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Integrating Emerging Infections Education into Medical Education: An Innovative Approach
Larissa May1, Rodney Omron2, Marsha Piller1
1a Department of Emergency Medicine.
Medical Education Online
|March 3, 2017
Summary
Medical education needs better outbreak preparedness training. A workshop and course improved student knowledge of contagious disease detection and management, with the didactic course showing significant gains.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Public Health Preparedness
Background:
- Graduating physicians require competence in contagious disease outbreak detection and management.
- Existing medical curricula inadequately address outbreak preparedness.
- A need exists for enhanced training in emerging infections and bioterrorism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a three-hour simulation-based workshop and a two-week didactic course in improving medical students' and residents' knowledge and confidence in outbreak response.
- To assess participant satisfaction with the educational interventions.
- To determine the perceived importance of outbreak preparedness education among future physicians.
Main Methods:
- A three-hour workshop with a case-based simulation was delivered to emergency medicine residents and senior medical students.
- A two-week elective course on Emerging Infections and Bioterrorism was offered to fourth-year medical students.
- Pre- and post-intervention surveys were administered to assess self-reported knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction.
Main Results:
- Both the workshop and didactic course improved self-reported knowledge of outbreak detection and management, with statistically significant improvements noted for the didactic course participants.
- A trend toward improved self-reported knowledge was observed in residents after the workshop, though numbers were too small for statistical significance.
- Nearly all participants agreed that outbreak preparedness was not sufficiently covered in their curricula and found the workshop beneficial.
Conclusions:
- Medical education curricula should integrate simulation-based workshops and comprehensive courses on emerging infections and biopreparedness.
- Enhanced training is recommended for emergency medicine and primary care specialties due to their likelihood of encountering outbreaks.
- Web-based courses present a viable alternative for institutions facing logistical or time constraints in delivering this crucial training.