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A peer-designed selective in anesthesiology, critical care, and perioperative medicine for first- and second-year
Michael Tien1, Christopher M Aiudi1, Hans P Sviggum2
1Mayo Medical School, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN.
Study Objective:
The objective of this study was to design and implement a preclinical elective (termed selective) in anesthesiology, critical care, and perioperative medicine and to report survey results assessing the impact of the selective on first- and second-year medical students' understanding of basic concepts, comfort with procedural skills, and interest in the specialty.
Design:
Preinvention and postintervention survey evaluation was used as the design of this study.
Setting:
The study was conducted at Mayo Medical School and Mayo Clinic.
Participants:
The participants in this study are first- and second-year medical students.
Interventions:
A 1-week introductory anesthesiology curriculum was developed to include didactic sessions, shadowing experiences, lunch and dinner panels, mentorship and networking opportunities, and procedural workshops in airway management, ultrasound, and vascular access techniques.
Measurements:
Preselective and postselective surveys using a 10-point scale (1, strongly disagree; 10, strongly agree) were administered 1 week before and after the selective.
Main Results:
A total of 8 students participated in the selective, with a 100% survey response rate. Students reported significant increases for all survey questions regarding basic concepts and skills. The largest increases were reported in comfort with airway management skills, understanding of the perioperative surgical home model, and vascular access skills. All participants indicated a higher likelihood of pursuing anesthesiology as a career and attributed their increased interest in anesthesiology to the selective.
Conclusions:
This new selective was successful in giving first- and second-year medical students a comprehensive overview of anesthesiology and increasing medical student interest in the specialty. The success of this selective leads to promising belief that similar peer-designed educational experiences can be developed at other medical schools to improve education and interest in this area of medicine.
