Abstract
IntroductionWorldwide, a growing number of healthcare students require clinical environments for learning. Some wards have become adapted ‘student wards’ to meet this demand. Benefits have been reported from the students’, supervisors’ and patients’ perspectives. There is no definition of a student ward, and little research on what the term means. A deeper understanding of the characteristics of student wards is needed to support their use. The aim of this study is to describe what characterises the learning environment on one student ward.MethodsAn ethnographic approach was used for an observational study on a student ward in a hospital in Sweden. Student nurses, supervisors and others on the ward were observed. Field notes were thematically analysed.ResultsFour themes were identified: ‘Student-led learning’ described students learning by actively performing clinical tasks and taking responsibility for patients and for their own learning. ‘Learning together’ described peer learning and supervision. ‘Staff’s approach to learning’ described personalised relationships between the students and staff and the build-up of trust, the unified inter-professional approach to teaching, and the supervisors’ motivation for teaching and for their own learning. ‘Student-dedicated space’ described the effect of the student room on the learning environment.Discussion and conclusionsThis study describes the characteristics of a student ward that centred around a community of practice that shared a view of learning as a priority, allowing staff to provide clinical care without compromising students’ learning. This qualitative study at a single centre lays the groundwork for future research into other student wards.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s40037-019-00538-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Worldwide, a growing number of healthcare students require clinical environments for learning
This study describes the characteristics of a student ward that centred around a community of practice that shared a view of learning as a priority, allowing staff to provide clinical care without compromising students’ learning
Four themes were identified that characterise the learning environment on the student ward: studentled learning, learning together, staff’s approach to learning, and student-dedicated space
Summary
A growing number of healthcare students require clinical environments for learning. As pressure on service provision in healthcare rises, the numbers of students are increasing to meet the demand for qualified healthcare professionals, making education in the clinical environment a growing challenge. It is important for the future of healthcare. This study used an ethnographic approach to holistically study a student ward and to provide a rich description of the learning environment. This is the first step towards exploring the characteristics and inter-relatedness of other student wards, to support their development and use in future medical education. Development of professional communication and collaboration competences is crucial for patient safety [1]
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