Ethical Issues of Lay Offs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethical Issues of Lay Offs - Essay Example Lay-offs are defined as â€Å"suspension or termination of employment (with or without notice) by the employer or management.† (Business Dictionary 2009) Layoffs are management’s option when faced with situations such as financial difficulties, positions are no longer required, business slow-down, or work interruption. This could be categorized as follows: to save the company, to change, and to improve the company. Regardless of the rationale, layoffs cause undue stress, emotional pain, anguish and suffering for the terminated employees. On the other hand, the managers who are assigned to deliver the blow are also faced with sorrow or guilt, as the case may be. It is in this regard that layoffs are closely evaluated in terms of ethical issues which arise due to the critical consequences that arise. Due to these consequences, layoffs become controversial ethical issues. Velasquez & Rostankowski (1982) averred that â€Å"an act with ethical or moral consequences is that such an act involves decisions freely taken that will have positive or negative consequences for others†. According to Gilbert (2000), â€Å"in some circumstances, laying off some employees is the ethical thing to do, and managers who fail to do so are guilty of unethical conduct. In other circumstances, no ethical defense of layoffs can be found, and managers who decide on layoffs in these circumstances are guilty of unethical acts. In a wide range of circumstances in between, there are ethical arguments for and against layoffs.† To determine the morality of a decision or an action, one approach is that of utilitarianism which holds that a moral decision or action is one that results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. (ibid.) Using this approach, management justifies that it is common to layoff on the basis that terminating 1000 personnel if this move will save the organization from bankruptcy and hence preserve the jobs of 5000 others.   

HALLIBURTON, organizational problems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

HALLIBURTON, organizational problems - Essay Example Success depended on its ability to deliver on what it charged and this had impressed the United States Military and its other clients. No one appeared to mind Halliburton overcharging if the work that it delivered could keep the troops happy when they were far from home. However, within the recent past allegations of unethical conduct, overcharging, kickbacks and political influence peddling have marred the image of this company which still wins awards for performance in its industry. This essay presents a discussion about the ethical and organizational problems that confront Halliburton Energy Services. Halliburton Energy Services is a multinational corporation with operations in 70 countries of the world (NationMaster.com, 2005, â€Å"Halliburton Energy Services†). The group provides technical products and services for oil and gas production and exploration. Revenues of Halliburton Energy Services were in excess of US$ 15 billion in 2007 and it employs nearly 51,000 people worldwide (Halliburton, 2007, pp. 2 – 5). In 2007, its revenue grew by 18 % year-over-year and about 50 % of the total revenue was from outside North America. More than 100 nationalities work with Halliburton Energy Services Inc with most of the employees working in their home countries. This firm has an old history and it began operations in 1919 when Mr. and Mrs. Erle P. Halliburton started the firm and found work cementing oil wells in Burkburnett, Texas. The company was later to move to Ardmore, Oklahoma and then to Duncan, Oklahoma before becoming listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1948. The major spheres of activities for Halliburton involve providing technical products and services for oil and gas exploration and production, handled by its Energy Services Group. However, Halliburton’s major subsidiary KBR, or Brown & Roots was a major construction company of refineries, oil fields, pipelines, and chemical plants (Briody,

International Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

International Banking - Essay Example on whereby an organisation or business has immediate cash needs, although it has assets, its trading position is not good enough to honour all cash obligations (Machiraju, 2013). This is described as the risk of overcapitalisation and it occurs when an organisation holds a lot of assets, but lacks the ability to convert the assets into cash in the short-run. In the banking sector, the issue of liquidity risk occurs in a distinct and unique manner. One fundamental assumption of banking is that depositors are not going to withdraw all their money at once (Matz, 2011). Banks are however required to hold assets that are mainly liquid in nature and convert them to cash in a very short term (Matz, 2011). Therefore, in banking parlance, liquidity is defined as â€Å"the ability of an economic agent to exchange his existing wealth for goods and services or other assets without incurring damaging losses† (Castagna & Fede, 2013, p. 18). Liquidity risks include funding liquidity which refers to the risk of settling obligations with