Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Centre for Interprofessional Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Nurs Open. 2024 Apr;11(4):e2149. doi: 10.1002/nop2.2149.
To offer a practical way in which the status of healthcare assistants (HCAs) can be increased by drawing on their experience, knowledge and skillset, whilst mentoring medical students during an HCA project.
Qualitative, reflexive thematic analysis.
One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted between April and June 2019, with 13 participants. Participants included five healthcare assistants; three practice development nurses, two of whom were former HCAs; one registered general nurse and four clinical educators.
Two themes were identified: HCAs as silent, invisible caregivers (theme 1) and the formation of an HCA identity through mentoring (theme 2). HCAs are often silent performers of complex patient care with limited opportunity to engage in the interprofessional team dialogue. Social perceptions of HCAs describe them as a marginalised, poorly understood, 'unqualified' group with 'lowly status'. Mentoring medical students allows HCAs to draw on their experience, knowledge and skillset by actively contributing to the learning and development of future doctors.
The mentoring of medical students gave HCAs an active voice within the interprofessional team, instilling their confidence and self-worth. Mentoring allowed HCAs to move from a homogenous, group-based social identity to a role-based one that enabled HCAs to reveal the true extent of their work whilst negotiating their place and identity within the interprofessional team.
Leaders in healthcare will see that a re-evaluation of HCAs as performers of basic, hands-on patient care is needed to breakdown ingrained beliefs, eliminating a 'us and them' mentality. Involving HCAs in the mentoring of medical students will impact on the personal development of both HCAs and medical students in the cultivation of a future, person-centred, inclusive and collaborative workforce.
COREQ guidelines to enhance methodological rigour were strictly adhered to.
There is no patient or public involvement.
提供一种切实可行的方法,通过利用医疗助理(HCAs)的经验、知识和技能,在 HCA 项目中指导医学生,提高 HCAs 的地位。
定性、反思性主题分析。
2019 年 4 月至 6 月期间,对 13 名参与者进行了一对一的半结构化访谈。参与者包括 5 名医疗助理;3 名实践发展护士,其中 2 名为前 HCAs;1 名注册普通护士和 4 名临床教育者。
确定了两个主题:HCAs 作为沉默、隐形的护理者(主题 1)和通过指导形成 HCA 身份(主题 2)。HCAs 通常是复杂患者护理的沉默执行者,几乎没有机会参与跨专业团队的对话。对 HCAs 的社会看法将他们描述为一个边缘化、理解有限、“不合格”的群体,地位低下。指导医学生使 HCAs 能够通过积极参与未来医生的学习和发展,利用他们的经验、知识和技能。
指导医学生使 HCAs 在跨专业团队中拥有了积极的话语权,增强了他们的信心和自我价值感。指导使 HCAs 从基于群体的同质社会身份转变为基于角色的身份,使 HCAs 能够在跨专业团队中展示他们工作的真实程度,同时协商自己的地位和身份。
医疗保健领域的领导者将看到,需要重新评估 HCAs 作为基本、实际患者护理执行者的角色,以打破根深蒂固的观念,消除“我们和他们”的心态。让 HCAs 参与医学生的指导将对 HCAs 和医学生的个人发展产生影响,培养未来以人为本、包容和协作的劳动力。
严格遵守 COREQ 指南以增强方法学严谨性。
没有患者或公众参与。