This is the closest I have come to being compared to a doctor: Views of medical students on clinical clerkship in an Interprofessional Training Unit

Abstract

Background: The need for interprofessional education has been apparent for decades and in 2004, we established the first Interprofessional Training Unit (ITU) in Denmark. Nursing, occupational therapy and physiotherapy students were in the ITU for its first 2 years and in 2006, medical students joined in. The students in collaboration run a ward with eight beds under the supervision of trained personnel.

Methods: A questionnaire consisting questions concerning the interprofessional meetings, the rounds, teaching, learning about own profession, learning about other professions and finally an overall assessment of their stay in the ITU was filled in by 55 medical students. To validate and deepen the questionnaire, 22 medical students participated in a group interview concentrating on the students’ evaluation of fulfilment of the goals for the ITU. The transcripted interview and the written comments in the questionnaire were analysed using Systematic Text Condensation.

Results: Our results showed that the medical students in the ITU developed their professional knowledge and capability simultaneous with the learning of interprofessional collaboration. The students valued the teaching methods because the students were in the forefront and treated as professionals. The students demanded more homogeneous instruction and a better introduction to the ITU.

Conclusion: A stay in an ITU with a safe learning environment can increase both uniprofessional and interprofessional learning for medical students. The students stressed the importance of supervision before and after carrying out a hospital task.