Article on Blackwell Publishing, Ltd. Learning resource needs of UK NHS support staff
What is the purpose of this article? What is your evidence for suggesting this is the purpose? If it is not overtly stated, then what do you think the author’s purpose was?
The purpose of the article is to show the extent in which technology is being used as well as to create awareness amongst staff about the opportunities for development that are available. This is evident owing to the fact that the article on “Learning resource needs of UK NHS support staff” identifies it as an important element for the support staff. Furthermore, the article identifies that some of the staff lack skills in information Technology (IT) yet these skills are important. Therefore, this shows that, despite the fact that technology such as computers is a vital tool in the modern day, there are people who do not use it because they lack the relevant skills and knowledge. Additionally, an extra page was added in the course of the research so that participants could have an idea of where they could go when they needed assistance in a particular area. If not overtly stated, I would think that the author’s aim is to find out the skills possessed by various personnel.
Some of the findings obtained from prior literature show that support staff have the capability to assist the qualified staff with certain responsibilities. This research which was carried out at Castle Hill Hospital, which is based in hull, indicated that when the support staff help professionals with some of their roles which they can easily perform, such professionals will be left with enough time to focus on other things. Consequently, the professionals will provide quality services because they have enough time and the non-qualified staff will be able to utilize their potential.
What are some of the key points or findings this article presents?
The article gives a number of findings like the fact that 79% of the workers in the National Health Service in the UK knew that they would need to learn at some point during their employment. However, 48% felt that they could not achieve this learning through work given since some of them have been requesting to be given computer training for about two years yet nothing has been done about it. Moreover, only 7% of the participants were aware of lifelong learning which they could engage in while at work.
What is the significance of the study?
The significance of the study for the staff of the NHS is to show that technological know-how enhances their skills and improves their performance when carrying out their various roles in the workplace. In fact, the study is advocating for lifelong learning so that the staff can get an opportunity to better their skills including the skills of using technology so that they can perform their work in an effective manner.
Describe the methodology used in the study. What characteristics about the article make it either qualitative or quantitative? Use evidence from the article to support your observations. Do you think the author chose the appropriate methodology to answer his research question or to address the research problem?
The study makes use of the sampling technique alongside the voting software to collect the data, interviews and questionnaires have been used in the process. The features of the article show that it is both quantitative and qualitative (Devaney & Outwaite, 2005). Actually, the article is qualitative because the author has made use of focus groups in his survey. This means that the respondents are allowed to actively participate in the process, and there is even room for flexibility in the study. Therefore, such data can be used to draw comparisons on the different responses to the same question thus enhance a better understanding of the problem being studied. The evidence that quantitative data has been used is shown by the fact that numbers have been used. For instance, the study shows that of the 106 respondents 39 were in possession of an NVQ while 67 were not.
Do the authors present recommendations for future research and studies that build on the topics addressed in this article? If not, what do you think might be other areas for further research based on this article?
No, the author does not give recommendations for purposes of future research. Another area that can be discussed sometime in the future is that of the impact of lifelong learning and on the outcomes of the development of non-qualified staff to institutions. What do the authors do well with this article? What problems do you see with the article (problem definition, data collection, literature, conclusions)? Why do you think these are problems or strengths?
References
Devaney, A. & Outhwaite, H. (2005). Learning resource needs of UK NHS support staff. New
York: Health Libraries Group.
