Parent-provider paediatric literacy communication: A curriculum for future primary care providers

Validation of clinical simulation scenarios for the teaching of soft skills in child-centered care

Consultations with children and their families are complex and require soft skills. However, there is a gap in the medical curriculum concerning these skills, especially as encounter training is often adult-centered. We developed, validated, and applied simulation scenarios that prioritize active participation of children to train soft skills in child-centered care for undergraduate medical students. This is a methodological study to develop three scenarios and a checklist of what is expected. The content was validated by 18 experts. A pre-test was carried out for adjustments. Then, the simulations were applied and evaluated by 18 medical undergraduate students. They included the participation of 6 pediatric simulated patients aged 9-12 years trained by a drama teacher. According to the results, the scenarios and checklist proved to be valid instruments in content terms (ICV-I > 0.8). The scripts were followed by the simulated pediatric patients, but they had difficulty mimicking a hypoactive state. Some were anxious, but everyone enjoyed participating in the feedback. The simulated parents had difficulty participating and giving space to the child's speech. Participants assessed that the simulations performed as they were proposed and, after experimenting them, felt more prepared. The simulations provided an opportunity for students to practice soft skills by interacting with children in a safe environment. Using children as simulated patients is feasible but presents some challenges. Our study has expanded the ways in which children's health content can be taught. We are investigating whether this training leads to better patient outcomes in real clinical settings.

Digital undergraduate medical education and patient and carer involvement: a rapid systematic review of current practice

BACKGROUND

Involving patients and carers in medical students' learning aims to centralise the perspective of healthcare users and supports our future medical workforce in the development of key skills. Medical schools are increasingly using digital technology for teaching and it is timely to understand how to maintain patient and carer involvement in this context.

METHODS

Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE and medRxiv were searched in October 2020 and reference lists of key articles were hand searched. Eligible studies reported authentic patient or carer involvement in undergraduate medical education where technology was also used. Study quality was assessed by the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Levels of patient or carer involvement were assessed using Towle et al.'s (2010) taxonomy, from Level 1 (lowest level) to Level 6 (highest level).

RESULTS

Twenty studies were included in this systematic review. In 70% of studies, patients and carers featured in video or web-based case scenarios with no interaction between healthcare users and students. The remaining 30% of studies reported real-time interactions between students and patients via remote clinical encounters. Digital teaching sessions involving patients or carers were perceived to be valuable by students and educators, and increased student engagement, patient-centred attitudes, clinical knowledge, and communication skills. No studies reported the perspective of patients or carers.

DISCUSSION

Digital technology has not yet driven higher levels of patient and carer involvement in medical training. "Live" interactions between students and patients are becoming more common but challenges need addressing to ensure positive experiences for all involved. Future teaching should enhance the role of patients and carers in medical education and support them to overcome any potential barriers to doing so remotely.

Service-Learning in Physician Assistant Education: A Scoping Review

INTRODUCTION

Service-learning (SL) is a pedagogy that can be used in healthcare education to develop students who are better prepared to address the various social determinants of health and to provide compassionate care to the diverse populations they will serve. Yet, an assessment of the quality and scope of the SL activities used in physician assistant (PA) education is not available. The purpose of this scoping review is to review the literature and identify and summarize articles about SL courses in PA education.

METHODS

We performed a scoping literature search of 4 databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, and Scopus) to identify peer-reviewed journal articles about SL in PA education. Studies that did not include PA students, were not a service-learning activity (but instead an interprofessional activity, simulation, or volunteerism), or were not a full article were all excluded.

RESULTS

Nine articles were included in this scoping review after independent evaluation by 2 investigators based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The most common reason for exclusion was lack of distinct learning objectives specific to the service learning and/or a lack of a structured, guided critical reflection that helped realize and demonstrate the desired learning outcomes.

DISCUSSION

Although service-learning is considered to be a high-impact teaching practice, it is still an underutilized tool in PA education. Training faculty in the implementation of SL to align the hands-on activity with specific course learning objectives and in the effective use of structured critical reflection can create a more impactful and authentic SL educational experience.

Early literacy training among medical students

BACKGROUND

The American Academy of Pediatrics regards literacy promotion as essential. Medical professionals are in a key position to promote children's early literacy, however this requires knowledge of existing literacy programmes. This study describes medical student training, awareness, experiences, and attitudes towards early literacy and the 'Reach Out and Read' (ROR) initiative.

METHODS

An anonymous online survey was sent to all medical students at a medical school in the Midwest with two campuses. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

We received data from 275 medical students. Almost half (46.5%) had completed their paediatric clerkship, 22.9% had observed ROR, and only 2.9% had received any training. Most (67%), wanted to learn more about early literacy, and 59% expressed a desire for more ROR training. Most respondents expressed preference for learning from residents and faculty in clinic followed by online training. 47% agreed that it was a role of medical students to assess and encourage reading.

DISCUSSION

Medical students understand the importance of early literacy in primary care and emphasising this during clinical encounters. Most are eager to learn more about early literacy promotion and ROR. This interest decreases during third and fourth year so targeting the first 2 years of medical school is an important strategy. Providing formal literacy promotion training and education for medical students should be considered during this critical time in their education.