Jennifer Avegno1, Amy Leuthauser2, Joseph Martinez3, Melissa Marinelli4, Gale Osgood5, Robert Satonik6, Doug Ander7. 1. Department of Emergency Medicine, LSU-New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2. Department of Emergency Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York. 3. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. 4. Department of Emergency Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois. 5. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri. 6. Synergy Medical, Mount Pleasant, Michigan. 7. Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Establishing a core curriculum for undergraduate Emergency Medicine (EM) education is crucial to development of the specialty. The Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine (CDEM) National Curriculum Task Force recommended that all students in a 4(th)-year EM clerkship be exposed to 10 emergent clinical conditions. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility of encountering recommended core conditions in a clinical setting during a 4(th)-year EM clerkship. METHODS: Students from three institutions participated in this ongoing, prospective observation study. Students' patient logs were collected during 4-week EM clerkships between July 2011 and June 2012. De-identified logs were reviewed and the number of patient encounters for each of the CDEM-identified emergent conditions was recorded. The percentage of students who saw each of the core complaints was calculated, as was the average number of core complaints seen by each. RESULTS: Data from 130 students at three institutions were captured; 15.4% of students saw all 10 conditions during their rotation, and 76.9% saw at least eight. The average number of conditions seen per student was 8.4 (range of 7.0-8.6). The percentage of students who saw each condition varied, ranging from 100% (chest pain and abdominal pain) to 31% (cardiac arrest). CONCLUSIONS: Most students do not encounter all 10 conditions during patient encounters throughout a 4-week EM rotation, although most have exposure to at least eight. Certain conditions are far less likely than others to be encountered, and may need to be taught in a nonclinical setting.
BACKGROUND: Establishing a core curriculum for undergraduate Emergency Medicine (EM) education is crucial to development of the specialty. The Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine (CDEM) National Curriculum Task Force recommended that all students in a 4(th)-year EM clerkship be exposed to 10 emergent clinical conditions. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility of encountering recommended core conditions in a clinical setting during a 4(th)-year EM clerkship. METHODS: Students from three institutions participated in this ongoing, prospective observation study. Students' patient logs were collected during 4-week EM clerkships between July 2011 and June 2012. De-identified logs were reviewed and the number of patient encounters for each of the CDEM-identified emergent conditions was recorded. The percentage of students who saw each of the core complaints was calculated, as was the average number of core complaints seen by each. RESULTS: Data from 130 students at three institutions were captured; 15.4% of students saw all 10 conditions during their rotation, and 76.9% saw at least eight. The average number of conditions seen per student was 8.4 (range of 7.0-8.6). The percentage of students who saw each condition varied, ranging from 100% (chest pain and abdominal pain) to 31% (cardiac arrest). CONCLUSIONS: Most students do not encounter all 10 conditions during patient encounters throughout a 4-week EM rotation, although most have exposure to at least eight. Certain conditions are far less likely than others to be encountered, and may need to be taught in a nonclinical setting.
Authors: Sami Shaban; Arif Alper Cevik; Mustafa Emin Canakci; Caglar Kuas; Margret El Zubeir; Fikri Abu-Zidan Journal: BMC Med Educ Date: 2018-01-05 Impact factor: 2.463