Exploring the factors that affect the transition from student to health professional : an integrative review
Date
2021-11
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central
Abstract
Background: The nature of a new health professional’s transition from student to health professional is a signifcant determinant of the ease or difculty of the journey to professional competence. The integrative review will explore the extent of literature on the factors that impact the transition of new health professionals into practice, identify possible gaps and synthesise fndings which will inform further research. The aim was to identify research conducted in the last two decades on the barriers, facilitators and coping strategies employed by new health professionals during
their transition into practice. Methods: Whittemore and Knaf’s methodological framework for conducting integrative reviews was used to guide this review. Sources between 1999 and 2019 were gathered using EBSCOhost (including CINAHL, Medline, Academic
Search Premier, Health Science: Nursing and Academic Edition), PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Web of Science, as well as hand searching and follow-up of bibliographies followed. The Covidence platform was used to manage the project. All studies were screened against a predetermined selection criteria. Relevant data was extracted from included sources and analysed using thematic analysis approach. Results: Of the 562 studies identifed, relevant data was extracted from 24 studies that met the inclusion criteria, and analysed to form this review. Thematic analysis approach was used to categorise the fndings into theme areas. Four overarching themes emerged namely: systems and structures, personal capacities, professional competence and mediating processes. Each theme revealed the barriers, facilitators and coping strategies of transition into practice among new health graduates.
Conclusion: The transition into practice for new health practitioners has been described as complex and a period of great stress. Increasing clinical and practical experiences during education are required to support new health professionals in the process of closing the gap between learning and practice. Continued professional development activities should be readily available and attendance of these encouraged.
Description
CITATION: Opoku, E. N., Jacobs-Nzuzi Khuabi, L. & Van Niekerk, L. 2021. Exploring the factors that affect the transition from student to health professional : an integrative review. BMC Medical Education, 21:558, doi:10.1186/s12909-021-02978-0.
The original publication is available at https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund
The original publication is available at https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund
Keywords
Clinical competence, New health practitioners, Medical students -- Training of
Citation
Opoku, E. N., Jacobs-Nzuzi Khuabi, L. & Van Niekerk, L. 2021. Exploring the factors that affect the transition from student to health professional : an integrative review. BMC Medical Education, 21:558, doi:10.1186/s12909-021-02978-0.