Study Findings on Primary Care and Family Medicine Described by Researchers at University of KwaZulu-Natal (Medical student learning on a distributed training platform in rural district hospitals).

A study conducted by researchers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal explored the experiences of medical students learning primary care and family medicine in rural district hospitals. The study found that decentralizing medical school training and exposing students to generalist patient care in diverse contexts enhanced the curriculum's relevance. The research revealed positive learning experiences and identified themes such as taking responsibility for learning, the generalist context, teaching and learning in context, and managing the learning environment. Active participation in hospital activities, exposure to challenging dilemmas, and reflection on these experiences led to transformative learning and knowledge co-construction. The study highlights the advantages of distributed, experiential training and the positive impact of meaningful participation and transformative learning opportunities. [Extracted from the article]