The medical internship as a meaningful transition: A phenomenographic study.
Journal
Medical education
ISSN: 1365-2923
Titre abrégé: Med Educ
Pays: England
ID NLM: 7605655
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
12 2023
12 2023
Historique:
revised:
16
05
2023
received:
10
01
2023
accepted:
19
05
2023
medline:
27
11
2023
pubmed:
7
6
2023
entrez:
7
6
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
The transition from student to doctor is often depicted as a struggle in the literature, and previous research has focused on interventions to minimise difficulties in transitioning from undergraduate to postgraduate training. In considering this transition as a potential transformative experience, we intend to produce new insights into how junior doctors experience the transition to clinical work. The aim of this study was to explore medical interns' conceptualisations of the transition from student to doctor through studying the Swedish medical internship, which serves as a bridge between undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The research question was formulated as follows: How do medical interns perceive the meaning of the medical internship? The data were collected through in-depth interviews with 12 senior medical interns in western Sweden. The transcribed interviews were analysed using a phenomenographic approach, which resulted in four qualitatively varying ways of perceiving the meaning of the internship, organised hierarchically in a phenomenographic outcome space. The interns perceived the meaning of the internship as an opportunity to work and learn in an authentic setting (internship as in-service training) and in a protected environment (internship as a space). The internship guaranteed a minimum level of competence (internship as a quality marker) and allowed the interns to gain new insights into themselves and their world (internship as an eye-opener). Being allowed to be learners in a protected space seemed pivotal for the interns to develop into competent, confident and independent practitioners. The medical internship studied here could be viewed as a meaningful transition into new ways of experiencing, allowing for an increased understanding of oneself and the world. This study adds to the scientific literature on what constitutes a transformative transition.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
The transition from student to doctor is often depicted as a struggle in the literature, and previous research has focused on interventions to minimise difficulties in transitioning from undergraduate to postgraduate training. In considering this transition as a potential transformative experience, we intend to produce new insights into how junior doctors experience the transition to clinical work. The aim of this study was to explore medical interns' conceptualisations of the transition from student to doctor through studying the Swedish medical internship, which serves as a bridge between undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The research question was formulated as follows: How do medical interns perceive the meaning of the medical internship?
METHODS
The data were collected through in-depth interviews with 12 senior medical interns in western Sweden. The transcribed interviews were analysed using a phenomenographic approach, which resulted in four qualitatively varying ways of perceiving the meaning of the internship, organised hierarchically in a phenomenographic outcome space.
RESULTS
The interns perceived the meaning of the internship as an opportunity to work and learn in an authentic setting (internship as in-service training) and in a protected environment (internship as a space). The internship guaranteed a minimum level of competence (internship as a quality marker) and allowed the interns to gain new insights into themselves and their world (internship as an eye-opener).
DISCUSSION
Being allowed to be learners in a protected space seemed pivotal for the interns to develop into competent, confident and independent practitioners. The medical internship studied here could be viewed as a meaningful transition into new ways of experiencing, allowing for an increased understanding of oneself and the world. This study adds to the scientific literature on what constitutes a transformative transition.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1230-1238Subventions
Organisme : Gothenburg Society of Medicine
Commentaires et corrections
Type : CommentIn
Informations de copyright
© 2023 The Authors. Medical Education published by Association for the Study of Medical Education and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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