C1 - 14: THE SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT: A UNIQUE MODEL FOR PATIENT EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY TRAINING IN EARLY MEDICAL EDUCATION
Megan Janeway, MD1, Su Yeon Lee, BS2, Zahrah Masheeb, BS2, Fred Milgrim, BS2, Angela Jones, PA1, Stephanie Volpe, PA1, Tracey Dechert, MD, FACS1; 1Boston Medical Center, 2Boston University School of Medicine
Introduction: On acute surgery services, providers often lack sufficient time for patient education. The Service Learning Project aims to merge the unmet needs of patients with desires of medical students for early clinical experience. In this mutually beneficial model, students interact with patients, helping them understand their procedures and screening them for social determinants of health (SDH). The goal is increased patient health literacy, improved inpatient experience, and clinical exposure for students at earlier training levels.
Methods: First-year medical students spend eight hours on the ward each month for one year doing patient education. Students are given a 16-question survey at the orientation and conclusion of the year to assess changes in their knowledge, attitudes and confidence with clinical work and SDH. Students are followed longitudinally with annual surveys through four years of medical school.
Results: Results after three years revealed increased knowledge of SDH and increased confidence in clinical practice. 100% of students reported better understanding of SDH (23% pre-project) and 93% were confident in how to screen for SDH after 1 year. 100% of students agree that their patient education skills improved (N=21). Confidence in working on the wards increased from 38% to 72% and confidence interacting with patients improved from 61% to 100% (N=21). Prior to the service project 14% felt like a valuable member of a care team versus 86% post-project. Similarly, 76% felt they did not contribute to patient care on the wards whereas post-project 86% felt they made positive difference. When asked if they continued to assess patients for SDH on their third year clerkships, 100% endorsed doing so regularly.
Conclusions: Our goal for students in this project is to gain understanding of socioeconomic barriers to care, improve health education skills and empower them to address barriers in a way that benefits surgical patients. Students have showed marked changes in understanding and confidence in working with patients and addressing social determinants of health. Future directions include research into the impact on patient health literacy, inpatient experience and referral rates secondary to SDH screening.