Medical Students’ Shadowing Program Aims to Foster ‘Better Doctors’

A student has affirmed that a project, which involves trainee medics shadowing healthcare assistants (HCAs), will contribute to him becoming a “better doctor.” This initiative, situated at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, requires medical students to work alongside HCAs for three days, aiming to deepen their understanding of the demands and significance of the role. Concurrently, the program has positively influenced HCAs, leading them to feel “more valued.” Initially piloted in 2015, the project has now been integrated as a mandatory component of the UEA’s medical degree. Tobias Lambe completed this project during his first year as a medical student at the UEA. He believes that “every single medical student” should undertake a similar shadowing experience. Mr. Lambe stated: “You learn so much from the HCAs as they are experts in their own right.” He continued, “I might know all about the stuff that I’ve studied in first year, but I know nothing about being a HCA.” He concluded, “Being able to work with them [now] has changed the way that I’ll be working with them when I’m a doctor.” HCAs are responsible for various hospital duties, including feeding and washing patients, and assisting with their mobility. Elizabeth Davison, the operational lead for the HCA project at the UEA and a co-author of the research into the project, remarked, “We have found that this gives HCAs status.” She added that “[Their work] is quite often not observed by the wider interprofessional team which results in them sometimes feeling undervalued.” Ms. Davison noted that the project provided HCAs with an “active voice in the team.” The project is a collaborative effort involving the UEA, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in King’s Lynn. Prof. Susanne Lindqvist, the academic lead for the project and a co-author of the research, indicated that it would help students “understand the patient journey better.” She articulated, “Our ambition is to roll this out to make better doctors and more valued healthcare assistants.” This project is currently being implemented at universities across the country.