The Impact of Tele-Education on Family Medicine Clerkship Students' Learning Outcomes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid changes to medical education for student and patient protection. A dearth of published US studies examine resulting clinical education outcomes due to pandemic-induced curricula changes. We describe adaptations made to a family medicine clerkship to move it from traditional in-person delivery to virtual only, and then from virtual to hybrid; and compare educational outcomes of students across delivery types. METHODS: We stratified 386 medical students in their third year completing their 8-week family medicine clerkship by type of content delivery, including in person, virtual only, and hybrid instruction. We examined the impact of these changes on three clerkship learning outcomes: the midblock assessment score, the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) exam score, and the final numeric score (FNS). RESULTS: In our sample, 164 (42.5%) received content in person, 36 (9.3%) received virtual only, and 186 (48.2%) received hybrid content. Students receiving virtual only (M=76.4, SD=9.1) had significantly higher midblock assessment scores (F=8.06, df=2, P=.0004) than students receiving hybrid (M=71.7, SD=8.8) and in-person training (M=74.5, SD=7.2). No significant differences existed in students' NBME exam scores or FNSs across delivery types. CONCLUSIONS: Students receiving virtual-only or hybrid content performed at least as well on three clerkship-related educational outcomes as their pre-COVID peers participating in person. Further research is needed to understand how changes to medical education affected student learning and skill development.

Promoting a research culture in family medicine: Five years of scholarly works and activities group.

BACKGROUND: The professional advancement of Family Medicine faculty requires contributions in the form of clinical service, teaching, and scholarly activity. While teaching and clinical work are part of the everyday routine of faculty members, a research culture can be challenging to build. METHODS: Our department started a Scholarly Works and Activities Group (SWAG). The group's aim is to promote a collegial, collaborative research culture in the department. Meetings occur monthly, and faculty have the opportunity to discuss scholarly projects with peers, as well as promotion/tenure goals. Minutes from each meeting are sent to all faculty members in the department. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine if SWAG meetings impacted faculty scholarly activity. Data were collected on presentations, publications, and collaborations from Curriculum Vitae (CVs), and were compared between 5 years prior to the intervention and the 5 years since. RESULTS: Results indicated increased scholarly activity in the time period during the SWAG group meetings. Faculty presentations increased by 34% while faculty publications more than doubled (221% increase), with publications constituting a small Cohen's d effect size. Interestingly, faculty collaboration did not increase. Two faculty members were promoted during the 5 years study period, and the total number of faculty who published went from three to eight. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a monthly SWAG meeting led to an increase in faculty peer reviewed publications. Furthermore, two faculty members were promoted during the time of the intervention. A monthly faculty meeting, even when brief, can help promote and build a research culture.

Appalachian women and heart health: current prevention strategies and future directions.

BACKGROUND: Heart disease claims the lives of 25% of women in the United States. Only about half of women recognize it as the number one cause of adult female mortality, indicating a gap in the public's knowledge base. In West Virginia, women often face barriers such as social isolation, lack of healthy lifestyle options and fewer physician visits. METHODS: Literature review focused on successful efforts to remedy barriers in Appalachian women with strategies such as community outreach, group, and individual education. RESULTS: Primary care doctors can get involved by providing personalized information on heart health risk and utilizing appointments as opportunities for preventative heart health treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Future initiatives should highlight the need for brief, accurate risk assessments and continued encouragement to decrease cardiac risk factors. An ongoing West Virginia Rural Scholars project is aimed at achieving those two aforementioned goals: increasing awareness and reducing risk factors for women's heart health.