Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OC2-3-3
Acceptance Declaration
Accept
Additional Information
I declare I have no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this program.
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Oral
Sub Type
Education Research
Will the presenter be a:
Student
Affiliation
Considered for Poster
yes
Title
Factors Impacting Medical Student Comfort with Procedural Skills
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
Medical students entering clerkship may have low confidence and high levels of anxiety in performing common procedural skills. Increasing opportunities for skills exposure may improve medical student confidence in procedural skills performance prior to clerkship. The impact of career interest and elective choice on pre-clerkship student comfort with procedural skills is unclear. This study examines the relationship between student procedural skills comfort, career interest and elective choices.
Methods
Surveys were completed by 53 second year Dalhousie medical students. A 5-point Likert scale was used to evaluate students' exposure, comfort, and motivation to learn common procedural skills. Descriptive and quantitative analysis methods were performed.
Results
Medical students (>60%) reported poor comfort levels for most skills, despite >80% of students rating high motivation to learn them. Elective choice impacted student comfort levels as students who completed electives in anesthesiology were more comfortable with performing intubation (23% vs 10%, p = 0.026) and IV insertion (38% vs 13%, p = 0.002). Most participants (60%) reported low exposure to basic skills including phlebotomy (62.2%), breast exam (62.3%), bag mask ventilation (64.2%), Digital Rectal Exam (DRE, 64.2%) and throat swabbing (79.2%).
Conclusion
This study supports that medical students feel low levels of comfort with performing procedural skills despite high motivation for learning. Comfort was influenced by both career interest and elective experience. Programs aiming to increase students' comfort levels in performing procedural skills should adapt curricula toward increasing early exposure to these skills.
Keyword 1
Medical students
Keyword 2
Procedural skills
Keyword 3
Comfort
Level of Training
Undergraduate
Abstract Themes
Undergraduate
Additional Theme (First choice)
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Authors
Presenter
Bright Huo
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
