Weight management counseling experiences of first year medical students before starting medical school and their self-perceived impact on treating patients with obesity
Physicians can play a vital role in counseling patients on overweight and obesity. This secondary analysis examined whether experiences in patient care specific to weight management before starting medical school were associated with students’ intentions and confidence to provide weight management c...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2021-09-01
|
| Series: | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335521001017 |
| _version_ | 1828920011483250688 |
|---|---|
| author | Jyothi A. Pendharkar Christine F. Frisard Alan C. Geller Lori Pbert Sybil Crawford Thomas P. Guck Diane D. Stadler Judith Ockene |
| author_facet | Jyothi A. Pendharkar Christine F. Frisard Alan C. Geller Lori Pbert Sybil Crawford Thomas P. Guck Diane D. Stadler Judith Ockene |
| author_sort | Jyothi A. Pendharkar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Physicians can play a vital role in counseling patients on overweight and obesity. This secondary analysis examined whether experiences in patient care specific to weight management before starting medical school were associated with students’ intentions and confidence to provide weight management counseling (WMC) to patients who have overweight or obesity, and perceived impact as future physicians on patients’ motivation to manage weight.First-year medical students (n = 1305) in the entering class of 2020 at eight medical schools nationwide completed questions relating to their prior experiences in patient care and WMC using the 5As. Also assessed were their intentions to treat patients with overweight or obesity, and confidence in counseling patients to help manage their weight. Over half the students (58.3%) who completed the survey had prior experience in patient care and nearly half (47.4%) began medical school with prior WMC experiences. Prior experiences correlated positively with higher confidence in performing WMC and students’ intentions to treat patients with overweight or obesity. Given the relatively high rates of exposure to some type of weight management or lifestyle counseling among students before enrolling in medical school, the curriculum could build on established student interest and experience by offering treatment strategies including counseling for patients with overweight and obesity. By making prior experiences advantageous for admission, medical schools could gravitate towards admitting students who have brief but valuable insights about weight management in health care, thus increasing the possibility of filling important gaps. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T21:37:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ca87252138024481be9cb5c76a4bb000 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2211-3355 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T21:37:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-ca87252138024481be9cb5c76a4bb0002022-12-21T23:30:38ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552021-09-0123101411Weight management counseling experiences of first year medical students before starting medical school and their self-perceived impact on treating patients with obesityJyothi A. Pendharkar0Christine F. Frisard1Alan C. Geller2Lori Pbert3Sybil Crawford4Thomas P. Guck5Diane D. Stadler6Judith Ockene7Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Corresponding author at: University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USADepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, Cambridge, MA, USADivision of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USADivision of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USACreighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USAOregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USADivision of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USAPhysicians can play a vital role in counseling patients on overweight and obesity. This secondary analysis examined whether experiences in patient care specific to weight management before starting medical school were associated with students’ intentions and confidence to provide weight management counseling (WMC) to patients who have overweight or obesity, and perceived impact as future physicians on patients’ motivation to manage weight.First-year medical students (n = 1305) in the entering class of 2020 at eight medical schools nationwide completed questions relating to their prior experiences in patient care and WMC using the 5As. Also assessed were their intentions to treat patients with overweight or obesity, and confidence in counseling patients to help manage their weight. Over half the students (58.3%) who completed the survey had prior experience in patient care and nearly half (47.4%) began medical school with prior WMC experiences. Prior experiences correlated positively with higher confidence in performing WMC and students’ intentions to treat patients with overweight or obesity. Given the relatively high rates of exposure to some type of weight management or lifestyle counseling among students before enrolling in medical school, the curriculum could build on established student interest and experience by offering treatment strategies including counseling for patients with overweight and obesity. By making prior experiences advantageous for admission, medical schools could gravitate towards admitting students who have brief but valuable insights about weight management in health care, thus increasing the possibility of filling important gaps.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335521001017Weight management counseling5AsObesityOverweightMedical students |
| spellingShingle | Jyothi A. Pendharkar Christine F. Frisard Alan C. Geller Lori Pbert Sybil Crawford Thomas P. Guck Diane D. Stadler Judith Ockene Weight management counseling experiences of first year medical students before starting medical school and their self-perceived impact on treating patients with obesity Preventive Medicine Reports Weight management counseling 5As Obesity Overweight Medical students |
| title | Weight management counseling experiences of first year medical students before starting medical school and their self-perceived impact on treating patients with obesity |
| title_full | Weight management counseling experiences of first year medical students before starting medical school and their self-perceived impact on treating patients with obesity |
| title_fullStr | Weight management counseling experiences of first year medical students before starting medical school and their self-perceived impact on treating patients with obesity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Weight management counseling experiences of first year medical students before starting medical school and their self-perceived impact on treating patients with obesity |
| title_short | Weight management counseling experiences of first year medical students before starting medical school and their self-perceived impact on treating patients with obesity |
| title_sort | weight management counseling experiences of first year medical students before starting medical school and their self perceived impact on treating patients with obesity |
| topic | Weight management counseling 5As Obesity Overweight Medical students |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335521001017 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jyothiapendharkar weightmanagementcounselingexperiencesoffirstyearmedicalstudentsbeforestartingmedicalschoolandtheirselfperceivedimpactontreatingpatientswithobesity AT christineffrisard weightmanagementcounselingexperiencesoffirstyearmedicalstudentsbeforestartingmedicalschoolandtheirselfperceivedimpactontreatingpatientswithobesity AT alancgeller weightmanagementcounselingexperiencesoffirstyearmedicalstudentsbeforestartingmedicalschoolandtheirselfperceivedimpactontreatingpatientswithobesity AT loripbert weightmanagementcounselingexperiencesoffirstyearmedicalstudentsbeforestartingmedicalschoolandtheirselfperceivedimpactontreatingpatientswithobesity AT sybilcrawford weightmanagementcounselingexperiencesoffirstyearmedicalstudentsbeforestartingmedicalschoolandtheirselfperceivedimpactontreatingpatientswithobesity AT thomaspguck weightmanagementcounselingexperiencesoffirstyearmedicalstudentsbeforestartingmedicalschoolandtheirselfperceivedimpactontreatingpatientswithobesity AT dianedstadler weightmanagementcounselingexperiencesoffirstyearmedicalstudentsbeforestartingmedicalschoolandtheirselfperceivedimpactontreatingpatientswithobesity AT judithockene weightmanagementcounselingexperiencesoffirstyearmedicalstudentsbeforestartingmedicalschoolandtheirselfperceivedimpactontreatingpatientswithobesity |