Abigail Snook, Ásta Bryndís Schram and Guðfinna Björnsdóttir
Introduction: Clinical placements, when students learn by working alongside a practicing clinician, are an exciting and essential part of a healthcare student’s education. The Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure (UCEEM) was found to be reliable and valid in assessing students´ perceptions of the clinical learning environment (CLE). It includes four subscales that measure: 1) opportunities to learn in and through work including quality of supervision; 2) preparedness for student entry; 3) workplace interaction patterns and student inclusion; and 4) equal treatment based on gender, ethnicity, and profession. This study’s aim was to use the UCEEM-IS to evaluate the CLE.
Methods: Two semesters of nursing, medical, and physiotherapy students (2023 school year) were invited, and 261 students participated (33% response rate). Means and t-tests were used to look at results overall and similarities of results between semesters, and ANOVAs with post-hoc Tukey’s were used to compare disciplines.
Results: The highest rated subscale was equal treatment while the lowest was workplace interaction and student inclusion. Similar results were seen between semesters. When comparing disciplines, physiotherapy students rated their CLE significantly better than all other disciplines overall and across all four subscales. The nursing and medicine standard deviations were double the physiotherapy standard deviation indicating a less uniform experience.
Conclusions: Differences and similarities in the CLE can be assessed using the UCEEM-IS. These results can be used to address areas that need improvement and to celebrate areas of strength. A third semester of data is being collected and psychometric testing is planned.
