Presented By: Nelda Ephraim, American University of Antigua College of Medicine
Co-Authors: Qunoot Almecci, American University of Antigua College of Medicine
Tony-Ann Huggins, American University of Antigua College of Medicine
Lyudmila Rubinshteyn, American University of Antigua College of Medicine
Purpose
The Clinical Scholars Program at a Caribbean Medical School consists of high achieving students and alumni who provide near-peer academic support services to clinical students under the direct supervision of the university's Clinical Education Enhancement Department. Those who serve in the role of Clinical Scholar have excelled on their Step 2 CK exam with a score of 240 or above and have gone through a strict vetting process to assume this critical student support role. One of the student support initiatives provided via the Clinical Scholars Program is the Question Partners Shelf Prep Series, a voluntary student success initiative which includes a pre-arranged number of small group sessions (2:1) between the students and the Clinical Scholar, with the purpose of enhancing clinical judgement and test taking skills in preparation for the NBME CCSSE. This descriptive study seeks to examine the outcomes of the Question Partners Shelf Prep Series for those who enrolled in the program.
Method
The sample population includes medical students from a Caribbean Medical School that participated in the Clinical Scholars Program Question Partners Shelf Prep Series within the months of 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023. Students who participated in the program via direct referral after an advising appointment and students who had not yet taken their exams were included in the dataset. Descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze the frequency of medical students who participated in the program, gender, standard program or FIU certificate program, the Question Partners Shelf Prep Series taken, the CCSSE taken, and the exam outcome (pass or fail).
Results
93% of students who participated in a Shelf Prep Series successfully passed their CCSSE. Frequencies for each variable will be provided.
Conclusion
Student success initiatives such as the Clinical Scholars Program Question Partners Shelf Prep Series and similar programs can improve clinical clerkship student outcomes.