Years Of Medical Training Research Articles

A comparison of approaches to teaching clinical skills

Background: The most appropriate timing and mode for teaching clinical skills as preparation for medical students’ clinical rotations or clerkships is not widely agreed upon. Increasing pressure on placement opportunities has led to a shift towards simulation-based teaching in the early years of medical training. Approach: A major curriculum renewal provided an opportunity for comparison of the effectiveness of a largely ward-based (early patient exposure) curriculum with a largely simulation-based one in preparing students for clinical rotations. Evaluation: We surveyed students from two different programs and invited them to take part in voluntary objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) to compare their skills and self-reported preparedness. Qualitative data was also collected from focus groups with a small number of students. Implications: The findings suggest that the more structured, simulation-based curriculum is at least equivalent to the ward-based approach in teaching clinical skills and preparing students for clinical rotations. Students’ clinical reasoning skills could be enhanced in a simulation-based curriculum through more explicit training to prepare them for being asked questions on clinical placement.

Leveraging telementoring platforms to enhance PA capacity and education.

Telementoring is a valuable workforce development resource that connects subject matter experts with healthcare providers via videoconferencing. This technology can deliver training, education, and ongoing technical support to build workforce capacity. Arizona State University (ASU) has leveraged a widely used telementoring platform, Project ECHO, to disseminate best practices in palliative medicine. The model has increased clinician knowledge and confidence, and the learning network may provide protective factors for clinician wellness. The replicable and inclusive nature of telementoring platforms creates educational opportunities to align learners across the didactic and clinical years of medical training, as well as into early- and midcareer for physician associates/assistants (PAs). Telementoring programs can be used across the PA learning continuum, including in PA training programs.

Duration of New-Onset Depressive Symptoms During Medical Residency

The implications of new-onset depressive symptoms during residency, particularly for first-year physicians (ie, interns), on the long-term mental health of physicians are unknown. To examine the association between and persistence of new-onset and long-term depressive symptoms among interns. The ongoing Intern Health Study (IHS) is a prospective annual cohort study that assesses the mental health of incoming US-based resident physicians. The IHS began in 2007, and a total of 105 residency programs have been represented in this national study. Interns enrolled sequentially in annual cohorts and completed follow-up surveys to screen for depression using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) throughout and after medical training. The data were analyzed from May 2023 to March 2024. A positive screening result for depression, defined as an elevated PHQ-9 score of 10 or greater (indicating moderate to severe depression) at 1 or more time points during the first postgraduate year of medical training (ie, the intern year). The main outcomes assessed were mean PHQ-9 scores (continuous) and proportions of physicians with an elevated PHQ-9 score (≥10; categorical or binary) at the time of the annual follow-up survey. To account for repeated measures over time, a linear mixed model was used to analyze mean PHQ-9 scores and a generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to analyze the binary indicator for a PHQ-9 score of 10 or greater. This study included 858 physicians with a PHQ-9 score of less than 10 before the start of their internship. Their mean (SD) age was 27.4 (9.0) years, and more than half (53.0% [95% CI, 48.5%-57.5%]) were women. Over the follow-up period, mean PHQ-9 scores did not return to the baseline level assessed before the start of the internship in either group (those with a positive depression screen as interns and those without). Among interns who screened positive for depression (PHQ-9 score ≥10) during their internship, mean PHQ-9 scores were significantly higher at both 5 years (4.7 [95% CI, 4.4-5.0] vs 2.8 [95% CI, 2.5-3.0]; P < .001) and 10 years (5.1 [95% CI, 4.5-5.7] vs 3.5 [95% CI, 3.0-4.0]; P < .001) of follow-up. Furthermore, interns with an elevated PHQ-9 score (≥10) demonstrated a higher likelihood of meeting this threshold during each year of follow-up. In this cohort study of IHS participants, a positive depression screening result during the intern year had long-term implications for physicians, including having persistently higher mean PHQ-9 scores and a higher likelihood of meeting this threshold again. These findings underscore the pressing need to address the mental health of physicians who experience depressive symptoms during their training and to emphasize the importance of interventions to sustain the health of physicians throughout their careers.

