Utilizing Medical Simulation as Exposure to Ignite Interest in the Medical Field for High School Students from Rural Appalachia

• Main Authors: Howard, Morgan, Botsko, Gina, Harris, Taylor
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2020
• Subjects: Rural Health; Health Disparity; Simulated Medicine
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/asrf/2020/presentations/2; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1488&context=asrf

Around 20% of America’s population lives in rural communities; however, only 9% of all physicians practice within these rural areas. Consequently, there is a consistent shortage of healthcare resources for these populations.1 To help this shortage, medical institutions should reach out to their local youth because a majority of the physicians who practice medicine in rural areas experienced their childhood in similar communities.2,3 The simulated Medicine in Action camp at Quillen College of Medicine provided an opportunity for local, rural high school students to learn more about the healthcare field in the hopes of eventually playing a role in alleviating the rural healthcare deficiencies. Twenty-one high school students from rural Appalachia with an interest in the healthcare field were recruited by the Simulated Medicine in Action camp to participate in a five-day medical simulation experience developed by the Quillen College of Medicine Center for Experiential Learning. The program employed interactive simulation platforms to provide education to students about various aspects of patient centered care, including communication skills, physical exam skills, technical skills, and integrative clinical reasoning skills. Through a lecture followed by simulation format, students exercised real world medical skills to assess, diagnose, and treat their “patients” in clinical scenarios. This format challenged the students to work as a team and provided students with the opportunity to experience the role of medical professionals. The curriculum also provided students with the opportunity to listen to a panel of physicians as well as a panel of other healthcare professionals to provide exposure to the breadth of the healthcare. Participants completed two surveys using the Likert scale: an entrance survey on the first day of camp and an exit survey on the final day. The likert scoring scale is as follows: 5=strongly agree, 4=agree, 3=neutral, 2=disagree, and 1=strongly disagree. Students responded to the following prompts in both of the entrance survey and the exit survey: (1) I have had enough exposure to the medical field to know that I am interested or not interested in the field; (2) If I decide that I want to be a physician, I believe that I am capable of achieving that goal; (3) If I decide I want to be a physician, I think I know enough about the educational process to pursue that career. Entrance survey had an average of 3.8, 4.5, and 3.7 respectfully. Exit survey had an average of 4.2, 4.7, 4.2 respectfully. Students also responded to the following prompts exclusively in the exit survey with the respected results: The Simulated Medicine in Action Camp improved my desire to pursue a career in healthcare (4.8); The Simulated Medicine in Action Camp improved my desire to become a physician (4.5); The Simulated Medicine in Action Camp improved my desire to pursue further education (4.7). Due to the upward trend and the high Likert scores in the exit survey, we conclude that using medical simulation experience with hands on opportunities and exposure to healthcare providers both clarifies and increases interest among high school students in regards to entering the healthcare field. We hope that this interest propels them into their careers where they may potentially serve their local rural community. References: 1Rosenblatt, R. A., & Hart, L. G. (2000). Physicians and rural America. The Western journal of medicine, 173(5), 348–351. doi:10.1136/ewjm.173.5.348 2Easterbrook, M., Godwin, M., Wilson, R., Hodgetts, G., Brown, G., Pong, R. and Najgebauer, E. (2019). Rural background and clinical rural rotations during medical training: effect on practice location. [online] CMAJ. Available at: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/160/8/1159.short [Accessed 18 Sep. 2019]. 3Feldman, Kymm, et al. "The difference between medical students interested in rural family medicine versus urban family or specialty medicine." Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine, vol. 13, no. 2, 2008, p. 73+. Gale Academic Onefile, Accessed 18 Sept. 2019.