Teamwork in medical education: are medical students team workers?
Abstract Introduction. Despite the increasing importance of teamwork in healthcare, medical education still puts great emphasis on individual achievements. The purpose of this study is to examine medical students’ team role preferences, including the association with gender and specialty; and to provide implications for policy makers and medical educators. Methods. We used an exploratory methodology, following a repeated cross-sectional design. Data was collected from first year master students in medicine (n=2293) during five consecutive years (2016 – 2020). The Belbin Team Role Self Perception Inventory (BTRSPI) was used to measure medical students’ self-perceptions of their team role. Results. The Team Worker was the most preferred team role among medical students (35.8%), regardless of study year, gender or specialty. Female and male students had similar team role patterns, although female students scored higher on Team Worker (40.4% vs. 29.1%, p < 0.001) and Completer-Finisher (14.0% vs. 8.0%, p < 0.001). Conclusions. Our findings are encouraging due to the increased importance of interdisciplinary collaborations in healthcare. Nevertheless, policy makers and medical educators should prioritize teamwork skills at all stages (i.e. admission to residency) and levels (i.e. in the explicit and implicit curriculum) to ensure their continued development throughout the educational process.