You can't study medicine part-time, can you?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11157/fohpe.v24i3.615

Keywords:

part-time, time-flexible, medical school, inclusivity

Abstract

Societal expectations about inclusivity have resulted in changes in several aspects of higher education, many of which are aimed at promoting a broader student population engaged in learning. The option for part-time study does not exist in relation to primary medical education, and we assert that this limits the ability to train a population of doctors who truly represent the populations they serve. In this article, we discuss drivers and barriers to flexible study patterns for medical students—continuing a conversation begun almost a decade ago—and provide four key factors for consideration in regard to less than full-time medical education.

References

Barrett, A., Woodward-Kron, R., & Cheshire, L. (2022). Flexibility in primary medical programs: A scoping review. Focus on Health Professional Education: A Multi-Professional Journal, 23(4), 16–34. https://doi.org/10.11157/fohpe.v23i4.579

Buddeberg-Fischer, B., & Stamm, M. (2010). The medical profession and young physicians’ lifestyles in flux: Challenges for specialty training and health care delivery systems. Swiss Medical Weekly, 140(4950), Article 13134. https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2010.13134

Crampton, P., Weaver, N., & Howard, A. (2018). Holding a mirror to society? Progression towards achieving better sociodemographic representation among the University of Otago’s health professional students. New Zealand Journal of Medicine, 131(1476), 59–69.

Frenk, J., Chen, L., Bhutta, Z. A., Cohen, J., Crisp, N., Evans, T., Fineberg, H., Garcia, P., Ke, Y., Kelley, P., Kistnasamy, B., Meleis, A., Naylor, D., Pablos-Mendez, A., Reddy, S., Scrimshaw, S., Sepulveda, J., Serwadda, D., & Zurayk, H. (2010). Health professionals for a new century: Transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. The Lancet, 376(9756), 1923–1958. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61854-5

Glauser, W. (2019). How medical schools can better support students who are parents. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 25(191), E243–E244. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.109-5707

Harries, R., Gokani, V., Smitham, P., & Fitzgerald, E. (2016). Less than full-time training in surgery: A cross-sectional study evaluating the accessibility and experiences of flexible training in the surgical trainee workforce. BMJ Open, 6(4), Article e010136. https://doi.org/doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010136

Higgs, J., & Edwards, H. (2002). Challenges facing health professional education in the changing context of university education. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 65(7), 315–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/030802260206500703

Iden, K., Nürnberger, F., Sader, R., & Dittrich, W. (2012). Parents studying medicine: The dichotomy of studying with a family. GMS Zeitschrift Für Medizinische Ausbildung, 29(2), Article 20. https://doi.org/10.3205/zma000790

Jeffries, P. R., Bushardt, R. L., DuBose-Morris, R., Hood, C., Kardong-Edgren, S., Pintz, C., Posey, L., & Sikka, N. (2022). The role of technology in health professions education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Academic Medicine, 97(3S), S104–S109. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000004523

Jones, M. (2015). "Mainstreaming" of less than full-time training. Anaesthesia, 70(6), 641–644. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.13096

Khadjooi, K., Scott, P., & Jones, L. (2012). What is the impact of pregnancy and parenthood on studying medicine? Exploring attitudes and experiences of medical students. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 42(2), 106–110. https://doi.org/10.4997/JRCPE.2012.203

Kraus, B., Talbott, J., Melikian, R., Merrill, S., Sonnington, C., Hayes, S., Files, J., & Kouloumberis, P. (2021). Current parental leave policies for medical students at U.S. medical schools: A comparative study. Academic Medicine, 96(9), 1315–1318. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000004074

Matthews, A., & Kotzee, B. (2020). UK university part-time higher education: A corpus-assisted discourse analysis of undergraduate prospectuses. Higher Education Research and Development, 39(6), 1186–1201. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1713730

McIntosh, C. A., Macario, A., & Streatfeild, K. (2008). How much work is enough work? Results of a survey of US and Australian anesthesiologists’ perceptions of part-time practice and part-time training. Anesthesiology Clinics, 26(4), 693–705. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anclin.2008.07.005

Mechaber, H. F., Levine, R. B., Manwell, L. B., Mundt, M. P., & Linzer, M. (2008). Part-time physicians . . . prevalent, connected, and satisfied. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 23(3), 300–303. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-008-0514-3

Medical Deans. (2022). National data report 2022: Responses from final year students at Australian medical schools. Medical Schools Outcomes Database. https://medicaldeans.org.au/medical-schools-outcomes-database-reports/

Moberly, T. (2022). Medical students should be guaranteed training posts and access to part time study, BMA says. British Medical Journal (Online), 378, Article o1632. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1632

Niehues, J., Prospero, K., Fegert, J. M., & Liebhardt, H. (2012). Family-friendliness in medical studies in Baden-Württemberg: Results of a state-wide study. GMS Zeitschrift Für Medizinische Ausbildung, 29(2), Article 33. https://doi.org/10.3205/zma000803

Picton, A. (2021). Work-life balance in medical students: Self-care in a culture of self-sacrifice. BMC Medical Education, 21(1), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02434-5

Prideaux, D., Roberts, C., Eva, K., Centeno, A., McCrorie, P., Mcmanus, C., Patterson, F., Powis, D., Tekian, A., & Wilkinson, D. (2011). Assessment for selection for the health care professions and specialty training: Consensus statement and recommendations from the Ottawa 2010 conference. Medical Teacher, 33(3), 215–223. https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2011.551560

Randive, S., Johnston, C. L., Fowler, A. M., & Evans, C. S. (2014). Influence of less than full-time or full-time on totality of training and subsequent consultant appointment in anaesthesia. Anaesthesia, 15(70), 686–690. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.13122

Raven, P. W. (2014). If doctors can train part time, why not medical students? BMJ, 349, Article g4897. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g4897

Saalwachter, A. R., Freischlag, J. A., Sawyer, R. G., & Sanfey, H. A. (2006). Part-time training in general surgery. Archives of Surgery, 141(10), 977–982. https://doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.141.10.977

Scriven, P. M. (1998). Evaluation of flexible (part-time) training in anaesthesia. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 81(2), 268–270. https://doi.org/10.1093/bja/81.2.268

Thibault, G. E. (2020). The future of health professions education: Emerging trends in the United States. FASEB Bioadvances, 2(12), 685–694. https://doi.org/10.1096/fba.2020-00061

Vujčić, I., Radičević, T., Dubljanin, E., Maksimović, N., & Grujičić, S. (2017). Serbian medical students’ fertility awareness and attitudes towards future parenthood. The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care, 22(4), 291–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/13625187.2017.1368478

Webb, A. M., Hasty, B. N., Andolsek, K. M., Mechaber, H. F., Harris, T. B., Chatterjee, A., Lautenberger, D. M., & Gottlieb, A. S. (2019). A timely problem: Parental leave during medical training. Academic Medicine, 94(11), 1631–1634. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000002733

Wilkinson, T., Subramanian, R., Salkeld, A., Rudland, J., Hyland, F., Poole, P., Bagg, W., Kool, B., Connell, C., & Verstappen, A. (2021). National report on students graduating medical school in New Zealand in 2016–2020. https://www.otago.ac.nz/oms/otago831361.pdf

Downloads

Published

2023-09-29

How to Cite

Scarff, C. E., Cheshire, L., & Woodward-Kron, R. (2023). You can’t study medicine part-time, can you?. Focus on Health Professional Education: A Multi-Professional Journal, 24(3), 61–67. https://doi.org/10.11157/fohpe.v24i3.615

Issue

Section

Discussion Paper