Abstract
Background
Programs such as mini-medical school programs have been implemented to introduce students to the medical school curriculum through a series of lectures in foundational sciences and healthcare topics. Since 2013, the UNC School of Medicine (SOM) has offered the Introduction to Clinical Medicine for Undergraduates (ICMU) course as an opportunity for UNC undergraduate students to be introduced to the medical school curriculum and integrated into the introductory clinical skills curriculum. This study explored the relationship between experiences from taking this course, pursuit of further education in healthcare professions, and preparedness for future clinical courses.
Methods
An anonymous survey was distributed to all students who took the ICMU course at UNC-Chapel Hill as an undergraduate from 2013 to present. The locally developed survey consisted of 13 scaled questions asking about their experiences in the course and decisions to pursue further healthcare professional education. Survey results were analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics.
Results
Respondents perceived the experience increased their confidence and preparedness for future clinical courses in the competency measures of taking a patient history, performing a physical examination, and developing a differential diagnosis. Inclusion of students in the clinical skills course was significantly associated with their confidence going into their health professions school of choice (p = .002). Additionally, exposure to UNC SOM students, faculty, and culture was found to play a role in students choosing to attend UNC SOM.
Conclusion
Integration of undergraduate students into the medical school curriculum has motivated continued pursuit of education in a healthcare profession.
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Availability of Data and Material
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
Christiana Cornea received funding from the UNC Department of Family Medicine as part of a summer research program to foster student interested in research.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Christiana M Cornea, Gary Beck Dallaghan and Thomas Koonce. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Christiana M Cornea. Gary Beck Dallaghan analyzed and interpreted the subject data. All authors provided valuable editorial feedback on each draft and final version of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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This study was granted exemption by the Institutional Review Board of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine (IRB, 20–1030). This study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Cornea, C.M., Beck Dallaghan, G. & Koonce, T. Assessing the Impact of Early Undergraduate Exposure to the Medical School Curriculum. Med.Sci.Educ. 32, 103–109 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01449-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01449-x