An important goal for interprofessional education (IPE) in clinical settings is to support healthcare students in collaboratively developing their understanding of interprofessional teamwork. The aim of this study was to investigate students' learning experiences and academic emotions as they occur in actual context in relation to collaborative and trialogical activities during a clinical IPE course. The contextual activity sampling system methodology was used to collect data via mobile phones. Thirty-seven healthcare students (medical, nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy) reported their experiences, learning activities and academic emotions several times a day via their mobile phones during their 2-week course at an interprofessional training ward (IPTW). The results provided understanding of the students' experiences of their academic emotions and how they created new knowledge collaboratively. These collaborative knowledge creation activities occurred mostly when students from different professions were collaborating as a team (e.g. discussing patient care or participating in a ward round) and were also significantly related to optimal experiences, i.e. "flow" (high challenge in combination with high competence). In conclusion, these results emphasize the importance of collaboration among students during IPTW courses. Our results might help to optimize the design of IPE learning activities in clinical healthcare contexts.
The Contextual Activity Sampling System (CASS) is a novel methodology designed for collecting data of on-going learning experiences through frequent sampling by using mobile phones. This paper describes how it for the first time has been introduced to clinical learning environments. The purposes of this study were to cross-culturally adapt the CASS tool and questionnaire for use in clinical learning environments, investigate whether the methodology is suitable for collecting data and how it is experienced by students. A study was carried out with 51 students who reported about their activities and experiences five times a day during a 2-week course on an interprofessional training ward. Interviews were conducted after the course. The study showed that CASS provided a range of detailed and interesting qualitative and quantitative data, which we would not have been able to collect using traditional methods such as post-course questionnaires or interviews. Moreover, the participants reported that CASS worked well, was easy to use, helped them structure their days and reflect on their learning activities. This methodology proved to be a fruitful way of collecting information about experiences, which could be useful for not only researchers but also students, teachers and course designers.
IntroductionWorldwide, a growing number of healthcare students require clinical environments for learning. Some wards have become adapted ‘student wards’ to meet this demand. Benefits have been reported from the students’, supervisors’ and patients’ perspectives. There is no definition of a student ward, and little research on what the term means. A deeper understanding of the characteristics of student wards is needed to support their use. The aim of this study is to describe what characterises the learning environment on one student ward.MethodsAn ethnographic approach was used for an observational study on a student ward in a hospital in Sweden. Student nurses, supervisors and others on the ward were observed. Field notes were thematically analysed.ResultsFour themes were identified: ‘Student-led learning’ described students learning by actively performing clinical tasks and taking responsibility for patients and for their own learning. ‘Learning together’ described peer learning and supervision. ‘Staff’s approach to learning’ described personalised relationships between the students and staff and the build-up of trust, the unified inter-professional approach to teaching, and the supervisors’ motivation for teaching and for their own learning. ‘Student-dedicated space’ described the effect of the student room on the learning environment.Discussion and conclusionsThis study describes the characteristics of a student ward that centred around a community of practice that shared a view of learning as a priority, allowing staff to provide clinical care without compromising students’ learning. This qualitative study at a single centre lays the groundwork for future research into other student wards.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s40037-019-00538-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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