A Case‐Based Discussion to Review Infectious Disease Therapeutics in a Graduate Physician Assistant Studies Program

Abstract

Infectious disease therapeutics have historically been a difficult topic for the physician assistant students at University of Texas Medical Branch. Average test scores on the exam covering these topics are typically 5–10 points below the class average of other exams. In order to improve students' test scores and understanding of this material, a case‐based review session was added at the end of the infectious disease module.The review session began with a short lecture (~30 minutes) reviewing high yield concepts as preparatory material. The lecture slides were made available to students 2 days prior to the review session. Students were divided into small groups and assigned 1–2 short cases covering the different classes of infectious disease therapeutics. Each case included questions related to choosing the most appropriate treatment, the pharmacological characteristics of the treatment, and alternatives due to patient characteristics such as renal failure, pregnancy, and hepatic insufficiency. Students worked through cases in their small groups then reconvened to present their case and answers to the entire class. A post‐session survey was given to determine both student satisfaction with the session as well as the impact of the session on their knowledge and understanding of the material. Effectiveness was assessed by the test scores on the exam for the infectious disease module.Prior to the review session, 82% of survey respondents indicated that they lacked confidence in their knowledge of infectious disease topics. Following the review session, only 23% of respondents indicated that they still lacked confidence in their knowledge of these topics. 97% of survey respondents indicated that the review session was beneficial with the majority of respondents indicating that it was very beneficial. The survey also included a free response question for students to offer feedback on the session and ways to improve the session. Themes that were discovered in these answers included: 1) students felt that they should have studied more before attending the session, 2) have the cases instructor led rather than the majority of the discussion happen in the individual groups, and 3) incorporate the case studies into the lecture portion. Overall, the response to the review session was largely positive and the feedback will be useful for improving the review session next year. This format will be useful in developing review sessions for other pharmacology topics that the students struggle with.Support or Funding InformationThis study was not supported by a grant.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.