Does Medical Curriculum Impact on Empathy? A Longitudinal Study in a Sample of Undergraduate Medical Students

Empathy in medical students is receiving increasing attention as it is fundamental to build and develop a functional patient-physician relationship. When looking at its determinants, demographic and academic factors seem to concur in shaping empathy in this population. Although data show strong gender differences and changes in empathy throughout medical school, it is not clear the direction of these changes and whether gender and curriculum features modulate them. This longitudinal study examined changes in empathy and explored gender differences throughout the medical school. Four consecutive cohorts of Italian medical students (N = 336) completed the Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Student (JSE-S) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) in their second year of study (before any clinical clerkship and communication skills courses) and fifth year of study (after a 2-year clinical clerkship and communication skills courses). Analysis of variance for repeated-measures revealed that, beyond the effect of gender, JSE-S total score and IRI Perspective Taking increased, whereas IRI Personal Distress and IRI Fantasy significantly decreased throughout medical school. No significant change in IRI Empathic Concern emerged over time. Student’s t-tests showed that female students displayed significantly higher mean scores than their male counterparts for all empathy measures in both their second and fifth years of medical training. The findings suggest that the medical curriculum affects self-reported empathy dimensions among undergraduate medical students. Further research is needed to deepen the understanding of the educational factors that promote the changes in empathy levels during medical training.

Characteristics of medical students with problematic smartphone use: a cross-sectional study

Background: Excessive smartphone use is common among university students and can negatively affect students’ mental health, but data from Middle-East countries is scarce. Objective of the study was to determine the characteristics of medical students affected by and the prevalence of problematic smartphone use in a sample of Iranian medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a large Iranian medical university. A convenience sample of 356 students of different years of medical training were recruited. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, daily estimated average time using a smartphone, and main motivations to use a smartphone were collected through a self-reported questionnaire. Problematic smartphone use (PSU) was evaluated using the smartphone addiction scale – short version (SAS-SV) questionnaire. Backward logistic regression analysis was used to understand independent factors associated with PSU. Results: Overall, two-thirds of Iranian medical students were affected by PSU, including 68.5% of male and 64% of female students. Students who lived alone had significantly higher SAS-SV scores than those who lived with their families (p=0.007). Additionally, students with daily smartphone use &gt;4 hours were 3.2 times more likely to be diagnosed with PSU (p&lt;0.001). Social media use was the main motivation that strongly predicted the presence of PSU among medical students (adjusted OR: 2.87, 95% CI: 1.68-4.89). Conclusions: Main motivation to use and duration of phone use are the most important factors predicting problematic smartphone use among medical students.

Measurement Properties of an Arabic Version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) in Moroccan Medical Students.

Empathy is an essential communication skill in the doctor-patient relationship. In fact, measuring its level in medical students is becoming increasingly important. There is a Lack of tools to measure it in Morocco. The aim of this study was to validate the Arabic version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) among Moroccan medical students. The questionnaire was translated from its original English version to Arabic in accordance with international guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. After translation and transcultural adaptation, the final Arabic version was administered to a sample of Moroccan medical students. Descriptive statistics at the item level and at the scale level were calculated. The internal consistency, reproducibility, criterion, and construct validity were assessed. A multitrait scale analysis was used to examine construct validity. To measure criterion validity, the Arabic JSE scale was correlated to a visual analog scale (VAS), measuring the level of empathy. The mean of score was compared by gender, year of medical training, and specialty preference using the Student (t) and ANOVA tests. All statistical analyses were performed by SPSS, Version 26. A total of 201 students participated in the study. The average empathy score was 105.1±13.4. It was higher in female than male students (P=0.003). The Cronbach alpha was 0.76. The instrument has moderate test-retest reliability (ICC=0.6). The results showed a positive and significant correlation between Arabic JSE and VAS ((r=0.28, p<0.0001). The multitrait scaling analysis by testing convergent and discriminant validity confirmed the original scale structure. The adapted Moroccan version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy proved to be a valid instrument. It demonstrated an acceptable reliability and validity. Indeed, it can be used in national studies to measure empathy in medical students.

