Feedback Quality Using an Observation Form.

BACKGROUND: Direct observations with focused feedback are critical components for medical student education. Numerous challenges exist in providing useful comments to students during their clerkships. Students' evaluations of the clerkship indicated they were not receiving feedback from preceptors or house officers. OBJECTIVE: To encourage direct observation with feedback, Structured Patient Care Observation (SPCO) forms were used to evaluate third-year medical students during patient encounters. DESIGN: In 2014-2015, third-year medical students at a Midwestern medical school completing an 8-week pediatrics clerkship provided experiences on inpatient wards and in ambulatory clinics. Students were expected to solicit feedback using the SPCO form. RESULTS/FINDINGS: A total of 121 third-year medical students completed the pediatrics clerkship. All of the students completed at least one SPCO form. Several students had more than one observation documented, resulting in 161 SPCOs submitted. Eight were excluded for missing data, leaving 153 observations for analysis. Encounter settings included hospital (70), well-child visits (34), sick visits (41), not identified (8). Observers included attending physicians (88) and residents (65). The SPCOs generated 769 points of feedback, comments coalesced into themes of patient interviews, physical examination, or communication with patients and family. Once themes were identified, comments within each theme were further categorized as either actionable or reinforcing feedback. DISCUSSION: SPCOs provided a structure to receive formative feedback from clinical supervisors. Within each theme, reinforcing feedback and actionable comments specific enough to be useful in shaping future encounters were identified.

The effectiveness of e-learning in pediatric medical student education.

BACKGROUND: Electronic learning allows individualized education and may improve student performance. This study assessed the impact of e-modules about infection control and congenital infections on medical knowledge. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted involving third-year medical students on pediatric clerkship. e-Module content in three different formats was developed: a text monograph, a PowerPoint presentation, and a narrated PowerPoint lecture. Students' use of the e-modules was tracked, as was participation in the infectious disease rotation and the order of pediatric rotation. Pre- and posttests specific to the e-module content and National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) pediatric exam scores were recorded. RESULTS: Among 67 participants, 63% of them visited at least one e-module. Neither accessing any e-modules, timing of pediatric clerkship, nor assignment to ID rotation resulted in improved posttest nor NBME scores. Seventy percent of students rated the e-modules as satisfactory and reported usage improved their confidence with the congenital infections topic. DISCUSSION: e-Modules did not improve student performance on NBME or posttest; however, they were perceived as satisfactory and to have improved confidence among those who used them. This study underscores the importance of formally evaluating electronic and other innovative curricula when implemented within existing medical education frameworks.