Clinical professional practice: a phenpmenplogical study of teaching and learning within podiatric diabetology

摘要

Diabetes mellitus is a condition causing devastating, yet entirely preventable, systemic complications in the lower limb, such as ulceration, gangrene and subsequently amputation. The rationale for research and development in this field is currently being underpinned in the UK, by the introduction of a National Service Framework for patients with diabetes mellitus, in an effort to improve the current system of monitoring and managing the condition within an array of health and social care contexts. This study investigated the perceived experience of teaching and learning within clinical podiatric diabetology of 10 final-year undergraduate students of podiatric medicine by a lecturer in podiatry via the process of phenomenological methodology. Since the research also aimed to change the interactions that influence teaching and learning processes within podiatric education, it can also be regarded as a piece of action research undertaken by the author as a means of improving the teaching practice of herself and others. The methods adopted in the study included a modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method of phenomenology, with the instruments of data collection being reflective diaries and placement reports, which were subsequently triangulated with semi-structured interviews and personal profiling of the subjects and an autobiographical narrative on behalf of the author. Data analysis was undertaken and theory generation was developed across major themes surrounding situated learning, assessment of the learning of clinical podiatric diabetology and, finally, the practical implications of teaching and learning within clinical podiatric diabetology. The author's embedded stance was key to the fundamental basis of the research, and illumination of the podiatric curriculum was facilitated by the study. This 'embedded stance' should be operationally defined, to provide clarity of understanding of the key terms used in the research. The researcher was an integral part of the teaching and learning experiences and interactions, which the 10 students in the study undertook as part of their final-year studies. With regard to the socially scientific basis for the study, it was felt necessary to acknowledge the human interaction that the researcher had with the subjects, as an integral part of the areas to be illuminated by the research process. The outcomes of the study allowed an insight into the perceived realities of students experiencing the processes of teaching and learning, within a podiatric educational institution. The study was contextualised within the methodological framework through the consideration of the epistemological basis of phenomenological research throughout the study and how this was of particular significance to the field of podiatric medicine in general and podiatric diabetology in particular. The conclusion to the study illuminated the essence of human experience within a teaching and learning environment.