Renal Unit, Ulster Hospital, Upper Newtownards Road, Dundonald, Belfast, UK.
Department of Ophthalmology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.
BMC Med Educ. 2020 Oct 27;20(1):387. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02314-y.
Otolaryngology (ENT), plastic surgery, ophthalmology and dermatology are medical specialties which tend to receive less coverage in UK medical school curricula compared to larger, generalist specialties. As a result, there are fewer opportunities for medical students to learn and to cultivate an interest. There are numerous papers that report concerns about junior doctors' ability to manage conditions within these specialties, which may jeopardise patient safety. The aim of our pilot project was to increase medical students' interest and knowledge of ENT, plastic surgery, ophthalmology and dermatology. In addition to describing our project, we present and discuss literature on UK undergraduate education in these specialties and its impact on preparedness of junior doctors and future career choices.
One hundred twelve final year medical students at Newcastle University were invited to take part in a voluntary two-part (written and clinical) exam, in which prizes could be won and all participants would receive a certificate of participation. We distributed two online surveys to the students, one administered before the exam and one afterwards. Data was collected regarding the students' motivation for entering the prize exam and the students' baseline interest and knowledge in these specialties before and after the prize exam. Free-text responses were collected about the students' opinion of the project and whether participation was beneficial.
Sixteen students participated in the exam. There was a statistically significant increase in the students' knowledge in ENT (p < 0.000), plastic surgery (p < 0.000), ophthalmology (p < 0.028) and dermatology (p < 0.012) after participation in the exam, but not in their interest levels. ENT was the preferred specialty of our cohort. The students reported that they found participation beneficial to their learning, particularly receiving exam feedback and explanations to exam questions.
This pilot project was a useful intervention in increasing medical students' knowledge in these specialties, but not in their levels of interest. It also demonstrates that medical students are willing to participate in voluntary initiatives (in their spare time) to gain more learning opportunities and that medical students value timely exam feedback to guide their revision.
耳鼻喉科（ENT）、整形外科学、眼科学和皮肤病学是医学专业，与更大、更综合的专业相比，它们在英国医学院课程中受到的关注较少。因此，医学生学习和培养兴趣的机会较少。有大量文献报道称，初级医生在处理这些专业的疾病方面的能力存在担忧，这可能危及患者安全。我们的试点项目旨在提高医学生对 ENT、整形外科学、眼科学和皮肤病学的兴趣和知识。除了描述我们的项目外，我们还介绍和讨论了英国本科阶段这些专业教育的文献及其对初级医生准备情况和未来职业选择的影响。
纽卡斯尔大学的 112 名最后一年的医学生被邀请参加一项自愿的两部分（书面和临床）考试，考试中可以获得奖品，所有参与者都将获得参与证书。我们向学生发放了两份在线调查问卷，一份在考试前，一份在考试后。我们收集了有关学生参加考试动机的数据，以及学生在参加考试前后对这些专业的兴趣和知识的基线数据。我们还收集了关于学生对项目的看法以及参与是否有益的自由文本回复。
有 16 名学生参加了考试。学生在 ENT（p<0.000）、整形外科学（p<0.000）、眼科学（p<0.028）和皮肤病学（p<0.012）方面的知识显著增加，但他们的兴趣水平没有增加。ENT 是我们这组学生的首选专业。学生们报告说，他们发现参与对他们的学习有益，特别是获得考试反馈和考试问题的解释。
该试点项目是增加医学生对这些专业知识的有用干预措施，但对他们的兴趣水平没有影响。它还表明，医学生愿意参与自愿性的活动（在业余时间）来获得更多的学习机会，并且医学生重视及时的考试反馈来指导他们的复习。
