Exploring Belongingness during Work-Integrated Learning for Healthcare Students in International Settings: The BeWIL Study

Education within the healthcare professions commonly involves variations of work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences. WIL is an educational approach involving a student, an educational institution, and an external partner. It consists of authentic work-focused experiences that integrate theory and practice. This study explored belongingness among healthcare students engaged in WIL in the United States and the United Kingdom (The BeWIL study). The BeWIL study used the Belongingness Scale-Clinical Placement Experience (BES-CPE), which assessed 34 items using a five-point scale ranging from always true (5) to never true (1). The BES-CPE measures belongingness across three domains: esteem, which relates to perceptions of being respected by colleagues; connectedness, which relates to interpersonal relationships; and efficacy, which relates to behaviours to enhance feelings of belongingness. Respondents were healthcare professions students from 11 allied health professions within four different degree structures ranging from undergraduate to doctoral study (n=79). For the study, we calculated summative scores for belongingness (M=126.65; SD=13.76). These results indicate that healthcare students in WIL experience a sense of belongingness between sometimes and often. Participants regularly engaged in behaviours to enhance belongingness and have relatively high efficacy in actions taken. (M=4.140). Participants perceived that they were held in esteem by colleagues between some of the time and often (M=3.901). They reported experiencing connectedness between some of the time and often (M=3.301). To enhance students’ sense of belongingness and ensure professional retention, students, educational institutions, and external partners could consider targeting factors related to connectedness and esteem.