Coster, S, Parekh, R, Moula, Z et al. (1 more author) (2022) Responsibility driven learning in primary care: a qualitative evaluation of a medical student COVID-19 volunteering programme. BMC Medical Education, 22 (1). 740. ISSN 1472-6920
Abstract
Background
During the first wave of the pandemic when clinical placements were suspended, a UK medical student volunteering programme was developed to support local GP practices. This study aimed to explore the impact that volunteering in primary care had on students’ learning and professional development to inform the design of future service-learning curricula innovations.
Methods
Seventy medical students across all years volunteered across forty-five GP practices in north-west London. Ten volunteer students and six GPs who had hosted students volunteered to participate in remotely conducted, semi-structured interviews with a researcher. Transcriptions were independently coded by two researchers and analysed by thematic analysis using service learning and communities of practice as sensitising concepts.
Results
Analysis showed a strong alignment between the views of students and GPs in terms of perceived learning. Our analysis of both sets of interviews resulted in five themes describing student outcomes from the volunteering scheme: developing as a doctor, understanding the complexity of medicine, responsibility driven learning, a meaningful role in a community of practice, and seeing behind the scenes in primary care.
Discussion and conclusion
Results from this study highlighted how a meaningful service-led role and responsibility in primary care can empower and motivate students to learn beyond the traditional medical curriculum and assessments. Adopting these new ‘pro-active’ roles within general practices led volunteers, particularly those in the early years of study, to develop a better understanding of primary care and medical complexity. It also enhanced their professional skills, attitudes and behaviours, while having a beneficial impact on patient care during the pandemic.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2022. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. |
Keywords: | Volunteering, Primary care, Medical students, Service-learning, Pandemic |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > Medicine & Health Faculty Office (Leeds) > Faculty Office Functions (FOMH) (Leeds) > Dean's Office (FOMH) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 31 Oct 2022 16:24 |
Last Modified: | 11 Jan 2023 13:36 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | BMC |
Identification Number: | 10.1186/s12909-022-03805-w |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:192721 |