Abstract
Background: For medical students seeking additional specialty experience in Med-Peds, in-person electives have often been a source of mentorship and guidance. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the ability for the completion of in-person clerkships for medical students across the nation. Virtual opportunities to increase exposure to Med-Peds programs and didactics are lacking at this time. Objective: To develop a virtual Med-Peds student elective that serves to increase awareness of the Med-Peds specialty, exposure to Med-Peds topics and relevant didactics, and exposure to Med-Peds specific mentorship when on-site clerkships are not available due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Fifteen medical students participated in a virtual Med-Peds student elective utilizing Zoom (Zoom Inc, San Jose, CA). Three separate cohorts of five students each completed two-week elective experiences. The virtual elective curriculum was created using asynchronous and synchronous learning modalities. Sessions were composed of self-directed learning topics, peer-to-peer interactive case discussions, resident-led didactics, and attending physician-led didactics and mentorship sessions. A pre-survey was administered at the beginning of the elective and a post-survey was administered at the end of the elective to assess the effectiveness of the elective, student experiences with Med-Peds mentors, and students’ general perceptions of Med-Peds as a residency application choice. Results: All students (100%), rated the Med-Peds elective to have exceeded their expectations. All students indicated this elective had been extremely (100%) valuable to increase their understanding and interest in Med-Peds (top rating on a five-point Likert scale). Compared to prior to the elective, most were very likely (87%) or likely (7%) to apply to Med-Peds as their top (preferred) specialty. Similar to pre-survey data, one-third (33%) of the students were still likely to apply to an alternate specialty in addition to Med-Peds. Hundred percent of students indicated that the mentorship component of the elective exceeded their original expectations. While most students indicated that they are much more strongly considering applying to Med-Peds as a top (preferred) specialty, the number of students who continue to consider dual-application to include either categorical Internal Medicine, categorical Pediatrics, or Family Medicine did not differ before and after completion of the virtual elective. Conclusions: Implementation of a virtual medical student elective focusing on exposure to Med-Peds can strengthen medical students’ interest in the combined specialty despite a paucity of previous experiences or an affiliated Med-Peds program. This new type of rotation can positively impact a student’s view of a hospital system and a residency program when in-person clinical rotations are not available.
Highlights
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students’ exposure to direct patient care has been significantly limited
Implementation of a virtual medical student elective focusing on exposure to Med-Peds can strengthen medical students’ interest in the combined specialty despite a paucity of previous experiences or an affiliated Med-Peds program
Med-Peds requires an interest in two specialties, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, and many medical students have not completed both third-year clerkships by the time of the beginning of their official fourth year
Summary
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students’ exposure to direct patient care has been significantly limited. Medical students missed an opportunity to gain increased exposure to specialties they are strongly considering applying to in the 2021 residency application cycle. For medical students interested in applying to combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics (Med-Peds), rotation changes are thought to have detrimental impacts on student interest in the field. Med-Peds requires an interest in two specialties, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, and many medical students have not completed both third-year clerkships by the time of the beginning of their official fourth year. Many students still experience difficulty completing third-year clerkships and obtaining important sub-internship (sub-I) rotations early in their fourth-year schedule to close educational gaps, decide on residency specialty. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the ability for the completion of in-person clerkships for medical students across the nation. Virtual opportunities to increase exposure to Med-Peds programs and didactics are lacking at this time
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