Study Technique and Curriculum Guidance Preferences of Medical Students in Clinical Medicine: A Mixed-Methods...

The transition from pre-clinical to clinical phases of medical education can negatively impact student well-being and academic performance. To improve student outcomes, the present investigation aimed to analyse study techniques employed by students and their perceptions of curriculum guidance when commencing clinical placement. A survey was distributed among medical students at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. Study techniques and the utility of information resources were rated on a 5-point Likert Scale. Short form questions were included for qualitative analysis. The mean usefulness score for each item was calculated overall and for year groups and compared using a t-test. Eighty-nine students participated in the study. Most study techniques and clinical information resources were found to be useful, with minimal disagreement between year groups. There was a preference for online resources over textbooks. Qualitative analysis indicated students are struggling with study direction, time pressures, and knowledge depth ambiguity. Based on qualitative and quantitative analyses, it can be recommended that students concurrently employ different study techniques and seek information from concise, local guidelines. Universities could improve guidance by counselling students on self-regulating information depth and evaluating learning objective prescriptiveness.