PC3102: Preparing for Pediatrics: A Qualitative Analysis of Medical Student Perspectives Regarding Experiential Learning for Communication Skills Ahead of Clinical Placement

Background: Effective communication skills are vital to paediatric medical care yet often clinical placements do not provide adequate opportunities for medical students to develop these skills. Experiential learning approaches are thought to be the most effective method of teaching communication skills. In this study we sought to examine the experiences of penultimate year medical students who participated in a novel course in advance of their pediatric clinical placement. We hoped to gain an understanding of how the course influenced their learning of pediatric communication skills and their perceptions of being prepared for clinical practice.

Methods: The study was approved by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) research ethics committee REC001719. The aim of the five-day course was to provide students with experience in a range skills they would need for their clinical placement, including communication skills with colleagues, parents, carers and children. The inclusion of non-clinical interactions with healthy children alongside more traditional simulation-based teaching is a unique aspect of this study that is not common in the current literature. The simulation-based components involved video-recorded consultations with simulated parents and team-based scenarios with a pediatric mannequin. These were supplemented by real interactions with healthy children through a pre-school visit (aged 6 months – 4 years), and student-led health workshops for primary school children (aged 7-9 years). Figure 1 displays the intervention components.

Results: Two hundred and seventy-nine undergraduate and graduate-entry medical students at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences participated in this course prior to their paediatric clinical rotations. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected but this report focusses on the qualitative data. Data was collected in eight focus group discussions with students after participating in the course (n = 35 students). Thematic analysis was performed on the transcribed data by CS, a researcher experienced in simulation-based education, and MA, an undergraduate medical student who had not undergone the intervention. The inclusion of the latter integrated the student perspective into the analysis. Four themes were constructed: Shaping Student Learning; Supporting Student Learning; Developing New Skills and Feeling More Prepared. Table 1 demonstrates these themes and their related sub-themes.

Conclusion: This study concluded that students felt more prepared for their paediatric clinical placement after the intervention. Participants experienced various learning moments where they were able to define problems and develop new skills in central areas of paediatric communication. Their perceived safety and the authenticity of the learning environments played a critical role in students' learning experiences. This novel course is one of the first to combine simulation based learning with real interactions with healthy children outside of the clinical setting to enhance medical student learning of pediatric communication skills and preparedness for clinical placement.