Gitte Wichmann-Hansen

Conceptions of how a learning or teaching curriculum, workplace culture and agency of individuals shape medical student learning and supervisory practices in the clinical workplace

Abstract The role of workplace supervisors in the clinical education of medical students is currently under debate. However, few studies have addressed how supervisors conceptualize workplace learning and how conceptions relate to current sociocultural workplace learning theory. We explored physician conceptions of: (a) medical student learning in the clinical workplace and (b) how they contribute to student learning. The methodology included a combination of a qualitative, inductive (conventional) and deductive (directed) content analysis approach. The study triangulated two types of interview data from 4 focus group interviews and 34 individual interviews. A total of 55 physicians participated. Three overarching themes emerged from the data: learning as membership, learning as partnership and learning as ownership. The themes described how physician conceptions of learning and supervision were guided by the notions of learning-as-participation and learning-as-acquisition. The clinical workplace was either conceptualized as a context in which student learning is based on a learning curriculum, continuity of participation and partnerships with supervisors, or as a temporary source of knowledge within a teaching curriculum. The process of learning was shaped through the reciprocity between different factors in the workplace context and the agency of students and supervising physicians. A systems-thinking approach merged with the “co-participation” conceptual framework advocated by Billet proved to be useful for analyzing variations in conceptions. The findings suggest that mapping workplace supervisor conceptions of learning can be a valuable starting point for medical schools and educational developers working with changes in clinical educational and faculty development practices.

Complex perspectives on learning objectives: stakeholders' beliefs about core objectives based on focus group interviews

Objective  To understand core curriculum design and involvement of stakeholders.

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure (UCEEM).

Background: There is a paucity of instruments designed to evaluate the multiple dimensions of the workplace as an educational environment for undergraduate medical students. Aim: The aim was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an instrument to measure how undergraduate medical students perceive the clinical workplace environment, based on workplace learning theories and empirical findings. Method: Development of the instrument relied on established standards including theoretical and empirical grounding, systematic item development and expert review at various stages to ensure content validity. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed using a series of steps from conceptualization through psychometric analysis of scores in a Swedish medical student population. Results: The final result was a 25-item instrument with two overarching dimensions, experiential learning and social participation, and four subscales that coincided well with theory and empirical findings: Opportunities to learn in and through work & quality of supervision; Preparedness for student entry; Workplace interaction patterns & student inclusion; and Equal treatment. Evidence from various sources supported content validity, construct validity and reliability of the instrument. Conclusion: The Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure represents a valid, reliable and feasible multidimensional instrument for evaluation of the clinical workplace as a learning environment for undergraduate medical students. Further validation in different populations using various psychometric methods is needed.

Searching the core of emergency medicine

Background:  The purpose of this study was to test whether focus groups involving medical students, house officers, senior doctors, and nurses could identify an undergraduate emergency medicine core curriculum.

Successful PhD Supervision: A Two-Way Process

It is the aim of PhD programmes to ensure that their PhD students become skilled researchers. A key factor in a successful PhD programme is the supervision process. This process is a partnership between the supervisor and the PhD student, where both parts must play a positive role. The supervisor must give the necessary guidance, while the student must be able to take the initiative regarding the performance of the programme. Good communication between the supervisor and the student is necessary throughout, but especially at the start the expectations of both parts must be clarified and agreed. This paper seeks to describe some of the main elements of the supervision process. These include finding the right person, matching of expectations, project planning, meeting activities, optimising the research environment, and text production. The paper also describes some ways in which problems can be avoided and also, if they do arise, how these can be solved. In all cases, these questions are addressed both from the supervisor’s and the student’s point of view. The paper underlines that the supervision is a two-way process that continually needs to be nurtured.

Validation of the quality in PhD processes questionnaire

Purpose Increasing interest in PhD processes calls for valid and reliable survey instruments that cover key aspects of the PhD experience. Based on recent research, existing questionnaires and interviews with PhD students, the Quality in PhD Processes Questionnaire (QPPQ) was developed to cover a range of influential factors such as perceptions of the research environment and psychological well-being. This paper aims at validating the QPPQ for measuring quality in PhD processes. Design/methodology/approach This study assesses the validity of the QPPQ’s scales with special attention to factorial, convergent and discriminatory validity. Six scales were developed based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses applied to 23 items in a sample of 1,670 PhD students representing various academic disciplines. Findings Results were promising concerning the scales’ psychometric properties and indicators of validity. Originality/value The QPPQ offers itself as a theoretically grounded and thoroughly tested instrument for the purposes of evaluating and developing PhD programs at a local level or for researching PhD processes in general.