JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Enhancing the educational experience of ward rounds requires an understanding of current perceptions of the educational value of rounds.

Objective:

This literature review examines perceptions of education in ward rounds, educational activities in ward rounds, barriers to learning, and perceptions of simulation-based ward rounds.

Methods:

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (2020) were followed. MEDLINE (EBSCO) was searched for studies assessing learning during ward rounds. The search terms included “ward rounds”, “education”, and “trainees”. Studies were sorted by relevance, and 291 studies were assessed for eligibility by screening titles, abstracts, and full-length texts. A total of 268 articles were excluded. One article was identified by reference searching the selected articles. Twenty-three articles were included. Articles were excluded if they deviated from the topic, were published before 2015, were not published in English, were animal based, or were not published in scholarly journals.

Results:

The perception of teaching on rounds was addressed by 6 studies, 3 of which showed negative perceptions among participants, 2 reported ambivalent perceptions, and 1 demonstrated positive perceptions. The perceived barriers to teaching during rounds were assessed by 7 studies. The barriers reported included time constraints, workload, schedules, interruptions, the service-oriented nature of rounds, lack of feedback, hierarchy, the lack of opportunities to ask questions and be engaged in patient management, and divergent learner needs. Next, 8 studies identified the types of educational activities, including observing, patient-specific teaching, and discussions. Finally, perceptions of learning through simulated ward rounds were assessed by 8 studies, and a consensus of satisfaction was noted among learners. The interventions explored to improve education included using teaching frameworks, involving clinical librarians, and changing the setting of ward rounds.

Conclusions:

Learning opportunities in ward rounds are often missed. In most studies, trainees perceived rounds to have a low educational value. It is important to recognise the barriers to education during ward rounds and address them. Finally, there is a need to develop plans that incorporate teaching regularly during ward rounds in the inpatient setting. Clinical Trial: This review was registered in the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (ID: CRD42022337736).Education; Learning; Rounds; Trainee; Ward rounds