Presession Survey Research Articles

The Impact of Integrating Oral Health Education into a Medical Curriculum

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate our pilot program incorporating oral health education into the medical curriculum by evaluating students' perspectives on the oral health curriculum. Subjects and Methods: Two hundred second-year students were asked to fill in a presession survey online regarding their familiarity with basic oral health concepts and their comfort level with performing oral examinations, and a postsession survey on paper that repeated the presession questions and added questions on the effectiveness of the session. Results: Of the 200 students, 164 (82%) participated in the surveys. The pre- and postsurvey results showed that the session helped students become more comfortable with performing oral examinations and recognizing risks for periodontal disease, with an increase from 40 (27%) to 119 (82%) and 51 (35%) to 124 (86%), respectively. Conclusion: In this study, the oral health education session contributed to an increase in student awareness and understanding of oral health. Considering the reported effectiveness of the interactive session on student comfort with performing a basic clinical examination, this model shows promise for further use in other institutions.

Social Media Impact: Utility of Reflective Approach in the Practice of Surgery.

Social media is rapidly being incorporated into medical education. We created a small group, reflective practice sessions by integrating specific medical cases to improve awareness about professionalism on social media. Medical scenarios were generated for reflective practice sessions on social media professionalism. Anonymous pre/post-session surveys evaluated residents' use of social media and gathered their opinions on the session. Thirty-eight of 48 (79%) residents replied to the presession survey with 50% (19/38) reporting daily digital media use, 76% (29/38) witnessed unprofessional postings on social media, and 21% (8/38) posted unprofessional content themselves. Of the 79% (30/38) residents who attended the session, 74% (28/38) completed the post-session survey. Residents reported the session added to the longevity of their professional career 4.11, 95% CI (3.89-4.36). As a result of the session, they were more conscious of using the social media more professionally 3.47, 95% CI (2.88-3.96) and would be proactive in protecting patient privacy and confidentiality on social media sites 3.96, 95% CI (3.50-4.37). In summary, reflective practice-based sessions regarding the impact of social media on professionalism in surgery was well favored by the residents. The majority agreed that it had important implications for the longevity of their professional career. Participants reported having an increased awareness to protect patient privacy and utilize social media more professionally.

Think global, act local: medical students contextualize global health education.

There is considerable heterogeneity in the extent to which global health education is emphasized in undergraduate medical curricula. Here, we performed an exploratory analysis to test the hypothesis that exposure to global health education may influence the attitudes of medical students toward the treatment of local vulnerable patient populations. All pre-clerkship students at an urban Canadian university were invited to attend a voluntary global health education session on challenges in treating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the developing world. Those who attended as well as those who did not completed pre- and post-session surveys measuring willingness to treat patients with HIV and related attitudes. A repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to assess the effect of the intervention on attitudes toward locally affected populations. A total of 201 (81.4%) and 143 (58.3%) students completed the pre- and post-session surveys, respectively. Students who scored their willingness to treat patients with HIV within highest 10% of the scale on the pre-session survey were excluded from the analysis to account for a ceiling effect. On repeated measure ANOVA, willingness to treat local patients with HIV increased significantly following the session (P < 0.01). Students intending to attend the session also reported a greater propensity to treat patients with HIV than those who did not (P = 0.03). In this exploratory study, we find that following exposure to a global health lecture on the challenges of HIV in the developing world, students possessed more favorable attitudes toward the treatment of marginalized local patient populations, a finding that may be exploited in undergraduate and continuing medical education.

Reflective Practice as a Tool to Teach Digital Professionalism

Digital professionalism is increasingly being integrated into postgraduate medical education. We developed a small-group, reflective practice-based session incorporating radiology-specific cases to heighten residents' awareness about digital professionalism. Case-based, radiology-specific scenarios were created for a small-group, reflective practice-based session on digital professionalism. Anonymous pre- and postsession surveys evaluating residents' use of social media and their thoughts about the session were administered to the radiology residents. Twenty-five of 38 (66%) residents responded to the presession survey with 40% (10/25) reporting daily social media use; 50% (12/24) witnessing an unprofessional posting on Facebook; and 8% (2/25) posting something unprofessional themselves. Of the 21 residents who attended the session, 13 (62%) responded to the postsession survey. Residents reported that the session added to their understanding of professionalism 3.92, 95% CI (3.57-4.27). As a result of the session, residents stated that they were more aware of protecting patient privacy and confidentiality on social media sites 3.92, 95% CI (3.47-4.37), and would take a more active role in ensuring professional use of social media as it relates to patient care 4.00, 95% CI (3.66-4.34). Residents favorably viewed the reflective case-based session on digital professionalism as a means to be more aware of ways to avoid unprofessional interactions on the internet. Our results suggest that such reflective sessions are an effective method to educate residents on key concepts regarding digital professionalism.

