Values Clarification as a Reflective Practice for Preclerkship Medical Students.

Introduction: Values clarification is a structured, reflective process individuals engage in to better understand their own beliefs and priorities. We designed a workshop on values clarification to help preclerkship medical students anticipate and manage potential conflicts between their personal values and professional expectations. Methods: We assigned participating students a values clarification exercise as prework. The 2-hour workshop included introductory remarks, a presentation by two physicians on personal ethical challenges they had faced, and faculty-facilitated small groups. In the small groups, students discussed moral discomfort in the context of various health care scenarios. Students were invited to complete an optional postworkshop survey with Likert-scale and short-answer questions. We analyzed the qualitative data and formulated 10 emerging themes. Results: Thirty-eight of 180 participating students (21%) returned the survey. Of these, 30 (79%) agreed the workshop helped them appreciate that their values might come into conflict with professional obligations, 26 (68%) agreed they would be able to apply what they learned to future scenarios, and 30 (79%) agreed the workshop helped them understand their colleagues' values. The most prominent themes identified were that students found the physician panel especially meaningful and that the workshop helped students examine their own values and prepared them to better understand their future patients' values. Discussion: Our workshop is unique in that it does not focus on a single area in health care but addresses moral discomfort broadly. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first values clarification curricular initiative developed for preclerkship medical students.

My Life, My Story: Integrating a Life Story Narrative Component Into Medical Student Curricula.

INTRODUCTION: Medical students experience burnout, depersonalization, and decreases in empathy throughout medical training. My Life, My Story (MLMS) is a narrative medicine project that aims to combat these adverse outcomes by teaching students to interview patients about their life story, with the goal of improving patient-centered care competencies, such as empathy. METHODS: The MLMS project was started in the Veterans Affairs (VA) system and has since spread to dozens of VA sites. We adapted and integrated this project into the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University curriculum. As part of the required curriculum, first- and third-year medical students participated in a life story interview with a community-based volunteer or a patient in the inpatient hospital setting, transcribed the story, and reviewed the written story with the patient. We assessed student perceptions of the project, changes in empathy, and changes in burnout symptoms. RESULTS: A total of 240 students participated in this project. Students spent an average of 70.7 minutes interviewing patients. A majority of the students believed MLMS was a good use of time (77%), fostered connection with patients (79%), and was effective in recognizing patients' thoughts and feelings (69%). DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, this is one of the first life story interview interventions to be implemented into a required medical school curriculum and outside the VA setting. MLMS may assist students in improving clinical empathy skills and create a structure for medical trainees to better understand their patients.

The Kind Care Bundle: A Curriculum to Teach Medical Students the Behaviors of Kind, Compassionate Care.

Introduction: Patients' hospital experiences can be adversely affected by clinicians' negative behaviors. Simple positive behaviors, however, can have a dramatic impact on patient-clinician relationships. Medical students starting clinical training are ideal educational targets for learning good behavioral habits that promote kind, compassionate care. Methods: We developed the Kind Care Bundle, a collection of concrete verbal and nonverbal behaviors for showing compassion in patient interactions. The curriculum was taught in 3-hour small-group interactive sessions to first-year students. Students reflected on personal experiences of compassionate care and role-played the use of the Kind Care Bundle. In pairs, students interviewed patients about their experiences of kind, compassionate care while practicing the Kind Care Bundle. Students completed a postsession evaluation with Likert scales and free-text responses. Results: Thirty-seven of 40 students (92%) completed postsession evaluation forms. Session organization was considered excellent (27 of 37 students, 73%) or very good (nine of 37, 27%). Session relevance was rated as excellent by 30 of 37 students (81%) and very good by six of 37 students (16%). Students believed the bundle filled an educational gap. Qualitative themes included appreciation of concrete behaviors in the bundle, importance of empathy, and opportunity to reflect on one's own experience of compassion. Discussion: Students appreciated learning about specific behaviors for improving patient interactions. Targeting preclinical medical students has the potential to promote kinder and more compassionate patient interactions during subsequent clinical training. The long-term impact on students' behavior and on their personal and professional development requires further study.

Disability and Ableism in Medicine: A Curriculum for Medical Students.

Introduction: Individuals with disabilities (approximately 20% of the population) experience discrimination and health disparities. Medical school must equip students with expertise to care for patients with disabilities and to identify ableism. Yet, few schools provide curricula that offer a sociopolitical lens for understanding this topic. We developed a disability and ableism curriculum to address this gap. Methods: We developed a mandatory 2-hour session for first-year medical students at University of California San Francisco. Activities included: privilege awareness, student-led discussions, and intervention brainstorming for overcoming health care barriers/biases. The session was evaluated through pre/postsurveys, as well as a follow-up survey 1 year later. Results: In feedback collected during 2018 and 2019, students described the session as meaningful and relevant. Faculty facilitators reported that the session provoked powerful student-centered learning, leadership, and widespread participation. On average the students rated the session 4.6 on a 5-point scale. Pre- and postsession data analysis indicated significant increases in students' self-reported understanding of ableism (p < .001) and confidence in assessing barriers to care for patients with disability (p < .001). One year later, students reported that the session had influenced their conceptualization of providing care to patients with disabilities. Discussion: Through innovative and participatory activities, this small-group session introduced students to important topics such as ableism, the social model of disability, disability history and culture, and health disparities. Our work suggested that creating curricula to equip students with structural frameworks for understanding disability-a topic underrepresented in medical curricula-stimulated student interest and commitment.

