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. 2024 Dec 18;24(1):1470.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-06503-x.

'The upside-down' healthcare professional students' experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group study

Gary Mitchell  1 , Margaret Graham  2 , Jill Murphy  2 , Heather E Barry  3 , Alice Coffey  2 , Pauline Boland  4 , Tara Anderson  5 , Dympna Tuohy  2 , Matt Birch  5 , Audrey Tierney  4 , Patrick Stark  5 , Arlene McCurtin  4 , James McMahon  5 , Laura Creighton  5 , Elizabeth Henderson  5 , Stephanie Craig  5 , Hannah McConnell  5 , Heather Guttridge  5 , Lana Cook  5 , Emma Cunningham  6 , Geoffrey M Curran  7 , Christine Brown Wilson  5
Affiliations

'The upside-down' healthcare professional students' experiences of delirium: an all-Ireland focus group study

Gary Mitchell et al. BMC Med Educ. .

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.

Keywords: Allied health student; Delirium; Education; Healthcare; Interprofessional education; Medical student; Nursing student; Pharmacy student.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study received ethical approval by University Limerick Faculty of Education and Health Sciences (EHSS): (2023_01_02) in March 2023 and Queen’s University Belfast’s Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences (MHLS) (MHLS23_50) in April 2023. The study took place between April 2023 and October 2023. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. All methods were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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