{"title":"Student and educator experiences of a student-led clinic in general practice.","authors":"Katie Leslie, Kevin McConville","doi":"10.1080/14739879.2025.2494262","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Giving students more responsibility for patients during medical school may help prepare them for their transition to clinical practice. Student-led clinics (SLCs) could facilitate this. Within SLCs, students take the lead role in delivering patient care, with support and supervision from clinicians. A general practice SLC was established in Dundee, Scotland, with four final-year medical students and one general practitioner (GP) involved in each clinic. Our qualitative case study aimed to explore students' and educators' (GPs') experiences and perceptions of this SLC. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 students and three educators, and 18 hrs of observation were conducted over six clinics. Interview transcripts and fieldnotes were integrated and thematically analysed, revealing five main themes. Overall, students' and educators' experiences and perceptions were positive. Students thrived in their lead role in patient care, gaining a sense of empowerment and developing confidence in their abilities. Both students and educators felt comfortable with students having this level of responsibility due to students' seniority and the supervision provided by educators. Teaching in the SLC involved individual discussions and group debriefs. Students developed a sense of belonging as a result of their positive relationships with peers and educators and the environment of the Student Hub. Challenges arose when the clinic ran behind schedule due to unexpectedly complex patients or lengthy individual discussions. Our findings suggest that giving students responsibility for real patients is beneficial and feasible when adequate support is provided and that it is possible for one GP to supervise multiple students successfully.</p>","PeriodicalId":46436,"journal":{"name":"Education for Primary Care","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Education for Primary Care","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14739879.2025.2494262","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PRIMARY HEALTH CARE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Giving students more responsibility for patients during medical school may help prepare them for their transition to clinical practice. Student-led clinics (SLCs) could facilitate this. Within SLCs, students take the lead role in delivering patient care, with support and supervision from clinicians. A general practice SLC was established in Dundee, Scotland, with four final-year medical students and one general practitioner (GP) involved in each clinic. Our qualitative case study aimed to explore students' and educators' (GPs') experiences and perceptions of this SLC. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 students and three educators, and 18 hrs of observation were conducted over six clinics. Interview transcripts and fieldnotes were integrated and thematically analysed, revealing five main themes. Overall, students' and educators' experiences and perceptions were positive. Students thrived in their lead role in patient care, gaining a sense of empowerment and developing confidence in their abilities. Both students and educators felt comfortable with students having this level of responsibility due to students' seniority and the supervision provided by educators. Teaching in the SLC involved individual discussions and group debriefs. Students developed a sense of belonging as a result of their positive relationships with peers and educators and the environment of the Student Hub. Challenges arose when the clinic ran behind schedule due to unexpectedly complex patients or lengthy individual discussions. Our findings suggest that giving students responsibility for real patients is beneficial and feasible when adequate support is provided and that it is possible for one GP to supervise multiple students successfully.
期刊介绍:
Education for Primary Care aims to reflect the best experience, expertise and innovative ideas in the development of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing primary care education. The journal is UK based but welcomes contributions from all over the world. Readers will benefit from the broader perspectives on educational activities provided through the contributions of all health professionals, including general practitioners, nurses, midwives, health visitors, community nurses and managers. This sharing of experiences has the potential for enhancing healthcare delivery and for promoting interprofessional working.