Twelve possible strategies for enhancing interprofessional socialisation in higher education: Findings from an interpretive phenomenological study

Transformative learning through participation: experiences at a rural clinical training site in South Africa

BACKGROUND

Distributed training has been cited as an opportunity that offers transformative learning experiences in preparing a future workforce to address local needs. For this reason, rural and longitudinal placements are increasingly being adopted by medical schools across the world. Place, participation and person are considered integral in the process of transformation of medical students into responsive graduates on the distributed platform. This article aims to explore the experiences and perceptions of student learning on a rural training platform in South Africa while considering the interrelation between person, place and participation as a process of transformation to becoming a health care professional. The research forms part of a 5-year longitudinal case study, initiated in 2019 to explore a university-rural hospital collaboration on students, staff and the local health care system.

METHODS

Data was collected using interviews and surveys from 63 purposively selected and consenting participants between January and November of 2019. All qualitative data were inductively analysed using an interpretivist approach to thematic analysis for the purposes of this article. All quantitative data was analysed descriptively using Microsoft Excel. Ethics and permission for this research was granted by the Stellenbosch University Human Research Ethics Committee, the Undergraduate Students Programme Committee and the Northern Cape Department of Health, South Africa.

FINDINGS

Four themes, namely: authenticity of context; participation in a community of practice and social activities; supervision and reflection; and distance support were extracted from the data. These findings contribute to the theory of transformative learning on the distributed platform by expanding on the interrelationship of person, place and participation, specifically as it relates to participation within various communities and practices. The value of active participation in reflection and supervision, distance academic support and social support systems are explored.

CONCLUSIONS

The three dimensions and interrelationship of person, place and participation in the process of transformative learning on the rural training platform can be further unpacked by exploring the types of participation that have facilitated student learning in this research context. Participation in interprofessional teams; supervision, reflection and distance support appear to be the most crucial elements during this transformative learning process.

Interprofessional practice: the path toward openness

This article seeks to shed light on the meanings healthcare practitioners attach to practicing interprofessionally and how interprofessional relationships play out in "everyday" practice. It draws on findings from a hermeneutic phenomenological study of health professionals' lived experience of practice, interpreted in relation to Martin Heidegger's concept of a path through the dense forest which leads to an open space where there is no predefined path to follow. Analysis of data from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 12 health professionals from medicine, midwifery, nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and social work suggests that health practitioners come upon the clearing having walked their own track toward practicing interprofessionally. Our argument is that when: getting to know others; genuine dialogue; trust; and respect are in play, a spirit of interprofessional practice flourishes. The ontological view presented, sheds light on the nature of the relationships and the personal qualities that foster a spirit of interprofessional practice in these human-to-human interactions. It highlights how health practitioners need to be free to enact their humanity; to move beyond the "professional" pathway, which encourages them to leave "who they are" at home.