Investigating the learning value of early clinical exposure among undergraduate medical students in Dubai: a convergent mixed methods study

Introduction The benefits of Early Clinical Exposure (ECE) in medical education are often stated but there is limited evidence on how to effectively maximize its learning value. The challenge for medical educators lies in finding ways to enhance the quality of ECE in alignment with students’ feedbac...

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Published in:	BMC medical education Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 638 - 26
Main Authors:	Al-Jayyousi, Reem, Abu Mahfouz, Nour, Otaki, Farah, Paulus, Agnes, Czabanowska, Katarzyna, Zaman, Qamar, AlAshkar, Masa, Stanley, Adrian, Kilian, Paddy
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London BioMed Central 30.04.2025 BioMed Central Ltd Springer Nature B.V BMC
Subjects:	Academic Achievement Adult Adult Basic Education Adult education Adult learning Adult students Basic medical sciences Clinical Competence Clinical medical sciences Cognition & reasoning College students Competence Constructivism (Learning) Design Early clinical exposure Education Education, Medical, Undergraduate - methods Educational Practices Educational research Environmental Influences Experiential learning Female Foundation of clinical medicine Health aspects Health Personnel Human Relations Humans Independent study Inferences Instructional Effectiveness Intervention Investigations Learner Engagement Learning Learning Experience Learning Processes Learning Theories Male Medical Education Medical law Medical personnel Medical research Medical students Methods Methods Research Mixed Methods Research Opportunities Patient-centered care Physician Patient Relationship Problem-Based Learning - methods Professional Training Professionals Qualitative Research Self-directed learning Self-regulation Students, Medical - psychology Surveys Surveys and Questionnaires Teaching methods Theory of Medicine/Bioethics United Arab Emirates Young Adult United Arab Emirates Middle East Dubai United Arab Emirates Patient centricity Resilient health professionals System perspective Sustainable Development United Nations Health professions education Giving Mixed methods research Patient first Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Self-directed learning Dubai Social constructionism Learning Design Alignment Medical education SDG 3 Early clinical exposure Undergraduate medical education SDG 4 Sustainable Development Goals SDG 9 Clinical medical sciences Align Based research Adult learning theory Discovery Basic medical sciences United Arab Emirates Kolb’s experiential learning theory Clinical correlation Care Self-regulation Resilience SDG 17 Foundation of clinical medicine Outcome-based Evaluation Framework Dubai Health
ISSN:	1472-6920, 1472-6920
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Summary:	Introduction The benefits of Early Clinical Exposure (ECE) in medical education are often stated but there is limited evidence on how to effectively maximize its learning value. The challenge for medical educators lies in finding ways to enhance the quality of ECE in alignment with students’ feedback, while realizing the learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate undergraduate medical students’ perception of an innovative ECE intervention in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, developed using design-based research in alignment with adult, experiential learning theories. Methods A convergent mixed methods study design was utilized. The data was collected using a tailormade survey to solicit both quantitative and qualitative feedback. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS. Qualitative data analysis was inductive based on constructivist epistemology. Following the conclusion of the independent data analyses of the quantitative and qualitative datasets, the primary inferences were integrated using the iterative joint display analysis process. Results Out of the 68 students who attended the ECE, 54 responded. The percentage of the total extent of agreement that the ECE: familiarized them with learning in the clinical environment and brought forth the institutional values were 79.60% and 86.43%, respectively. The extent of active engagement and self-directed learning, with a mean of 6.80(2.42), was significantly associated with how much the learners reaped from the learning experience (P < 0.05). A novel conceptual model, namely: ‘Early Clinical Exposure Added Value’, with five interconnected themes, was developed from the qualitative analysis. Integration of findings led to six meta-inferences: Embeddedness in context of learning, System perspective, Patient-centricity, Theory–practice link, Resilience, and Proactiveness. Conclusion The more medical students engage in their learning, the more ECE contributes to building their academic resilience, and propels them in terms of clinical correlations, skills’ development, and values reinforcement. Securing engagement opportunities for the learners, when designing and planning for the ECE, is essential. Optimizing the ECE learning value can happen systematically through continuously developing the respective intervention in alignment with the principles of design-based research and anchoring it in constructivism experiential learning theories.
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ISSN:	1472-6920 1472-6920
DOI:	10.1186/s12909-025-07212-9