Abstract
Introduction
Medical education is oftentimes stressful and has been documented to compromise student well-being, hinder performance, and contribute to burnout. Many medical schools aim to foster students’ sense of well-being. This can be accomplished by peer-assisted learning (PAL), which has the potential to improve student wellness and performance in medical school.
Methods
The PAL program at Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine provides first-year medical students with educational sessions related to their curriculum, led by second-year medical students. The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of PAL in promoting wellness and enhancing knowledge. Pre- and post-program surveys were distributed to students prior to and after the completion of PAL. Data analysis included frequencies of responses, qualitative analysis, and chi-square analysis.
Results
Thirty-eight out of 51 first-year medical students responded to the pre-program survey (response rate 75%) and 23 out of 51 responded to the post-program survey (response rate 45%). A majority of respondents from the pre-survey believed that PAL would provide them with tools necessary to be successful. These findings were similar in the post-program survey with a majority of attendees sharing that PAL enhanced their knowledge, reduced test-taking anxiety, and provided useful skills.
Discussion
Results from the pre- and post-program surveys suggest that PAL can enhance student well-being while improving knowledge of the material taught in medical school.
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Availability of Data and Materials
The datasets generated and analyzed for this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge Kyle Bauckman, PhD, the Director of Research and the Fundamentals Course Director at Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, for his guidance throughout this project, including suggestions regarding research design and analysis.
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All authors contributed to the study conception, study design, and material collection. Literature review was performed by Caitlin Williams, Therese Vidal, Piero Carletti, and Ahraz Rizvi. Data analysis was performed by Caitlin Williams. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Caitlin Williams and Therese Vidal; revisions of the manuscript were performed by all authors. The figures and tables were created by Caitlin Williams. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Human subject research approval was granted by the Nova Southeastern University Institutional Review Board on June 16, 2020, approval number 2020–291. The study was conducted in accordance with ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki.
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Waiver of documentation of informed consent was obtained due to the fact that participation was voluntary and no identifiable data was provided with participant responses. An explanation of the consent process was provided to participants at the time of recruitment.
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Not applicable.
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The authors declare no competing interests.
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Williams, C.A., Vidal, T., Carletti, P. et al. Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL): Perceptions and Wellness of First-Year Medical Students. Med.Sci.Educ. 31, 1911–1918 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01381-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-021-01381-0