The Professional Socialisation of Medical Students

The research in this book explores the professional socialisation of medical students through the preclinical to clinical transition of medical education. The research is based in a traditionally structured medical programme where the curriculum was divided into two three-year parts. The first part was predominantly class-based, science oriented curriculum with some early clinical experiences provided for students. The second three years was clinically-based with students completing attachments in the hospitals and community. A group of students were interviewed in their third and fourth years of their medical education. The semi-structured interviews investigated students’ experiences in human dissection (in their second and third years) and their clinical experiences. These clinical experiences (with patients and other health professionals) included those in the first part of their education as well as after the transition into clinical practice. Participant observation was undertaken and contributed to the research data.