Evaluating Medical Students' Perceptions of Patient-Led Transplant Surgery Education 1-2 Years Later

Medical students value the opportunity to learn from patients as a supplement to traditional faculty-led education; however, long-term follow-up to understand the educational impact of these experiences is lacking. We surveyed medical students who conducted non-medical virtual encounters with transplant recipients or living donors to understand the impact on students' patient care approach after 1-2 y.

Students who completed their surgery clerkship from July 2020 to September 2021 were surveyed about this nonmedical patient encounter in January 2023. Quantitative and qualitative survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis, respectively.

Of the 27 respondents (46% response rate), 44.4% completed the experience 1 y ago and 55.6% completed the experience 2 y ago. Nearly all respondents (96.3%) agreed that this experience was an effective way to learn about organ donation and transplantation and that learning from patients was beneficial to their development as a doctor. Over 50% felt this experience changed how they provide care to patients. Qualitatively, students reported that this activity cultivated their empathy for patients, provided unique insight into patients' illness experiences, and enhanced their understanding of the longitudinal patient-surgeon relationship.

Utilizing patients as teachers in transplant surgery not only taught medical students more about organ donation and transplantation but also built empathy and highlighted unique, non-clinical aspects of the patient experience that persisted over time. This is one of the first studies to evaluate patient-led teaching of this type over a year later and assess its unique influence on medical student development.