54 Consistency in a Pediatric Developmental Disability Elective for Preclinical Medical Students: Five Years of Student Experience

Abstract

Abstract Background There is an increasing recognition for medical students to receive more training in caring for patients with developmental disabilities (PWDD). Studies have found that providing training and encounter opportunities with PWDD for medical students improves their attitudes, comfort level, and knowledge. PWDD can have more sensitivity to changes in health than others, highlighting the importance of providing educational opportunities for medical professionals. To mitigate these outcomes, this preclinical 12-hour elective: “Developing Skills for Developmental Disabilities” (DSDD) was developed with the primary learning objective of improving students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward developmental disabilities in pediatrics. Objectives The current study’s objective was to evaluate the consistency of students’ perceived confidence ratings in assessing and managing children presenting with developmental delay or disability, despite changes in workplace educational setting across 5 years. Design/Methods Students received 6 hours of content-specific didactic teachings in addition to the standard second year developmental pediatrics curriculum. Content was provided by a team of developmental pediatricians and physiatrists. Didactic session topics included child development, estimating developmental age, assistive technologies, and breaking bad news, to supplement the 6 hours of clinical experience at a rehabilitation hospital. Students attended medical assessments with the opportunity to conduct a brief interview with the child’s family, observe pediatric PWDD in treatment programs, and interact with interdisciplinary teams. Students were given pre- and post-elective self-assessment surveys administered on a 5-point Likert scale. Questions pertained to students’ self-perceived comfort and knowledge regarding pediatric PWDD. Scores pre- and post-elective were used to calculate relative improvement of participants. Results 120 students enrolled in DSDD, with 94 students meeting elective requirements. On average, 77.2% (SD = 6.2%) of students were female and 81.4% (SD = 12.9%) reported having prior experience with PWDD. Statistically significant (p<0.05) relative improvements were present in 9 of 10 scores for 2 of 5 years and all 10 in the other 3 years. Improved scores involved increases in confidence in interacting with PWDD, taking histories, recommending appropriate resources to families, and estimating developmental age. Conclusion DSDD may support acquisition of clinically relevant skills beyond those learned in the standard curriculum, as students consistently reported improvements in confidence across the same domains over 5 cohort years of this elective. The demonstration of maintained improvement is important because it may be translatable to future clinical practice and have implications towards optimizing outcomes for pediatric PWDD.