Professional Experience Placement

This study by Gallagher et al (2012) undertaken by medical students without the influence of university teachers supports the findings of other studies about conducive learning environments to optimise learning and supports the use of peer data.  The findings are useful to other health profession students who are supervised within the clinical practice environment.

The paper describes the learning that transitions from classroom into the workplace and argue that opportunities to learn in this environment should not be left to chance. Previous papers have discussed motivation of staff towards students; supportive and welcoming relationship development; availability of resources to support learning and opportunity for students to engage in some direct yet supervised patient management.

This study was designed, conducted and analysed by students. Medical students conducted four focus groups with their peers. Thirty students participated from a pool of 240 students based on three campuses. They were trained on how to conduct a focus group. Three of the sessions were recorded and the fourth was video recorded. Thematic analysis was undertaken and four main themes emerged.  These were:

• structural factors: the organisation of the clinical placement
• Interpersonal factors: the level of support received from staff and peers
• Intrapersonal factors: the pro activity, preparedness and personality of each student
• Vocational development opportunities: including practical experience or clinical exposure and teaching opportunities.

The findings indicated that an effective organisation contributed to the creation of a positive learning environment and the number of students to staff indicated that low student to staff ratios enhanced learning.

Students indicated that when staff were unable to support learning they found the clinical environment less welcoming and less helpful for the acquisition of good clinical skills. Support by other students and peers was highly valued. Pro activity and seeking initiative was also found to important for learning.

Patient-centred learning and teaching was essential for the development of knowledge and understanding of key topics. Students also noted they liked the chance to present topics to their classmates as a form of assessment because it aided in consolidation of knowledge. The findings also indicated that students working with their peers to help each other out was of benefit to learning. Lack of confidence of students was a barrier to learning.

While this study was limited to one University and may have attracted more confident or outspoken students, the findings indicate there are factors that need to be seriously considered to facilities a positive learning clinical environment.

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