RESUMO
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of supplemental diabetes-related training modalities and volunteer activities in increasing first-year medical students' knowledge/comfort in providing diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) to patients. METHODS: A group of medical students developed supplemental diabetes-related training/volunteer programs. The training modalities included an optional 7-session interprofessionally taught Diabetes Enrichment Elective and a 3-hour endocrinologist-led training session intended to prepare students for involvement in an inpatient DSMES volunteer program. The volunteer program provided the students with the opportunity to provide DSMES to patients with diabetes admitted to an academic medical center. Those participating in any of the stated programs were compared to those with no such training regarding confidence in providing DSMES using an optional online survey. The results were analyzed by using Mann-Whitney U test and descriptive analyses. RESULTS: A total of 18 first-year medical students responded to the optional survey with a response rate of ~30% (10 of 33) among participants in any training/volunteer program. First-year medical students who attended any of the offered optional programs had statistically significant higher comfort level in 4 of the 6 areas assessed regarding providing DSMES compared with those with no such training (p<0.05), with medium to large effect size (r=0.48-0.59). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the supplemental preclerkship diabetes-specific training modalities/volunteer programs can provide benefit in providing medical students with practical knowledge while improving their confidence in providing DSMES to patients with diabetes.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to develop a preclerkship elective and assess its effectiveness in supplementing medical students' education. METHODS: A group of medical students under the guidance of two faculty advisors developed an elective consisting of six sessions covering a variety of practical aspects of diabetes care/education taught by an interprofessional team. Following the course completion, a survey was emailed to the enrollees who attended at least one session. The results were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank and descriptive analyses. RESULTS: A total of 14 medical students were enrolled (nine first year and five second year). An average of 4.4 sessions/student was attended. Thirteen students attended at least one session and were surveyed. The survey response rate was ~62% (8/13). All eight students indicated that the course was valuable and would recommend it to their colleagues. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed a statistically significant increase in students' confidence in all five areas assessed following participation in the course, P<0.05 with a large effect (r>0.5). CONCLUSION: This study suggests the feasibility of developing disease state-specific preclerkship elective courses and that such courses can be beneficial in supplementing medical student education with practical knowledge.
