Clinical placements in residential care facilities part 2: negative experiences

Objective: This paper analyses clinical placements undertaken by final year undergraduate paramedic students in residential aged care facilities. Barriers to effective teaching and learning are identified in order to tailor such placements to better meet future health system demands.

Design: The research employed qualitative methodology using thematic analysis to identify key themes in the data.

Setting: A cohort of final year paramedic undergraduate students (n = 17) completed a five-day clinical placement in one of two residential aged care facilities in Tasmania, Australia.

Method: This component of the research involved the collection and analysis of qualitative data from student and mentor feedback meetings during placement.

Results: Barriers to teaching and learning while on clinical placement were identified and categorised into a number of key themes. These include: a lack of clarity of the placement structure, inadequate clinical liaison support, and limited contact with residents and facility staff.

Conclusions: Developing placements that consider the barriers to effective learning identified in this research will facilitate further development of quality, evidence-based, best practice models of undergraduate paramedic student learning in residential aged care facilities.