A Culinary Medicine Elective for Clinically Experienced Medical Students: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: Culinary medicine, a combination of nutrition science and the culinary arts, is an emerging approach for teaching nutrition to medical students and improving their competence in counseling patients with diet-associated diseases. Data are, however, lacking on the impact of culinary medicine courses directed at clinically experienced students. This study reports initial outcomes of a pilot nutrition and culinary medicine course targeting 4th-year medical students. Methods: An elective course on culinary medicine was offered to 4th-year medical students at the Perelman School of Medicine, comprising seven disease-focused sessions, with a final capstone session. Students read primary literature for each session. Individual sessions consisted of culinary literacy, cooking, and a case discussion led by physicians and registered dietitians. In addition, students participated in a nutrition education initiative in a local high school. Students completed pre-and postcourse surveys that evaluated perceived nutrition knowledge and counseling skills and personal dietary choices, and included free-text options for qualitative comments. Results: Thirty-one 4th-year medical students participated in three offerings of the course in 2018 and 2019. There was strong student enthusiasm for the course as (1) all the available slots for each course offering were filled within 2 h of an e-mail announcement to the students; (2) student attendance was consistently very high; and (3) student feedback about the course was uniformly positive. Students reported significant increases in their confidence regarding (1) knowledge of pertinent nutrition information; (2) discussing nutrition with patients; and (3) ability to impact patient behavior through counseling (p < 0.001). Qualitative comments suggested that students were contemplating or implementing changes in their dietary habits and food choices. Conclusion: A culinary medicine course for clinically experienced medical students may improve perceived nutrition knowledge and increases confidence in counseling patients with diet-associated diseases.

Low Levels of Evidence on the Plastic Surgery In-Service Training Exam.

BACKGROUND: The Plastic Surgery In-Service Training Exam is written by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Examinees reasonably infer that tested material reflects the Society's vision for the core curriculum in plastic surgery. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of evidence on which credited answers to the examination questions are based. METHODS: Two recent Plastic Surgery In-Service Training Exams (2014 and 2015) were analyzed. Questions were categorized using a taxonomy model. Recommended journal article references for Level III (decision-making) questions were assigned a level of evidence. Exam sections were analyzed for differences in question taxonomy distribution and level of evidence. To look for studies with higher levels of evidence, a PubMed search was conducted for a random sample of 10 questions from each section. RESULTS: One hundred three Level I (25.8 percent), 138 Level II (34.5 percent), and 159 Level III (39.8 percent) questions were analyzed (p < 0.001). The hand and lower extremity section had the highest percentage of Level III questions (50.0 percent; p = 0.005). Journal articles had a mean level of evidence of 3.9 ± 0.7. The number of articles with a low level of evidence (IV and V) (p = 0.624) and the percentage of questions supported by articles with a high level of evidence (I and II) (p = 0.406) did not vary by section. The PubMed search revealed no instances of a higher level of evidence than the recommended reading list. CONCLUSIONS: A significant percentage of Plastic Surgery In-Service Training Exam questions test clinical management, but most are supported with a low level of evidence. Although that is consistent with low level of evidence of plastic surgery literature, educators should recognize the potential for biases of question writers.

Gunner Goggles: Implementing Augmented Reality into Medical Education.

There is evidence that both smartphone and tablet integration into medical education has been lacking. At the same time, there is a niche for augmented reality (AR) to improve this process through the enhancement of textbook learning. Gunner Goggles is an attempt to enhance textbook learning in shelf exam preparatory review with augmented reality. Here we describe our initial prototype and detail the process by which augmented reality was implemented into our textbook through Layar. We describe the unique functionalities of our textbook pages upon augmented reality implementation, which includes links, videos and 3D figures, and surveyed 24 third year medical students for their impression of the technology. Upon demonstrating an initial prototype textbook chapter, 100% (24/24) of students felt that augmented reality improved the quality of our textbook chapter as a learning tool. Of these students, 92% (22/24) agreed that their shelf exam review was inadequate and 19/24 (79%) felt that a completed Gunner Goggles product would have been a viable alternative to their shelf exam review. Thus, while students report interest in the integration of AR into medical education test prep, future investigation into how the use of AR can improve performance on exams is warranted.