Learning climate and work engagement in clinical residents: The relationship with human self-determination

Introduction: The learning climate is a factor associated with the clinical resident’s engagement in work activities and the improvement of students’ well-being in the workplace through their self-determination during clinical rotation. Objective: To determine the relationship between the learning climate measured with the D-RECT 35 scale and residents’ self-determination and commitment to work using the UWES 17 scale. Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional correlational study with residents of surgical medical specialties in clinical rotation at the practice site and who completed the measurement questionnaires. Results: We evaluated 188 residents of clinical specialties. The median of the results in the learning climate scale was 3.9/5.0; in the self-determination scale, 4.86/7.0, and in the job engagement scale, 5.0/6.0. The learning climate was considered adequate and a positive relationship was found with self-determination and the residents’ attachment to their activities; these correlations were statistically significant. Conclusions: Adequate learning climates are positively related to the ability to engage in work activities and the self-determination of clinical residents as they favor collaborative work and access to supervision generating greater autonomy and more enthusiasm and dedication to assigned activities. This can drive improvements in educational programs in clinical departments and translate into safer patient care.