Shared decision-making in undergraduate nursing and medical education: An explorative dual-method study

Abstract

Objective: This study explores how shared decision-making (SDM) is integrated in undergraduate nursing and medical education.

Methods: A dual-method design was applied. The integration of SDM in medicine and nursing education programs (i.e. SDM on paper) was explored through document analyses; the integration of SDM in curricula (i.e. SDM in class) through interviews with teachers and curriculum coordinators (N = 19).

Results: A majority of the education programs featured SDM, mostly non-explicit. In curricula SDM was generally implicitly featured in compulsory courses across all study years. SDM was often integrated into preexisting theories and models and taught through various methods and materials. Generally, teachers and supervisors were not trained in SDM themselves. They assessed students' competence in SDM in a summative manner.

Conclusion: Overall, SDM was featured in undergraduate nursing and medical education, however, very implicitly.

Keywords: Curricula; Education programs; Medical doctors; Nursing education; Shared decision-making; Undergraduate education.