Purpose: To determine if an outpatient obstetrics simulation curriculum led by MS-4 students could enhance medical student engagement in the Ob/Gyn clerkship.
Background: Many third-year medical students begin their Ob/Gyn clerkship having never performed a history or physical exam on a pregnant patient. Given the specific nature of the history and exam, a lack of knowledge and skills in these encounters may decrease student engagement during the clerkship.
Methods: Students completing their third-year Ob/Gyn clerkship at Temple University Hospital participated in two outpatient obstetric standardized patient (SP) simulations at 10 and 28 weeks gestation that were developed by MS-4 students. The clerkship students performed a gestational age-appropriate history and physical exam (the SP wore a gravid model), developed a plan, and documented their findings in a SOAP note. The students received written feedback of their SP encounter and SOAP note from a rubric developed by the MS-4 students. Pre and post-simulation surveys were collected to determine the efficacy of the curriculum.
Results: Prior to the intervention, 80.6% of students reported “discomfort” in performing at least one aspect of outpatient obstetric care. Post-intervention, almost all (91.7%) of the students applied at least one skill learned from the session during the Ob/Gyn clerkship. The most common skills applied were obstetric history taking (66.7%) and counseling patients/shared decision making (58.3%).
Discussions: Implementation of an outpatient obstetrics simulation curriculum taught by near-peers is an effective method to increase clerkship students’ application of skills in the clinical environment.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2022, Student, Resident, Faculty, Clerkship Director, Clerkship Coordinator, Osteopathic Faculty, Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Professionalism, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, Practice-Based Learning & Improvement, UME, Simulation, Standardized Patient, General Ob-Gyn,
Kayla Ostiller, MD, Kaiser Permanente San Francisco; Rachael Smith; Marisa Rose, MD