The Vital Role of Peers in Clinical Workplace Learning: Medical Students' Use of Social Comparison

• In Event: 54.038 - Learning Through Same-Level Peers in Clinical Education

Abstract

Background: The challenging context of clinical practice and the shared idea of becoming a skilled professional, almost inevitably lead medical students to compare themselves with peers. This presentation shows the essential influence of these so-called ‘social comparisons’ on medical students’ learning. We report four coherent studies that examine social comparison theory, aimed to: 1) introduce social comparison into the field of medical education by investigating students’ tendency to compare with peers, 2) examine the influence of social comparison on students’ estimates of future performances, 3) address how social comparison is actually used in authentic settings, and 4) unravel the relation between social comparison and student distress.
Methods: This research deliberately used both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Study 1: Students (n=437) at different hospitals completed two questionnaires measuring their comparison behaviours to examine four hypotheses derived from social comparison theory. Analysis: t-tests. Study 2: In an experimental design, students (n=321) estimated their future performances in a novel rotation after comparison with a peer who had already completed that rotation. Analysis: ANOVA. Study 3: This qualitative study examined audio diaries of twelve students who recounted their experiences of comparison with peers during a four-week period. Analysis: constructivist grounded theory. Study 4: Students (n=301) completed questionnaires measuring their comparison behaviours and levels of distress, to contrast the comparison behaviours of low-distress students with those of high-distress students. Analysis: MANOVA.
Results: Study 1: Students frequently compared themselves, preferably with peers. Their responses to these comparisons more often stimulated learning rather than discouraged it. Study 2: Peer comparison influenced students’ estimates of their future performances. The effect depended on the performance level and gender of the comparison peer. Study 3: Students made comparisons with peers on their abilities to perform tasks, to interact with patients and staff, and about matters of the self. The comparisons helped them to appraise themselves at their current stage of development and showed them what they can, or cannot, aspire to in the near future. Study 4: All students substantially compared themselves, but the tendency to compare was less apparent among low-distress students, since they were less negative in the interpretation of their comparisons.
Discussion: This research emphasizes the vital role of peers in clinical workplace learning. Students use comparisons with peers to give meaning to their experiences, to appraise their progress, and to find out what helps them move forward. Educators are urged to raise students’ awareness of their comparison behaviours and inform them about the pros and cons of the comparison process. Future research is needed to understand over time how peer comparison contributes to developing a shared identity of a young professional and how it reveals individual strengths, weaknesses, interests, and capabilities to influence individual development and career choices.

Authors

• Janet Raat, Hanze University of Applied Science

• Phillip Dawson, Deakin University