the central bank as it occurs. There is also the market liquidity risk which revolves around the ability of a bank to settle its obligations to stakeholders on the market. This is the â€Å"inability to realise assets due to inadequate market depth, or market disruption† (Adalsteinsson, 2014, p. 26). Bank liquidity risks can be measured both internally and externally. Internally, bank liquidity risks are defined by international conventions and practices that are placed on the authorities and directors of the bank. This is to be done through the utilisation of various formulas put forward by international entities like the Basel Conventions. Basel III proposed that bank liquidity risks can be evaluated by assessing: These are insider indices and they are often done through the utilisation of privileged information that allows banks to evaluate trends and processes in their activities and affairs. However, to the ordinary investor, there is likely

Child Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Child Development - Essay Example The book covers the general theories that explain include development process outlined in relation to the age of a child, the aspects that one has to look closely in child’s development process, the main problems that may be hinder a child’s development, and the required environment to ensure healthy child development process. The booklet will be a worthy companion for all beginners in childcare or child development studies. 2.0 Major Child Development Theories 2.1 Piaget Cognitive Development Theory Jean Piaget was a Swiss theorist who died in 1984. Piaget believed that children’s thinking pass through four systematic separate stages with qualitative changes in each stage (Shaffer & Kipp 2010, 294). According to Piaget a stimulating environment and maturation are the most important aspect in this stage. As the child begins to explore and make connections with the physical world many changes occur in the baby and start to acquire skills and knowledge about their environment. Below are the various stages of a child’s development according to Piaget theory as explained by Shaffer & Kipp (2010, 294). Sensory period (0- 2 years). The child attains significant gains in its thinking as they progress. Children at this stage mostly use motor and physical skills and senses in exploring their worlds, to enhance cognitive development. Pre operation stage 2 to 7 years. Children become less reliant on senses and physical exploration. They become illogical thinkers and have inability to conserve their memory. Concrete Operations 7 to 12 years. Children in this stage develop more elaborate logical thinking, but still need concrete materials to reach a logical conclusion. This explains that children will require blocks while solving math problems. Formal operation (12 years... This report stresses that child development theories explain that a child’s development has to be holistic, which calls for attention in all aspects of a child’s growth and development. A child has to develop mentally, intellectually, emotionally, cognitively, spiritually, physically, and any other attributes that make them whole and healthy. The family setting and the society are the single most important schools for children. The author of the paper declares that the child struggles to put in place their thoughts, they achieve better learning and development and develop increased confidence levels compared to those supported by their instructors. Piaget in his child development theory illustrates factors that have to be observed in ensuring a holistic child development. This paper makes a conclusion that Children learn first from their parents and the pope around them before interacting with the outer worlds, implying their future life depends on their immediate family and the concepts learned. To ensure an effective learning process, there is need to put in place effective measurement approaches that would portray the progress of a child in their holistic development at home and at school. This would indicate the learning progress of each child and help in identifying children requiring special attention. Therefore, a child’s learning process is essential in impacting the required skills, morals, values and qualities that guarantee a better life in future.

The mirror has two faces Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The mirror has two faces - Movie Review Example The Mirror Has Two Faces is about different views people hold about love,sex,relationships and marriage.The title represents how different insights are seen on the same topicwith the â€Å"mirror† being the topic of love and relationships and the â€Å"two faces† being the different views held by the characters of the movie,mainly Rose and Gregory. A mirror is supposed to be a reflection of the person standing in front of it, and the title of the movie mentions that it has two faces, most probably the person and its reflection, but these faces are not necessarily one and the same person thinking the same thoughts. Hence, the title makes one curious as to what it truly means. The characters’ ideas about sex, love, and marriage: The characters of the movie hold various perspectives on sex, love and marriage. Alex holds romantic views and showers Claire