“[It’s] more than just medicine”: The value and sustainability of mandatory, non-clinical, short-term rural placements in a Western Australian medical school

Vujcich, Daniel; Toussaint, Sandy; Mak, Donna B

doi:10.1080/0142159x.2020.1713309

Cited by 7 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…11 A recently published evaluation of the placement's perceived long-term impact on graduates and placement hosts indicated that the Program validated pre-existing interest in, or positively influenced graduates' attitudes towards, rural practice and fostered empathy and responsiveness when caring for rural patients in both urban and rural health services. 12 Placement hosts unanimously supported the Program and contributed social capital to ensure its sustainability. 12 In March 2020, the placement's instigator and academic coordinator (DBM) realised that COVID-19-related travel restrictions to prevent COVID-19 transmission to remote Aboriginal communities would preclude second-year students from undertaking a physical Kimberley placement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12 Placement hosts unanimously supported the Program and contributed social capital to ensure its sustainability. 12 In March 2020, the placement's instigator and academic coordinator (DBM) realised that COVID-19-related travel restrictions to prevent COVID-19 transmission to remote Aboriginal communities would preclude second-year students from undertaking a physical Kimberley placement. Over the next three months, university staff, the Shire of Derby West Kimberley, community-based organisations and previous placement hosts collaborated to develop a virtual experience to enable students to meet the same learning objectives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lessons learned from adapting a remote area health placement from physical to virtual: a COVID-19-driven innovation

et al. 2021

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Objectives: To investigate the acceptability and the effectiveness of a virtual adaptation of a well-established, mandatory, community-based pre-clinical remote area health placement in which medical students learn about the social and environmental determinants of health in remote Australia; and make recommendations to guide the delivery of future learning experiences. Methods: A mixed-methods convergent design was used. All 99 students, 36 placement hosts and 10 staff were invited to complete an online survey and 27(27%), 12(33%) and 10(100%), respectively, contributed data. Qualitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews from four students, four hosts and six staff. Survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and open-ended responses summarised to provide supporting contextual evidence. Interview transcripts were analysed and coded independently, then corroborated to identify and summarise common themes using thematic analysis.Results: Survey and interview data indicated that the virtual placement was acceptable to students and hosts and enabled students to achieve intended learning objectives. Virtual activities enabled students and hosts to develop authentic, genuine interpersonal relationships, which in turn were facilitated when hosts and students had practiced videoconferencing beforehand with good high-speed internet connections via mobile devices. Pastoral care and access to IT support were essential. Conclusions: Virtual placements can be used in combination with and are an option for students and hosts who cannot attend/courses that cannot fund physical placements. Careful design and further research is required to ensure that virtual placements enable "head, heart and hands" learning and do not create/reinforce inequities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons learned from adapting a remote area health placement from physical to virtual: a COVID-19-driven innovation

et al. 2021

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“…In this way, students experience what it is like to work and live in such an environment [ 13 , 24 ]. In addition, they can become part of the community life and build connections with physicians and patients [ 17 , 23 , 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much research has been done on the effects of such programs. Students who participated recognised that the rural clerkships expedited both their personal and professional growth [ 13 , 25 ]. Conducting clerkships in rural settings prepared students for working and living in these areas [ 13 , 24 ] and positively influenced graduates´ desire to practice rural medicine or family medicine [ 17 , 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Programs to encourage working as a general practitioner in rural areas: why do medical students not want to participate? A cross-sectional study

et al. 2022

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Background In many countries, not enough students are interested to work as general practitioners in rural areas. To solve this problem, several, sometimes partly extracurricular, programs have been developed. Most of these programs are based on continuity, which means that students stay in a rural region for an extended period of time, by completing clerkships. Although the effects of these programs are positive, it is often difficult to motivate students to participate. The purpose of the present study is to get insight into the reasons why students choose not to participate in these programs. Methods We carried out a questionnaire study among medical students in the clinical phase of the Technical University of Munich in Germany. First, we asked the students whether they actively informed themselves about the program which aims to reduce the shortage of general practitioners in rural areas in Bavaria. Furthermore, the questionnaire focused on the reasons for not participating in this program. Results Based on the answers of 442 students from study years 3–6, the most frequently chosen reason for not participating in the program is “identification with another discipline” with 61.0%, directly followed by “not willing to commit long-term” (56.1%). In third place is “personal connections to another region” with 30.5%. In the open comments, we find the same reasons: many students do not want to commit to a certain direction too early. In addition, students indicate that the number of regions where this program is offered is too limited for them. Conclusions Offering programs to prepare and motivate students for work as general practitioners in rural areas can contribute to increasing the pool of future general practitioners. To encourage students to participate in such a program, it is important to consider the motives of students. Many students who might be interested in general practice do not choose to take part in such a program because they do not want to commit to a particular specialty or region at an early stage. It is important to take these insights into account when designing and implementing these programs.

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“…4 Student and graduate evaluations indicate that the placement was achieving many of its intended outcomes including validating medical students' preexisting interest in rural practice, positively influencing attitudes towards rural practice and enabling graduates to be empathetic and responsive to the needs of rural patients when caring for them in urban or rural health services, as well as an unexpected outcome of students developing long-term collegial bonds that are sustained post-graduation. 4,5 One of the placement's distinguishing features is that it is largely resourced by social capital 6 in the form of rural communities and individuals (hereafter termed hosts) who voluntarily contribute knowledge, labour and student accommodation. Students live with placement hosts and undertake non-clinical work chosen by the community, in return for experiential learning about the social, cultural, economic and environmental determinants of health in rural Australia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resurrected by popular demand: A mixed‐methods evaluation of a community‐engaged rural health medical student placement program

Russell

Mak

2021

Australian J Rural Health

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“[It’s] more than just medicine”: The value and sustainability of mandatory, non-clinical, short-term rural placements in a Western Australian medical school

Cited by 7 publications

References 23 publications

Lessons learned from adapting a remote area health placement from physical to virtual: a COVID-19-driven innovation

Lessons learned from adapting a remote area health placement from physical to virtual: a COVID-19-driven innovation

Programs to encourage working as a general practitioner in rural areas: why do medical students not want to participate? A cross-sectional study

Resurrected by popular demand: A mixed‐methods evaluation of a community‐engaged rural health medical student placement program

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