Medical Students' Experiences of Part-Time Hospital Work: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Medical students' part-time hospital work improves their clinical skills, improves their understanding of work-related problems, provides them with income, and modifies their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about part-time hospital work. This qualitative study explored medical sciences students' experiences of part-time hospital work. Participants were 24 students in the fields of nursing (ten students), operating room (four students), laboratory sciences (four students), radiology (three students), and practical anesthesiology (three students). They were recruited purposively and with maximum variation respecting their demographic characteristics from Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. Data were collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews and were concurrently analyzed through conventional content analysis. Trustworthiness was established using the four criteria introduced by Lincoln and Guba. Participants' experiences of part-time work in hospital fell into three main categories, namely perceived personal benefits (with three subcategories), organizational outcomes (with two subcategories), and unpleasant clinical environment (with three subcategories). The eight subcategories of these categories were effective learning, improved self-confidence, financial gain, organizational benefits, unprofessional care delivery, job burnout, financial strains, and academic discouragement. This study concludes that part-time hospital work, along with learning and having a good source of income, also poses challenges such as burnout for the student. Healthcare authorities, managers, and policy makers can use the findings of the present study to develop strategies for managing the problems and improving the effectiveness of students' part-time work in hospital.