Shaping the future of translation careers: Student interest and the need for curriculum reform in the AI era

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

To examine the stability and switching patterns of student career interests over the course of medical school. From 2001 through 2004, during the first two weeks of classes, a survey on career interest was distributed to first-year students in 15 classes at eight Canadian medical schools. Students indicated interest in eight broad career paths (emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and "other") and ranked their top three. Following these students' residency match three to four years later, student residency career choice was linked to their career interest at medical school entry. For students whose career interests switched be-tween medical school entry and exit, switching patterns were examined in terms of careers' matching difficulty scores (MDSs). Of 1,941 eligible students, 1,542 contributed to the final analysis. Family medicine, internal medicine, and surgery had the greatest student interest at both the beginning and end of medical school. Family medicine, surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, psychiatry, and "other" careers showed a net gain of student interest during medical school with the remaining careers showing a loss of interest. The most stable careers were family medicine, surgery, and internal medicine. The least stable were pediatrics and obstetrics-gynecology. Students tended to switch between careers with similar MDSs. Student career choice is relatively stable with a number of careers showing approximately 50% of stability from the entrance to the exit of medical school. Students tend to switch to careers with similar MDS, but some specific switching patterns exist.

Making a Case for Abortion Curriculum Reform: A Knowledge-Assessment Survey of Undergraduate Medical Students

It is essential that primary care physicians have a solid fund of knowledge of the diagnosis and management of common eye conditions as well as ocular emergencies, as management of these diseases commonly involves appropriate referral to an ophthalmologist. Thus, it is crucial to receive comprehensive clinical knowledge of ophthalmic disease in the primary care setting during medical school. This study investigated how well prepared medical students are to diagnose and manage common ocular conditions. The study used scores from a standardized 12-question quiz administered to fourth-year medical students (N = 97; 88% response rate) and second-year medical students (N = 97; 97% response rate). The quiz comprising diagnosis and referral management questions covered the most frequently tested ophthalmology topics on board exams and assessed students’ ability to recognize when referral to an ophthalmologist is appropriate. Fourth-year medical students had quiz scores ranging from 0%-94.5% with an average score of 68.7%. Second-year students had quiz scores ranging from 27.2%–86.4%, with an average score of 63.8%. Passing rate was 70%. Student’s t-test showed fourth-year students had a significantly higher quiz average (P = 0.003). In general, both classes performed better on diagnostic questions (fourth-year, 73.7%; second year, 65.8%) rather than on management questions (fourth-year, 64.8%; second year, 61.8%). Both second-year and fourth-year students on average fell short on passing the ophthalmology proficiency quiz, and in general students were more adept at diagnosing rather than managing ocular conditions and emergencies.

Differences in expectations of passing standards in communication skills for pre-clinical and clinical medical students

University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine.

Making a Case for Abortion Curriculum Reform: A Knowledge-Assessment Survey of Undergraduate Medical Students

A vascular disease educational program in the preclinical years of medical school increases student interest in vascular disease

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

IntroductionHumanism is cultivated through reflection and self-awareness. We aimed to employ fourth-year medical students, recognized for their humanism, to facilitate reflective sessions for second-year medical students with the intention of positively influencing reflective process toward humanistic development.Methods/AnalysisA total of 186 students were randomly assigned to one of three comparison arms: eight groups of eight students (64 students) were facilitated by a fourth-year student who was a Gold Humanism Honor Society member (GHHS); eight groups (64 students) by a volunteer non-GHHS student; and seven groups (58 students) were non-facilitated. Before sessions, second-year students set learning goals concerning interactions with patients; fourth-year students received training materials on facilitation. Groups met twice during their 10 clinical site visits. At the last session, students completed a reflective assignment on their goal progress. Comparative mixed method analyses were conducted among the three comparison arms on reflection (reflective score on in-session assignment) and session satisfaction (survey) in addition to a thematic analysis of responses on the in-session assignment.ResultsWe found significant differences among all three comparison arms on students’ reflective scores (p=0.0003) and satisfaction (p=0.0001). T-tests comparing GHHS- and non-GHHS-facilitated groups showed significantly higher mean reflective scores for GHHS-facilitated groups (p=0.033); there were no differences on session satisfaction. Thematic analysis of students’ reflections showed attempts at self-examination, but lacked depth in addressing emotions. There was a common focus on achieving comfort and confidence in clinical skills performance.Discussion/ConclusionsNear peers, recognized for their humanism, demonstrated significant influence in deepening medical students’ reflections surrounding patient interactions or humanistic development. Overall, students preferred facilitated to non-facilitated peer feedback forums. This model holds promise for enhancing self-reflection in medical education, but needs further exploration to determine behavioral effects.