Validación de la escala de disfrute de derechos humanos en internos de Medicina

IntroductionIn Mexico, the last two years of medical training are spent in a medical unit of the health system. The penultimate year is known as an undergraduate medical internship, so students are called interns. Studying the right to medical education in medical units is essential to foster respect, so assessment tools are necessary. Then, the objective was to know the validity of the scale for enjoyment of human rights for students during their medical internship (DERIM per the Spanish acronym). Material and methodsThe tool to assess the enjoyment of human rights for medical students stems from the need to explore this topic among the medical units by considering teaching-learning processes. Six hundred eighty-two students of the medical internship were sureveyed. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted using the unweighted least squares method with Robust Promin rotation. The reliability of the scores (α coefficient) and the reliability of the construct (ω coefficient) were analyzed. ResultsTwenty-six items distributed in two factors were retained: Perceived harm to the enjoyment of human rights and perceived benefits to the enjoyment of human rights. Finally, the reliability of the scores (α > 0.70) and of the construct (ω > 0.80) showed acceptable magnitudes. ConclusionThe DERIM scale can promote the development of human rights among medical interns. This creates favorable conditions for medical care in spaces where educational processes converge with care processes for the benefit of both medical staff and users.

Partnership in Cancer Research (PCAR) Program Increases Medical Student Knowledge and Confidence to Perform Cancer Research.

Arkansas has a high cancer burden, and a pressing need exists for more medical students to pursue oncology as a career. The Partnership in Cancer Research (PCAR) program provides a summer research experience at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences for 12 medical students who have completed their first year of medical training. A majority of participants spend time pursuing cancer research in basic science, clinical, or community-based research. Students report on their research progress in an interactive "Live from the Lab!" series and assemble a final poster presentation describing their findings. Other activities include participation in a moderated, cancer-patient support group online, lecture series on cancer topics, medical simulations, palliative care clinic visit, "Death Over Dinner" event, and an entrepreneurship competition. Students completed surveys over PCAR's first 2 years in operation to evaluate all aspects of the program. Surveys reveal that students enthusiastically embraced the program in its entirety. This was especially true of the medical simulations which received the highest evaluations. Most significantly, surveys revealed that the program increased cancer knowledge and participant confidence to perform cancer research.

Mental health and quality of life across 6 years of medical training: A year-by-year analysis.

Despite growing evidence on medical students' mental health deterioration, studies have primarily used short follow-up periods and not followed the students throughout their medical training. To assess mental health (stress, anxiety, and depression) and quality of life changes throughout their medical program, we followed up with the same cohort of students for 6 years. This longitudinal prospective study followed up with the same group of medical students at a Brazilian public medical school from 2014 to 2020. The study analyzed sociodemographic data, mental health (including depression, anxiety, and stress [DASS-21]), quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), satisfaction from studying to be a physician, and happiness with life. General linear mixed models were used for the analyses. The cohort included 80 Brazilian medical students (63.7% women; mean age = 19.6 years [SD = 2.21]). A high prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress was found throughout medical training, with more than 50% of students having significant symptoms. Mental health, happiness, and quality of life levels tended to be better in the first and last semesters, being worse in the middle of the program. However, satisfaction from studying to become a doctor decreased in the second semester, remained low throughout the program, and never returned to baseline levels. Mental health and quality of life levels remained high throughout the medical program, with better levels in the first and last semesters and falling in the middle of the program. These data can help managers and educators understand how psychological distress affects medical students.

Ergonomics for Cleft Providers: A Brief Communication.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries are the most common and debilitating work-related injuries among healthcare providers. These injuries often occur due to a lack of awareness and insufficient guidance during the early years of medical training. Recognizing the need to address this issue, the Comprehensive Cleft Care Workshop (CCCW) has taken steps to integrate an ergonomics session into its curriculum. The goal of this initiative is to enhance awareness on ergonomics, improve the integration of ergonomics into daily routine, and ultimately reduce the occurrence of MSK injuries among healthcare professionals.

Factors associated with mental health in Peruvian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicentre quantitative study

ObjectiveTo assess the mental health status and associated factors of Peruvian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsDescriptive, multicentre, correlational study that used the “Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)”, the “Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)” and the “Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R)” questionnaires to evaluate mental health problems. ResultsA total of 1,238 students from 8 Peruvian medical schools participated in the study. Of these, 68.5% were women, and the mean age was 21.4 years. Depressive symptoms were found in 74% of the participants, anxiety symptoms in 57% and distress symptoms in 65%. The variables associated with the development of symptoms of moderate-severe depression, anxiety and distress were: not having family economic stability, being in the first years of medical training, being female, and fearing that their medical training would be delayed and impaired. ConclusionsIn a sample of medical students surveyed during the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health problems were common. The factors associated with mental health reported in this study could be useful in identifying vulnerable medical students who require timely psychosocial support and/or psychiatric care.

