Abstract
Family medicine residents frequently collaborate with nurses regarding clinical decisions and treatments, which contributes to their education. In rural areas, these residents experience a wider scope of practice by collaborating with nurses. However, nurses’ contributions to rural family medicine education have not been clarified. This study measured the contributions of 88 rural community hospital nurses to family medicine education using a quantitative questionnaire and interviews. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the grounded theory approach. Nurses’ average clinical experience was 20.16 years. Nurses’ contributions to the roles of teacher and provider of emotional support were statistically lower among participants working in acute care wards than those working in chronic care wards (p = 0.024 and 0.047, respectively). The qualitative analysis indicated that rural nurses’ contributions to family medicine education focused on professionalism, interprofessional collaboration, and respect for nurses’ working culture and competence. Additionally, nurses struggled to educate medical residents amid their busy routine; this education should be supported by other professionals. Rural family medicine education should incorporate clinical nurses as educators for professionalism and interprofessional collaboration and as facilitators of residents’ transition to new workplaces. Subsequently, other professionals should be more actively involved in improving education quality.
Highlights
Medicine education involves various clinical experiences that broaden the scope of practice for family medicine residents
The nurses’ average clinical experience was 20.16 years, and most participants graduated from specialized nursing schools
“providers of emotional support” were statistically lower among the participants working in acute care wards than those working in chronic care wards (p = 0.024 and 0.047, respectively)
Summary
Medicine education involves various clinical experiences that broaden the scope of practice for family medicine residents. In their experience, nurses are one of their most frequent collaborators [1,2]. The scope of practice refers to the range of healthcare issues medical professionals can treat [3]. Upon graduating from residency, family physicians are expected to treat various healthcare issues related to patients’ biopsychosocial problems and frequently collaborate with nurses making clinical decisions and providing treatment [4]. Collaboration with nurses is vital for the development of family physicians’ competence. For the effective provision of family medicine education, the involvement of nurses can be critical, leading to a better quality of care for patients [8,9]
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