Gender and Assigned Role Influences Medical Students´ Learning Experience in Interprofessional Team Training...

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. The advantages of providing standardized education avoiding exposure of real patients to interventions by novices are appealing both from patient safety and teaching aspects, thus medical simulation has become an integrated part of the healthcare curriculum. We explored the impact of gender and an acting vs. an observing role in simulation on students' perceptions of learning outcomes, and of simulation as a learning activity. A prospective survey for graduating medical students participating in a full day simulated team training session was conducted over three terms. The questionnaire addressed issues related to the session, teamwork and simulation training in general. Participation was voluntary and the study was approved by the regional ethics committee. The overall response rate was 90.8 %. Authenticity and relevance were considered to be high, though male students scored significantly higher both for authenticity and for relevance. Communication and teamwork were considered to be different, depending on gender and assigned role. Female students and students in an acting role were more ready to discuss knowledge gaps, experienced "good" communication significantly more often, and defined their work as teamwork more frequently. The scenarios were found to be more stimulating and motivating by female students and acting individuals. Self-confidence and self-awareness were declared to be more enhanced for male students and for those who were acting during the simulation sessions. Observers and female students scored significantly lower as regards satisfaction with both the extent of the reflection and the individual feedback. The perceptions of authenticity and relevance of simulation sessions and students' readiness to discuss knowledge gaps differed between genders. Furthermore, perceived changes in self-confidence and self-awareness seemed to be different. The observing role implies a different kind of learning process, which is not necessarily inferior to learning by acting.