Search

Objective: Developing competencies for interprofessional collaboration, including understanding other professionals' roles on interprofessional teams, is an essential component of medical education. This study explored resident physicians' perceptions of the clinical roles and responsibilities of physician assistants (PAs) and NPs in the clinical learning environment. Methods: Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 residents in one academic setting. Transcripts were analyzed using an iterative approach to inductive coding. Results: Participants typically perceived Pas' and NPs' roles as being "like a resident," less commonly as independent clinicians, and rarely as collaborators. Barriers to understanding PA and NP roles and perceiving them as collaborators included the lack of preparatory instruction about PAs and NPs, the hierarchical structure of medical education, and inadequate role modeling of interprofessional collaboration. Conclusions: This study suggests that barriers in the clinical learning environment and the structure of medical education itself may impede residents' learning about PAs and NPs and how to collaborate with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore how trust was constructed between surgeons and residents in the operating room. Background: Entrustment is increasingly being used as a key element to assess trainees' competence in the clinical workplace. However, the cognitive process involved in the formulation of surgical trust remains poorly understood. Methods: In semistructured interviews, 9 general surgeons discussed their experiences in making entrustment decisions during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Template analysis methodology was employed to develop an explanatory model. Results: Surgeons described the construction of trust as a stepwise process taking place before, during, and after the procedure. The main steps were as follows: (1) an initial propensity to trust based on the perceived risk of the case and trustworthiness of the resident; (2) a decision to initiate trust in the resident to begin the surgery; (3) close observation of preliminary steps; (4) an evolving decision based on whether the surgery is "on-track" or "off-track"; (5) intervention if the surgery was "off-track" (withdrawal of trust); (6) re-evaluation of trust for future cases. The main reasons described for withdrawing trust were: inability to follow instructions, failure to progress, and unsafe manoeuvres. Conclusions: This study showed that surgical trust is constructed through an iterative process involving gathering and valuing of information, decision-making, close observation, and supervisory intervention. There were strong underlying themes of control and responsibility, and trust was noted to increase over time and over repeated observations. The model presented here may be useful in improving judgements on competence in the surgical workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physician assistants (PAs) often have been embedded in academic medical centers to help ensure an adequate patient care workforce while supporting compliance with work-hour restrictions for residents and fellows (also called trainees). Limited studies have explored the effect of PAs on trainee learning. This qualitative study explored, from the perspective of physician faculty and PAs, how PAs working in the clinical learning environment can enhance or hinder trainee learning. Methods: Using purposive sampling, 12 PAs and 12 physician faculty members in one US teaching hospital were selected for semistructured interviews. Data collection and analysis were characterized by an iterative process. Data analysis was informed by principles of conventional content analysis. Results: Participants identified various ways in which PAs may affect trainee learning, intrinsically linked to the roles PAs assume in the clinical learning environment: clinician, teammate, and clinical teacher. Trainee learning may be enhanced because learning time can be optimized by having PAs in the clinical learning environment. Trainees can learn about PAs and how to collaborate with them, and PAs can enculturate and provide clinical instruction to trainees. Trainee learning may be hindered if learning opportunities for trainees go to PAs, trainees feel intimidated by experienced PAs, or trainees become too dependent on PAs. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate enhancements and hindrances to trainees' learning linked to three key roles PAs perform in the clinical learning environment. These findings can inform how PAs are integrated into teaching services. Further investigation is needed to understand how PAs can balance their professional roles to foster effective collaborative practice and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]