The Patient's Experience of Working with Multiple Allied Health Professional Students - A Qualitative Interview Study

Adele Anderson; Julie Morrow; Anita Knighton; Andrew Lloyd; Jane Noble; Gemma Bradley

doi:10.1177/23743735241241461

The Patient's Experience of Working with Multiple Allied Health Professional Students - A Qualitative Interview Study

J Patient Exp. 2024 Apr 28:11:23743735241241461. doi: 10.1177/23743735241241461. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Adele Anderson¹, Julie Morrow², Anita Knighton³, Andrew Lloyd⁴, Jane Noble⁵, Gemma Bradley⁶

Affiliations

¹ Adele Anderson, Advanced Specialist Physiotherapist, North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.
² Julie Morrow, AHP Consultant and Deputy Director AHP and Psychological Services, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Foundation NHS Trust, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.
³ Anita Knighton, Contributor, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Foundation NHS Trust Involvement Bank, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.
⁴ Andrew Lloyd, Physiotherapy Practice Education Facilitator, Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Northumbria University at Newcastle, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.
⁵ Jane Noble, Contributor, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Foundation NHS Trust Involvement Bank, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.
⁶ Gemma Bradley, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University at Newcastle, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.

Abstract

There are increasing numbers of learners in clinical settings as part of approaches to meet workforce demands. As a result, patients are now working with multiple learners at the same time, yet little is known about how people experience this. The aim of this study was to explore the patient experience of working with multiple allied health professional students. Structured interviews were carried out with 22 patients across hospital wards in one hospital in the North-West of England. Data was analysed using thematic analysis and four themes were identified: consent to work with multiple students; responses to working with multiple students; multiple students and feelings of safety; making connections with multiple students. Findings indicated that patients experienced positive relationships and feelings of safety with groups of students. However, patients were given limited advance or tailored information about working with a group of students which is an important area to address.

Keywords: Practice education; coaching; collaborative learning; multiple students; patient experience; peer-learning.