Exploring pre-requisites for clinical learning indicators: A scoping review

Understanding how clinical learning takes place and what could stand as an indicator of clinical learning is crucial. There are existing challenges in the clinical learning environment that require clinical indicators. These serve as accountability standards in settings that have challenges of human resources and material poverty. Thus, clinical indicators are pre-requisites for self-regulation and self-directedness to promote lifelong learning. The reality that exists in today's Malawian health education institutions and clinical settings requires that those in training receive support and guidance on how essential competencies and skills can be acquired during training.

The objective of this scoping review was to identify current literature on clinical learning indicators among health professional students.

The Joanna Briggs Institute's (May 2020) standards for scoping reviews including narrative synthesis were followed in the conduct of this review. The protocol was registered in the Open Science Framework https://osf.io/yj9nr.

The results generated seven themes on clinical learning process and these are (1) planning for learning, (2) awareness of self-directedness in clinical learning, (3) knowledge of achievement of learning outcomes, (4) educators' evidence of students' clinical learning, (5) students' perspective on clinical learning, (6) students' knowledge of achievement in practice and (7) impact of prior knowledge on clinical learning.

Clinical learning indicators among undergraduate health professionals are essential and clinical learning should be a planned endeavour by the students before the clinical placement settings.Contribution: This study contributed to understanding clinical learning indicators and self-regulated learning practices among healthcare students.