Finding Themselves, Their Place, Their Way: Uncertainties Identified by Medical Students.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Qualitative Research
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Navigating uncertainty is crucial in medicine, yet medical students require better preparation.
• Current understanding relies heavily on quantitative data, necessitating qualitative insights into uncertainty sources.
• Identifying the origins of uncertainty is key to improving medical education and student support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the specific sources of uncertainty identified by medical students during their education.
• To provide a qualitative understanding of how uncertainty manifests in medical training.
• To inform educational strategies for supporting medical students in managing uncertainty.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to second, fourth, and sixth-year medical students at the University of Otago.
• 716 medical students were invited to identify sources of uncertainty encountered in their education.
• Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative responses from 465 participants.

Main Results:

• Three primary sources of uncertainty were identified: insecurities, role confusion, and navigating learning environments.
• Insecurities stemmed from self-doubt in knowledge and capabilities, often exacerbated by peer comparison.
• Role confusion hindered learning, expectation management, and patient care contribution; environmental navigation involved challenges with new settings, hierarchies, and speaking up.

Conclusions:

• This study offers a comprehensive view of medical student uncertainties, covering self-perception, roles, and environmental interactions.
• Findings deepen the theoretical understanding of uncertainty's complexity within medical education.
• Educators can use these insights to enhance support for students developing essential uncertainty-management skills for medical practice.