with affection to the point that it suffocates her. To him, he is like a romantic hero. Claire is so bent on using her beauty to attract men but when she gets them, she easily gets tired of them and is searching for another pursuit to keep her excited and interested. Hannah is kind of self-obsessed that to her, love should center on her own happiness and should boost her self-esteem. Henry is more down to earth and is a sounding board to Gregory’s ideas on love and sex and has a more grounded belief that a balance should be struck in order for a relationship to work, although he himself dates younger women not for their intelligence but mostly for their physical appeal. The central characters of Rose and Gregory provide the conflict in the story. For Rose, a romantic relationship should be fueled by passion and romance to support the deep love that the couple has for each other. They should know each other very well, including seemingly insignificant details and should be able to respond to each other’s needs even if help is not solicited. Gregory, on the other hand, burned severa l times from his previous romantic relationships, believe that sex complicates matters. He believes that relationships based on romantic love and physical attraction are worthless because it creates illusions that eventually end up disappointing people because they cannot keep up to the expectations of each other. Where the chief characters are on their relationship journey. The Whiteheads describe marriage both as an institution and as a journey. In the movie, marriage as an institution was not clearly agreed upon by the characters and was not depicted in such a way that it is a solid, immovable establishment. Instead, it would be more appropriate to describe the main characters’ marriage as a journey of friendship gone backwards. Theirs was founded on a deep friendship without the physical affection most man-woman relationships share even before marriage. Gregory claims that they are lucky to have reached their level of relationship to have skipped sexual tension and have g one straight to a meeting of minds and hearts. On the other hand, Rose thought differently. For her, the journey was just beginning and sexual intimacy is a necessary part of the journey towards the marital union, in the truest sense of the word. After they have cleared things with each other of what to expect from their marriage and are now looking at the same road and destination, they anticipate a smoother journey together with all the necessary ingredients to make their marriage stronger. The styles of communication & conflict used by the couples. It has always been known that communication is a key to successful relationships. In the movie, there were various communication styles that reflected the views of the characters. There were scenes wherein Gregory would voice out his passionate beliefs in his theories about a sexless relationship because it does not complicate matters and elevates the relationship to a higher level of respect, trust, admiration. Rose cannot put one wor d in. Because Rose was in love with Gregory, she tried to accept his beliefs, shunning aside her

Unforgettable Moment Essay Example for Free

Unforgettable Moment Essay When I arrived at the area of the stadium I saw hundreds of peoples. A lot kinds of peoples. All of them have look very happy. At that time, with age as young as I, I feel so excited and enthusiasm. My whole body also able to taste it. The area of the stadium is full with stall, stall that sold everything that connected to football such as jersey, football merchandise, teams flag and many else. I also do not miss to get my favourite team jersey which is Selangor FC and also well-known as The Red Giants. After satisfied walking around the stadium compound. Me and my brother decide to enter the stadium. After my first food step in the stadium the feel of excited strike me again. If the outside of the stadium I can see hundreds of peoples, at the inside I can see thousands of peoples. The place is so crowded and noisy, when I talked to my brother he cannot hear what I am talking about even he is right next to me. After take a seat, I saw every corner of the stadium and the stadium is so huge . At that moment, I bet this must be the biggest stadium in the world. Before the match started all peoples in the stadium need to stand up and sing the national anthem, Negaraku . I sing it with enthusiasm. My adrenalin is rising at the moment. The national anthem ends with a thunderous applause by supporters who come, and again the feel of excited strike me again. Match on that day involving Selangor FC and Perak FC. During the match I did not stop cheering for my favourite team. I think I almost lost my voice on that day. After the 90 minute full game, whistle is blown and match that day ending in a draw. Although the match ending in a draw which do not affect my enjoyment of the day. After all, I back home with feeling very happy. When I arrived at home and I rewind what just happened to me will become my special moment in my life, and guest what, I am true ,the first experience to step foot in stadium watch my favourite team play has become my unforgettable, sweetest and special moment to me until now, and probably until forever.

