Exploring exposure to spontaneous learning and redundancy in learning at a chiropractic student conference in South Africa.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore chiropractic students' perceptions of their learning experiences during the 2023 World Congress of Chiropractic Students African Regional Event. The focus was on identifying benefits related to spontaneous learning, assessing the impact of social and equivalence redundancy, and uncovering opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and professional development. METHODS: This was a thematic qualitative, exploratory descriptive design. Chiropractic students who attended the event participated in semistructured interviews; data saturation was achieved after 12 interviews. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Tesch's 8-step coding method. Trustworthiness was ensured through Guba's 4 criteria: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. RESULTS: Seven major themes emerged namely. interdisciplinary collaboration and integration, networking and knowledge exchange with fellow professionals, skill enhancement techniques and diverse practice methods, internship portfolio requirements, career pathways awareness, practical clinical application in real-world settings, and areas for enhancement and progress. Students reported gaining valuable spontaneous knowledge, including exposure to techniques not covered in their formal curriculum. However, instances of social and equivalence redundancy limited the novelty of some learning experiences. Additional concerns included limited student participation, insufficient marketing, and financial barriers to attendance. CONCLUSION: The conference provided experiential learning through exposure to diverse professional perspectives and practices. Comments from interviewees suggest that future student conferences should be strategically structured to address content redundancy, enhance marketing and student access, and incorporate broader interdisciplinary participation. Such improvements may better support chiropractic students' academic and professional development.