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Parents' attitudes to medical education on paediatric ward rounds
Julia Barrington1,2, Clare Polley1,2, Carolyn van Heerden1,2
1The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Insights
Parents are highly satisfied with medical education during ward rounds, supporting junior doctors and students. Communication about teaching timing and location enhances engagement and satisfaction, ensuring patient care remains the priority.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Patient-Centered Care
- Pediatric Healthcare
Background:
- Ward rounds are crucial for junior doctor and medical student training.
- Understanding parental perspectives on medical education during these rounds is essential for optimizing the learning environment.
- Previous research has not fully explored parental attitudes across different pediatric specialties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess parental attitudes towards the medical education of junior doctors and students during pediatric ward rounds.
- To investigate variations in parental perceptions between medical and surgical pediatric wards.
Main Methods:
- A mixed-methods descriptive study involving 100 semi-structured interviews.
- Quantitative analysis of closed-ended responses for overall satisfaction.
- Qualitative inductive content analysis of open-ended responses to identify key themes.
Main Results:
- Over 85% of parents reported high satisfaction with education occurring during ward rounds.
- No significant difference in satisfaction was observed between medical and surgical pediatric wards.
- Key themes identified included parental altruism, prioritizing the child's care, setting the scene, and the importance of location.
Conclusions:
- Parents generally support medical education during ward rounds when it does not compromise patient care.
- Effective communication regarding the teaching process, including timing and location, is vital for improving parental engagement and satisfaction.
Objectives:
To understand parents' attitudes to medical education of junior doctors and students during ward rounds, and to explore how parents' perceptions vary in medical and surgical paediatric wards.
Design:
A mixed-methods descriptive study was done using 100 semistructured interviews across two departments at a single tertiary-level paediatric hospital. Quantitative data were derived from closed-ended interview responses and analysed using descriptive statistics to explore overall parental satisfaction with education on rounds. Qualitative data were obtained from open-ended interview responses using inductive content analysis, with themes agreed between three researchers.
Results:
This study demonstrated high parental satisfaction with education on ward rounds, with over 85% of parents satisfied with education occurring on rounds. There was no difference between medical and surgical cohorts despite more parents witnessing teaching on medical rounds (70%) than on surgical rounds (16%). Qualitative data derived four key themes: altruism as the reason for supporting education, the child still comes first, setting the scene and the location matters.
Conclusion:
This research demonstrates parents support education of medical students and junior doctors during ward rounds, provided ward-based learning is not perceived to compromise care. Intentional communication with parents regarding the teaching process, including timing and location of teaching, helps improve engagement and parental satisfaction.
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