Performativity, identity formation and professionalism: Ethnographic research to explore student experiences of clinical simulation training

PLoS One. 2020 Jul 30;15(7):e0236085. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236085. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Developing professional identity is a vital part of health professionals' education. In Auckland four tertiary institutions have partnered to run an interprofessional simulation training course called Urgent and Immediate Patient Care Week (UIPCW) which is compulsory for Year Five medical, Year Four pharmacy, Year Three paramedicine and Year Three nursing students. We sought to understand student experiences of UIPCW and how those experiences informed student ideas about professional identity and their emergent practice as health professionals within multidisciplinary teams. In 2018, we commenced ethnographic research involving participant observation, field notes, interviews, photography and observational ethnographic film. A total of 115 students participated in this research. The emergent findings concern the potentially transformative learning opportunity presented within high fidelity multi-disciplinary simulations for students to develop their professional identity in relation to peers from other professions. Our work also exposes the heightened anxiety and stress which can be experienced by students in such interdisciplinary simulations. Student experience suggests this is due to a range of factors including students having to perform in front of peers and staff in such simulation scenarios when their own professional identity and capabilities are still in emergent stages. Staff-led simulation debriefs form a critical success factor for transformative learning to be able to occur in any such simulations so that students can reflect on, and move beyond, the emotion and uncertainty of such experiences to develop future-focused concepts of professional identity and strategies to support effective interprofessional teamwork.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anthropology, Cultural
  • Clinical Competence*
  • Delivery of Health Care / standards*
  • Health Personnel / psychology*
  • Health Personnel / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Interprofessional Relations*
  • Patient Care Team / standards*
  • Professionalism / education*
  • Simulation Training / methods*
  • Students, Medical / psychology
  • Students, Medical / statistics & numerical data
  • Students, Nursing / psychology
  • Students, Nursing / statistics & numerical data
  • Students, Pharmacy / psychology
  • Students, Pharmacy / statistics & numerical data

Grants and funding

This study was internally funded by the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland (FDRF Grant: 3715764). Investigators who were named on this grant and who are authors on this paper are: TJ, JW, AW, JT, and AO. The funder had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of this manuscript.