How do German medical students perceive role models during clinical placements (“Famulatur”)? An empirical study

Abstract Background Studies have demonstrated the importance of role models in medical education. Medical students in Germany participate in clinical placements (“Famulatur”) that last 4 months in total and represent the first real-world setting where students encounter possible role models in their clinical education. These placements are an extracurricular activity, however, and regarded as the “black box” of medical education. This study aimed to evaluate whether and how students experience role models during clinical placements, the qualities associated with potential role models and whether role model-related learning gains are relevant. Methods We recruited 96 students (mean age: 23.83 years; 75% female) in their 5th to 9th semesters at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ulm, Germany, who were participating in a clinical placement between July and October 2015. Participants completed a questionnaire at the beginning of a 5-day working week to record sociodemographic and other information and another one at the end of the week to assess various aspects of their experiences. On each of the 5 days, they completed a structured questionnaire to record their perceived role models and self-assessed learning gains. Results Role models and role modelling play an important role in clinical placements. The positive function of medical staff as role models predominated (88.4%) across all specialties. Junior doctors were the most frequently perceived role models (28.5%), followed by consultants (25.1%) and nursing staff (22.4%). The most commonly perceived positive quality was the interaction with students (16.5%), followed by team behaviour (13.6%), interaction with patients (13.6%) and professional expertise (13.4%). Students also had various kinds of learning gains such as knowledge or skills. Conclusions Although these clinical placements are extracurricular activities in Germany and their content is not regulated, they are home to a relevant amount of role modelling. Students experience the various medical professions in different roles and in a range of tasks and interactions. Defining basic learning objectives could help to increase the relevance of these placements for the medical curriculum in Germany and transfer the associated learning gains from the hidden to the open curriculum..

Medienart:	E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:	2019
Erschienen:	2019

Enthalten in:	Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:19
Enthalten in:	BMC Medical Education - 19(2019), 1, Seite 9

Sprache:	Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:	Oliver Keis [VerfasserIn] Achim Schneider [VerfasserIn] Felix Heindl [VerfasserIn] Markus Huber-Lang [VerfasserIn] Wolfgang Öchsner [VerfasserIn] Claudia Grab-Kroll [VerfasserIn]

Links:	doi.org [kostenfrei] doaj.org [kostenfrei] link.springer.com [kostenfrei] Journal toc [kostenfrei]

Themen:	Clinical clerkship Clinical placements Learning gains Medical professions Medicine Qualities R Role models Special aspects of education

doi:	10.1186/s12909-019-1624-9

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PPN (Katalog-ID):	DOAJ042580005