Students as pawns: A qualitative study of the impacts of encountering incivility on medical students during clinical placements
The University of Western Australia
How they used Delve
Medical educators at the University of Western Australia uploaded 58 final-year medical students' open-ended survey accounts of incivility on placement into Delve, where the study team charted incidents to immerse themselves in the data and then coded inductively for explicit and implicit meanings before building themes about belonging.
“Data Familiarization: Participant responses were uploaded to DelveTool for analysis [31]. To immerse the research team in the data, an initial charting exercise mapped incidents of incivility, including: Types of incivility, Interpersonal dynamics (e.g., who was involved), Specialty areas (Table 2).”
- Field
- Medical education / professionalism
- Data
- Anonymous online survey responses (over 7,000 words) from 58 final-year medical students in a postgraduate MD program at a Western Australian university
- Approach
- Inductive coding of open-ended survey responses for semantic and latent meanings after a charting exercise mapping incidents, followed by theme development by the study team
- Data types
- Open-ended survey responses
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Incivility is a pervasive issue in healthcare, known to affect patient safety and clinician wellbeing. However, its impact on medical students during clinical placements remains underexplored. This study investigates how experiences of incivility influence medical students’ sense of belonging and professional identity. METHODS: Using reflexive thematic analysis, qualitative data from 58 final-year medical students at an Australian university was analysed. Data was gathered through open-ended online surveys that invited students to describe their experiences of conflict and its impacts. RESULTS: . Students often found themselves excluded, targeted, or witnessing interprofessional conflict. These experiences undermined their sense of belonging, hindered their learning, and contributed to emotional distress. Students responded with various strategies: seeking affiliation, performing facework, or choosing to disaffiliate entirely. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the emotional burden and identity challenges faced by medical students navigating clinical placements. The concept of ‘belonging work’ offers a new lens for understanding these dynamics. Educational interventions that foster positive belonging and prepare students for conflict may enhance wellbeing and professional identity development.
Citation
Kate Jutsum, Helen Wilcox, Andrew Rixon (2025). Students as pawns: A qualitative study of the impacts of encountering incivility on medical students during clinical placements. Medical Teacher. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2025.2517716