Motivating medical students to learn teamwork skills

Abstract

Background: This study examined teaching teamwork skills to first-year medical students. Teamwork skills focused on verbal communication in PBL-tutorial sessions and in healthcare teams.

Aims: The aim was to find out how to teach teamwork skills to first-year medical students and how to motivate them to learn these skills.

Method: Three consecutive classes of first-year medical students (N = 342) participated in teamwork skills module in the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. After the first year, the introduction to the topic was revised in order to be more motivating to medical students. After each module data were collected with a feedback questionnaire containing numerical and open questions. By analyzing the students' numerical answers and the content of students' open answers regarding the module, we examined how the revised introduction affected students' perceptions of the usefulness of the module.

Results: Medical students' feedback in the years 1 (n = 81), 2 (n = 99) and 3 (n = 95) showed that the students found the module in the second and third years significantly more useful than in the first year. These results support earlier findings that clearly stated clinical relevance motivates medical students.

Conclusions: When introducing multidisciplinary subjects to medical students, it is important to think through the clinical relevance of the topic and how it is introduced to medical students.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matti Aarnio

MATTI AARNIO is a teacher educator and researcher for the Research and Development Unit for Medical Education at the University of Helsinki.

Juha Nieminen

JUHA NIEMINEN is a study psychologist and a teacher educator for the Centre for Research and Development of Higher Education and for the Research and Development Unit for Medical Education at the University of Helsinki.

Eeva Pyörälä

EEVA PYÖRÄLÄ is a senior lecturer of university pedagogy for the Research and Development Unit for Medical Education at the University of Helsinki.

Sari Lindblom-Ylänne

SARI LINDBLOM-YLÄNNE is a professor of higher education and director of the Centre for Research and Development of Higher Education at the University of Helsinki.