Exploring Undergraduate Public Health Students’ Experiences of Internship Courses: A Qualitative Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Condidate Student Research Commit, Department of Medical education, School of Medical Education and Management, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Medical education, School of Medical Education and Management, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 MSc Student Research Commit, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Currently, education means providing facilities that enable learners to acquire theoretical information and knowledge and help them put this knowledge into practice. Periodic reviews also serve as a first step required to gain a deeper understanding of problems and access to information and newer solutions. Therefore, to identify the challenges of clinical education, the present study focused on exploring undergraduate public health students’ experiences of internship courses.
Methods: This study used the conventional content analysis method. The participants were 11 undergraduate public health students of Qom University of Medical Sciences selected via purposive sampling in 2017. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews as well as focus group and the data collection process continued until the data were saturated. The content analysis was performed following Graneheim and Lundman’s model.
Results: The analysis of the data revealed five main themes. The main themes identified in this study were weak curriculum planning, poor communication between the faculty and health centers, the students’ unpreparedness to start the internship course, the staff’s lack of cooperation, and students’ expectations.
Conclusion: The present study indicated that most students faced many problems during their field internships and they demanded the improvement of the teaching processes of theoretical courses and practical skills. Therefore, officials of the educational system are required to plan more coherent programs, offer both theoretical and practical courses more effectively, and prepare students to start internship courses and establish effective communication.

Keywords

References

Karimi Moonaghi H, Heydari A, Taghipour A, Ildarabadi E. challenges of community health nursing education in Iran. IJCBNM 2013; 1(1):62-8.
Sadegh Tabrizi J, Mardani L, Kalantari H, Hamzehei Z. Clerkship from the perspective of students of health services management and family health in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Iranian Journal of Medical Education 2011; 10(4):439-50. [In Persian].
Aein F, Alhani F, Anoosheh M. The experiences of nursing students, instructors, and hospital administrators of nursing clerkship. Iranian Journal of Medical Education 2010; 9(3):191-9. [In Persian].
Heravi Karimooi M, Rejeh N, Anoosheh M, Alhani F. Nursing students’comprehension of community health nursing training in field: a qualitative research. Iranian Journal of Medical Education 2011; 11:526-38. [In Persian].
Mongwe RN. Student nurses' experiences of the clinical field in the Limpopo Province as learning field: a phenomenological study [dissertation]. Pretoria, South Africa: University of South Africa; 2007.
Safari S, Safari E, Sarmadi MR, Farajollahi M. Strategic planning of distance education at Payam Noor University. Journal of Iranian Higher Education 2017; 9(3):90-115. [In Persian].
Mojahed S, Abbasian M, Nasiriani K, Salimi T. Nursing graduates' views regarding the use of specialized courses in clinical training. Journal of Medical Education and Developmen 2015; 10(1):26-35. [In Persian].
Shahoei R, Hesami K, Zaheri F, Hashemi Nasab L. The experience of graduated midwifery students about clinical education: a phenomenological study. Journal of Medical Education and Development 2013; 8(1):2-13. [In Persian].
Firouznia S, Yousefi A, Ghassemi G. The relationship between academic motivation and academic achievement in Medical Students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Iranian Journal of Medical Education 2009; 9(1):79-84. [In Persian].
Mirzaei R, Borhani F, Fasihi Harandi T. Nursing students̕ perception of clinical learning environments: a qualitative study. J Qual Res Health Sci 2015; 4(1):1-11. [In Persian].
Corlett J. The perception of nurse teachers student nurses and perceptors of the theorypratice gap in nurse education. Nurse Educ Today 2000; 2(6):499-505. doi: 10.1054/nedt.1999.0414.
Parvizrad P, Rezaei S. Clerkship of public health from the students and the faculty perspective: aqualitative research. Journal of Medical Education Development 2014; 7(13):16-27. [In Persian].
Graneheim UH, Lundman B. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Educ Today 2004; 24(2):105-12. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2003.10.001.
Kogan JR, Pinto-Powell R, Brown LA, Hemmer P, Bellini LM, Peltier D. The impact of resident duty hour’s reform on the internal medicine core clerkship: results from the clerkship directors in internal medicine survey. Acad Med 2006; 81(12):1038-44. doi: 10.1097/01.ACM.0000246873.04942.a8.
Momayyezi M, Mazloomy S, Aminipour M, Momayyezi M. Talented students’ view points on the educational problems in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Iranian Journal of Medical Education 2012; 12(1):55-66. [In Persian].
Valizadeh S, Abedi H, Zamanzadeh V, Fathiazar E. Challenges of nursing students during their study: a qualitative study. Iranian Journal of Medical Education 2008; 7(2):397-407. [In Persian].
Monaghan T. A critical analysis of the literature and theoretical perspectives on theory-practice gap amongst newly qualified nurses within the United Kingdom. Nurse Educ Today 2015; 35(8):e1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2015.03.006.
Sullivan DT. Connecting nursing education and practice: a focus on shared goals for quality and safety. Creat Nurs 2010; 16(1):37-43. doi: 10.1891/1078-4535.16.1.37.
Upton DJ. How can we achieve evidence-based practice if we have a theory-practice gap in nursing today? J Adv Nurs 1999; 29(3):549-55. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.1999.00922.x.
Sellman D. Mind the gap: philosophy, theory, and practice. Nurs Philos 2010; 11(2):85-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-769X.2010.00438.x.
Heydari A, Soudmand P, Hajiabadi F, Armat M, Rad M. The causes and solutions of the theory and practice gap from nursing education view point: a review article. Journal of Medical Education Development 2014; 7(14):72-85. [In Persian].
Dyrbye LN, Harris I, Rohren CH. Early clinical experiences from students’ perspectives: a qualitative study of narratives. Acad Med 2007; 82(10):979-88. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e318149e29c.
Hemmati Maslakpak M, Habibzadeh H. Exploration of students' perceptions of issues in nursing theoretical courses: a qualitative research. Journal of Nursing Education 2013; 1(2):9-20. [In Persian].
Joolaee S, Ashghali Farahani M, Jafarian Amiri SR, Varaei S. Support in clinical settings as perceived by nursing students in Iran: a qualitative study. Nurs Midwifery Stud 2016; 5(1):e31292. doi: 10.17795/nmsjournal31292.
Alavi M, Abedi H. Nursing students' experiences and perceptions of effective instructor in clinical education. Iranian Journal of Medical Education 2008; 7(2):325-33. [In Persian].
Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences
Volume 9, Issue 4
Winter 2021
Pages 312-320

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 08 March 2019
  • Accept Date: 06 August 2019

Share

How to cite

Statistics