C. Becker1, M. Meyers1 1University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill,Surgery,Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Introduction: Curriculum guidelines for medical students have changed in recent years associated with American Association of Medical Colleges guidelines published in 2014 deemphasizing procedural skill acquisition. As such, the average student finishes their training with less procedural experience than in generations past. We sought to examine whether student opinion has changed over time with regard to their desires for skill acquisition.
Methods: Under IRB approval, we conducted a survey of 4th year students over a six-year period (2011-2016) at a single medical school. Experience, actual and desired levels of competence were measured for nine procedural skills (Table) using a 4-point Likert scale (1=unable to perform; 2= major assistance; 3= minor assistance; 4=independent). Data were compared by Student’s t test.
Results: 134 students (62 men/70 women) responded in 2011 (86% response rate(rr)) and 96 (59 men/37 women) in 2016 (56% response rate). More students in 2011 were destined for a procedural specialty (57% vs. 28%; p=0.005). For all skills, there was no difference in the students perceived level of actual competence between 2011 and 2016 except for arterial puncture. (Table) Similarly, for all skills except venipuncture, there was no difference in the desired level of competence between the two years. (Table) In both years, 2016, there was a significant difference between desired and actual competence for all skills (table).
Conclusion: No difference in either actual or desired competence was seen between 4th year students over a six year period of time for these nine skills, despite changes in recommendations from the AAMC minimizing expectations for graduating students. Students in both years desired a significantly greater level of competence than they acquired. Future recommendations should take into account student desires in evaluating curriculum changes.
