Abstract
BackgroundThe MMed in Family Medicine is a professional Master’s qualification spanning 4 years of training. The outcomes were predetermined by national consensus. While these outcomes are measured in the form of a national exit examination, there has been no exploration of the experiences of registrars (residents) in this relatively new programme. To evaluate the experiences of registrars in one of the nine training programmes in South Africa and to identify areas for improvement.MethodsThis study used purposive sampling to recruit registrar (n = 9) and supervisor (n = 8) participants into respective groups. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically, and consensus was built using the nominal group technique.ResultsSupervisors identified the strengths and weaknesses of the programme which will impact on further strategic planning. Data from registrar interviews yielded two themes: affirmation, referring to the positive social engagement and facilitation of professional identity formation; and frustrations, referring to structural aspects of the programme which hindered academic progress.ConclusionQualitative programme evaluation is a useful tool in understanding the learning environment. The student perspective helped to identify the unintended consequences of the programme. It was also shown that the nominal group consensus building technique worked well in a resource-constrained environment.
Highlights
The registrar programme in Family Medicine (FM) has been running at the University of Cape Town (UCT) since 2008
In response to the questions ‘what are your perceptions of the strengths of the programme?’ and ‘how can the programme be strengthened?’, the educator-participant nominal group technique (NGT) groups from the respective clinical sites generated a range of responses (Table 2)
In relation to the programme’s strengths, there was an agreement between the two groups that students were afforded sufficient workplace-based opportunities for learning and that good role models were to be found within the programme
Summary
The registrar programme in Family Medicine (FM) has been running at the University of Cape Town (UCT) since 2008. 14 family physicians (FPs) trained in this programme have successfully completed all requirements to register on the specialist registry of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), and 16 registrars are currently in various stages of the 4-year programme. The curriculum has been nationally agreed upon, guided initially by the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FaMEC1), constituted by representatives from all the FM departments in South Africa (SA). The outcomes were predetermined by national consensus While these outcomes are measured in the form of a national exit examination, there has been no exploration of the experiences of registrars (residents) in this relatively new programme. To evaluate the experiences of registrars in one of the nine training programmes in South Africa and to identify areas for improvement
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