Abstract
BackgroundSufficient preparedness is important for transitions to workplace participation and learning in clinical settings. This study aims to analyse medical students’ preparedness for early clerkships using a three-dimensional, socio-cognitive, theory-based model of preparedness anchored in specific professional activities and their supervision level.MethodsMedical students from a competency-based undergraduate curriculum were surveyed about preparedness for 21 professional activities and level of perceived supervision during their early clerkships via an online questionnaire. Preparedness was operationalized by the three dimensions of confidence to carry out clerkship activities, being prepared through university teaching and coping with failure by seeking support. Factors influencing preparedness and perceived stress as outcomes were analysed through step-wise regression.ResultsProfessional activities carried out by the students (n = 147; 19.0%) and their supervision levels varied. While most students reported high confidence to perform the tasks, the activity-specific analysis revealed important gaps in preparation through university teaching. Students regularly searched for support in case of difficulty. One quarter of the variance of each preparedness dimension was explained by self-efficacy, supervision quality, amount of prior clerkship experience and nature of professional activities. Preparedness contributed to predicting perceived stress.ConclusionsThe applied three-dimensional concept of preparedness and the task-specific approach provided a detailed and meaningful view on medical students’ workplace participation and experiences in early clerkships.
Highlights
Sufficient preparedness is important for transitions to workplace participation and learning in clinical settings
Inadequate preparation and preparedness for clerkships is associated with stress and anxiety for medical students starting out [8,9,10], which may both impede the transition and hamper learning though participation within the clinical setting
Participants and setting Medical students from the competency-based undergraduate medical curriculum (UME) at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité), Germany were investigated in a cross-sectional study
Summary
Sufficient preparedness is important for transitions to workplace participation and learning in clinical settings. Clerkships represent the first major transition in medical training, i.e. from university-based classroom to clinical workplace learning [1, 2]. Inadequate preparation and preparedness for clerkships is associated with stress and anxiety for medical students starting out [8,9,10], which may both impede the transition and hamper learning though participation within the clinical setting. It may interfere with patient safety or increase hospital costs [10,11,12].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
