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Teaching Third-Year Medical Students to Address Patients' Spiritual Needs in the Surgery/Anesthesiology Clerkship
Holly G Atkinson1, David Fleenor2, Susan M Lerner3
1Clinical Professor, CUNY School of Medicine; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Mededportal : the Journal of Teaching and Learning Resources
|February 26, 2019
Summary
A new curriculum successfully educated medical students on addressing patients' spiritual needs in surgery. This training improved students' attitudes and behaviors regarding religion and spirituality in patient care.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Spirituality in Healthcare
- Surgical Training
Background:
- Physicians often neglect patient spiritual beliefs, despite patient desire for inquiry.
- Surgeons are less likely than other specialists to discuss religious/spiritual matters with patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a curriculum addressing the spiritual needs of surgical patients.
- To enhance third-year medical students' understanding and practice of spiritual care in surgery.
Main Methods:
- A 60-minute experiential learning curriculum based on the Kolb cycle was implemented for surgery/anesthesiology clerkship students.
- The curriculum included definitions, literature review, the FICA Spiritual History Tool, chaplaincy role, and case studies.
Main Results:
- 165 students participated; 73% provided short-term feedback, with 82% rating the session excellent and 72% finding it relevant.
- Long-term feedback from 64% of students indicated a positive impact on attitudes and behaviors towards spirituality in medicine.
- Student recommendations for improvement included more cases, role-playing, and self-reflection.
Conclusions:
- A successful spirituality curriculum was developed for surgical clerkship students.
- The session positively impacted student attitudes and behaviors regarding spiritual care.
- The curriculum is adaptable for other surgical subspecialties and non-surgical specialties.