Students’ competencies in clinical practice is vital in health sciences. Clinical simulation is one approach used to support students’ learning in clinical practice. There is a lack of research on clinical simulation in acupuncture programmes in the African context. This paper explored the experiences of acupuncture students’ views towards clinical simulation in the acupuncture programme to strengthen clinical teaching using the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework as a theoretical lens. A qualitative research approach with an interpretivist paradigm was adopted. A single case study design was selected. Six undergraduate students voluntarily agreed to participate. The data were analysed inductively using the thematic analysis approach. Findings revealed that students were optimistic about clinical simulation because it assisted them in their practice. The findings highlighted students’ views regarding the lack of knowledge and skills among instructors and poor infrastructure. The study also found that students gained more confidence in the clinical simulation since they were aware that the patients are not harmed. It is recommended that clinical simulation should be included and standardised in the acupuncture curriculum. To improve clinical simulation, the authors recommended that clinical simulations should be carefully planned and coordinated; training facilities needed upgrading to accommodate COVID-19 regulations and a detailed handbook on clinical simulation should be developed to standardise the simulation process.

Continuous professional development is an integral part of the professional life of teachers since learning is a life-long activity. Lesson study is a practical approach to promoting teachers’ professional development. Lesson study refers to teachers’ classroom-based collaborative research to bring teachers together to work collaboratively to plan a lesson. In South Africa, there is a dire need for teachers’ professional development due to many challenges in professional development in this country. However, there is very little documented research into the implementation of lesson study in South Africa. This study explored the Japanese Lesson Study to improve teaching quality and to learn in South Africa. The researchers adopted qualitative research with an interpretivist paradigm to explicit participants’ experiences of lesson study. A purposive sampling technique was employed to select three participants in a school from Gauteng Province, South Africa. The findings revealed that participants appreciated the workshop and gained knowledge of a good understanding of the lesson study. All the participants acknowledged the awareness of their professional development as a motivating factor for them to continue to plan and work together. The researchers recommended that lesson studies be implemented with teachers from different grades and phases. School leaders should become ambassadors for setting up communities of practice within their schools, districts and provinces. Further studies should be carried out with similar grades in a phase and also in phase planning.

Background: Rural health is a global crisis across different continents. Most of Africa is predominantly rural and is experiencing financial constraints. Medical support and supplies are a dire need in rural Africa. An alternative option to support the rural population is through traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Studies have highlighted the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of Chinese medicine in improving health.Aim: This article aims to investigate how rural health can be improved through alternative medicine options, focusing primarily on TCM.Setting: An identified TCM practice in Gauteng province was selected as the research setting.Methods: This study adopted a qualitative case study design to explore 10 participants’ views on TCM to improve rural health. The health belief model was used as a theoretical framework, and thematic analysis was used for this study.Results: Findings revealed that most participants accepted TCM as an alternative medical health care option as it resonated with African herbal medicine. Participants agreed that TCM is cheaper and has no side effects.Conclusion: There is a lack of appropriate medical service providers in most rural areas, and often, people depend on traditional medicines as a quick remedy. As TCM is cost-effective and has proven to treat numerous ailments successfully, it is recommended that it be further explored as a health care option available to rural populations.Contribution: This was the first study on South African patients’ views on TCM in the South African context.

Students' competency is a critical concern in health sciences education. Therefore, work-integrated learning has become an integral part of health sciences programmes at higher education institutions. This study explored students' views and experiences of clinical observational learning to promote work-integrated learning in the acupuncture programme at a South African university. The authors used the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model as a theoretical lens to guide this study, involving five participants who were purposively selected. A qualitative descriptive single case study design was employed within an interpretivist paradigm. Five participants were recruited for this study. The authors employed semi-structured interviews as the data collection instrument. The data were analysed using the six-step thematic analysis. The findings revealed that students agreed that clinical observational learning significantly improved clinical competency. They reported that clinical observational learning assisted them in memorising content knowledge and obtaining practical experience. Furthermore, participants highlighted that a lack of space, insufficient time, and incompetency of observed student practitioners negatively affected their learning experience. This study concluded that higher education institutions should employ clinical observational learning in the curriculum to assist in transitioning students from theoretical knowledge to clinical practice. It is recommended that further research must be conducted at national and international higher education institutions.

Interprofessional education (IPE) is a practical pedagogical approach to strengthening teaching and learning in higher education to improve students' competencies. These competencies include an enhanced understanding of content knowledge and skills from different professions. To ensure quality teaching and learning, it is envisaged that IPE will strengthen and advance the knowledge and skills of students. The COVID-19 pandemic offered the opportunity to adopt multiple approaches to support students in acquiring the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes towards the programme through the support of interprofessional educators and resources. However, there is a lack of research to explore students' experiences and views on IPE in an acupuncture programme within the South African context, particularly with technologies. This study was anchored in the Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge model as a theoretical lens to explore students' experiences of the IPE using technologies. The authors employed an interpretivist paradigm within a qualitative case study design. They used purposive sampling as a technique since the participants in this study were acupuncture students at a South African university. The researchers interviewed six (6)undergraduate students for this study. The findings revealed that students showed positive attitudes towards IPE. They believed the IPE would improve their competencies in clinical practice. Results also suggested that specific programmes should allocate sufficient time for IPE. Institutions should provide professional training to academics since IPE require more comprehensive content knowledge and pedagogical approaches. To promote effective teaching and learning, IPE should be the norm at universities. Universities should provide relevant support for the appropriate implementation of IPE from policy and resource perspectives.