Research background and hypothesis. An assumption that the fourth-year students of university physical education and sports study programmes have greater career self-efficacy than the first-year students is made in the article.Research aim was to reveal peculiarities of the expression of the career self-efficacy of the students enrolled in university physical education and sports study programmes.Research methods. The random sample size consisted of 278 first and fourth-year full time students of physical education and sports study programmes from Lithuanian Sports University and Šiauliai University. Two methods were used to carry out the survey: Career Self-Efficacy Sources Scale (CSESS) and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (CDMSE-SF).Research results. The research showed that there was a statistically significant difference (t (276) = –1.96; p < 0.05) between the first and fourth-year students of university physical education and sports study programmes in respect of the level of career self-efficacy. The fourth-year students were able to make a better use of occupational information (4.08 ± 0.54) than the first-year students (3.95 ± 0.56). It was determined that indicators of goal selection and career planning were higher (p < 0.05) in the case of the fourth-year students than in the case of the first-year students.Discussion and conclusions. It was determined that, in comparison with the first-year students, the career self-efficacy of the fourth-year students of university physical education and sports study programmes was more based (p < 0.05) on the following sources: vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and performance accomplishments. Comparison of the levels of career self-efficacy of the first and fourth-year students of university physical education and sports study programmes revealed that the fourth-year students had greater career self-efficacy (p < 0.05) and that indicators of the components of their career self-efficacy – occupational information, goal selection and career planning were higher (p < 0.05) than those of the first-year students.Keywords: career education, self-efficacy, career self-efficacy, university studies, physical education and sports.

Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

The osteopathic medical school curriculum is unique because of the inclusion of training in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). Interest in and use of OMM promotes cognitive training in diagnosing conditions, emotional training in the alleviation of pain, and physical training in the application of OMM. Osteopathic manipulative medicine may mitigate a reduction in empathy levels of medical students and explain why osteopathic medical students do not follow the declining pattern of empathy previously reported in allopathic medical students. To examine whether favorable opinions of OMM are positively correlated with overall student empathy as well as the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral subcomponents of empathy. Institutional review board approval was obtained to measure empathy in medical students attending the Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine for this cross-sectional study. The 20-item Jefferson Scale of Empathy medical student version (JSE-S) was distributed via email to first-year students at the beginning of the 2016-2017 academic year and at the end of the academic year to all students. Items were divided into cognitive, emotional, and behavioral categories. Items related to demographics, interest and use of OMM and the osteopathic philosophy, frequency of touch, and personality were also included in the survey. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and presented as mean (SEM). Statistical significance was set at P<.05. Of the 801 students the survey was sent to at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year, 598 students completed the survey, for a response rate of 75%. When accounting for the effect of gender with a multivariate analysis of covariance, there were no differences in empathy scores across school years. When empathy scores from first- and second-year students were combined and compared with combined third- and fourth-year students' scores to examine the difference between empathy in students during academic and clinical training, a difference in the mean (SEM) JSE-S empathy score was noted (114.6 [0.7] and 112.0 [0.7], respectively; P=.01); however, the effect size was small (partial η2=0.01). Interest in OMM and the osteopathic philosophy were significantly associated with higher empathy scores (P<.05; medium effect; partial η2=0.08). Interest in and use of OMM are associated with higher empathy scores and empathy subcomponents. Training and use of OMM should be examined as a mechanism contributing to the durability of empathy in the osteopathic medical profession.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the critical deficiency of infectious disease (ID) specialists, a subspecialty that remains underrepresented among Japanese medical students. This nationwide cross-sectional survey was administered between April and August 2024 via an online questionnaire distributed to medical students throughout Japan. The survey assessed awareness of and interest in ID specialization, categorizing students by academic year: lower (first- and second-year students), middle (third- and fourth-year students), and upper grades (fifth- and sixth-year students). Of 502 respondents, data for 492 medical students were eligible, of whom 69.7% demonstrated awareness of ID specialists, with recognition rates increasing proportionally with academic progression. Regarding career aspirations, 9.8% of respondents expressed interest in pursuing ID specialization, with the highest proportion observed among upper-grade students (19.4%). Male students (14.8%) expressed greater interest in ID specialization than female students (5.2%). The pandemic positively influenced 5.5% of students to consider ID specialization as a future career, whereas only 0.6% reported a negative impact. These findings underscore the necessity of enhanced educational initiatives to promote ID specialization among medical students, addressing current shortages and future infectious disease preparedness.

BackgroundThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the critical deficiency of infectious disease (ID) specialists, a subspecialty that remains underrepresented among Japanese medical students.MethodsThis nationwide cross-sectional survey was administered between April and August 2024 via an online questionnaire distributed to medical students throughout Japan. The survey assessed awareness of and interest in ID specialization, categorizing students by academic year: lower (first- and second-year students), middle (third- and fourth-year students), and upper grades (fifth- and sixth-year students).ResultsOf 502 respondents, data for 492 medical students were eligible, of whom 69.7% demonstrated awareness of ID specialists, with recognition rates increasing proportionally with academic progression. Regarding career aspirations, 9.8% of respondents expressed interest in pursuing ID specialization, with the highest proportion observed among upper-grade students (19.4%). Male students (14.8%) expressed greater interest in ID specialization than female students (5.2%). The pandemic positively influenced 5.5% of students to consider ID specialization as a future career, whereas only 0.6% reported a negative impact.ConclusionsThese findings underscore the necessity of enhanced educational initiatives to promote ID specialization among medical students, addressing current shortages and future infectious disease preparedness.