An Innovative HIV Training Program for Dental Students

Dentists need to be able to give people with HIV/AIDS compassionate and comprehensive care. Previous studies have shown that many dental students have negative attitudes towards treating such individuals. This article addresses the effectiveness of a program that trains dental students in the issues of treating this population. All predoctoral students at the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry are required to receive this training. Students complete a pre-session survey during their third year and a post-session survey as they complete the training during their fourth year. The survey was administered from 2003 to 2009 during which 386 students completed responses to the post-session survey. Five questions in the survey address self-evaluation of knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in the efficacy of universal precautions and post-exposure prophylaxis following bloodborne exposures. This study reports on five two-year testing cycles and shows significant shifts in all five areas surveyed. The most significant gains were in the two areas that are not addressed in much detail in other courses in the dental school curriculum. These are familiarity with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and confidence in the efficacy of PEP. These data support the usefulness of such a program in preparing future dentists to deliver appropriate care to persons living with HIV/AIDS.

The role of pastoral counseling in cancer pain management: A pilot study

8179 Background: Cancer pain management is a challenge for providers and patients. Religious beliefs inform the meaning of pain and suffering and affect the patient's attitudes toward pain control. Cancer patients often receive regular visits by clergy over the course of illness, making the clergyman a potential resource in attaining satisfatory cancer pain management. Methods: A survey to assess the knowledge and beliefs of clergy about cancer pain management was administered before (PI) and after (POI) an educational intervention on cancer pain control. Participants were asked to rate their support for series of statements reflecting positive and negative perspectives on cancer pain and its management in each survey. Results: 24 clergy completed the pre-session survey, attended the education session and 21 completed the post-session survey. Participants were predominately Caucasian (58%), male (88%), protestant chaplains (43%) or ministers (33%) with M.Div. (71%), from urban (46%), middle class (58%), Caucasian (54%) congregations. Most (96%) had experience with cancer patients in pain and had counseled patients in which the issue of pain arose (75%). Many (42%) believed patients had discussed the issue of cancer pain with them rather than with their physicians. While 75% reported informal discussions of cancer pain in pastoral training, only 29% had received formal training in the subject. The intervention resulted in less support for the punitive religious statement, Pain is a result of my sin (4% PI, 0% POI), and the negative nonreligious statement, Odds are against me (8% PI, 5% POI). Support for, Tell them to pray, increased (71% PI, 86% POI), as did, Tell them to inform their doctor (96% PI, 100% POI) and, Tell them to take their medicines (67% PI, 76% POI). Tell them to be strong lost support (8% PI, 0% POI). The notion that narcotics be reserved for the dying and that reliance on drugs is an escape from reality, diminished (4%PI, 0%POI) and support for unlimited access to pain medication rose (13% PI, 29% POI). Conclusion: The findings suggest that cancer pain management education for clergy can improve knowledge among clergymen and potentially improve counseling provided to cancer patients. No significant financial relationships to disclose.

The role of pastoral counseling in cancer pain management: A pilot study

8179 Background: Cancer pain management is a challenge for providers and patients. Religious beliefs inform the meaning of pain and suffering and affect the patient's attitudes toward pain control. Cancer patients often receive regular visits by clergy over the course of illness, making the clergyman a potential resource in attaining satisfatory cancer pain management. Methods: A survey to assess the knowledge and beliefs of clergy about cancer pain management was administered before (PI) and after (POI) an educational intervention on cancer pain control. Participants were asked to rate their support for series of statements reflecting positive and negative perspectives on cancer pain and its management in each survey. Results: 24 clergy completed the pre-session survey, attended the education session and 21 completed the post-session survey. Participants were predominately Caucasian (58%), male (88%), protestant chaplains (43%) or ministers (33%) with M.Div. (71%), from urban (46%), middle class (58%), Caucasian (54%) congregations. Most (96%) had experience with cancer patients in pain and had counseled patients in which the issue of pain arose (75%). Many (42%) believed patients had discussed the issue of cancer pain with them rather than with their physicians. While 75% reported informal discussions of cancer pain in pastoral training, only 29% had received formal training in the subject. The intervention resulted in less support for the punitive religious statement, Pain is a result of my sin (4% PI, 0% POI), and the negative nonreligious statement, Odds are against me (8% PI, 5% POI). Support for, Tell them to pray, increased (71% PI, 86% POI), as did, Tell them to inform their doctor (96% PI, 100% POI) and, Tell them to take their medicines (67% PI, 76% POI). Tell them to be strong lost support (8% PI, 0% POI). The notion that narcotics be reserved for the dying and that reliance on drugs is an escape from reality, diminished (4%PI, 0%POI) and support for unlimited access to pain medication rose (13% PI, 29% POI). Conclusion: The findings suggest that cancer pain management education for clergy can improve knowledge among clergymen and potentially improve counseling provided to cancer patients. No significant financial relationships to disclose.