‘The upside-down’ healthcare professional students’ experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group study
Abstract Background Delirium is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome characterised by an acute state of confusion, with a substantial impact on medical inpatients. Despite its growing recognition as a global healthcare concern, delirium remains underdiagnosed, partly due to a lack of awareness among...
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BMC
2024-12-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06503-x |
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| author | Gary Mitchell Margaret Graham Jill Murphy Heather E. Barry Alice Coffey Pauline Boland Tara Anderson Dympna Tuohy Matt Birch Audrey Tierney Patrick Stark Arlene McCurtin James McMahon Laura Creighton Elizabeth Henderson Stephanie Craig Hannah McConnell Heather Guttridge Lana Cook Emma Cunningham Geoffrey M. Curran Christine Brown Wilson |
| author_facet | Gary Mitchell Margaret Graham Jill Murphy Heather E. Barry Alice Coffey Pauline Boland Tara Anderson Dympna Tuohy Matt Birch Audrey Tierney Patrick Stark Arlene McCurtin James McMahon Laura Creighton Elizabeth Henderson Stephanie Craig Hannah McConnell Heather Guttridge Lana Cook Emma Cunningham Geoffrey M. Curran Christine Brown Wilson |
| author_sort | Gary Mitchell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Delirium is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome characterised by an acute state of confusion, with a substantial impact on medical inpatients. Despite its growing recognition as a global healthcare concern, delirium remains underdiagnosed, partly due to a lack of awareness among healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to explore how healthcare professional students experience caring for individuals experiencing delirium, the influence of their current pre-registration healthcare education, and importance of interprofessional teamwork in their role. Methods This qualitative study used a focus group approach to collect data from 40 healthcare professional students, including nursing, pharmacy, and medical students, across two universities in Ireland. The focus groups explored participants’ experiences of caring for people with delirium, their delirium education, and their collaboration with interdisciplinary teams. The data were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach. Results Following thematic analysis, three themes are reported. The first is “The Upside Down,” revealing student perceptions of caring for people with delirium who are facing distressing situations. The second team reported is, “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work,” emphasising the critical role of interprofessional collaboration in delirium management and patient outcomes. Finally, the theme of “A Little Is Not Enough,” highlighted students’ critiques of current delirium education in their pre-registration training. Collectively, these themes illuminate challenges in delirium care, advocate for teamwork in healthcare settings, and call for improvements in educational preparation for future healthcare professionals. Conclusions This study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into the perspectives of healthcare professional students on delirium care. The findings also highlight the challenging nature of caring for individuals with delirium and the need for improved delirium education and interdisciplinary collaboration. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1edd983c738341b599e273e8a73618af |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-1edd983c738341b599e273e8a73618af2025-08-20T02:31:44ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202024-12-0124111110.1186/s12909-024-06503-x‘The upside-down’ healthcare professional students’ experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group studyGary Mitchell0Margaret Graham1Jill Murphy2Heather E. Barry3Alice Coffey4Pauline Boland5Tara Anderson6Dympna Tuohy7Matt Birch8Audrey Tierney9Patrick Stark10Arlene McCurtin11James McMahon12Laura Creighton13Elizabeth Henderson14Stephanie Craig15Hannah McConnell16Heather Guttridge17Lana Cook18Emma Cunningham19Geoffrey M. Curran20Christine Brown Wilson21School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastDepartment of Nursing and Midwifery, University of LimerickDepartment of Nursing and Midwifery, University of LimerickSchool of Pharmacy, Queen’s University BelfastDepartment of Nursing and Midwifery, University of LimerickSchool of Allied Health, University of LimerickSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastDepartment of Nursing and Midwifery, University of LimerickSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSchool of Allied Health, University of LimerickSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSchool of Allied Health, University of LimerickSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastSchool of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen’s University BelfastCenter for Implementation Research, University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University BelfastAbstract Background Delirium is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome characterised by an acute state of confusion, with a substantial impact on medical inpatients. Despite its growing recognition as a global healthcare concern, delirium remains underdiagnosed, partly due to a lack of awareness among healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to explore how healthcare professional students experience caring for individuals experiencing delirium, the influence of their current pre-registration healthcare education, and importance of interprofessional teamwork in their role. Methods This qualitative study used a focus group approach to collect data from 40 healthcare professional students, including nursing, pharmacy, and medical students, across two universities in Ireland. The focus groups explored participants’ experiences of caring for people with delirium, their delirium education, and their collaboration with interdisciplinary teams. The data were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach. Results Following thematic analysis, three themes are reported. The first is “The Upside Down,” revealing student perceptions of caring for people with delirium who are facing distressing situations. The second team reported is, “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work,” emphasising the critical role of interprofessional collaboration in delirium management and patient outcomes. Finally, the theme of “A Little Is Not Enough,” highlighted students’ critiques of current delirium education in their pre-registration training. Collectively, these themes illuminate challenges in delirium care, advocate for teamwork in healthcare settings, and call for improvements in educational preparation for future healthcare professionals. Conclusions This study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into the perspectives of healthcare professional students on delirium care. The findings also highlight the challenging nature of caring for individuals with delirium and the need for improved delirium education and interdisciplinary collaboration.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06503-xDeliriumEducationInterprofessional educationMedical studentPharmacy studentNursing student |
| spellingShingle | Gary Mitchell Margaret Graham Jill Murphy Heather E. Barry Alice Coffey Pauline Boland Tara Anderson Dympna Tuohy Matt Birch Audrey Tierney Patrick Stark Arlene McCurtin James McMahon Laura Creighton Elizabeth Henderson Stephanie Craig Hannah McConnell Heather Guttridge Lana Cook Emma Cunningham Geoffrey M. Curran Christine Brown Wilson ‘The upside-down’ healthcare professional students’ experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group study BMC Medical Education Delirium Education Interprofessional education Medical student Pharmacy student Nursing student |
| title | ‘The upside-down’ healthcare professional students’ experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group study |
| title_full | ‘The upside-down’ healthcare professional students’ experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group study |
| title_fullStr | ‘The upside-down’ healthcare professional students’ experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group study |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘The upside-down’ healthcare professional students’ experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group study |
| title_short | ‘The upside-down’ healthcare professional students’ experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group study |
| title_sort | the upside down healthcare professional students experiences of delirium an all ireland focus group study |
| topic | Delirium Education Interprofessional education Medical student Pharmacy student Nursing student |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-06503-x |
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