Student leadership: Preparing student health professionals to lead

Abstract

Healthcare environments are complex adaptive systems that require practice-ready clinicians who are prepared to collaborate with others and influence processes. Preparing practice-ready clinicians requires attention to leadership development in health professions programs. Although many health professional student leadership learning opportunities exist, most occur in academic settings, removed from healthcare practice. An alternate way to build leadership in student health professionals is through clinical education (i.e., fieldwork). This dissertation aimed to advance student leadership development in clinical education. It consisted of a four-phased process, involving a mixed methods study grounded in pragmatism. In phase 1, we conducted a concept analysis (Rodgers, 2000) of student leadership, which included extraction from 126 articles. It resulted in a proposed definition of student leadership and revealed a need for interprofessional approaches and strategies for its development in clinical settings. Phase 2 involved a qualitative descriptive study, with 15 semi-structured interviews and 1 focus group, to explore perspectives concerning student leadership development among rehabilitation professionals (occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists), student rehabilitation professionals, and clinical educators from academic and clinical environments. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, Phase 2 added to an understanding of student leadership, including what enables its development and needed clinical education tools. For Phase 3, we used the findings from Phases 1 and 2 to create a student leadership development framework and three tool sets. The tool sets are designed to provide an understanding of the state of student leadership culture in the practice environment, promote clarity regarding the language of student leadership, and offer illustrative narratives and active learning plans for students to implement in their clinical learning. In Phase 4, attempts were made to evaluate the products, however, there was limited response, most likely stemming from pandemic-related factors. Regardless, this dissertation has contributed to our understanding of student leadership, and it offers intentional methods that may be used by clinical educators from multiple professions to develop student leadership in clinical settings. Importantly, the results of the dissertation can enhance the integration of health education and healthcare environments and provide a clear and organized approach to student leadership development.