Assessment of First Aid Emergency Knowledge Among Medical Students from First Year to Final Year-A Comparative Study

Objectives: To assess the level of first aid knowledge among undergraduate medical students in Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. The research aimed to compare the level of medical knowledge across five years of medical training and to evaluate the effect of demographic details on the degree of first aid awareness.&#x0D; Study Design: The study design is cross-sectional.&#x0D; Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted in Army Medical College, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Nov 2021 to Apr2022&#x0D; Methodology: A preformed questionnaire was used and was divided into two groups: The first group contained two parts: i) Personal information and ii) Question about previous attendance of the first aid course. The second group contained 14 questions aimed at assessing major aspects of first-aid. The results for every year were compared. Data was entered an SPSS version 25.&#x0D; Results: In the study there was a marked increase in the level of first aid knowledge from first year to final year. The study also showed that those living at home had better scores than those availing university accommodation. Demographic background or receiving training in first-aid had an insignificant effect on it.&#x0D; Conclusion: The study discovered that the academic year had a substantial impact on knowledge levels. From first year to final year, there was a significant increase in first-aid knowledge. Every year, medical students' first-aid education should be reinforced in order to improve their skills.

Feature-Limited Prediction on the UCI Heart Disease Dataset

Heart diseases are the undisputed leading causes of death globally. Unfortunately, the conventional approach of relying solely on the patient’s medical history is not enough to reliably diagnose heart issues. Several potentially indicative factors exist, such as abnormal pulse rate, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. Manually analyzing these health signals’ interactions is challenging and requires years of medical training and experience. Therefore, this work aims to harness machine learning techniques that have proved helpful for data-driven applications in the rise of the artificial intelligence era. More specifically, this paper builds a hybrid model as a tool for data mining algorithms like feature selection. The goal is to determine the most critical factors that play a role in discriminating patients with heart illnesses from healthy individuals. The contribution in this field is to provide the patients with accurate and timely tentative results to help prevent further complications and heart attacks using minimum information. The developed model achieves 84.24% accuracy, 89.22% Recall, and 83.49% Precision using only a subset of the features.

COMING INTO BEING AN EMPATHIC DOCTOR: MODERN VIEWS AND CHALLENGES

Medical reformation process based on a human-centered approach requires universities to train healthcare professionals who are able to update knowledge and skills quickly, to adapt to new conditions, and be highly qualified and competitive specialists. The development of qualities that ensure communication with patients such as empathy is still of great importance.&#x0D; Empathy is an essential component in the professional activity of doctors of all specialties, therefore the fostering of empathy in students must be considered as inseparable component of future doctors’ training, a precondition for the successful independent practice.&#x0D; The article describes the concept of empathy, its types and components, considers the methods of forming empathy and analyzes some of them. Special attention is focused on the importance of developing empathy in the professional activity of doctors of all specialties.&#x0D; Empathy in a clinical context is the doctor's ability to understand the emotions of patients that can contribute to more thorough history taking and making more accurate diagnosis and as a consequence an effective personalized treatment plan. Clinical empathy includes the following components: 1 – the ability to understand the patients’ condition, their feelings (emotions); 2 – the ability to make a rapport with patients in order to understand their mental state, emotions, and check the accuracy of this understanding; 3 – the ability to act in a certain therapeutic way (taking into account the understanding of the patient's mental state).&#x0D; According to many researchers, empathy is a genetically determined property, strengthened or weakened by an individual's life experience that depends on certain individual personality traits, but scientists have proven that empathy can be fostered.&#x0D; According to the literature, a decline in the level of empathy is usually observed in the third year of medical training, when students begin clinical classes that require contact with patients. The researchers associate this decline with the deflation of the ideal image of a doctor and his / her professional role, which young people had when beginning their medical studies. The decrease in empathy after passing their first clinical classes can also be understood as a kind of protection mechanism in case of getting into various difficult and serious life-threatening situations. Other authors claim that there is no noticeable change in the level of empathy. Such ambiguous results arise can be explained by the fact that researchers use various evaluation methods and once again emphasize the relevance of these processes in modern clinical practice.&#x0D; Involvement of students in coming in contact with patients, and namely, during survey, examination and treatment; discussion of clinical cases with analysis of applied examination methods, treatment plan and prognosis helps to form and develop empathy, teaches communication with patients, which are quite important qualities of a doctor.&#x0D; When fostering empathy in students, one should not forget that during work the doctor encounters some stressful situations that are associated with the suffering of patients, and therefore, along with empathy, the doctor must possess stress resistance in order not to succumb to psychological deformation, emotional exhaustion and professional burnout, which in turn can negatively affect the quality of diagnosis and the effectiveness of patient treatment. It is worth noting that the achievements of modern medicine in the field of anesthesiological support, surgical intervention technologies, and patient care enable to harmonize this border between empathy and psychological deformation.&#x0D; Thus, during the professional training of doctors, educators and clinicians should pay special attention not only to the students’ acquisition of practical skills, but also to the development of empathy, the formation of stress resistance, the improvement of interpersonal communication both with colleagues and patients, and the development of skills, related to empathy in a broad sense as these aspects are one of the paramount tasks of medical education programs based on the biopsychosocial model of health.

