Technical Skills Development for Medical Students in an Otolaryngology Mentorship Program

Fostering early experiences in otolaryngology is imperative for applicants' professional development. Our institution previously established the ENT Mentorship Program (ENTMP), which provides medical students with early clinical exposure, research opportunities, and mentorship. The objective of this study was to assess the program's effectiveness in developing medical students' technical skills with an established curriculum over the course of the ENTMP.

Students were administered self-reported confidence surveys and previously validated skills checklists for suturing, flexible laryngoscopy, and tympanostomy tube (TT) insertion using the 5-point Likert scale before beginning the ENTMP. Students were then instructed on how to perform these procedures by faculty throughout the ENTMP. At the conclusion of the ENTMP, the same evaluations were administered. Statistical analysis was performed using unpaired, heteroscedastic t-tests and paired t-tests.

Using faculty-evaluated, previously validated assessments, significant improvements in suturing, TT insertion, and flexible laryngoscopy were observed in the all-student cohort, with the subgroup of students who attended both pre- and post-program sessions demonstrating significant improvements in nearly all domains for these skills. In student self-reported assessments, the all-student group demonstrated significant improvements across more domains than the subgroup analysis (14/14 vs. 6/14 domains, respectively).

Following the implementation of a formalized technical skills component within the ENTMP, students demonstrated both subjective and objective improvements in technical skills, including suturing, flexible laryngoscopy, and TT insertion. We believe that early exposure to technical skills is important to prepare students for clinical rotations and career development.

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