Private Hospitals for Undergraduate Medical Training

Private Hospitals for Undergraduate Medical Training Private Hospitals for undergraduate medical training an untapped resource in Ireland. Introduction Undergraduate medical education and training is a subject of considerable importance in relation to the quality of learning and teaching opportunities for students, and the ability of the learning environments to support the development of clinical skills and knowledge, professional practice and patient-focused high quality care delivery. The Irish context presents a particular challenge due to changes in the organisation and delivery of medical care into two distinct sectors, private or public, which alters the opportunities offered for medical student experience and focuses services in different ways. While the acute care sector (public) is the one in which most medical students train, it is apparent that there are opportunities to be gained from utilising private hospital and medical locations as well, in order to expose medical students to the widest possible and available medical expertise. However, the quality of the experience in such locations may be questionable, and the ran ge of experiences available may be severely limited A review of the literature pertaining to the title will demonstrate some of the key issues around this topic, drawing on literature from the UK and internationally, due to the commonalities in medical education structure, form and pedagogy that are found globally, and in particular, referring to the UK model as being the one which dominates still even in the Irish medical education sector. Discussion Due to changes in the healthcare structure in Ireland private, there has been a split in the way that doctors provide acute medical and surgical care services. Within Ireland in the healthcare model which has evolved, there are now public only or private only contracts for consultants, meaning that consultants cannot work across both sectors. Prior to this change, a doctor could work across both sectors, meaning that while they could engage in the public sector work that is the meat and drink of medicine and surgery, most consultants made their money in private hospitals, leaving their NCHD team to do their public work. However, the challenges this change poses for the way in which medical education is delivered in Ireland have not really been picked up on in the literature, and so an exploration of pertinent literature, in the light of the author’s contextual knowledge, is important, to explore this impact and to appreciate the scope and opportunities inherent within the new structure. There is some evidence that the changes to medical education, whilst global, are very real in the Irish context. The issues affecting medical education include â€Å"increasing service demands on clinical teachers, the need for shared teaching among different health-related disciplines, the need to incorporate modern educational principles and technologies, adapting to changing societal views of health and disease and the demand for health professionals to be more accountable.†[1] Issues such as professionalism and widening understanding of diversity are inherent in these issues. What this suggests, among other things, is that in order to make best use of the existing resources, areas still untapped need to be accessed, and at the same time, the way that medical ‘education’ is delivered needs to evolve.[2] Up until the present day, the private hospitals have not really been involved in med education. However, now they are currently making associations with universities who are eager to tap this resource, in order to make use of the private hospital setting for clinical experiences for medical students (and other healthcare students). It could be posited that these hospital present a hitherto untapped resource, full of opportunities, but also as a point of great scope for development of new ways of thinking about and providing more appropriate forms of education. As a public private system becomes more defined we need to start using the private sector to teach medical students. This is particularly important as there have been, recently, significant increases in the numbers of medical students[3], with public sector hospitals overwhelmed by medical student numbers, exacerbated by graduate entry into medicine adding to the larger and more diverse pool.[4] This may be affecting the qualit y of their learning, and also the quality of care provision.[5] There are, however, challenges, because as an unused resource, and an untested learning environemtn, there are not the internal resources, skills, systems and the like already in existence to support the influx of medical students. Similarly, there are lots of new private hospitals opening that are not used for teaching, and these hospitals are not equipped for teaching. This is something to bear in mind, and there is a need to identify the requirements of a hospital being equipped for medical student teaching and learning. Basic needs would be structural, such as the provision of a student centre, student accessible IT services, student support, changing rooms, training laboratories, and the like. Some of the major concerns are that private hospitals not equipped and did not make considerations for medical student education at the design phase, meaning that making them primary locations for medical