Enhancing urologic education: Canadian medical students’ confidence and preferred teaching methods
Othmane Zekraoui1, Sepehr Niakani2, Mahmoud Moustafa2, Mohamad Baker Berjaoui3, Abbas Guennoun4, Naeem Bhojani1,4.
1Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada, ; 2Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada, ; 3Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ; 4Division of Urology, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada,
Introduction : Urologic complaints are common and expected to rise given the aging population, necessitating well prepared medical graduates to recognize essential urologic complaints. Since 2011, efforts were made to standardize urological education in Canada through the Canadian Undergraduate Urology Curriculum (CanUUC). This study evaluates medical students' comfort in urologic topics, their preferred teaching methods and their awareness of the CanUUC.
Methods : An anonymous 54-item survey targeting 3rd and 4th-year Canadian medical students was distributed from February to June 2024. The survey was piloted among first-year urology residents (PGY-1s). Learners’ comfort was evaluated using a five-point Likert scale (1=least comfortable, 5=most comfortable). Data was also collected on trainees’ past participation in urology rotations, training level, base campus and awareness of CanUUC’s curriculum.
Results : The survey was completed by 10 PGY-1s and 117 medical students. Total mean comfort scores for medical students were 3.58 ± 0.89 for physical examination, 3.51 ± 0.63 for history taking, 3.38 ± 0.68 for diagnosis, and 3.16 ± 0.73 for patient management. The three most preferred teaching methods by medical students were direct clinical exposure, simulation sessions and case-based discussions. Medical students who completed a urology rotation were significantly more comfortable with history taking (p=0.003) and patient management (p=0.003) than those who did not. Furthermore, PGY1-s were significantly more comfortable with history taking (p=0.04) and patient management than medical students (p=0.043). Only 7 medical students (5.98%) were aware of CanUUC’s curriculum, with 5 (71.43%) using it.
Conclusion : Medical students have moderate comfort in handling urologic conditions, with higher comfort among those who completed urology rotations. Despite efforts to implement a national curriculum, awareness and use of the CanUUC are very low, indicating a need for increased promotion and integration of the curriculum.
*First two authors contributed equally
Présentations par / Lectures by Othmane Zekraoui
| Quand | Session | Titre | Salle |
|---|---|---|---|
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ven.-08 08:15 - 08:45 |
SESSION I | ENHANCING UROLOGIC EDUCATION: CANADIAN MEDICAL STUDENT’S CONFIDENCE AND PREFERRED TEACHING METHODS | Salle de bal |