Students Teaching Students Rebecca Moore DO Aubrey M

Students Teaching Students Rebecca Moore DO Aubrey M. Olson DO, M. S. Ed

Objectives • Demonstrategies on how second year medical students actively learn from their fourth year student peers in a physical diagnosis course. • Discuss benefits for fourth year medical students to review and polish their physical exam skills by teaching second year students. • Expand on how peer teaching can be used in other subjects or classes to enhance the learning experience.

Traditional Teaching Model • Attending physicians teach residents • Residents teach interns • Interns teach students • Much of the learning is determined by the teaching abilities of others

Proposed Teaching Model • The second year medical students have 10 lectures and labs in the Physical Diagnosis class. • The entire class has lectures on a specific organ system for one hour. • The class is then divided into three groups. • Each group consists of approximately 50 students. • Each group gets one hour in the lab following the lecture.

Proposed Teaching Model (Con’t) • The lecturing physician demonstrates how to perform the specific exam and the key points. • The students then get a partner and practice that particular exam. • During this time, the fourth year medical students divide themselves up among the second year students. • They help them learn and review the particular physical exam for that day. • During this time, the clinical instructors are also monitoring and helping both the second and fourth year students.

4 th Year Student Prep Work • Review all lecture materials assigned for that week’s physical diagnosis class. • Review an online lab guide detailing the required skill set associated with that week’s learning. • Meet for 30 minutes with a physical diagnosis faculty member to review the skill set to be taught that day with practice time as a group prior to lab time.

Advantages for 2 nd year Students • The second year students relate well to their fourth year peer students since they have recently been in the same class and position as them. • The second year students may feel more comfortable asking their peers questions than the instructors. • They will also get more on one instruction from the fourth year students.

Advantages for 4 th Year Students • The fourth year students will be able to practice and refine their physical diagnosis skills that they will need upon their upcoming graduation and continuation into Internship/Residency. • This experience will also help the students work on their teaching skills which they will need as they continue onto residency training. • These skills can help them work and teach the medical students they be responsible for in their graduate medical education.

nd 2 What did the year students think?

I often felt more comfortable asking a peer instructor for help rather than a faculty member 2% 8% 32% 17% Srongly Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree 41% I feel that the 4 th year peer instructors contributed greatly to my learning physical diagnosis skills 5% 5% 10% 44% 36% Strongly Agree Somewhat Agee Neither Agree nor Disagree Somewhat Agree Stongly Disagree

I am very satisfied with the way I was able to interact with the peer instructors in the physical diagosis lab 2% 8% 50% 40% Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree Having the ability to interact with 4 th year students allowed me to also ask questions about my medical training that did not necessarily focus on the physcial diangosis skills 4% 22% Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree 74%

th 4 What did the year students think?

Did you have any teacher training or experience prior to your medical school education? 49% 51% Yes No Compared to how you felt prior to completing the rotation, how comfortable did you feel about your teaching abilities after the completion of the rotation? 3% 21% Better About the same Worse 76%

Compared to how you felt prior to completing the rotation, how comfortable did you feel about your own abilities in performing a physcial examination? 35% Better About the same Worse 65% In considering the overall value of serving as a peer instructor, do you think it enhanced your own learning? 8% 5% 22% 16% Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Neither agree nor Disagree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree 49%

Reflecting back on your own experience as a 2 nd year student, do you think having peer instructors would have been beneficial for you? 3% 3% 8% 35% Definitely would Probably would Might or might not Probably would not Definitely would not 51%

What is the Verdict? nd 2 th 4 • Overall, both year and year students benefited from this learning and teaching experience • Look to continue this teaching protocol to help shape better future physicians