A qualitative study of social accountability translation: from mission to living it

Jennifer Cleland; Anand Zachariah; Sarah David; Anna Pulimood; Amudha Poobalan

doi:10.1186/s12909-024-05093-y

A qualitative study of social accountability translation: from mission to living it

Jennifer Cleland^* (Corresponding Author), Anand Zachariah, Sarah David, Anna Pulimood, Amudha Poobalan

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Medical schools are increasingly adopting socially accountable mission and curricula, the realisation of which are dependent on engaging individuals to embody the mission's principles in their everyday activities as doctors. However, little is known about how graduates perceive the efforts taken by their medical school to sensitise them to social accountability values, and how they translate this into their working lives. Our aim was to explore and understand graduate perceptions of how their medical school influenced them to embody a social accountability mission in their working lives.

METHODS: This was a qualitative interview study carried out with graduates/alumni [n = 51] of Christian Medical College, Vellore [CMCV], India, a school with a long-established and explicit social-accountability mission. Data coding and analysis were initially inductive and thematic using Braun and Clarke's six step framework. MacIntyre's virtue ethics theory framed secondary analysis, allowing us to consider the relationships between individual and contextual factors.

RESULTS: Our participants perceived that CMCV invested heavily in selecting personal qualities aligned with the CMCV mission. They saw that these qualities were reinforced through various practices: [e.g., placements in resource limited and/or remote and rural settings]; community engagement and expectations [e.g., student self-governance]; role modelling [staff and more senior students]. Much emphasis was placed on sustaining these traditions and practices over time, creating a strong sense of identity and belonging among participants, traditions which were fostered further by the alumni network and continued engagement with CMCV post-graduation.

CONCLUSIONS: Ensuring social accountable medical education depends on alignment and interactions over time between context and structures, systems and human agents. Further studies are needed to extend understanding of how students from diverse contexts experience socially accountable medical education and translate their educational experience into their thinking and practice after graduation.

Original language	English
Article number	145
Number of pages	8
Journal	BMC Medical Education
Volume	24
Issue number	1
Early online date	14 Feb 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05093-y
Publication status	Published - 14 Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
We thank the colleagues at CMCV’s Alumni Association and CMCV for supporting this research. We thank all those CMCV graduates who took part in the study. We thank Mrs Kiran Devamani for contributing to the preliminary data analysis. We also thank Dr Sara Bhattacharji whose support was invaluable in terms of background information, as well as encouraging engagement with the project.
Funding
This study was funded by an Association for Medical Education Europe [AMEE] Grant for Medical Educators working in Resource Constrained Settings [MERCS grant].

Keywords

Humans
Education, Medical
Curriculum
Social Responsibility
Students, Medical
Qualitative Research

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Cite this

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title = "A qualitative study of social accountability translation: from mission to living it",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Medical schools are increasingly adopting socially accountable mission and curricula, the realisation of which are dependent on engaging individuals to embody the mission's principles in their everyday activities as doctors. However, little is known about how graduates perceive the efforts taken by their medical school to sensitise them to social accountability values, and how they translate this into their working lives. Our aim was to explore and understand graduate perceptions of how their medical school influenced them to embody a social accountability mission in their working lives.METHODS: This was a qualitative interview study carried out with graduates/alumni [n = 51] of Christian Medical College, Vellore [CMCV], India, a school with a long-established and explicit social-accountability mission. Data coding and analysis were initially inductive and thematic using Braun and Clarke's six step framework. MacIntyre's virtue ethics theory framed secondary analysis, allowing us to consider the relationships between individual and contextual factors.RESULTS: Our participants perceived that CMCV invested heavily in selecting personal qualities aligned with the CMCV mission. They saw that these qualities were reinforced through various practices: [e.g., placements in resource limited and/or remote and rural settings]; community engagement and expectations [e.g., student self-governance]; role modelling [staff and more senior students]. Much emphasis was placed on sustaining these traditions and practices over time, creating a strong sense of identity and belonging among participants, traditions which were fostered further by the alumni network and continued engagement with CMCV post-graduation.CONCLUSIONS: Ensuring social accountable medical education depends on alignment and interactions over time between context and structures, systems and human agents. Further studies are needed to extend understanding of how students from diverse contexts experience socially accountable medical education and translate their educational experience into their thinking and practice after graduation.",

keywords = "Humans, Education, Medical, Curriculum, Social Responsibility, Students, Medical, Qualitative Research",

author = "Jennifer Cleland and Anand Zachariah and Sarah David and Anna Pulimood and Amudha Poobalan",

note = "Acknowledgements We thank the colleagues at CMCV{\textquoteright}s Alumni Association and CMCV for supporting this research. We thank all those CMCV graduates who took part in the study. We thank Mrs Kiran Devamani for contributing to the preliminary data analysis. We also thank Dr Sara Bhattacharji whose support was invaluable in terms of background information, as well as encouraging engagement with the project. Funding This study was funded by an Association for Medical Education Europe [AMEE] Grant for Medical Educators working in Resource Constrained Settings [MERCS grant].",

