Moderated by Helen Tempest
Session Coordinator: Tammy Harris

Presentation 1 - Preclinical Students’ Perceptions and Use of Formal and Informal Curriculum Resources    
Benjamin Daines    
University of Central Florida College of Medicine

Purpose
With the ever-expanding field of medicine, information overload continues to challenge both medical students and faculty. An understanding of how students perceive and dynamically utilize formal and informal resources, specifically in pre-clinical years, is vital to successfully integrate commercial learning platforms into medical school curriculum and reduce unnecessary stress caused by resource overload. Therefore, this study builds on prior research by examining students' use and perception of formal (faculty-prescribed) and informal (peer recommended third-party platforms) across cohorts. 

Methods
A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used to compare students' perceptions and use of informal resources (defined as commercial resources, such as UWorld, Sketchy, and Anki, recommended by peers) and formal resources (defined as traditional curriculum resources, such as lectures, self-directed learning modules, textbooks, and journal articles prescribed by faculty). *Define IMDQ* (IMDQ) based on Keller's Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS) Model of Motivational Design were used to collect data. Ethnographic interviews and learning logs were also analyzed. 

Results
Students reported significantly greater level of overall motivation to learn from informal than formal resources. Students found informal resources higher yield and more visually appealing. Students preferred informal teaching methods across all ARCS constructs: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. Additionally, student perceptions of formal resources decreased between first and second year across all ARCS constructs. Thematic analysis of first year interviews suggests students found that informal resources allowed stronger and more complete understanding, had clear and concise presentations, and provided cues to improve retention, while formal resources lacked depth, organization, and clarity.

Conclusion
On average, students reported higher levels of motivation to use informal resources than formal curriculum resources as indicated by their perceived levels of attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. Faculty should consider integration of informal resources to maximize student learning of foundational sciences and engagement with their education.

Presentation 2 - Intensive Pre-clerkship Ultrasound Elective Efficacy and Student Confidence Assessment    
Harika Dabbara    
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Purpose
Pre-clerkship ultrasound education has become increasingly common in medical schools. This study evaluates the efficacy of an intensive two-week fellowship in improving self-reported confidence, hands-on scanning performance, and students' ability to gauge their skills. 

Methods
Second-year medical students participated in a two-week intensive anatomy and ultrasound fellowship. Before the fellowship, students filled out a pre-survey to self-report their confidence with ultrasound, particularly the cardiac exam. They also performed a hands-on condensed cardiac assessment adapted from the Objective Structured Assessment of Ultrasound Skills, which was evaluated by emergency medicine ultrasound fellows and professors. Both the survey and assessment were repeated after the fellowship. Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's rho were used to test for significance with p < 0.05. 

Results
18 students completed the pre-survey and post-survey. 12 students completed the pre-assessment and post-assessment. A mean confidence score between 1-5 points was calculated for each student using multiple survey questions gauging confidence. Students were also given an assessment score between 0-16. Post-survey confidence scores (Mdn=4.1) were significantly higher than pre-survey confidence scores (Mdn=1.79), (T=171, Z=3.73, p<0.001). Post-assessment scores (Mdn=11.5) were significantly higher than pre-assessment scores (Mdn=4.5), (T=73.5, Z =2.72, p = 0.007). Furthermore, pre-survey confidence scores were not significantly correlated with pre-assessment scores (r=-0.256, p = 0.377, N=14). However, post-survey confidence scores were significantly correlated with post-assessment scores (r=0.648, p = 0.043, N=10). 

Conclusions
Our ultrasound curriculum was effective in improving both self-reported confidence with ultrasound and cardiac scanning skills in pre-clerkship students. Additionally, our curriculum improved students' ability to gauge their skills, exemplified by the negative correlation between confidence and skills prior to the fellowship versus the positive correlation after the fellowship.

Presentation 3 - Withdrawn Presentation

Presentation 4 - Assessing Nutrition Counseling Skills After a Culinary Medicine Elective    
Deborah Barry    
University of Virginia    

Purpose
Despite the important role of nutrition in patient health and well-being, nutritional counseling by physicians occurs in only 20-40% of patient encounters. Research has shown that providing nutrition education increases medical student intentions to provide nutrition counsel, however, the need to practically measure students' skills in offering nutritional counsel is needed. Our two-week Culinary Medicine (CM) elective sought to increase our students' integration of nutrition knowledge and culinary arts skills, and improve their competence and confidence in providing nutrition counseling to patients. 

Methods
We utilized pre and post test surveys with 4th year culinary medicine students (N=14) and a control group (N=15) to measure culinary medicine knowledge, food security, and confidence in patient encounters. Both control and study populations participated in standardized patient encounters that were video taped and coded using a rubric to measure counseling skills. We used non-paramedic statistical analyses for related samples. 

Results
Analysis of survey data yielded several areas of significance (p=0.002) when comparing pre/post intervention, including reduction of food insecurity and increasing in confidence with patient encounters. Video data analysis is on-going, however, preliminary scoring indicates that CM students were both more confident and competent in providing nutrition counsel to standardized patients. 

Conclusions
Our pilot data indicates a significant increase in nutrition counseling skills as a result of participating in the CM elective. Future work includes expanding our elective to a complete curriculum spanning all 4 years of medical education, the inclusion of longitudinal data to measure nutrition counseling in patient encounters, and including inter-professional opportunities for dietetic interns to work alongside medical students in the teaching kitchen.