Needs assessment for enhancing pediatric clerkship readiness
Abstract Background Many students report feeling inadequately prepared for their clinical experiences in pediatrics. There is striking variability on how pediatric clinical skills are taught in pre-clerkship curricula. Methods We asked students who completed their clerkships in pediatrics, family me...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-03-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04167-7 |
| _version_ | 1827974486137241600 |
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| author | Adam Weinstein Peter MacPherson Suzanne Schmidt Elizabeth Van Opstal Erica Chou Mark Pogemiller Kathleen Gibbs Melissa Held |
| author_facet | Adam Weinstein Peter MacPherson Suzanne Schmidt Elizabeth Van Opstal Erica Chou Mark Pogemiller Kathleen Gibbs Melissa Held |
| author_sort | Adam Weinstein |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Many students report feeling inadequately prepared for their clinical experiences in pediatrics. There is striking variability on how pediatric clinical skills are taught in pre-clerkship curricula. Methods We asked students who completed their clerkships in pediatrics, family medicine, surgery, obstetrics-gynecology and internal medicine to rate their pre-clinical training in preparing them for each clerkship, specifically asking about medical knowledge, communication, and physical exam skills. Based on these results, we surveyed pediatric clerkship and clinical skills course directors at North American medical schools to describe the competence students should have in the pediatric physical exam prior to their pediatric clerkship. Results Close to 1/3 of students reported not feeling adequately prepared for their pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, or surgery clerkship. Students felt less prepared to perform pediatric physical exam skills compared to physical exam skills in all other clerkships. Pediatric clerkship directors and clinical skills course directors felt students should have knowledge of and some ability to perform a wide spectrum of physical exam skills on children. There were no differences between the two groups except that clinical skills educators identified a slightly higher expected competence for development assessment skills compared to pediatric clerkship directors. Conclusions As medical schools undergo cycles of curricular reform, it may be beneficial to integrate more pre-clerkship exposure to pediatric topics and skills. Further exploration and collaboration establishing how and when to incorporate this learning could serve as a starting point for curricular improvements, with evaluation of effects on student experience and performance. A challenge is identifying infants and children for physical exam skills practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:55:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49f31d956f134196b5ea656fc191587e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:55:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-49f31d956f134196b5ea656fc191587e2023-04-03T05:31:00ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202023-03-012311910.1186/s12909-023-04167-7Needs assessment for enhancing pediatric clerkship readinessAdam Weinstein0Peter MacPherson1Suzanne Schmidt2Elizabeth Van Opstal3Erica Chou4Mark Pogemiller5Kathleen Gibbs6Melissa Held7Frank H. Netter MD School of MedicineDalhousie UniversityNorthwestern University Feinberg School of MedicineRush UniversityMedical College of WisconsinUniversity of OklahomaUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Connecticut School of MedicineAbstract Background Many students report feeling inadequately prepared for their clinical experiences in pediatrics. There is striking variability on how pediatric clinical skills are taught in pre-clerkship curricula. Methods We asked students who completed their clerkships in pediatrics, family medicine, surgery, obstetrics-gynecology and internal medicine to rate their pre-clinical training in preparing them for each clerkship, specifically asking about medical knowledge, communication, and physical exam skills. Based on these results, we surveyed pediatric clerkship and clinical skills course directors at North American medical schools to describe the competence students should have in the pediatric physical exam prior to their pediatric clerkship. Results Close to 1/3 of students reported not feeling adequately prepared for their pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, or surgery clerkship. Students felt less prepared to perform pediatric physical exam skills compared to physical exam skills in all other clerkships. Pediatric clerkship directors and clinical skills course directors felt students should have knowledge of and some ability to perform a wide spectrum of physical exam skills on children. There were no differences between the two groups except that clinical skills educators identified a slightly higher expected competence for development assessment skills compared to pediatric clerkship directors. Conclusions As medical schools undergo cycles of curricular reform, it may be beneficial to integrate more pre-clerkship exposure to pediatric topics and skills. Further exploration and collaboration establishing how and when to incorporate this learning could serve as a starting point for curricular improvements, with evaluation of effects on student experience and performance. A challenge is identifying infants and children for physical exam skills practice.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04167-7Pediatric clerkshipPediatric physical examinationClinical skills |
| spellingShingle | Adam Weinstein Peter MacPherson Suzanne Schmidt Elizabeth Van Opstal Erica Chou Mark Pogemiller Kathleen Gibbs Melissa Held Needs assessment for enhancing pediatric clerkship readiness BMC Medical Education Pediatric clerkship Pediatric physical examination Clinical skills |
| title | Needs assessment for enhancing pediatric clerkship readiness |
| title_full | Needs assessment for enhancing pediatric clerkship readiness |
| title_fullStr | Needs assessment for enhancing pediatric clerkship readiness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Needs assessment for enhancing pediatric clerkship readiness |
| title_short | Needs assessment for enhancing pediatric clerkship readiness |
| title_sort | needs assessment for enhancing pediatric clerkship readiness |
| topic | Pediatric clerkship Pediatric physical examination Clinical skills |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04167-7 |
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