Title

Student-Produced Guides alongside First-Year Medical Curriculum: How Peer-Produced Textbooks Change Student Success within Neurology, Cardiopulmonary, and Mixed Systems Courses.

Authors

Ashley Mason
Zeegan George, Lehigh Valley Health NetworkFollow
Danielle Gulick

Publication/Presentation Date

2-1-2023

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: In the United States, medical schools do not have a unified curricular plan that integrates basic sciences and organ-based systems in undergraduate medical education. Instead, institutions rely on independently created lecture material during the first-year medical school curriculum. The drawback to this approach is that no commercial or organizational resources cater to this individualized study plan. This study explored whether students who use student-produced "course guides" experience increased first-year success and improved skills.

METHODS: First-year students at an allopathic medical school completed anonymous surveys about their reference guide usage, time management, organization, stress level, and examination scores. Statistical analysis was performed using Spearman's coefficient of correlation and χ

RESULTS: In total, 186 total students received the survey three times immediately after completing each organ system-based course. A total of n = 49 viable responses were received. One-fourth of the respondents used the guides for ≥3 hours/week. Respondents who used the reference guides reported improved time management, organization, self-confidence, and reduced student stress levels during the first year of medical school, but examination scores were unaffected.

CONCLUSIONS: Access to student-produced guides increased confidence in self-rated measures of time management skills, organizational ability, and ability to balance medical course expectations. Because of the small sample size, future work will expand the survey population to increase the power to detect differences in these factors.

Volume

116

Issue

2

First Page

162

Last Page

169

ISSN

1541-8243

Published In/Presented At

Mason, A., George, Z., & Gulick, D. (2023). Student-Produced Guides alongside First-Year Medical Curriculum: How Peer-Produced Textbooks Change Student Success within Neurology, Cardiopulmonary, and Mixed Systems Courses. Southern medical journal, 116(2), 162–169. https://doi.org/10.14423/SMJ.0000000000001517

Disciplines

Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

36724530

Department(s)

USF-LVHN SELECT Program, USF-LVHN SELECT Program Students

Document Type

Article