Abstracts Teaching Kitchen Research Conference Los Angeles, California October 18–19, 2022

Abstracts Teaching Kitchen Research Conference Los Angeles, California <i>October 18–19, 2022</i>

Comparing the Psychological Distress Among the Medical Students at Different Levels of Training

Background: Psychological distress is a global health issue which impact the medical students learning and professional development. Varied factors impact the psychological distress of the medical students. The study evaluates the role of year of study on the psychological distress of medical students. Material and Methods: The study was conducted on 318 medical students in different years of medical training. The items from DASS-21 was validated and used for the data collection. The data was collected by stratified random sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was performed using Statistical package for social science version 26. Result: Year three students had significantly higher psychological distress compared to all other years of study. The stress and depression is significantly higher in year three students who have progressed from preclinical years to clinical year. Conclusion: The year three students requires support from the educators to adapt to the more complex learning environment in the clinical years. This would facilitate their leaning and professional development

Comparison of Quality of Life of Medical Students in Annual and Modular System in Public Sector Medical Colleges in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Curriculum structure in medical education in Pakistan includes an annual system which is based on subject wise learning and clinical rotations, and a modular system, with the basic and clinical sciences taught cohesively. The effect of curriculum designs in the quality of life (QoL) of medical students has not been assessed in Pakistan. We aimed to compare these two curriculum structures focused on QoL. Methods: Cross-sectional study of medical students from three different medical schools in Karachi, Pakistan, comparing QoL based on their curriculums. QoL was measured using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Through random sampling students from each year (1st-5th year) in each institution were selected. Kruskal Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare scores among different years of medical training and between curricular systems. Results: Response rate was 85%. Out of 404 participants, 81.3% were females, and age average was 21±1 years. According to the year of study, significant differences were observed in physical health and overall QoL domain, with 3rd-year students having the highest scores. Overall QoL of students in clinical years was found to be significantly higher than those in preclinical years. The modular system was found to have a better but not significantly higher QoL when compared to the annual system (mean 83.34±11.41 vs. 82.32±10.27, respectively). Conclusion: Overall QoL in the modular system was slightly higher than the annual system, but a significant difference was noted only in the environmental domain. QoL of students in clinical years was higher than preclinical years.

Analysis of the prevalence of burnout syndrome in surgeons in the state of Amapá, Amazon, Brazil

Burnout Syndrome (BS), first reported in 1970, appears as a chronic response to interpersonal stressors that occur in the work situation. It is supported by three pillars: Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP) and reduced Professional Fulfillment (PF). It usually occurs in individuals whose professions carry relational responsibilities. Physicians are among the most affected, especially surgeons, who need constant attention and dexterity, a factor that predisposes them to excessive stress and psychiatric illnesses. The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence of Burnout syndrome in surgeons in the state of Amapá, based on the question: What is the prevalence of Burnout syndrome in surgeons working in the state of Amapá? The methodology used was a quantitative and qualitative study, with a situational questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Questionnaire (MBI) answered by surgeons in the state of Amapá, between March 2016 and August 2016. The study followed resolutions number 466 of 2012 and number 510 of 2016, of the National Council of Ethics in Research (CONEP). There was a predominance of male surgeons, with a mean age of 42.76 years, most of whom were married or in a stable relationship, who had more than 10 years of medical training and who do not do or do up to 4 night shifts per month. General surgeons were present, in addition to eleven other subspecialties. Regarding the MBI questionnaire, about 25% of those surveyed have a high level of emotional exhaustion, the same number have a high level of depersonalization, and just over 10% have low professional fulfillment. 2.94% have criteria for the diagnosis of Burnout Syndrome. 38.23% showed alteration in at least one of the three spheres. The subspecialties that obtained the worst results were: Vascular Surgery, Oncological Surgery, Neurosurgery and Urology. Thus, although this group has a higher Burnout syndrome rate than the general population, it still has levels lower than those found worldwide.

