The Impact of Pre-Round Meetings on the Clinical Learning of Nurses and Doctors on Hospital Wards: A Qualitative Study

INTRODUCTION: The pre-round meeting is an interprofessional gathering conducted in conjunction with the ward round in many hospitals. Here, nurses, doctors and eventually allied health clinicians discuss clinical issues before attending to the patients. This study focused on the learning aspects of the pre-round meeting, and it is, to our knowledge, the first study to explore the impact of pre-round meetings on learning in a clinical setting. OBJECTIVES: To improve our understanding of the impact pre-round meetings has on clinical learning among the nurses and doctors who attend them. METHOD: A qualitative study. Focus group interviews were conducted. Participants comprised of 9 doctors and 13 nurses from two different hospitals in Norway. The participants represented both surgical and non-surgical departments RESULTS: This study showed that the pre-round meeting is an arena with a high learning potential. Learning takes place in the discussion that arises when different professions meet. Both nurses and doctors emphasized that the pre-round meeting is both a conscious learning arena and an arena where learning is a by-product. Several factors interfered with the utilization of its learning potential. CONCLUSION: The pre-round meeting is an arena with high learning potential. However various factors can influence this potential. The study highlights the importance of being aware of the learning potential in the pre-round meeting, to achieve higher-level learning objectives. A collaborative environment, continuity, competence, and availability of the staff and structured pre-round meetings are essential elements for achieving higher-level learning objectives.