Career-computer simulation increases perceived importance of learning about rare diseases

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Practice
• Epidemiology of Rare Diseases

Background:

• Rare diseases affect up to 5.9% of the population, despite individual conditions being infrequent.
• Underestimation of rare disease prevalence by students and academics can hinder clinical consideration.
• Curriculum time pressures may reduce focus on rare diseases in medical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess student and academic underestimation of rare disease encounters.
• To evaluate the impact of a computer simulation on medical students' perception of rare diseases.
• To inform medical curriculum design regarding rare disease education.

Main Methods:

• Developed a computer simulation modeling clinician encounters with rare diseases over a career.
• Included 462 theoretical conditions with prevalence from 1 in a million to 64.1%.
• Administered pre- and post-simulation online surveys to gauge student perception of learning importance.

Main Results:

• The simulation demonstrated that graduating clinicians frequently encounter rare conditions.
• Post-simulation surveys showed a significant increase in students' perceived importance of learning about rare diseases (p < 0.005).

Conclusions:

• Computer career simulations can effectively alter student perceptions regarding rare diseases.
• Findings suggest incorporating such simulations into medical curricula to better prepare clinicians.
• Academics should consider these results during curriculum review and design.