Supports for medical students during rural clinical placements: factors associated with intention to practise in rural locations.

INTRODUCTION: Through rural clinical schools (RCSs), medical students may undertake an extended block of clinical training in rural Australia. The premise of these placements is that meaningful rural exposure will facilitate rural career uptake. RCSs offer a range of supports to facilitate student engagement in the program. This study aims to analyse RCS students' perceptions of these supports and impact on intentions to work rurally. METHODS: Between September 2012 and January 2013 RCS students were invited to complete questions regarding perceptions of student support, as a part of the annual Federation of Australian Medical Educators survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify associations between supports and intentions for rural internship or career. RESULTS: There were 454 participants. A majority of students (n=349, 79.1%) felt well supported by their RCS. Students from a rural background (odds ratio (OR)=1.64 (95% confidence interval (CI):1.13-2.38)), or who indicated that their placement had a positive impact on their wellbeing (OR=1.38 (95%CI:1.07-1.80)), were more likely to intend to complete a rural internship. Those who felt socially isolated were less likely to elect this (OR=0.82 (0.70-0.97)). Outcomes were similar for those indicating a preference for rural or remote practice after completing training. CONCLUSIONS: Student perceptions of supports offered by RCSs were generally very positive. Perceptions of financial support were not predictive of rural career intent. Although this does not negate the importance of providing appropriate financial supports, it does demonstrate that student wellbeing is a more important recruitment factor for rural practice.

Towards an understanding of medical student resilience in longitudinal integrated clerkships.

BACKGROUND: Resilience is required to succeed academically, overcome challenges during clinical training and cope positively with stress in future professional life. With medical students at high risk of mental illness, socially accountable medical schools are seeking to foster student resilience. This exploratory study proposes a conceptual framework for student resilience in longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs). METHODS: This qualitative study sought to understand student resilience during the first year of clinical training in a rural LIC where there were consistent anecdotal reports of high student resilience. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 19 medical students, professional staff and clinician teachers. An interpretive approach was used to analyse the data with emerging concepts compared to define evolving theoretical constructs, and develop a conceptual framework. RESULTS: LIC students experienced adversity during the first clinical year of the medical course due to challenges encountered in the learning environment. This distress was moderated by: a secure, supportive learning environment; their profound learning journey; and utilisation of organisational structures to stay on course. CONCLUSION: This triad of inter-related themes forms a conceptual model that challenges simplistic notions that medical courses should focus solely on providing tangible and emotional supports for students. How LIC programs may contribute to student wellbeing is discussed through the lenses of agentic, reflective and transformative learning.

Measuring organisational-level Aboriginal cultural climate to tailor cultural safety strategies.

INTRODUCTION: Australian medical schools have taken on a social accountability mandate to provide culturally safe contexts in order to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to engage in medical education and to ensure that present and future clinicians provide health services that contribute to improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Many programs have sought to improve cultural safety through training at an individual level; however, it is well recognised that learners tend to internalise the patterns of behaviour to which they are commonly exposed. This project aimed to measure and reflect on the cultural climate of an Australian rural clinical school (RCS) as a whole and the collective attitudes of three different professional groups: clinicians, clinical academics and professional staff. The project then drew on Mezirow's Transformative Learning theory to design strategies to build on the cultural safety of the organisation. METHODS: Clinicians, academic and professional staff at an Australian RCS were invited to participate in an online survey expressing their views on Aboriginal health using part of a previously validated tool. RESULTS: Survey response rate was 63%. All three groups saw Aboriginal health as a social priority. All groups recognised the fundamental role of community control in Aboriginal health; however, clinical academics were considerably more likely to disagree that the Western medical model suited the health needs of Aboriginal people. Clinicians were more likely to perceive that they treated Aboriginal patients the same as other patients. There was only weak evidence of future commitments to Aboriginal health. Importantly, clinicians, academics and professional staff demonstrated differences in their cultural safety profile which indicated the need for a tailored approach to cultural safety learning in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Through tailored approaches to cross-cultural training opportunities we are likely to ensure participants are able to engage with the material and reflect upon implications of a challenging cultural climate on the health and wellbeing outcomes of Aboriginal people.

The context of clinical teaching and learning in Australia.

Gaining clinical experience for an extended period of time in teaching hospitals is one of the enduring strengths of medical education. Teaching hospitals have recently faced significant challenges, with increasing specialisation of services and workload pressures reducing clinical learning opportunities. New clinical teaching environments have been established in Australia, particularly in rural and regional areas; these are proving to be ideal contexts for student learning. The new clinical teaching environments have shown the importance of developing symbiotic relationships between universities and health services. Symbiotic clinical learning is built around longitudinal, patient-based learning emphasising priority health concerns. The symbiotic framework provides a basis for reconstructing clinical teaching in teaching hospitals so th@they continue to play a vital role in Australian medical education, with additional clinical experience provided by primary care and community, rural and regional hospitals.