Abstract:

Background: Health professions training in Tanzania has gradually adopted the competency-based curricula (CBC) approach that focuses on learners’ acquisition of competencies in knowledge skills and aptitude. Feedback from the graduates is crucial for improving CBC implementation and review to ensure that graduates acquire clinical competencies and thus improve patient care.

Objectives: To explore the teaching–learning experiences of medical and nursing graduates during their internship and their supervisors in three teaching hospitals.

Methods: Exploratory qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were analysed using a content analysis framework. Medical and nursing graduates who were in an internship program in three teaching hospitals in Tanzania were conveniently recruited based on their availability during the data collection period.

Results: The use of clinical logbooks, guidelines and protocols, bedside teaching, mentorship, and supervision were important for the acquisition of clinical competencies. Graduates demonstrated inadequate clinical competency including confidence, commitment, and professionalism because of a lack of clear clinical guidelines and protocols, inadequate bedside teaching including supervision by faculty and ineffective communication and feedback.

Conclusions: Clinical teaching–learning tools and approaches facilitate students’ acquisition of clinical competencies. However, inadequate use of guidelines and protocols, bedside teaching, clinical supervision and effective communication was observed. Use of these clinical teaching approaches should be emphasized for students’ clinical competency acquisition.