Learning in hospital settings

The study that this article is based on was designed to portray and assess the appropriateness of the learning environment in hospital settings for Resident Medical Officers (RMOs) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It included visits to selected hospitals and a mailed statewide survey of RMOs. This article focuses on the latter component of the study, the survey of 209 RMOs practicing during the last quarter of 1992 in various clinical rotations in NSW hospitals.

The study lends support to the perceived importance of organizational and sociopsychological variables as determinants of learning. These attributes include appropriate levels of autonomy, variety and workload, quality of supervision and social support, and, most important, the overall orientation toward teaching and learning, reflecting the culture prevailing in the clinical unit. The study provided an inventory of learning opportunities and their usefulness for the training of RMOs. It also explored the opportunity to practice particular procedures and skills in the respective clinical rotations.