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T2 - from mission to living it

AU - Cleland, Jennifer

AU - Zachariah, Anand

AU - David, Sarah

AU - Pulimood, Anna

AU - Poobalan, Amudha

N1 - Acknowledgements We thank the colleagues at CMCV’s Alumni Association and CMCV for supporting this research. We thank all those CMCV graduates who took part in the study. We thank Mrs Kiran Devamani for contributing to the preliminary data analysis. We also thank Dr Sara Bhattacharji whose support was invaluable in terms of background information, as well as encouraging engagement with the project. Funding This study was funded by an Association for Medical Education Europe [AMEE] Grant for Medical Educators working in Resource Constrained Settings [MERCS grant].

PY - 2024/2/14

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N2 - BACKGROUND: Medical schools are increasingly adopting socially accountable mission and curricula, the realisation of which are dependent on engaging individuals to embody the mission's principles in their everyday activities as doctors. However, little is known about how graduates perceive the efforts taken by their medical school to sensitise them to social accountability values, and how they translate this into their working lives. Our aim was to explore and understand graduate perceptions of how their medical school influenced them to embody a social accountability mission in their working lives.METHODS: This was a qualitative interview study carried out with graduates/alumni [n = 51] of Christian Medical College, Vellore [CMCV], India, a school with a long-established and explicit social-accountability mission. Data coding and analysis were initially inductive and thematic using Braun and Clarke's six step framework. MacIntyre's virtue ethics theory framed secondary analysis, allowing us to consider the relationships between individual and contextual factors.RESULTS: Our participants perceived that CMCV invested heavily in selecting personal qualities aligned with the CMCV mission. They saw that these qualities were reinforced through various practices: [e.g., placements in resource limited and/or remote and rural settings]; community engagement and expectations [e.g., student self-governance]; role modelling [staff and more senior students]. Much emphasis was placed on sustaining these traditions and practices over time, creating a strong sense of identity and belonging among participants, traditions which were fostered further by the alumni network and continued engagement with CMCV post-graduation.CONCLUSIONS: Ensuring social accountable medical education depends on alignment and interactions over time between context and structures, systems and human agents. Further studies are needed to extend understanding of how students from diverse contexts experience socially accountable medical education and translate their educational experience into their thinking and practice after graduation.

AB - BACKGROUND: Medical schools are increasingly adopting socially accountable mission and curricula, the realisation of which are dependent on engaging individuals to embody the mission's principles in their everyday activities as doctors. However, little is known about how graduates perceive the efforts taken by their medical school to sensitise them to social accountability values, and how they translate this into their working lives. Our aim was to explore and understand graduate perceptions of how their medical school influenced them to embody a social accountability mission in their working lives.METHODS: This was a qualitative interview study carried out with graduates/alumni [n = 51] of Christian Medical College, Vellore [CMCV], India, a school with a long-established and explicit social-accountability mission. Data coding and analysis were initially inductive and thematic using Braun and Clarke's six step framework. MacIntyre's virtue ethics theory framed secondary analysis, allowing us to consider the relationships between individual and contextual factors.RESULTS: Our participants perceived that CMCV invested heavily in selecting personal qualities aligned with the CMCV mission. They saw that these qualities were reinforced through various practices: [e.g., placements in resource limited and/or remote and rural settings]; community engagement and expectations [e.g., student self-governance]; role modelling [staff and more senior students]. Much emphasis was placed on sustaining these traditions and practices over time, creating a strong sense of identity and belonging among participants, traditions which were fostered further by the alumni network and continued engagement with CMCV post-graduation.CONCLUSIONS: Ensuring social accountable medical education depends on alignment and interactions over time between context and structures, systems and human agents. Further studies are needed to extend understanding of how students from diverse contexts experience socially accountable medical education and translate their educational experience into their thinking and practice after graduation.

KW - Humans

KW - Education, Medical

KW - Curriculum

KW - Social Responsibility

KW - Students, Medical

KW - Qualitative Research

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DO - 10.1186/s12909-024-05093-y

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SN - 1472-6920

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JO - BMC Medical Education

JF - BMC Medical Education

IS - 1

M1 - 145

ER -

A qualitative study of social accountability translation: from mission to living it

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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