Enhancing knowledge and clinical skills through an adolescent medicine workshop

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Adolescent Medicine
• Clinical Skills Training

Background:

• Effective training in adolescent medicine is crucial for medical students.
• Standardized patients offer a valuable tool for assessing and improving clinical skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an adolescent medicine workshop on medical students' knowledge and clinical skills.
• To assess the long-term retention of these skills.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 186 third-year medical students.
• The intervention group attended a 4-hour adolescent medicine workshop with standardized patients.
• The control group attended an alternative workshop.

Main Results:

• Intervention students demonstrated significantly higher scores in both clinical skills and knowledge assessments.
• Clinical skill improvements were measured via standardized patient encounters and clinical performance examinations.
• Knowledge gains were assessed through written exercises and clerkship examinations.

Conclusions:

• A brief, standardized patient-focused adolescent medicine workshop enhances medical student knowledge and skills.
• The observed improvements in clinical skills demonstrate lasting effects, persisting into the third year of medical school.