Abstract
Observation remains an essential tool for physicians. Many medical schools have implemented visual observation training programs using art. In this study, pre-clerkship medical students attended three instructional sessions at an art museum, and three physician-led sessions using projected clinical images for training. Descriptive narratives of clinical images were written pre- and post-intervention; these were scored by two reviewers using a 1-to-5 scoring rubric developed for this study. This builds upon previous studies which utilized qualitative analysis without a standard evaluation rubric. Results indicated that participants improved visual observation skills, and a satisfaction survey indicated they enjoyed participating.
Notes
Seventy students agreed to participate in this study. Those who did not complete all the requirements of the study, including the pre- and posttests and six training sessions for those in groups A and B, were not included in the analysis.
Group comparisons account for unequal pretest scores: despite randomization, average pretest scores were group A (\( \overset{-}{x} \) = 2.602), group B (\( \overset{-}{x} \) = 2.568), and group C (\( \overset{-}{x} \) = 2.636).
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Roy Carman MD, Jenevieve DeLosSantos PhD, Liesel Copeland PhD, Kerry O’Rourke MLS, Robert Lebeau EdD - and especially Donna Gustafson PhD and the Rutgers University Zimmerli Art Museum- for their assistance in making this project possible.
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Lynch, K.A., Saks, N.S. Training and Evaluating Clinical Observation Skills in Pre-clerkship Medical Students. Med.Sci.Educ. 26, 539–542 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0303-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0303-2