Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine, 200 University Pkwy, Yakima, WA, 98901, USA.
BMC Med Educ. 2024 Aug 21;24(1):901. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05806-3.
Student-run free clinics are present at many medical schools throughout the United States. While many work with adult homeless or uninsured populations, few work with pediatric populations. We investigated the impact of volunteering at a free preparticipation sports physical clinic on medical students' educational motivation, school engagement, confidence in their clinical skills, connectedness to community, and self-efficacy.
First and second year undergraduate medical students who volunteered at a preparticipation sports physical clinic were eligible for the study. 30 students participated in the study, some volunteering multiple times, for a total of 55 post-volunteering surveys. Pre- and post-volunteering surveys were administered via REDCap. The surveys were designed using Likert scales and the General Self-Efficacy scale. Paired two tailed t-tests were used to analyze pre- and post-volunteering data.
Students had statistically significant increases in their confidence in working with pediatric populations, performing a standard physical exam, working in an interdisciplinary setting, and communicating with patients. They also demonstrated statistically significant increases in their feelings of connectedness to their reason for practicing medicine and to the greater local community.
This research demonstrated measurable increases in motivation and confidence in clinical skills for medical students that participated. This is a valuable experience for medical students and is a model that other medical schools can adopt to help diversify and strengthen their curriculum. In the future, we would like to collect more data to further evaluate the impact of this volunteering on medical students, patients, families, and other community stakeholders.
在美国许多医学院都有学生经营的免费诊所。虽然许多诊所为成年无家可归者或未参保人群提供服务，但很少有诊所为儿科人群服务。我们调查了在免费参与体育体检诊所志愿服务对医学生教育动机、学业投入、临床技能信心、社区联系和自我效能感的影响。
在参与体育体检诊所志愿服务的医学生中，有资格参与本研究的是一年级和二年级的本科生。共有 30 名学生参与了研究，其中一些学生多次参与，总共进行了 55 次志愿服务后调查。通过 REDCap 进行了预志愿服务和后志愿服务调查。调查采用了李克特量表和一般自我效能感量表设计。使用配对双尾 t 检验分析了志愿服务前后的数据。
学生在与儿科人群合作、进行标准体检、在跨学科环境中工作以及与患者沟通方面的信心显著提高。他们对自己的医学实践动机以及更广泛的当地社区的联系感也有显著增强。
这项研究表明，参与的医学生的动机和临床技能信心有可衡量的提高。这对医学生来说是一种有价值的体验，其他医学院可以采用这种模式来帮助多样化和加强他们的课程。未来，我们希望收集更多的数据，以进一步评估这种志愿服务对医学生、患者、家庭和其他社区利益相关者的影响。
