Standardized Curriculum for Adverse Event Reporting: Preparing Medical Students for Residency

Disclosing adverse events remains an ethical requirement for clinicians. Studies demonstrate a low rate of disclosure in practice due to discomfort and lack of knowledge. Our objective was to examine the effect of an adverse event disclosure curriculum on graduating medical students' comfort and attitudes toward reporting events.

A single-institution cross-sectional study was conducted for 2 y of graduating medical students. A curriculum of didactic education and standardized patient simulation for adverse event disclosure was developed with presurvey and postsurveys. Open-ended questions on the benefits and drawbacks of disclosure were included and qualitatively analyzed.

A total 206 of 272 (76%) students completed the presurvey and postsurvey. Students' overall feelings about disclosure became more positive. They also had greater comfort in disclosing minimal and significant patient harm. Students demonstrated stronger agreement with the belief that disclosure was associated with positive feelings for the healthcare provider and for the patient and families following curriculum completion. Student performance on the simulated patient encounter showed a median score of 22 (interquartile range 21-23) out of 24. There were no differences in postsurvey responses by tercile of performance.

Following participation in this curriculum, graduating medical students had increased comfort and positive attitudes toward disclosure from personal, professional, and patient perspectives. Instituting a standardized encounter teaching medical students how to disclose adverse events has the potential to contribute to improved quality measures and strengthen relationships between clinicians and their patients.