Becoming 'ward smart' medical students
Becoming 'ward smart' medical students
BACKGROUND: A small number of medical students elect to work as health care assistants (HCAs) during or prior to their undergraduate training. There is a significant body of evidence in the literature regarding the impact of HCA experience on student nurses; however, little research has examined the effects of such experience on medical students.
METHODS: All fourth-year medical students with self-declared experience as HCAs from a single UK medical school were invited to participate in focus groups to explore their experiences and perceptions. Ten students from the year group took part.
RESULTS: Participants felt that their experience as HCAs enhanced their learning in the workplace through becoming 'ward smart', helping them to become socialised into the world of health care, providing early meaningful and humanised patient interaction, and increasing their understanding of multidisciplinary team (MDT) members' roles. Little research has examined the effects of [HCA] experience on medical students DISCUSSION: Becoming 'ward smart' and developing a sense of belonging are central to maximising learning in, from and through work on the ward. Experience as a HCA provides a range of learning and social opportunities for medical students, and legitimises their participation within clinical communities. HCA experience also seems to benefit in the 'hard to reach' dimensions of medical training: empathy; humanisation of patient care; professional socialisation; and providing a sense of belonging within health care environments.
Education, Medical, Undergraduate/methods, Female, Focus Groups, Humans, Learning, Male, Patient Care/methods, Schools, Medical, Students, Medical/psychology
336-339
Walker, Beth
0ead96da-6a36-4205-bf33-21c3f1231cce
Wallace, Deirdre
84cfe642-9bd9-43ac-a185-321addfd6057
Mangera, Zaheer
13963932-050a-477a-92e2-dcf4c387a293
Gill, Deborah
7efe669f-45e8-45d3-ab30-8717653353ca
October 2017
Walker, Beth
0ead96da-6a36-4205-bf33-21c3f1231cce
Wallace, Deirdre
84cfe642-9bd9-43ac-a185-321addfd6057
Mangera, Zaheer
13963932-050a-477a-92e2-dcf4c387a293
Gill, Deborah
7efe669f-45e8-45d3-ab30-8717653353ca
Walker, Beth, Wallace, Deirdre, Mangera, Zaheer and Gill, Deborah
(2017)
Becoming 'ward smart' medical students.
The Clinical Teacher, 14 (5), .
(doi:10.1111/tct.12571).
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A small number of medical students elect to work as health care assistants (HCAs) during or prior to their undergraduate training. There is a significant body of evidence in the literature regarding the impact of HCA experience on student nurses; however, little research has examined the effects of such experience on medical students.
METHODS: All fourth-year medical students with self-declared experience as HCAs from a single UK medical school were invited to participate in focus groups to explore their experiences and perceptions. Ten students from the year group took part.
RESULTS: Participants felt that their experience as HCAs enhanced their learning in the workplace through becoming 'ward smart', helping them to become socialised into the world of health care, providing early meaningful and humanised patient interaction, and increasing their understanding of multidisciplinary team (MDT) members' roles. Little research has examined the effects of [HCA] experience on medical students DISCUSSION: Becoming 'ward smart' and developing a sense of belonging are central to maximising learning in, from and through work on the ward. Experience as a HCA provides a range of learning and social opportunities for medical students, and legitimises their participation within clinical communities. HCA experience also seems to benefit in the 'hard to reach' dimensions of medical training: empathy; humanisation of patient care; professional socialisation; and providing a sense of belonging within health care environments.
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Published date: October 2017
Additional Information:
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.
Keywords:
Education, Medical, Undergraduate/methods, Female, Focus Groups, Humans, Learning, Male, Patient Care/methods, Schools, Medical, Students, Medical/psychology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 502810
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/502810
ISSN: 1743-4971
PURE UUID: 30bfcd41-4a95-4903-a91c-3bbbf7aa3819
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Date deposited: 08 Jul 2025 16:55
Last modified: 09 Jul 2025 02:04
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Author:
Beth Walker
Author:
Deirdre Wallace
Author:
Zaheer Mangera
Author:
Deborah Gill
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