Introducing Clinical Pathology Course to Fourth Year Medical Students as a Bridge between Pre-clinical and Clinical Medical Sciences

There isn’t any vertical integration of pre-clinical and clinical sciences subjects in the existing Kathmandu University MBBS curriculum. Many of the graduates are not able to correlate the clinico-pathological aspects of various diseases as a result the rational use of investigations for diagnosing various diseases is compromised. There are few published examples of implementation of pathology instruction courses during the clinical years of medical training but it is not universally practiced. This lack of exposure to pathology may lead to poor understanding of laboratory testing and the role of pathologists in patient care.&#x0D; To set and implement an exemplary vertical integration of pre-clinical science with clinical science.&#x0D; A 12 credit hours clinical pathology education course comprising clinical hematology, cytopathology and histopathology was developed. Students belonging from the ongoing fourth year MBBS course of Birat Medical College were enrolled in the course. All of the interactive lecture sessions were delivered via an e-learning interface, using the Zoom platform as the main teaching methods. Evaluation of students’ achievement of learning objectives was conducted through distributing pre and post-test online multiple-choice questionnaires. Chi-square tests were used to compare the variables between pre-test and post-test questionnaire responses.&#x0D; Results suggested that the designed clinical pathology course is valuable. The pretest and post-test questionnaire responses revealed the positive impact regarding the importance of introducing clinical pathology courses within the clinical year of MBBS undergraduate curriculum. Response rate to the online session was 100%. The point of agreement between the pre-test and post-test questionnaire responses were highly achieved after intervention of the clinical pathology course. A statistically significant result (p &lt; 0.05) between all of the pre-test and post-test questionnaire responses was noted. There was a strong positive recommendation for incorporating clinical laboratory medicine courses within the MBBS clinical science curriculum.&#x0D; The improvement observed among fourth-year MBBS students on learning the importance of clinical pathology courses was encouraging. This experience thus contributed to set and implement an exemplary vertical integration of pre-clinical science with clinical science.

Professional Impact of the DMU Predoctoral OMM Fellowship

Abstract Context: Predoctoral Osteopathic Manual Medicine Fellowships (pOMMFs) are an additional year of medical training that frequently involve direct patient care, educating medical students, and research. Research has supported that a pOMMF can increase student satisfaction with, and understanding of, Osteopathic Manual Medicine (OMM) curriculum at their respective medical institution. In the interest of identifying programs that improve OMM utilization in practice and promote osteopathic leaders in medicine, pOMMFs might play a significant role. Overall, there is little known research on pOMMFs. Objective(s): To investigate the impact of the Des Moines University (DMU) pOMMF on the medical and professional careers of its graduates. Methods: A 26-question survey to be completed online was sent to 88 graduates of the DMU pOMMF who represented graduating classes from 1979 to 2020. The survey contained a combination of Likert scale, yes-no, and free text questions. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, Chi-square test of goodness-of-fit, and simultaneous 95% confidence intervals. Free text was qualitatively analyzed for recurrent themes. Results: Out of 61 respondents, 90.2% of participants reported that the pOMMF significantly improved their ability to teach medical students and residents, along with 77.1% of participants teaching residents/attendings OMM during residency. Of those eligible, 79.2% of alumni held at least one of the following leadership positions: chief resident, clinical preceptor, department chair, medical director. Most participants (83.6%) report providing OMT to their patients, along with 80.7% of respondents attributing the fellowship to significantly improving their ability to incorporate OMT into their medical practice. Conclusion: The study supports that the DMU pOMMF may create positive downstream effects in the medical careers of its graduates by providing abundant teaching opportunities, encouraging leadership roles, and promoting the utilization of OMT within residency and future practice. Graduates drew from the DMU pOMMF experiences to promote their medical and professional careers. Limitations include potential selection bias and inability to establish causal effect without a control population of non-pOMMF graduates from DMU or other institutions. Further research could corroborate these findings by investigating other pOMMFs and compare responses to non-pOMMF osteopathic medicine graduates.