A peer-designed selective in anesthesiology, critical care, and perioperative medicine for first- and second-year medical students

Abstract

Study objectiveThe objective of this study was to design and implement a preclinical elective (termed selective) in anesthesiology, critical care, and perioperative medicine and to report survey results assessing the impact of the selective on first- and second-year medical students' understanding of basic concepts, comfort with procedural skills, and interest in the specialty. DesignPreinvention and postintervention survey evaluation was used as the design of this study. SettingThe study was conducted at Mayo Medical School and Mayo Clinic. ParticipantsThe participants in this study are first- and second-year medical students. InterventionsA 1-week introductory anesthesiology curriculum was developed to include didactic sessions, shadowing experiences, lunch and dinner panels, mentorship and networking opportunities, and procedural workshops in airway management, ultrasound, and vascular access techniques. MeasurementsPreselective and postselective surveys using a 10-point scale (1, strongly disagree; 10, strongly agree) were administered 1 week before and after the selective. Main resultsA total of 8 students participated in the selective, with a 100% survey response rate. Students reported significant increases for all survey questions regarding basic concepts and skills. The largest increases were reported in comfort with airway management skills, understanding of the perioperative surgical home model, and vascular access skills. All participants indicated a higher likelihood of pursuing anesthesiology as a career and attributed their increased interest in anesthesiology to the selective. ConclusionsThis new selective was successful in giving first- and second-year medical students a comprehensive overview of anesthesiology and increasing medical student interest in the specialty. The success of this selective leads to promising belief that similar peer-designed educational experiences can be developed at other medical schools to improve education and interest in this area of medicine.