student clinical experience could be very challenging and costly. There is also the issue private patients may not welcome students, particularly as they have paid for their care and so want complete control over it. This may mean students being excluded from key experiences. However, all patients in public sector healthcare have the option to not have students present, so this may not be insurmountable, but it would require rewriting protocols, mission statements, and the like to include an educational component. Another concern is the fact that private hospitals have not yet got to the same level of provision or range of clinical disciplines as public ones. For example, very few have intensive care departments, full time 24/7 consultant cover, emergency departments or major trauma units. Therefore the casemix of patients is elective, and limited, and students if only placed in private hospitals, will not be exposed to emergency. However, the contrary is also true as public teaching hospitals are now getting less elective patients for routine surgeries such as cholecystectomies and hernias. There is evidence to suggest that the relevance of the training medical students receive is of some importance to the quality of their experience and their future skills.[6] There could, therefore, be an argument for cross-sector placements, on rotation, with students doing different placements in different hospitals. This may have the advantage of exposing students to a wider socio-cultural mix of patient s as well as a wider pool of medical expertise, both of which may be of significance in the requirements of medical staff in the current climate.[7] Certainly, there is an emergence of a need to develop more creative approaches to clinical medical education which address the social and societal issues affecting health and illness as well as the medical knowledge itself.[8] This is evident in the emergence of debate around professionalism and professionalisation/socialisation of medical students into their profession, but also into the wider healthcare workforce. While traditionally, medicine has enjoyed a hegemonic position with near godlike autonomy[9], things have changed and new ways of viewing the medical profession have emerged. This has included a demand for more transparent, ethical practice, for doctors to view patients as individuals within their personal, social context, and the need for doctors to demonstrate respect for others, teamworking skills, and more self-awareness and increased awareness of social responsibility.[10] It also includes the reflexivity and awareness required to underpin the development of clinical decision making and problem solving skills, in general, and in application to particular disciplines and cases.[11] These notions of professionalism and reducing the divide between physician and patient are deemed important fo r the profession, as long as professional standards are also maintained.[12] This is where the challenge seems to reside, in providing medical students in Ireland with the scope to develop their professional knowledge and skills, along with the development of themselves, and their professional role, across two radically different healthcare provision domains.[13] Yet the research shows that it is the quality of the clinical or practical experience that medical students have which affects both aspects of their development, their clinical skills and their professionalism.[14] Medical education has moved away from the didactic forms that have characterised it for centuries towards a more interactive, student-centred type of training, although not as far as the other healthcare professions have.[15] Therefore, developing the private sector provision could serve a number of purposes, not just providing a useful place for the runoff of extra students currently flooding the public sector h ospitals. It could provide the opportunities for students to be assessed in skills and attributes relevant to each sector, as well as each individual case they are addressing. This would represent a more individualised approach to medical education.[16] There is a high likelihood of a considerable amount of resistance to such a reorientation, however, because the traditional, hierarchical and hegemonic structures of the medical profession will not be easily overcome.[17] What changes there are may not be fully bedded down within the Irish healthcare sector.[18] There is also the challenge of ensuring that there are adequate clinical educators available or even employed within this sector.[19] However, it would also be important to consider the impact of a large amount of private sector clinical experience on the professional development and socialisation of medical students, because much of this occurs within the institutional setting and is affecting by that setting, by the organisational culture, and by the behaviours of others within that setting.[20] Therefore, if students are modelling themselves primarily on what they are seeing within the private sector, this exposure could be detrimental, in the long run, to their professionalism, their awareness, and the ways that the work with others.[21] The nature of medical education itself is one which may need to change, to reorient itself to a different model of teaching and learning which is more appropriate to modern day medicine[22]. â€Å"Continued efforts are needed to reduce the factual load of the curriculum.