Outcomes of a Near-Peer Intern Orientation Boot Camp

Interns experience challenges in their transition from medical school to residency. Orientation is traditionally delivered by faculty and administrators and often does not address practical skills needed by interns during the transition.

The objective is to address traditional orientation gaps and improve incoming interns' transition experience.  Methods: We identified opportunities with our intern orientation using a quality improvement methodology. Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle 1 consisted of a pilot boot camp. PDSA cycle 2 was conducted over two weeks, June 9-23, 2021, at the Detroit Medical Center, Detroit, MI. Participation was voluntary. Residents were assigned incoming interns on a 1:1 basis. Five virtual sessions were conducted addressing: daily workflow, documentation, presentation skills, and utilization of the Electronic Health Record (EHR). All participants received pre- and post-program surveys.  Results: Twenty-two rising second- and third-year residents (26%) and 22 incoming interns (58%) participated. There was a significant improvement in the understanding of daily workflow (mean improvement 0.957, p=0.003), and most tasks associated with EHR including comfort with the sign-out process (mean improvement 1.21; p=0.002), accessing specific team lists (mean improvement 1.75, p=0.001), writing orders (mean improvement 1.41; p=0.002), composing documentation (mean improvement 1.23; p=0.001). Writing notes improved significantly (mean improved by 0.52; p=0.04). Nearly all (93.2%) stated the program achieved its overall goals and believed (92.9%) the program should be continued for incoming intern classes.

A targeted orientation bootcamp led by near-peers positively impacted the intern experience improving understanding of day-to-day responsibilities and comfort utilizing the electronic health record.