Abstracts Health Sciences

Experiences of feedback on medical students’ clinical skills performance in a clinical skills centre

by der Merwe van

ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Feedback is critical to learning, especially learning of clinical skills, even in simulation. Students are often not satisfied with the feedback they receive on their learning, while lecturers generally report they do provide feedback to students. This imbalance between feedback received and feedback provided may be evident at this Clinical Skills Centre (CSC), where medical students from Stellenbosch University learn clinical skills in the safety of a simulation area. The aim of this study was therefore to determine how fourth-year medical students experience the feedback they receive and how lecturers experience the feedback they provide about the learning of clinical skills in the CSC. As the researcher, I was specifically interested in this study to help guide my own practice as a lecturer in this CSC. This study followed an interpretative approach and used non-numerical data to understand the feedback experiences of the students and their lecturers. A case study design was used which involved the fourth-year medical students and the lecturers involved in learning sessions at the CSC of Stellenbosch University as a particular setting for learning and teaching. The student group, as well as the lecturers were purposefully selected for the case because of their specific experiences in the learning and teaching of clinical skills in the CSC. Non-numerical data were generated through three methods, namely the observation of ten learning sessions, individual interviews with four lecturers and five focus group interviews with 35 fourth-year medical students. From the data analysis it became apparent that medical students generally associate feedback with the information they receive after summative assessments and do not experience guidance during learning sessions in the CSC as feedback. The findings further indicated that students possibly do not receive sufficient feedback in terms of the traditional notion of feedback. This is mainly because of limited follow-up opportunities whereby a change in students’ behaviour can be evaluated and information can be provided on multiple observations of students’ performance of clinical skills. There is however evidence that opportunities may be enhanced in the learning of clinical skills, especially in a CSC where an alternative self-regulated feedback model can be incorporated. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Terugvoer vorm ‘n belangrike deel van leer, veral die leer van kliniese vaardighede, selfs in simulasie. Dit gebeur gereeld dat studente nie tevrede is met die terugvoer wat hulle oor hul leer ontvang nie, terwyl dosente aandui dat hul wel voldoende terugvoer aan studente gee. Hierdie wanbalans tussen terugvoer wat verskaf word en terugvoer wat ontvang word mag voorkom in die Kliniese Vaardigheidsentrum (KVS) waar mediese studente van Stellenbosch Universiteit kliniese vaardighede in die veiligheid van ‘n gesimuleerde area aanleer. Die doel van hierdie studie was dus om te bepaal hoe vierdejaar mediese studente die terugvoer wat hul ontvang ervaar, asook… Advisors/Committee Members: Bitzer, EM, Archer, E, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Department of Curriculum Studies.