The learning process of trainees in complex care for older people in general practice

In view of the increasing numbers of older patients with complex health problems, doctors, especially general practitioners, need to learn to provide complex elderly care. This study aimed to ascertain how general practice trainees regulate the process of learning to provide complex elderly care.

Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 GP trainees and five recently graduated GPs at four universities in Belgium and the Netherlands. Data analysis was guided by concepts of self-regulated learning and long-loop learning.

Interviews with GP trainees and recently graduated GPs showed that use three strategies to regulate their learning process: creating, recognizing and choosing, and using learning experiences. Creating implies influencing learning opportunities. For recognizing and choosing, it is important to be aware of learning opportunities and to decide which opportunities to use. Using learning experiences entails trying and evaluating new knowledge or skills, often repeatedly in the same case. During long-loop learning, these three strategies are used stand-alone or in connection with each other.

GP trainees are learning complex elderly care by using three strategies: creating, recognizing and choosing, and using learning opportunities. These strategies are used as stand-alone or interconnected. Insights can be used by curriculum developers, university staff, and GP-supervisors to help GP-rs find a balance between the strategies, but also to develop new curricula for complex elderly care.