Measuring health professions students' orientation toward lifelong learning

Lifelong learning is considered to be an element of professionalism for healthcare professionals. Accreditation standards for health professions educational programs require that lifelong learning be promoted in the curriculae; however, tools to assess whether these standards are met are sparse. This study evaluated the internal structure of student responses on a transdisciplinary adaptation of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning-Medical Students Version (JeffSPLL-MS).

The Jefferson Scale of Lifelong Learning-Health Professions Students Version (JeffSPLL-HPS) was administered to 180 students in eight entry-level health professions programs. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to investigate internal structure.

JeffSPLL-MS and JeffSLL-HPS mean scores were similar. Cronbach's alpha for the JeffSLL-HPS was 0.85. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure of the JeffSLL-HPS that was consistent with that of the JeffSPLL-MS. The Cronbach's alphas for the three factors on the JeffSLL-HPS were 0.78, 0.73, and 0.62.

The JeffSLL-HPS's internal structure is similar to that of the JeffSPLL-MS. The tool may be valuable for faculty and administrators in health professions programs for assessing their goal of meeting accreditation standards and to assess the extent to which their students value the importance of lifelong learning.