Experiences of Medical Imaging Students and Clinical Learning in a Limited Resource Setting - A Qualitative Study in Rwanda

Purpose: This qualitative research aimed to explore the experiences of University of Rwanda medical imaging students during their clinical practice in the country.

Methods and Materials: Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with open-ended questions were held with twenty five medical imaging sciences students who were enrolled in their second and final year respectively of the bachelors with honors and national diploma programs.

Results: Qualitative exploratory descriptive research was conducted in March 2017 through FDGs. The recorded data was transcribed, anonymized, coded, categorized and conceptualized into four themes: theory-practice gap, teaching and learning support, occupational health and safety, resources and infrastructure. Data was analyzed using content analysis. The findings indicate that there were aspects which negatively impacted clinical experiences of medical imaging students. This valuable information is important to create awareness among medical imaging academia and practicing professionals about the challenges faced by medical imaging students in clinical practice.

Conclusion: Medical imaging students experienced a number of challenges during their clinical training in Rwanda. Based on these findings, specific recommendations are suggested with an aim to enhance the clinical training process of medical imaging students