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Medical Students on the Virtual Front Line: A Literature Review Elective to Provide COVID-19 Clinical Teams With
Jeffrey R Boscamp1, Christopher P Duffy2, Carol Barsky3
1J.R. Boscamp is vice dean and professor of pediatrics, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, New Jersey.
Insights
Medical students rapidly synthesized COVID-19 literature during a pandemic-induced clinical suspension. This literature review elective provided timely best practice synopses for clinical teams, demonstrating a valuable model for medical education.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Infectious Diseases
- Information Science
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid adaptation in medical education and clinical practice.
- Clinical activities were suspended, creating a need for synthesized information on emerging COVID-19 best practices.
- Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) and Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) collaborated to address this information gap.
Purpose of the Study:
- To organize a literature review elective for medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To provide clinical teams with timely, synthesized information on COVID-19.
- To create a scalable model for deploying medical students to address rapidly evolving research topics.
Main Methods:
- Eight second-year medical students participated in a 6-week literature review elective.
- Students researched and synthesized the clinical literature on COVID-19 under faculty mentorship.
- A dedicated website was used to categorize and disseminate student reports daily.
Main Results:
- Students produced 70 reports synthesizing emerging COVID-19 literature for clinical teams.
- Student work was published on the American Academy of Ophthalmology website and Elsevier's faculty hub.
- Students reported gratitude for contributing to clinical teams despite not being directly involved in patient care.
Conclusions:
- The literature review elective successfully provided real-time clinical decision support during the pandemic.
- The initiative highlights the value of medical student engagement in synthesizing critical research.
- This model can be adapted by other institutions for rapidly emerging health topics.
Problem:
At the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) in New Jersey, clinical activities for students were suspended on March 15, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical teams at Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) needed resources for identifying and assimilating the medical literature regarding COVID-19, which was expanding and evolving daily. HMH leaders reached out to HMSOM leaders for assistance. The HMSOM leadership and faculty quickly organized a literature review elective.
Approach:
Eight second-year medical students participated in a literature review elective course to research and synthesize the COVID-19 clinical literature to provide synopses of best practices for various clinical teams. By March 23, students were searching the literature and writing reports independently, mentored by a senior dean (an infectious diseases specialist) and supported by the associate dean of libraries and library team. The library team updated and categorized student reports daily on a website dedicated to the elective.
Outcomes:
During the 6-week elective, 8 students produced 70 reports synthesizing the emerging COVID-19 literature to help answer practitioners' clinical questions in real time. One student report was posted on the American Academy of Ophthalmology website. All 70 were published online in Elsevier's health education faculty hub. On course evaluations, students expressed regret about not being directly involved in patient care but articulated their gratitude to be able to contribute to the clinical teams.
Next Steps:
In June 2020, the students returned to their clinical clerkships as COVID-19 clinical volumes declined and personal protective equipment became more available. Students continued to be available to the clinical teams to assist with COVID-19 questions. This literature review elective can serve as a model for other medical schools to use to deploy students to help synthesize the evolving literature on COVID-19 or other rapidly emerging research topics.
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