Enhancing Medical Student Exposure to Transplantation: The New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center...

Although solid-organ transplantation is standard of care in the United States, formal education for medical students on the practice is lacking. We assessed knowledge and attitudes of medical students before and after one year of involvement in a novel Transplant Education Program.

Prospective cohort study.

New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center.

81 medical students enrolled in the Transplant Education Program (TEP) (60.5% in year 1, 34.6% year 2, 3.7% year 3, 1.2% year 4). Forty-four post-surveys were received; 28 were paired with a pre-survey.

After 1 year, students reported significantly greater understanding of surgical techniques (p = <0.001), indications/contraindications for organ transplantation (p = <0.001) and long-term care/monitoring of transplant recipients (p = <0.001). The average rating for the effectiveness of the program was 7.3 (1 = very poor, 10 = very strong).

We report a novel transplant education program that significantly strengthens medical students' understanding of associated topics. With greater exposure, students may be better equipped to support transplant patients throughout their training and practice.