This dissertation presents the results of a research project on unraveling the dynamics of facilitating workplace learning through pedagogic practices in healthcare placements. Supervisors are challenged to foster safe learning opportunities and fully utilize the learning potential of placement through stimulating active participation for students while ensuring quality patient care. In healthcare placements, staff shortages and work pressure may lead to stress when facilitating workplace learning. Enhancing pedagogic practices in healthcare placements seems essential to support students in challenging experiences, such as emotional challenges. This dissertation proposes approaches for optimizing learning experiences for students by highlighting the value of day-to-day work activities and interactions in healthcare placements, and shedding light on agency in workplace learning through supervisor- and student-strategies.
Purpose Supervisors are responsible to train students in healthcare placements. Although there is knowledge about workplace learning and supervision in general, little is known about supervisors’ pedagogic strategies in specific healthcare placements. In this study, we identify how supervisors’ reasoning and interrelated actions manifest in physiotherapy and nursing work settings. Methods Following the stimulating recall approach, we conducted 16 interviews with supervisors at seven work settings. Using a theoretical framework of workplace supervision, we performed a deductive template analysis. Results Four configurations of pedagogic strategies reveal how supervision manifests in healthcare placements. The results provide unique insights into specific supervision moments, and elucidate the situatedness of the supervisors’ strategies. Conclusions The present study illustrates the variation in aims and focus of supervisors in placements. Supervisors’ pedagogic strategies were found to be mainly based on (A) role modelling, (B) overall support, (C) trust, and (D) letting go. Further research is needed to investigate the interplay between supervisors and students in learning situations within work settings.
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12/31/2022Students’ health profession education includes learning at the workplace through placements. For students, participating in daily work activities in interaction with supervisors, co-workers and peers is a valuable practice to learn the expertise that is needed to become a health care professional. To contribute to the understanding of HPE-students’ workplace learning, the focus of this study is to identify affordances and characterise student’s participation during placements. We applied a research design based on observations. Three student-physiotherapists and four student-nurses were shadowed during two of their placement days. A categorisation of affordances is provided, in terms of students’ participation in activities, direct interactions and indirect interactions. Students’ daily participation in placements is discussed through unique combinations and sequences of the identified affordances reflecting changing patterns over time, and differences in the degree of presence or absence of supervisors, co-workers and peers.
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12/31/2021
