Proactively Preventing Medical Errors: A Student-Led Approach to Patient Safety in Pre-Clinical Curriculum

Introduction: Preventable medical errors are currently the third leading cause of death in the United States following heart disease and cancer (1). This study was designed to assess the change in knowledge from earlier education of medical students during pre-clinical years. Methods: Patient safety trainings have been conducted for two years for interested first and second-year medical students and responses are assessed through a pre-test, immediate post-test, 3-month post-test, and 6-month post-test. The survey assesses student knowledge on aspects of patient safety and has Likert scale questions assessing if the training influenced students’ desire to learn about patient safety. Results: From the original data from the first training, improvements were seen in students considering themselves to be well-versed in different aspects of patient safety in the 3-month post-test (33.3%; p-value=1.00) compared to the pre-test training (11.8%). The percent of students that agreed they plan to incorporate patient safety techniques into their future practice improved from 83% in the 3-month post-test to 100% in the 6-month post-test. Data gathering is ongoing for the second group that participated in the training. Conclusion: The improvement in students who considered themselves to be knowledgeable about patient safety 3 months after the training is promising, despite the results of the 6-month post-test, as it highlights the need for long-term training and can be further assessed using data from the second training. The lack of statistically significant findings can most likely be attributed to small sample size and will likely improve with further data collection

A 3- and 6- Month Follow-Up to a Student-Led Approach to Patient Safety in Pre-Clinical Curriculum

Introduction: Preventable medical errors are currently the third leading cause of death in the United States following heart disease and cancer. In light of this, integration of formal patient safety education into undergraduate medical education has been encouraged by the World Health Organization. This study aimed to assess the change in patient safety knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs in students after early exposure to patient safety during pre-clinical years. Methods: First and second-year medical students participated in the training and responses were assessed through a pre-test, immediate post-test, 3-month post-test, and 6-month post-test. The survey assessed student knowledge on aspects of patient safety, course of action in patient safety scenarios, and Likert scale questions on patient safety interest. Results: Of the original 23 medical students, 12 and 7 students completed the 3-month and 6-month post-tests, respectively. Data showed improvement in students considering themselves to be well-versed in different aspects of patient safety in the 3-month post-test (33.3%; p-value=1.00) compared to the pre-test training (11.8%) but declined in the 6-month post-test (14.3%; p-value=1.00). The percent of students that agreed they plan to incorporate patient safety techniques into their future practice was 83% in the 3-month post-test (pre-test: 94.1%; p-value=1.00) and 100% in the 6-month post-test (p-value=1.00). Conclusion: The improvement in students who considered themselves to be knowledgeable about patient safety and the high agreement to incorporate patient safety techniques is promising. This indicates the long-term influence that patient safety training can have in preclinical years and potentially in clerkship years

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Empathy Changes In Medical Students During Medical Education

Introduction: Reduction in empathy has been explored in medical students (MS). Questions remain on whether significant changes in empathy occur during MS education. Objective: Focusing on studies using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy medical student version (JSE-S), the authors aimed to quantify and assess reported changes across reviewed literature. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed using PRISMA guidelines. Criteria for inclusion were articles 1) written in English, 2) pertained to human subjects, and 3) written in the previous ten years (2009-2019). Exclusion criteria were those that 1) did not assess MS, 2) did not utilize the JSE-S, 3) did not compare empathy scores from JSE-S between class years, 4) contained an interventional program or course aimed to maintain/improve empathy, 5) were systematic reviews, meta-analyses, or dissertations. Results: Thirty-nine of 448 articles met the criteria. Overall, no significant reduction in empathy was found across all nations (mean difference 0.09; p=0.8930). Stratifying by nationality, JSE-S scores of US-based MS declined slightly, while MS in other countries increased slightly from baseline (mean change -1.13; p=0.0265 vs. 0.38 units; p=0.6311). 37 of 39 articles compared JSE-S scores between female and male MS, and a majority of the articles (78.4%) reported higher scores for female than males. Conclusions: The analysis supports that no significant empathy changes by JSE-S scores were noted in MS worldwide from baseline. Although evidence supports that empathy declined among US-based MS, no material difference was detected. This supports the notion that rigorous medical education curriculae does not necessarily curtail empathy among medical students

Medical Students Preventing Medical Errors: A Student-Led Approach to Patient Safety in Preclinical Curriculum

Introduction: Preventable medical errors are currently the third leading cause of death in the United States following heart disease and cancer (1). Early exposure to patient safety knowledge may lead to students to deliver safer care in their clerkship and residency years. This study was designed to assess the change in knowledge from earlier exposure and education during pre-clinical years and its impact on interest and knowledge about patient safety. Methods: For the past four years, a patient safety training has been conducted for interested first and second-year medical students and responses are assessed through a pre-test, immediate post-test, 3-month post-test, and 6-month post-test. The survey assesses student knowledge on various aspects of patient safety, identifying the correct course of action in different scenarios concerning patient safety. Results:The average percentage of correct answers on patient safety knowledge-based questions was 71.4% on the pre-test training and decreased to 68.4% in the 6-month post-test . The percent of students who considered themselves to be well-versed in different aspects of patient safety was 15.2% in the pre-test training and increased to 75% in the 6-month post-test. The percent of students that plan to incorporate patient safety techniques into their future practice was 97% in the pre-test training and 100% in the 6-month post-test. The percent of students who believed that patient safety can have a large impact on health outcomes was initially 97% in the pre-test training and 98.3% in the 6-month post-test. Conclusion:Improvement in patient safety knowledge amongst students immediately after training is promising. Although the percentage of correct answers decreased over time, students exhibited more knowledge on patient safety topics immediately after training than they had prior to any patient safety training. The lack of statistically significant findings can most likely be attributed to small sample size and will likely improve with further data collection.Continued training sessions will solidify knowledge about patient safety in preclinical years and potentially in clerkship years, and will allow for students to gain confidence in their knowledge of patient safety and medical errors