Medical students’ perception of the role of nursing in medical care: implications for interprofessional education

Abstract

Introduction Interprofessional collaboration between nurses and physicians is essential for effective patient care, safe clinical workflows, and patient-centered outcomes. Despite its importance, interprofessional knowledge is insufficiently integrated into German medical education, potentially limiting students’ readiness for collaborative practice and their understanding of professional roles in clinical settings. This study explored how medical students perceive nurses’ work, nursing-related learning experiences, and interprofessional collaboration and Role Understanding within undergraduate medical education. Methods Fourteen medical students (1st–6th year) at the University of Magdeburg participated in semi-structured interviews recruited using purposive sampling to ensure variation across study years. Transcripts were analyzed using Mayring’s qualitative content analysis to identify categories and themes. Analytical rigor was ensured through independent coding and interdisciplinary validation in a research workshop. Results Seven themes were identified: Interprofessional Collaboration and Role Understanding, First Clinical Experiences, Nursing During the Practicum, Nursing-Related Learning Experiences During Medical School, Desired Nursing-Related Learning Experiences, Importance of Nursing, and Patient Well-being. The mandatory nursing practicum emerged as a key formative experience shaping early interprofessional role understanding. Students reported variability in supervision and structure, alongside limited curricular integration of nursing content. While interprofessional collaboration was considered essential, participants expressed uncertainty regarding nursing roles and responsibilities and emphasized the need for structured opportunities for interprofessional and nursing-related learning, including clinical skills, communication, and management of complex patient situations. Conclusion Medical students’ perceptions of nursing are strongly shaped by early and variably structured clinical experiences, particularly the nursing internship. The findings suggest that current medical curricula insufficiently support the systematic development of interprofessional role understanding. The structured integration of nursing-related learning experiences and explicit teaching about nursing roles, nursing-related practical skills and clinical workflows into medical education may strengthen interprofessional collaboration and support patient-centered care.