Page 35 - Medical students’ self-regulated learning in clinical contexts

F4R5: “Wat I especially like is if there is the possibility to nd your own learning goals and to do many things by yourself. But also, when it is unclear what you can and may do, that you are given clues, or support, so you can s ll have that opportunity.”
Thought provoking ques ons
The rou ne of asking ques ons to students was probably one of the most widespread and important ones. Ques ons were valued in all situa ons, no ma er whether it was during morning rounds, handovers, presenta ons, consulta ons, or other clinical ac vi es, because it made students feel their learning ma ered. Ques ons triggered students to study and helped them iden fy gaps in their knowledge and set subsequent learning goals. It also made students aware of the need for prac cing clinical reasoning and presenta on skills, and lowered the barrier to ask ques ons themselves. Addi onally, it made students feel like their progress was not only monitored by themselves but also objec ed and assessed by others.
F6R3: ”What s mulates me a lot to study, or learn things, or ac vely look for learning opportuni es is what [name F6R2] also said: when people, residents or consultants, ask you ques ons. They try to mo vate you and, ehm, by doing that make you realize: oh, I hadn’t thought of that, or: I think I don’t know that yet.”
Characteris cs of a department
Although we did not ask this in the focus groups, students spontaneously men oned typical features that were characteris c of a department to severely in uence their SRL. These characteris cs pertained to: the number and diversity of pa ents, pa ents’ average length of stay in hospital, and the degree of specializa on of care delivered by a department. Many students perceived these characteris cs to in uence the learning opportuni es available for them to engage in SRL, because many of their learning goals involved diagnosing pa ents and making a treatment plan. This resulted in students perceiving to be limited in their SRL if there were not enough pa ents. A similar percep on existed when there was a high percentage of follow-up pa ents in outpa ent clinics because they already had a diagnosis and a treatment plan, making working on many of students’ SRL goals di cult. Highly specialized departments, such as a ward dedicated to renal transplanta on, also limited perceived possibili es to work on many of students’ SRL goals because these pa ents also had a diagnosis and treatment plan, and addi onally discussions regarding pa ents were too specialized for students to make a valuable contribu on.
33
Rou nes of clinical departments that in uence students’ self-regulated learning Chapter 2