Research Articles (School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences)
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Item Open Access Creating transformational learning experiences for 21st century healthcare students through preclinical skills training at a South African university(BMC, 2024) van der Merwe, Anke; van Vuuren, Corlia Janse๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ Creating an inclusive interprofessional teaching and learning community can enhance student engagement and ultimately develop essential graduate attributes (GA) (also known as generic, transferable, core, soft, work-ready or nontechnical skills). The early practical development of GA within a diverse space is essential in health profession education, as students experience the transition to clinical training as challenging. ๐๐ถ๐บ This paper describes the conceptualization and implementation of an inclusive interprofessional curriculum focused on GA development in the preclinical years. ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฑ๐ A phased multimethod research design was applied. Phase 1 focused on the conceptualization of a preclinical GA development curriculum through a consensus-seeking process among all staff in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Nโ=โ36). Subsequently, in Phase 2, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from participating first-year students (Nโ=โ135) as an early curricular implementation review. Descriptive statistical analyses for quantitative and thematic analyses for qualitative data were performed. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐๐ During Phase 1, five themes were identified (Ethics, Professionalism, General principles for interventions, Organizations and institutions, Management) informing preclinical curriculum development. Forty-one first-year students (30%) participated in Phase 2. The majority of participants (87%) indicated that they had a positive learning experience during Phase 2. Students expressed that engagement was encouraged (83%) within a space of mutual respect (83%), with interprofessional groups assisting in building โa trusting environment and a supportive oneโ. Students indicated they โliked that it [module] wasnโt just about one topicโ, as it concretized that โthere is more to being a healthcare professional that just treating peopleโ. ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป GA development provides an invaluable opportunity for interprofessional engagement. Creating a diverse and inclusive curricular space through multimodal and interprofessional training, GA training was transformed to be more practical and future-focused, creating a positive learning experience. Future research should focus on the longer-term impact of this practical, preclinical GA development during the transition of these students into the clinical training space.