![]() ![]() In other areas of professional education, complexity theory has been widely applied to understanding learning processes and to improve pedagogies. Towards this end, some have pointed to the utility of ideas from complexity theory both to help medical students and educators understand how complexity works and to develop strategies for managing it. ![]() In considering futures of medical education, many such as Bleakley and Mennin have called into question the emphasis on protocol and certainty, and argued that students must learn to manage effectively the dynamic complexity of multi-faceted clinical situations. This study signals pedagogical opportunities for recognizing and dealing with complexity. Possible strategies for managing complexity themes include: a) taking time to size up the system, b) attuning to what emerges, c) reducing complexity, d) boundary practices, and e) working with uncertainty. Many characteristics of complexity can be recreated in a ward-based simulation learning activity, affording learners an embodied and immersive experience of these complexity challenges. Students’ challenges in coping with clinical complexity included being: a) unprepared for ‘diving in’, b) caught in an escalating system, c) captured by the patient, and d) unable to assert boundaries of acceptable practice. Using complexity theory as a theoretical lens, an iterative approach was taken to identify the challenges that participants faced and possible coping strategies using both interview transcripts and video footage. Video footage was used to elicit interviews, which were transcribed. Wearing video glasses, participants took part in a simulation ward-based exercise that incorporated characteristics of complexity. This study examines the nuances of students’ challenges in coping with a complex simulation learning activity, using concepts from complexity theory, and suggests strategies to help them better understand and manage complexity. Many have called for medical students to learn how to manage complexity in healthcare. ![]()
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