Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OE2-1-4
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?
yes
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
Evaluating a pen-pal curriculum innovation: A novel medical education tool to teach medical students compassion for homelessness
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
Despite homelessness being one of the most powerful social determinants of health, it remains difficult to teach empathy for this population to pre-clerkship medical students. Current homelessness health curriculum is limited and can portray negative stigmas of homelessness. This study evaluates a pilot pen-pal curriculum innovation that aimed to facilitate compassion through letter exchanges, where medical students were paired with community members with lived experiences of homelessness and mental illness.
Methods
By using a grounded theory approach, the researchers explored pre-clerkship medical students' experience in this four-week pilot project. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with medical student participants were conducted by telephone. These were recorded, transcribed, and coded using deductive and inductive coding by two independent coders. Codes were analyzed within code groups for themes, supported by group discussion and analytic memos.
Results
Out of 11 students in the pilot project, 10 consented to partake in this study. Four key themes emerged in the thematic analysis: 1) Evaluation of Experience, 2) Personal Connection with a Community Member, 3) Skill Development, and 4) Implementation into Medical Education Curriculum.
Conclusion
Medical students' sentiments about their experience were overwhelmingly positive and were frequently attributed to developing a genuine and mutually beneficial friendship with a community member through the letter exchange. In addition, students highlighted the utility of the pen-pal project in facilitating improved communication, advocacy, and empathy skills. Lastly, despite the perceived importance of homelessness education, all students that were interviewed felt the University of Toronto's pre-clerkship curriculum is lacking in this area.
Keyword 1
Homelessness
Keyword 2
Social determinants of health
Keyword 3
Education of compassion
Level of Training
Undergraduate
Abstract Themes
Curriculum
Curriculum
- General
- Integrated
- Quality improvement
Additional Theme (First choice)
Undergraduate
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Distributed Medical Education
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Continuing Medical Education
Authors
Presenter
Jackie Tsang
Heather Dirckze
Ivona Berger
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
