PatMed
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Patient Participation in UG medical education in general practice
IRAS ID
148633
Contact name
Sophie Park
Contact email
Research summary
10-15% of UK undergraduate medical education takes place in general practice settings, comprising a significant proportion of the annual multi-million pound budgets spent by medical schools. Despite the GMC policy, Tomorrow’s Doctors 2009, encouraging medical schools to further increase teaching in this setting, many questions remain concerning the advantages and disadvantages for students’ learning in general practice and what this means for patients involved in teaching.
As a research team, we are addressing this evidence gap. We have selected the current published research literature about medical student learning in UK general practice. We then focussed upon those qualitative papers specifically using student and patient perspectives using a method called ‘meta-ethnography’ to draw their findings together.
The objective of this new project is to inform a set of recommendations for patients, students, teachers and policy-makers about patient participation in medical student general practice teaching. We intend to take the findings of the meta-ethnography to patient and student groups and discuss the findings, their potential meanings, and ways of using these findings in practice. We will then conduct some interviews with patients involved in medical student teaching in general practice to further explore issues identified within the focus groups and meta-ethnography. This project will add to the existing work in this field by exploring the anticipated role and contribution of the patient during the teaching or consultation; the relationship between patient, doctor and student; the sorts of knowledge and experiences which patients would like to share, or feel are relevant to discuss with the students; the impact the patient feels their participation in medical education might have upon their current and future consultations with their GP; and ways patients feel their participation might be improved or developed to support their involvement and strengthen connections between medical schools and their local communities.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1550
Date of REC Opinion
6 Oct 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion