TY - JOUR
T1 - Learning the ropes
T2 - strategies program directors use to facilitate organizational socialization of newcomer residents, a qualitative study
AU - Galema, Gerbrich
AU - Duvivier, Robbert
AU - Pols, Jan
AU - Jaarsma, Debbie
AU - Wietasch, G. tz
N1 - Funding Information: Throughout the analytical process, the entire research team held regular meetings to review the coding process, discuss the data interpretation and reach a mutual understanding of codes and themes. The team meetings, therefore, contributed to the analytical process and ensured the credibility and the consistency of the interpretation. The first author maintained an audit trail to keep track of the team’s thinking process and document analytic decisions. Qualitative data analysis was supported by Atlas.ti, version 8 []. Funding Information: We wish to acknowledge Myrte Boer (resident in anesthesiology) for her help during the coding process. We wish to acknowledge Tineke Bouwkamp-Timmer (information specialist) and Alice de Vos (native English speaker) for their help with proofreading, editing, and correcting the English language of the manuscript. We wish to acknowledge all the PDs and supervisors who have participated in this study for their time and effort. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12/1
Y1 - 2022/12/1
N2 - Background: Many residents experience their transitions, such as from medical student to resident, as demanding and stressful. The challenges they face are twofold: coping with changes in tasks or responsibilities and performing (new) social roles. This process of ‘learning the ropes’ is known as Organizational Socialization (OS). Although there is substantial literature on transitions from the perspective of residents, the voices of program directors (PDs) who facilitate and guide residents through the organizational socialization process have not yet been explored. PDs’ perspectives are important, since PDs are formally responsible for Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) and contribute, directly or indirectly, to residents’ socialization process. Using the lens of OS, we explored what strategies PDs use to facilitate organizational socialization of newcomer residents. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 PDs of different specialties. We used a theory-informing inductive data analysis study design, comprising an inductive thematic analysis, a deductive interpretation of the results through the lens of OS and, subsequently, an inductive analysis to identify overarching insights. Results: We identified six strategies PDs used to facilitate organizational socialization of newcomer residents and uncovered two overarching insights. First, PDs varied in the extent to which they planned their guidance. Some PDs planned socialization as an explicit learning objective and assigned residents’ tasks and responsibilities accordingly, making it an intended program outcome. However, socialization was also facilitated by social interactions in the workplace, making it an unintended program outcome. Second, PDs varied in the extent to which they adapted their strategies to the newcomer residents. Some PDs used individualized strategies tailored to individual residents’ needs and skills, particularly in cases of poor performance, by broaching and discussing the issue or adjusting tasks and responsibilities. However, PDs also used workplace strategies requiring residents to adjust to the workplace without much intervention, which was often viewed as an implicit expectation. Conclusions: PDs’ used both intentional and unintentional strategies to facilitate socialization in residents, which may imply that socialization can occur irrespective of the PD’s strategy. PDs’ strategies varied from an individual-centered to a workplace-centered approach to socialization. Further research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of residents’ perceptions of PD’s efforts to facilitate their socialization process during transitions.
AB - Background: Many residents experience their transitions, such as from medical student to resident, as demanding and stressful. The challenges they face are twofold: coping with changes in tasks or responsibilities and performing (new) social roles. This process of ‘learning the ropes’ is known as Organizational Socialization (OS). Although there is substantial literature on transitions from the perspective of residents, the voices of program directors (PDs) who facilitate and guide residents through the organizational socialization process have not yet been explored. PDs’ perspectives are important, since PDs are formally responsible for Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) and contribute, directly or indirectly, to residents’ socialization process. Using the lens of OS, we explored what strategies PDs use to facilitate organizational socialization of newcomer residents. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 PDs of different specialties. We used a theory-informing inductive data analysis study design, comprising an inductive thematic analysis, a deductive interpretation of the results through the lens of OS and, subsequently, an inductive analysis to identify overarching insights. Results: We identified six strategies PDs used to facilitate organizational socialization of newcomer residents and uncovered two overarching insights. First, PDs varied in the extent to which they planned their guidance. Some PDs planned socialization as an explicit learning objective and assigned residents’ tasks and responsibilities accordingly, making it an intended program outcome. However, socialization was also facilitated by social interactions in the workplace, making it an unintended program outcome. Second, PDs varied in the extent to which they adapted their strategies to the newcomer residents. Some PDs used individualized strategies tailored to individual residents’ needs and skills, particularly in cases of poor performance, by broaching and discussing the issue or adjusting tasks and responsibilities. However, PDs also used workplace strategies requiring residents to adjust to the workplace without much intervention, which was often viewed as an implicit expectation. Conclusions: PDs’ used both intentional and unintentional strategies to facilitate socialization in residents, which may imply that socialization can occur irrespective of the PD’s strategy. PDs’ strategies varied from an individual-centered to a workplace-centered approach to socialization. Further research is needed to gain a deeper understanding of residents’ perceptions of PD’s efforts to facilitate their socialization process during transitions.
KW - Faculty development
KW - Newcomer adjustment
KW - Organizational socialization
KW - Postgraduate medical education
KW - Program directors
KW - Transitions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127565829&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03315-9
DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03315-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 35382804
SN - 1472-6920
VL - 22
JO - BMC Medical Education
JF - BMC Medical Education
IS - 1
M1 - 247
ER -