Medical students' perceptions of their learning environment during a mandatory research project.

Riitta Möller,Maria Shoshan,Sari Ponzer

doi:10.5116/ijme.59c6.086d

Abstract

ObjectivesTo explore medical students´ perceptions of their learning environment during a mandatory 20-week scientific research project. MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted between 2011 and 2013. A total of 651 medical students were asked to fill in the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision, and Nurse Teacher (CLES+T) questionnaire, and 439 (mean age 26 years, range 21-40, 60% females) returned the questionnaire, which corresponds to a response rate of 67%. The Mann-Whitney U test or the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the research environments. ResultsThe item My workplace can be regarded as a good learning environment correlated strongly with the item There were sufficient meaningful learning situations (r= 0.71, p<0.001). Overall satisfaction with supervision correlated strongly with the items interaction (r=0.78, p < 0.001), feedback (r=0.76, p<0.001), and a sense of trust (r=0.71, p < 0.001). Supervisors´ failures to bridge the gap between theory and practice or to explain intended learning outcomes were important negative factors. Students with basic science or epidemiological projects rated their learning environments higher than did students with clinical projects (χ2(3, N=437)=20.29, p<0.001). ConclusionsA good research environment for medical students comprises multiple meaningful learning activities, individual supervision with continuous feedback, and a trustful atmosphere including interactions with the whole staff. Students should be advised that clinical projects might require a higher degree of student independence than basic science projects, which are usually performed in research groups where members work in close collaboration.

Highlights

It is well known that the learning environments (LE) can influence the students’ abilities to achieve the intended learning outcomes, and may, have impact on the development of their professional behaviors and attitudes.[1,2,3] The LE includes some factors that may contribute to, or affect, students’ learning, such as the physical locations, teachers, learning activities, social relationships and the culture in which students learn.[1,2] It may include students’ experiences or perceptions of their studies[4] as the quality of the LE is known to influence students’ engagement and success.[5]
To initiate analysis and assessment of authentic research environments as LEs, this study aimed to explore medical studentsperceptions of their LEs during a mandatory scientific research project
The results indicated a strong correlation between the items My workplace can be regarded as a good learning environment and There were sufficient meaningful learning situations (r=0.71, p

Summary

Introduction

It is well known that the learning environments (LE) can influence the students’ abilities to achieve the intended learning outcomes, and may, have impact on the development of their professional behaviors and attitudes.[1,2,3] The LE includes some factors that may contribute to, or affect, students’ learning, such as the physical locations, teachers, learning activities, social relationships and the culture in which students learn.[1,2] It may include students’ experiences or perceptions of their studies[4] as the quality of the LE is known to influence students’ engagement and success.[5]. Some studies have investigated medical students’ LEs, albeit mostly with a focus on the clinical training environment.[1,2,4] Clinical placements are considered important for learning the clinical skills and attitudes necessary for future professional practice. Warne et al studied clinical LEs in nine European countries and found that 42% of approximately 2,000 students were satisfied or Möller et al Research project and learning environment very satisfied with their LE.[7] Pales and colleagues who surveyed five Spanish medical schools reported that half of the 4th year students considered their environment more positive than negative.[8] many students indicated several problems, for example expressing challenges when receiving feedback from their supervisors.[8] This is supported by several studies that have reported that the quality and continuity of the supervision are essential for a positive experience during clinical training.[1,9,10,11]

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Discussion

Conclusion