†[23] It is apparent that in the current climate, with rapid developments in science and technology applied to medicine, and the increasing speed of these developments, that delivering a didactic curriculum is not practical, and instead, medical schools need to be able to â€Å"equip students with the skills and attitudes needed to cope with rapid change and lifelong learning.†[24] This includes students learning how to learn in a self-directed, more autonomous way,[25] which would then help to overcome the differences between the sectors and support students in cross-sector working and identifying the learning and development opportunities specific to each. However, the literature shows that in Ireland (as in many other places), the nature of medical education remains quite didactic and offers only limited opportunities for students to work in alternative ways. Yet the requirement for personal and professional development has already begun to be realised in the UK and Ireland, and as such the groundwork has already been laid.[26] Similarly, literature shows that medical student learning differs depending on the clinical environment,[27] which may be related to the culture of the environment and the purpose of the medical provision,[28] and if this is the case, then a great deal of research will be needed, along with ongoing evaluation, in order to assess the impact of the use of private sector hospitals within Ireland. The literature demonstrates that new ways of learning can be developed and implemented, based on more social, interactive, collaborative models[29], such as the development of communities of practice.[30] In this case, such communities would need to span the different sectors effectively, and overcome the differences between them, but these could expand to make better use of and collaborate more effectively with the training of interprofessional colleages[31]. This raises the question of whether there are the skills, capacity and even inclination to develop medical education along such lines, a lthough the ongoing benefits of communities of practice would be exponential.[32],[33]. The need for medical students to emerge as knowledgeable professionalss with the requisite understanding and skills must not be overlooked.[34],[35] Conclusion It would appear that there is a great untapped potential in the use of private sector hospitals in the Republic of Ireland to supplement medical student education by providing clinical locations for practice-based learning. However, this learning may need to be located in a different paradigm to the traditional medical apprenticeship model that has dominated this sector to date. The private sector hospitals would need to be come part of the partnership teams with universities and public sector hospitals. They would need to develop the facilities and infrastructure to support medical students. Medical students would gain a lot from such placements, but it would appear to be best that these form part of a cross-sector rotation of placements, rather than a private setting constituting their dominant clinical learning setting. The ways in which medical students are ‘taught’ would also need to change, to become more focused on personal and professional development, self-directed learning, and on all the elements of being professional in relation to current definitions of the word, and the social expectations placed upon healthcare professionals. Research is required into how private sector hospitals can be used, how medical education is changed by this and will change the nature of these locations, and how different approaches to new pedagogies will benefit medical students overall. The impact of these changes on professionalism, and the resistance from the profession, will also need to be considered. Ultimately, private hospitals can support the current provision, but the nature of the healthcare provision in Ireland would have to be considered also in the light of international models and how it intersects with these. Anything which improves student development and the skills and capabilities of newly qualified doctors must be a positive move, but research is needed to demonstrate that this would be so. References Arnold, L. (2002) Assessing professional behaviour: yesterday, today and tomorrow. Acad Med 77 (6) 58-70. Bligh, J. (2004) More medical students, more stress in the medical education system. Medical Education 38 460-462. Chastonay, P., Brenner, F., Peel, S. and Guilbert, J-J. (1996) The need for more efficiency and relevance in medical education. Medical Education 30 235-248. Cruess, R., Cruess, S. and Johnston, S.E. (1999) Renewing professionalism: an opportunity for medicine. Acad Med 74. (8) 878-884. Currie, G. and Suhomlinova, O. (2006) The impact of institutional forces upon knowledge sharing in the UK NHS: the triumph of professional power and the inconsistency of policy. Public Administration 84 (1) 1-30. Department of Health (2004) Medical Schools: Delivering the Doctors of the Future London: Department of Health. Dogra, N., Conning, S., and Gill, P. (2005) Teaching of cultural diversity in medical schools in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland: cross sectional questionnaire survey. BMJ 330 403-404. Dowton, S.B., Stokes, M-L., Rawstrong, E.J. et al (2005) Postgraduate medical education: rethinking and integrating a complex landscape. MJA 182 