Alienation and engagement in postgraduate training at a South African medical school

Figures & data

Table

Practice points

Alienation and engagement is a useful way to contemplate the learning experiences of postgraduate students. A positive and supportive family background impacts positively on students’ perceptions in the workplace. Alienation could be mitigated if students were supported to develop appropriate strategies to cope with the workplace learning environment. Teachers are a major component of workplace-related alienation or engagement. Potential students should be pro-active in investigating ‘myths’ around their chosen discipline.

Table 1.  Interview schedule for semi-structured interview

What was your school environment like, language, facilities, number of teachers, career counsellors, mentors, role models, peer pressure?

What socioeconomic environment did you grow up in, and what impact did it have on you?

Why did you decide to study pathology and why at this university?

How do you feel about your training and study environment?

What did you enjoy most in your training and why?

What do you enjoy least in your training and why?

How has your relationship with friends and family changed since you started training?

What forms of discrimination, if any, have you experienced in your training environment, elaborate?

What strategies have you developed to cope with the pressures of your studies and why?

Who have you turned to in times of difficulties with your studies and why?

Who have you turned to in times of serious personal difficulties since starting your medical training?

Tell me more about your role models. Who are your personal role models and why?

Did any specific person influence your decision to study pathology?

Do you find the university structure supportive?

Have you ever identified explicit and implicit barriers to the progression in your career?

How has your identity been affected since you started your training?

How has pathology training changed your view of the world?

What is the impact of all these things on your studies?

Note: All students participating in the study were asked the above questions.

Figure 1. The ‘onion skin’ model. The model depicts the four dimensions of alienation and engagement identified in this study. The left half of the model portrays the engaging experiences in the workplace and institution, and the individual and sociodemographic characteristics of students with mainly engaging experiences, while the right half represents those of students with mainly alienating experiences. Note that students with ‘poor’ generic skills had mainly engaging experiences.