Generic skills acquired according to students in health degree courses

Abstract

Objective: To determine the perception of the Midwifery School students of the Universidad de La Frontera related to the generic skills acquired during their curricular activities.

Method: A qualitative study was conducted through an intrinsic case study. The sample consisted of 16 students in two focus groups and in two interviews, after signing informed consent.
Data was analysed using the constant comparative method of Glaser and Strauss (1967) for the progressive reduction of data, following the steps by Miles and Huberman, using the Atlas ti program as computing resource.

Results: A total of 407 units of meaning were identified and grouped into 33 categories, with 10 meta-categories and 3 domains emerging: ‘‘teaching - learning process’’, ‘‘generic skills’’ and ‘‘curricular activities focused on the student’’.

Conclusion: Students mainly perceive interpersonal development and systematic generic skills as being favourable in those curricular activities in which they are protagonists and managers of the educational process. Thus, these activities must be strengthened during training in order to help them to be suitably integrated into the workforce.