Personal protective equipment and medical students in times of COVID-19: experiences and perspectives from the final clerkship year

BACKGROUND: The availability and correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent and control infections plays a critical role in the safety of medical students in clinical placements. This study explored their experiences and perspectives in their final clerkship year with PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This qualitative study was based on social constructivism and was conducted in 2021 at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. In three online focus group discussions, 15 medical students in their final clerkship year reported their experiences with PPE training and use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were recorded, transcribed and analysed based on Kuckartz’s approach to content analysis. We drew upon the a priori dimensions of the capability, opportunity, motivation - behaviour (COM-B) model as main categories as well as emergent issues raised by the study participants (subcategories). RESULTS: In addition to the three main categories of the COM-B model, eleven subcategories were identified through inductive analysis. The study participants reported several factors that hindered the correct use of PPE. In the area of capabilities, these factors were related to learning experience with PPE in terms of both theoretical and practical learning together with later supervision in practice. In the area of opportunities, these factors included the limited availability of some PPE components, a lack of time for PPE instruction and supervision and inappropriate role modelling due to the inconsistent use of PPE by physicians and nursing staff. The area of motivation to use PPE was characterized by an ambivalent fear of infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the prioritization of patient safety, i.e., the need to prevent the transmission of the virus to patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed several limitations pertaining to the enabling factors associated with the trainable behaviour “correct use of PPE”. The concept of shared responsibility for student safety was used to derive recommendations for future improvement specifically for the medical school as an organization, the teachers and supervisors, and students themselves. This study may guide and stimulate other medical schools and faculties to explore and analyse components of student safety in clinical settings in times of infectious pandemics. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-023-04784-2.