177-180. Dornan, T., Hadfield, J., Brown, M. et al (2005) How can medical students learn in a self-directed way in the clinical environment? Design-based research. Medical Education 39 356-364. Epstein, R.M. and Hundert, E.M. (2002) 287 (2) 226-235. Defining and assessing professional competence. JAMA 287 (2) 226-235. Finucane, P. and Kellet, J. (2007) A new direction for medical education in Ireland? European Journal of Internal Medicine 18 101-103. General Medical Council (2002) Tomorrow’s doctors: recommendations on undergraduate medical education. London: GMC. Gordon, J. (2003) Fostering students’ personal and professional development in medicine: a new framework for PPD. Medical Education 37 (4) 341-349. Hilton, S.R. and Slotnick, H.B. (2005) Proto-professionalism: how professionalisation occurs across the continuum of medical education. Medical Education 29 58-65. Howe, A., Campion, P., Searle, J. and Smith, H. (2004) New perspectives approaches to medical education at four new UK medical schools. BMJ 329 327-331. Irvine, D. (1999) The performance of doctors: new professionalism. Lancet 353 1174-1177. Littlewood, S., Ypinazar, V., Margolis, S.A. et al (2005) Early practical experience and the social responsiveness of clinical education: systematic review. BMJ331 387-391. Lloyd Jones, M. (2005) Role development and effective practice in specialist and advanced practice roles in acute hospital settings: systematic review and meta-synthesis. Journal of Advanced Nursing 49 (2) 191-209. McMahon, T. (2005) Teaching medicine and allied disciplines in the 21st century lessons for Ireland on the continuing need for reform. Radiography 11 61-65. Medical Council (2001) Review of medical schools in Ireland Dublin: Medical Council. Moercje, A.M. and Elika, B. (2002) What are the clinical skills levels of newly graduated physicians? Self-assessment study of an intended curriculum identified by a Delphi process. Medical Education 36 472-478. Norman, G. (2002) Research in medical education: three decades of progress. BMJ 324 1560-1562. Nuffield Trust (2000) University Clinical Partnership: Harnessing Clinical and Academic Resources London: Nuffield Trust Working Group on NHS/University Relations. Ostler, D.T., (2005) Flexner, apprenticeship and ‘the new medical education.’ Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 98 91-95. Perkins, G.D., Barrett, H., Bullock, I. et al (2005) The Acute Care Undergraduate Teaching (ACUTE) Initiative: consensus development of core competencies in acute care for undergraduates in the United Kingdom. Intensive Care Medicine 31 1627-1633. Rogers, J.C., Swee, D.E. and Ullian, J.A. (1991) Teaching medical decision making and students’ clinical problem solving skills. Medical Teacher 13 157-164. Satran, L., Harris, I.B., Allen, S. et al (1993) Hospital-based versus community-based clinical education: comparing performances and course evaluations by students in their second-year pediatrics rotation. Acad Med 68 380-382. Sinclair, S. (1997) Making doctors: an institutional apprenticeship Oxford: Berg. Smith, T. and Sime, P. (2001) A survey of clinical academic staffing levels in UK medical and dental schools: a report to the Council for Heads of Medical Schools London: Council for Heads of Medical Schools. Stewart, J., O’Halloran, C., Harrigan, P. et al (1999) Identifying appropriate tasks for the preregistration year: modified Delphi technique. BMJ 224-229. Swick, H. (2000) towards a normative definition of medical professionalism. Acad Med. 75 (6) 77-81. Thakore, H. and McMahon, T. (2006) Sink or swim: the future of medical education in Ireland. The Clinical Teacher 3 129-132. Wenger, E.C. and Snyder, W.M. (2000) Communities of practice: the organisational frontier. Harvard Business Review 78 (1) 139-147. Williams, G. and Lau, A. (2004) Reform of undergraduate medical teaching in the United Kingdom: a triumph of evangelism over common sense. BMJ 329 92-94. Worley, P., Esterman, A. and Prideaux, D. (2004) Cohort study of examination performance of undergraduate medical students learning in community settings. BMJ 328 207-209. Footnotes [1] Finucane, P. and Kellet, J. (2007) [2] Thakore, H. and McMahon, T. (2006) [3] Bligh, J. (2004) [4] Thakore, H. and McMahon, T. (2006) [5] Bligh, J. (2004) [6] Chastonay, P., Brenner, F., Peel, S. and Guilbert, J-J. (1996) [7] Dogra, N., Conning, S., and Gill, P. (2005) [8] Department of Health (2004) [9] Hilton, S.R. and Slotnick, H.B. (2005) [10] Hilton, S.R. and Slotnick, H.B. (2005) [11] Rogers, J.C., Swee, D.E. and Ullian, J.A. (1991) [12] General Medical Council (2002) [13] Arnold, L. (2002) [14] Littlewood, S., Ypinazar, V., Margolis, S.A. et al (2005 [15] Norman, G. (2002) [16] Ostler, D.T., (2005 [17] Williams, G. and Lau, A. (2004) [18] Currie, G. and Suhomlinova, O. (2006) [19] Smith, T. and Sime, P. (2001) [20] Sinclair, S. (1997) [21] Swick, H. (2000) [22] Howe, A., Campion, P., Searle, J. and Smith, H. (2004) [23] Medical Council (2001) [24] Medical Council (ibid) [25] Dornan, T., Hadfield, J., Brown, M. et al (2005) [26] Gordon, J. (2003) [27] Worley, P., Esterman, A. and Prideaux, D. (2004) [28] Satran, L., Harris, I.B., Allen, S. et al (1993) [29] Perkins, G.D., Barrett, H., Bullock, I. et al (2005) [30] Wenger, E.C. and Snyder, W.M. (2000) [31] Lloyd Jones, M. (2005) [32] Wenger, E.C. and Snyder, W.M. (2000) [33] Nuffield Trust (2000) [34] Moercje, A.M. and Elika, B. (2002) [35] Irvine, D. (1999)