The Learning and Working Environment

Date: Saturday, 28 September 2024 | Time: 9.00am - 12.00pm | Venue: Academia, L2-S1

Track Type: Main Conference Workshop

Speakers: Asst Prof Ong Eng Koon, Assoc Prof Sally Ho, Assoc Prof Warren Fong, Asst Prof Nagavalli D/O Somasundaram

The hidden curriculum (HC) may be described as organizational factors like language, allocation of resources, methods of evaluation and institutional policies that implicitly impact learning and affects “survival” of learners within a professional environment. Studies have suggested that the HC more commonly affects psychological wellbeing negatively. Reasons cited included conflicts between practices and values, hierarchical pressures, and a lack of psychological safety.

Patient populations, philosophy of care, and institutional cultures vary greatly across disciplines. Junior doctors (JD)s who are rotated regularly to different disciplines must consistently learn to adapt to different environments. Personal preferences are also commonly superseded by service and training needs. These considerations suggest that JDs may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of the HC.

Based on emerging data, speakers from Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Palliative Care, and Oncology will share insights and explore nuances across their disciplines regarding the HC and JDs’ wellbeing. Potential interventions to support our junior doctors within different working and learning environments will then be discussed.

The speakers will include program directors and senior faculty members from Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Palliative Care, Rheumatology, and Oncology. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in facilitated small-group discussions guided by existing frameworks to reflect on the HC in their individual disciplines and how JDs may be supported more holistically.

Learning Outcome(s):

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Define formal, informal, and hidden curricula.
Reflect on the impact of the hidden curriculum (HC) on junior doctor’s psychological wellbeing within specific working and learning environments.
Discuss potential interventions that support and/or counter the positive and negative impact of the HC respectively.
Identify outcome measures of the HC and JDs’ wellbeing.

Target Audience:

All are welcomed.

No pre-requisite knowledge or experience is needed.

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