What Aspects of Patient Affect Medical Students? A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences of Medical Students at General Medical Ward and Clinic.
- Author:
Wari YAMAMOTO
;
Munetaka MAEKAWA
;
Tsuguya FUKUI
;
Takuro SHIMBO
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
critical incidents;
narrative reports;
medical education;
general medicine
- From:Medical Education
2000;31(6):429-434
- CountryJapan
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Objective: To identify the usefulness of critical-incident reports for reflective learning and for classifying the types of experiences that medical students regarded most memorable during clinical clerkship at general medical ward and clinic.
Design: Descriptive qualitative study using the critical-incident technique.
Setting: General medical ward and clinic of a university hospital.
Participants: Fifth-year medical students that took part in the clinical care of patients during the clerkship from October 1, 1996 to September 31, 1997.
Measurements and Main Results: Ninety-five reports were collected over one year and subjected to the analysis. Reports were classified for seven major themes, with a mean of 1.85 themes per narrative. As for the distribution of themes, 68 reports (72%) dealt with biomedical topics, 45 (47%) with communication with patients and families, 26 (27%) with personal feelings, 19 (20%) with the physician's role, 11 (12%) with ethics, 7 (7%) with psychosocial subjects, and 1 (1%) with recognition of alternative medicine. Reports from men and women contained a similar mean number (men 1.82; women 2.09) and distribution of themes.
Conclusions: Medical students have divergent meaningful experiences on non-biomedical themes as well as biomedical issues during their general medicine rotation.
