Thinking About the Why: A Qualitative Study on Students' Perspectives of Paediatric Team-Based Learning Discussions

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Reasoning
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Clinical reasoning is fundamental for effective medical practice.
• Team-based learning (TBL) with key-feature questions offers a platform for practicing clinical reasoning.
• Understanding student experiences can optimize learning strategies for future patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore third-year medical students' experiences with virtual TBL focused on clinical reasoning.
• To identify factors influencing the development of clinical reasoning skills through peer interaction.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive qualitative design utilizing six focus groups with 26 third-year medical students.
• Verbatim transcription of audio recordings and thematic analysis of coded data.
• Rigorous qualitative methods ensuring credibility, transferability, confirmability, and reflexivity.

Main Results:

• Five key themes emerged: self-confidence (including peer calibration), co-learning (identifying gaps, consensus-building), trust (authority dynamics), articulated clinical reasoning strategies (integrating feedback), and clinical application (decision-making).
• Student confidence and reasoning abilities were influenced by peer interactions and trust.
• Clinical experience, or lack thereof, significantly shaped students' views on clinical reasoning.

Conclusions:

• Peer-to-peer learning within TBL significantly impacts students' professional identity formation.
• Trust and social learning are crucial components in developing clinical reasoning skills.
• Further research is needed to understand the translation of TBL learning to authentic clinical practice.