ArticleHealth SA = SA Gesondheid2022
Motivation for postgraduate studies by nonacademic optometrists: A case study at a South African university.
Article in Health SA = SA Gesondheid, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: An increasing number of optometrists who are nonacademics are pursuing postgraduate studies, despite such qualifications traditionally being more relevant to an academic rather than a clinical setting. Aim: This study set out to explore possible reasons for the increase in postgraduate studies by nonacademic optometrists and their experiences thereof. Setting: Postgraduate optometry students who were registered at a selected South African university within the period 2010-2020 participated in the study. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used, which entailed an online survey and a follow-up questionnaire focused on the motivation for postgraduate studies, choice of institution, research area, expectations and outcomes and supervision received. Convenience sampling was used to recruit the participants, and data were analysed with descriptive statistics. Results: Responses were received from 54 optometrists who were pursuing postgraduate studies but not currently in academia. The main reasons reported for enrolling in postgraduate studies were interest in research (69.2%) and academia (61.5%). Institutional reputation was the reason provided by 48.1% of respondents for their choice of institution for their postgraduate studies. Fifty per cent of respondents opted for research in the public health field. To be a better researcher was the most common expectation (88.5%), with 73.1% indicating achieving this outcome. Most respondents indicated that they had received constructive and timeous supervision during their studies. Conclusion: Interest in research and academia are important factors influencing nonacademic optometrists to pursue postgraduate studies; however, the postgraduate experience is likely to also facilitate development of other professional and clinical skills. Contribution: This study provides an insight into the motivation and experiences of non academic optometrists who pursue postgraduate degrees.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.