Assessing nurse practitioner and medical student experience and self-efficacy caring for patients and families living in poverty

Abstract

Purpose: There is a lack of data on the effectiveness of medical and nurse practitioner (NP) programs in preparing students to address the social determinants of health (SDH). The purpose of this study was to assess and compare medical and NP students' experience and self-efficacy caring for patients and families living in poverty. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted via online survey administered to a sample of 4th-year medical and 2nd-year primary care NP students. Ninety-eight (72 NP and 26 medical) students completed the survey, 34.8% and 15.8% of the classes respectively participated. The survey was administered via E-mails sent by NP program directors and medical school course directors, with several reminder E-mails. Results: A small percentage of medical and NP students rated their educational programs as excellent in preparing them for primary care practice and addressing SDH, however NP students felt more comfortable providing care to low-income patients than did medical students. Lack of time and knowledge of resources was the most significant barrier cited by both medical and NP students. Discussion: Curricular redesign and intraprofessional education are areas of research to understand how to better prepare medical and NP program graduates to care for patients living in poverty.