Patterns of Medical Residents' Preferences for Organizational Socialization Strategies to Facilitate Their Transitions: A Q-study

Gerbrich Galema; Johanna Schönrock-Adema; Debbie A D C Jaarsma; Götz J K G Wietasch

doi:10.5334/pme.1189

Patterns of Medical Residents' Preferences for Organizational Socialization Strategies to Facilitate Their Transitions: A Q-study

Perspect Med Educ. 2024 Mar 11;13(1):169-181. doi: 10.5334/pme.1189. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Gerbrich Galema¹, Johanna Schönrock-Adema², Debbie A D C Jaarsma³, Götz J K G Wietasch⁴

Affiliations

¹ University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), and member of the Lifelong Learning, Education and Assessment Research Network (LEARN), She is also a resident in anesthesiology at the department of anesthesiology, NL.
² Wenckebach Institute for Education and Training, University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, and at the Prins Claus Conservatoire, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, Furthermore, she is a LEARN member, NL.
³ Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and a LEARN member, NL.
⁴ University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Anesthesiology, and a LEARN member, NL.

Abstract

Introduction: To facilitate various transitions of medical residents, healthcare team members and departments may employ various organizational socialization strategies, including formal and informal onboarding methods. However, residents' preferences for these organizational socialization strategies to ease their transition can vary. This study identifies patterns (viewpoints) in these preferences.

Methods: Using Q-methodology, we asked a purposeful sample of early-career residents to rank a set of statements into a quasi-normal distributed grid. Statements were based on previous qualitative interviews and organizational socialization theory. Participants responded to the question, 'What are your preferences regarding strategies other health care professionals, departments, or hospitals should use to optimize your next transition?' Participants then explained their sorting choices in a post-sort questionnaire. We identified different viewpoints based on by-person (inverted) factor analysis and Varimax rotation. We interpreted the viewpoints using distinguishing and consensus statements, enriched by residents' comments.

Results: Fifty-one residents ranked 42 statements, among whom 36 residents displayed four distinct viewpoints: Dependent residents (n = 10) favored a task-oriented approach, clear guidance, and formal colleague relationships; Social Capitalizing residents (n = 9) preferred structure in the onboarding period and informal workplace social interactions; Autonomous residents (n = 12) prioritized a loosely structured onboarding period, independence, responsibility, and informal social interactions; and Development-oriented residents (n = 5) desired a balanced onboarding period that allowed independence, exploration, and development.

Discussion: This identification of four viewpoints highlights the inadequacy of one-size-fits-all approaches to resident transition. Healthcare professionals and departments should tailor their socialization strategies to residents' preferences for support, structure, and formal/informal social interaction.

MeSH terms

Health Personnel
Hospitals
Humans
Internship and Residency*
Socialization*
Workplace

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the ‘Wetenschapsfonds Onderwijs- en Opleidingsregio Noord-Oost’ (Scientific Committee of the Northeastern Educational Region of Postgraduate Training in the Netherlands), to protect the research time of the first author (Gerbrich Galema).