Student's perception of labor room learning environment

ABSTRACT

To assess the quality of the labor room educational environment as perceived by the final year medical students and to explore students7 justifications for rating the environment in a certain way. Mixed method sequential. Sir Ganga Ram hospital Lahore, Pakistan from Nov 2011 to Oct 2012. During stage 1, one hundred and fifty two final year students completed the modified post graduate environment measure [PHEEM] survey after completion of their maternity duty from November 2011 till October 2012 and Institutional Ethical Review Board's approval. Stage 2 involved semi-structured focus group discussions [FGD] for in depth enquiry to explore students' reasons for rating their learning environment in a certain way after ensuring confidentiality and anonymity to study participants. The mean overall score for labor room educational environment, as rated by students was 65.98, implying 47.8% satisfaction, indicating plenty of problems in learning environment. Mean total scores for autonomy, teaching and social support was 20.5, 28.9 and 16.5. Satisfaction with regard to autonomy, teaching and social support was 20.5/48 [42.7%], 28,9/56 [51.6%] and 16.5/32 [51.5%] respectively. The patterns that emerged from FGD were lack of teaching protocol, inappropriate supervision and feedback, enormous workload and unenthusiastic teachers. Skill learning, authentic real life experience and team work were motivating factors while poor accommodation, sanitation, catering facilities and humiliating attitude of paramedic staff were demotivating factors for learning. Labor room rotation provides an excellent real time practical skill learning opportunity in an environment with plenty of problems. In order to make labor room duty a worthwhile learning experience, all detrimental aspects, as pointed out in this study, can be addressed to enhance students' learning