Everyday Resilience: Equipping Faculty With Practical Exercises to Promote Resilience Among Medical Students.

Introduction: Burnout is prevalent in health care. As professionals advocate to increase resilience training as a strategy to reduce burnout, few examples exist of practical resilience programs that equip faculty to help students build and sustain well-being over time. Method: We developed two straightforward, skills-based resilience exercises. Breaking Down Easy taught individuals to identify personal strengths. My Resilience Practice helped individuals identify strategies to cope with daily stressors. We taught these exercises to international faculty in a train-the-trainer workshop format, at two medical education conferences. Faculty applied the exercises, performed pair-share reflections, and discussed opportunities to introduce the exercises in their own institutions. Postsession surveys evaluated the workshop quality and the exercises' ease of use and applicability. Results: Thirty-five faculty and five students participated across two international conferences. Of participants, 83% (33 of 40) completed postsession surveys. On a 5-point Likert scale, participants rated the workshop on average 4.4 for usefulness, 4.6 for applicability, 4.4 for ease of instruction, 4.5 for clarity, and 4.8 for overall quality. Participants found the exercises to be straightforward to use and planned to use them at their institutions with students, residents, and faculty. Discussion: Participants found our workshop to be relevant and effective and shared their intention to incorporate these materials into their teaching with medical students, residents, and faculty. Implementing effective programs to build resilience is critical to increasing well-being and reducing burnout. This, in turn, may enhance patient safety and improve health system outcomes.

A Curriculum to Teach Resilience Skills to Medical Students During Clinical Training.

Introduction: Burnout in medical students is extensive and a critical issue. It is associated with increased rates of depression, suicide, and poor perception of the educational environment. Enhancing resilience, the ability to adapt well in the face of adversity, is a potential tool to mitigate burnout and improve medical student wellness. Methods: Our resilience curriculum consisted of facilitated workshops to cultivate resilience in medical students during their core clerkship rotations. This curriculum served as an introduction to the concept of resilience and taught skills to cultivate resilience and promote wellness. The sessions allowed for identification of and reflection on stressors in the clinical learning environment, including straining team dynamics, disappointment, and uncertainty. Educational sessions included resilience skill-building exercises for managing expectations, letting go of negative emotions, dealing with setbacks, and finding meaning in daily work. Associated materials included lesson plans for small-group facilitators, learner pre- and postcurriculum surveys, and a social media activity guide. Results: This curriculum was delivered to 144 clerkship students at two academic institutions over the 2017-2018 academic year. Sessions were well received by medical students, with the majority of students stating that the sessions should continue. The majority of attendees found the sessions valuable and learned new ways to approach challenges. Discussion: Students valued connecting with peers and feeling less alone through their participation. A challenge was constructing a setting conducive to comfortable reflection for all learners. Not all students found these sessions necessary. Sessions may have improved resilience levels.

The Psychology of Shame: A Resilience Seminar for Medical Students.

Introduction: Shame is a powerful emotion that can cause emotional distress, impaired empathy, social isolation, and unprofessional behavior in medical learners. However, interventions to help learners constructively engage with shame are rare. This module educated medical students about shame, guided them through an exploration of their shame experiences, and facilitated development of shame resilience. Methods: In this 2-hour workshop, clinical-year medical students were guided through the psychology of shame through didactic slides. Next, a small panel of volunteer students, recruited and coached prior to the workshop, shared reflections on the content, including their shame experiences during medical school. This was followed by didactic slides outlining strategies to promote shame resilience. Participants then broke into faculty-led small groups to discuss session content. The module included a small-group facilitator guide for leading discussions on shame, didactic slides, discussion prompts, an evaluation tool, and a film entitled The Shame Conversation that was created after the initial workshop. Results: A retrospective pre/postsurvey revealed statistically significant increases in: (1) importance ascribed to identifying shame in one's self or colleagues, (2) confidence in one's ability to recover from a shame reaction, and (3) comfort in reaching out to others when shame occurs. Analysis of open-ended questions showed that students felt the seminar would enhance future resilience by helping them identify and normalize shame, distinguish shame from guilt, and reach out to others for help. Discussion: This workshop appears to prepare students to more constructively engage with shame when it occurs in medical training.