vocational decisions and behavior, and to obstacles to implementing an intention.     

Genetic Counseling: Clinical Geneticists' Views

Evaluation of genetic counseling requires a clear consensus about its objectives, which is not evident in published definitions and guidelines. This study aims to investigate clinical geneticists' beliefs and thoughts about their practice. Structured interviews with eight clinical geneticists addressed the aims, skills, and expectations of genetic counseling. Analysis of transcribed interviews revealed four key themes, with contradictory aspects: 1. Providing information that is objective, full, and accurate versus information that is contingent on circumstances and tailored to individual needs. 2. Eliciting emotion and dealing with it directly versus dampening down and containing emotion. 3. Communicating nondirectively versus directively. 4. Expecting to perform a range of sophisticated tasks while having minimal training in the necessary skills to achieve these. These results have implications for the nature of the professional role, the development of training required for it, and the evaluation of genetic counseling.     

加强中西医药结合 促进中药现代化

在２１世纪生命科学的发展和回归自然的世界潮流中,中药走向世界面临大好机遇,同时也受到国际社会的严峻挑战。中药现代化,特别要充分认识中西医药结合的必要性和重要性。中西医药结合的关键在人才培养。通过规范化的教育,培养和造就新一代中西医药结合的高层次药学人才已刻不容缓地提上议事日程。     

Relationship between job burnout and personal wellness in mental health professionals

This study aimed to determine the nature of the relationship between job burnout and personal wellness among mental health professionals. The authors performed intercorrelations and multivariate multiple regression analyses to identify the relationship between subscales of job burnout and personal wellness. Results showed that all subscales of job burnout, except for the Negative Work Environment subscale, significantly predicted a large amount of the variance in the collective personal wellness subscales. Implications for mental health professionals’ clinical practice, training, and supervision and limitations and prospects for future studies are discussed.     

Religion and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among young Muslim women in Saudi Arabia

Fifteen young women suffering from OCD in Saudi Arabia were interviewed about their experience of the illness and the roles played by religion. Religion was not perceived as a cause of the illness, but the illness can show itself in religious symptoms – notably with respect to prayer, and in a phase in which the young women were very strict and literal-minded with themselves and their families, with respect to religious observance. Religious symptoms were reported as more upsetting than other symptoms – being seen as damaging to the sufferer's piety. Other facets of the importance of religion in the experience of OCD were shown in help-seeking, in choosing to go first to religious healers for treatment, and only when these were unsuccessful were mental health professionals consulted. At this point, it was very important that the professional should be seen as trustworthy, and the criterion of trustworthiness was religiosity, specifically the use of pious, Qura’anic quotations, and a covered face (for a woman)/long beard (for a man). The accounts of the roles of religion in the experiences of the young women interviewed suggest that religion is an arena – but not the sole arena – for the expression of OCD symptoms. Religion plays an important role in determining the acceptability of treatments and treatment providers.