Assessing the Impact of Early Undergraduate Exposure to the Medical School Curriculum

Christiana M Cornea; Gary Beck Dallaghan; Thomas Koonce

doi:10.1007/s40670-021-01449-x

Assessing the Impact of Early Undergraduate Exposure to the Medical School Curriculum

Med Sci Educ. 2021 Dec 1;32(1):103-109. doi: 10.1007/s40670-021-01449-x. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Authors

Christiana M Cornea¹, Gary Beck Dallaghan², Thomas Koonce³

Affiliations

¹ University of North Carolina School of Medicine, 1001 Bondurant Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-9500 USA.
² Office of Medical Education, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, 108 Taylor Hall, Chapel Hill, CB 7321 27599-7160 USA.
³ Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, 590 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, 27599-7595 USA.

Abstract

Background: Programs such as mini-medical school programs have been implemented to introduce students to the medical school curriculum through a series of lectures in foundational sciences and healthcare topics. Since 2013, the UNC School of Medicine (SOM) has offered the Introduction to Clinical Medicine for Undergraduates (ICMU) course as an opportunity for UNC undergraduate students to be introduced to the medical school curriculum and integrated into the introductory clinical skills curriculum. This study explored the relationship between experiences from taking this course, pursuit of further education in healthcare professions, and preparedness for future clinical courses.

Methods: An anonymous survey was distributed to all students who took the ICMU course at UNC-Chapel Hill as an undergraduate from 2013 to present. The locally developed survey consisted of 13 scaled questions asking about their experiences in the course and decisions to pursue further healthcare professional education. Survey results were analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics.

Results: Respondents perceived the experience increased their confidence and preparedness for future clinical courses in the competency measures of taking a patient history, performing a physical examination, and developing a differential diagnosis. Inclusion of students in the clinical skills course was significantly associated with their confidence going into their health professions school of choice (p = .002). Additionally, exposure to UNC SOM students, faculty, and culture was found to play a role in students choosing to attend UNC SOM.

Conclusion: Integration of undergraduate students into the medical school curriculum has motivated continued pursuit of education in a healthcare profession.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01449-x.

Keywords: Healthcare careers; Integration; Medical school early exposure.