What do patients value about having a medical student stay involved in their care over time?

Details

Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) are a model of clinical education growing rapidly in Western contexts. They use educational continuity to benefit students’ clinical learning and professional identity formation. Patient-centered care is a core component of medical professionalism in the West. To support patient-centered care, education leaders in Taiwan restructured clinical education and implemented the first LIC in East Asia.

The study aimed to investigate patients’ perceptions of ongoing relationships with LIC students within Taiwan’s Confucian cultural and social context. Researchers invited patients who had received longitudinal care from a LIC student, or their family members, to participate. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews and a general inductive approach to identify themes in participants’ descriptions of their interactions with LIC students. Twenty-five people participated in interviews: 16 patients and 9 family members.

Qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts identified three themes in patients’ experiences of receiving care from LIC students: care facilitation, companionship, and empathy. For care facilitation, students acted as a bridge between physicians and patients. They helped through reminders, consultation, tracking disease progression, and researching solutions to problems. For companionship, students offered an interpersonal presence, like a friend or confidant who listens and is there for the patient. For empathy, patients reported that students showed sincere concern for their experiences, feelings, and mood.

The researchers concluded that these Taiwanese patients’ perspectives suggested the value of care facilitation, companionship, and empathy in LIC students’ involvement. They discussed these themes in the context of Confucian culture and care in Taiwan.