"I had no idea the university offered"…: The support needs of postgraduate taught students.

Abstract

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Introduction Medical schools have a duty to support students to ensure they fulfil their potential. Relatively little is known about the generic, or therapeutic, support needs of postgraduate taught (PGT) students. This is an important gap to address given the literature suggests that "one size does not fit all". Thus, our aim was to explore and understand PGT support needs. Methods This was a qualitative research study using semi-structured focus groups, conducted in one UK university. We recruited medical and science undergraduates as well as PGT participants to get a sense of what was unique to the PGT student experience. Questions were drawn from the literature and local evaluation data. Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for inductive data coding and analysis. Results Six focus groups were conducted with 38 participants. Two main themes each with two sub-themes were identified: Communication (Practicalities; Fulfilled but not tailored) related to the transition into PGT, and Time and Contacts, related to managing the course. Discussion PGT students need to address non-academic, often practical, factors in a timely way to navigate university successfully. Knowing who to ask and informal supports are important. Poor and/or difficult-to-access institutional supports may leave PGT students vulnerable.