Page 151 - Medical students’ self-regulated learning in clinical contexts

discussed strengths and limita ons of this thesis, discussed the prac cal implica ons of this thesis and made sugges ons for future research. The clinical context is a very special one, and to understand how SRL happens in this context, it needs to be stud- ied in situ. SRL is also a process di erent in every student and should therefore be supported individually in each student according to their needs and wishes. Profes- sional rela onships are vital for students’ SRL. Chapters 2 and 3 gave us an insight in how these rela onships can be supported and what people are involved. Besides the importance of professional rela onships, we also became aware of the importance of iden ty development for students’ SRL. Students who developed a true profes- sional iden ty appeared to be able to engage in SRL following an engaged or cri cally opportunis c pa ern and appeared to have a large social network to use in their SRL like the experienced students reported in chapter 3. As SRL is a social process, theories about legi mate peripheral par cipa on and developmental space may be used to further advance our knowledge about SRL in clinical contexts. As this thesis is mainly based on studies using a qualita ve methodology with data derived from a single cultural se ng, future studies using quan ta ve data and data from other cultural se ngs are warranted to further improve our understanding of SRL in a clini- cal context. However, using the ndings presented in this thesis, it is evident that a stronger focus on iden ty development in undergraduate medical educa on is re- quired. Students also require more individual support for their SRL. Lastly, clerkships should be adjusted to cater to students’ need for engaging in professional rela on- ships and facilitate longer las ng collabora ons between students and sta . This can be achieved for instance by reducing the number of students allocated to a clinical department and by implemen ng longitudinal integrated clerkships.
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Appendices: Summary