COMSEP

OBJECTIVES: Best practices for content selection, mode of delivery, and timing of pediatric clerkship readiness curricula for medical students have, by and large, not been established. Capitalizing on changes in structure of the clinical clerkships during the COVID-19 pandemic, we created an upfront clerkship readiness curriculum, termed Pediatric Intersession (PI), to replace the existing weekly lecture-based clerkship didactics. METHODS: Our goal was to develop an interactive curriculum with innovative instructional design methodology intended to promote broad foundational pediatric knowledge and clerkship preparedness using case-based learning...

BACKGROUND: This study explores the impacts of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) Journal Club, a unique means of providing monthly professional development for a large international community of pediatric undergraduate medical educators. In particular, we sought to establish member engagement with the Journal Club, identify factors impacting member contributions to the Journal Club, and determine perceived benefits of and barriers to participation as a Journal Club reviewer...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Given the increasing prevalence of telehealth, medical students require dedicated instruction in the practice of high-quality telehealth. This study characterizes telehealth practices and curricula in pediatric core clerkships across the United States and Canada. METHODS: We surveyed pediatric core clerkship directors and site directors through the 2020 Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) annual member survey. We analyzed the results using descriptive statistics...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether participation in a pediatric boot camp during medical school was associated with higher intern performance. Secondary objectives were to determine whether participation in general boot camps, pediatric subinternships or pediatric electives was associated with higher performance. METHODS: Intern surveys and faculty performance assessments during early internship were collected from a convenience sample of pediatric residency programs...

BACKGROUND: Few studies have been published about specialty-specific fourth-year medical student leadership in any discipline. This paper provides insight from pediatric educators about the current status and recommendations for pediatric-specific fourth-year leaders. OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of pediatric fourth-year medical student directors across the US and Canada and to compare current and ideal responsibilities for this role. METHODS: Five multi-part questions were written and submitted for the 2019 Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) Annual Survey and subsequently disseminated to all COMSEP member physicians...

BACKGROUND: Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most frequent indication for antibiotic treatment of children in the United States. Its diagnosis relies on visualization of the tympanic membrane, a clinical skill acquired through a deliberate approach. Instruction in pediatric otoscopy begins in medical school. Medical students receive their primary experience with pediatric otoscopy during the required pediatric clerkship, traditionally relying on an immersion, apprentice-type learning model...

Recent directives from The Coalition for Physician Accountability, Association of Pediatric Program Directors, Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, and Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs recommend virtual recruitment for graduate medical education (GME) programs this year. Driven by concerns for safety, equity and financial pressures, virtual interviewing will require a thoughtful approach to achieve the desired goals of recruitment. Drawing on the fields of communication and human resources management, we examine the potential effects of web-based interviews on communication through the lens of several communication theories: media richness, media naturalness, and signaling...

OBJECTIVE: Pediatrics rotations may be medical students' only experience with patient- and family-centered rounding (PFCR). It is unclear how students participate in or are prepared for PFCR. We surveyed national pediatrics clerkships to determine the prevalence of PFCR and the proportion providing orientation in order to inform a needs assessment for PFCR orientation. METHODS: A 5-item peer-reviewed survey was distributed to the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) membership as part of a larger survey in 2017...

BACKGROUND: The Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) pediatric clerkship curriculum is widely followed. To date, there are no known studies on clerkship instruction related to developmental-behavioral pediatric (DBP) curricular elements. PURPOSES: The goals of this study are to examine pediatric clerkships' current DBP teaching methods and to identify barriers and solutions to recommended curriculum implementation. METHODS: Electronic survey was conducted with COMSEP-member pediatric clerkship directors...

OBJECTIVE: To document the prevalence of simulation-based education (SBE) for third- and fourth-year medical students; to determine the perceived importance of SBE; to characterize the barriers associated with establishing SBE. METHODS: A 27-item survey regarding simulation was distributed to members of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) as part of a larger survey in 2012. RESULTS: Seventy-one (48%) of 147 clerkship directors (CD) at COMSEP institutions responded to the survey questions regarding the use of SBE...

OBJECTIVE: To report changes in pediatric clerkship nighttime clinical structures before and after implementation of the 2011 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) resident duty hour standards. METHODS: As part of the 2011 Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) member annual survey, we surveyed leaders of pediatric undergraduate medical education on their medical school's current nighttime clinical structure, changes in nighttime structure between 2010 and 2011, and their school's student duty hour standards...

BACKGROUND: Further dissemination of medical education work presented at national meetings is limited. PURPOSES: The purpose of this study was to explore dissemination outcomes of scholarly work in pediatric medical education. METHODS: Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) members who presented at COMSEP national meetings from 1998 to 2008 received a questionnaire about scholarly dissemination outcomes. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis explored variables related to dissemination...

This article is the fourth in a series by the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) reviewing the critical attributes and skills of superb clinical teachers. The previous article in this series reviewed the vital importance of direct observation of students.(1) The purpose of this article is to describe how to use the information gained from the direct observation, namely the role of feedback. Although too often used interchangeably, encouragement, evaluation, and feedback are quite distinct...

Great clinical teachers occupy a unique and powerful role in the education of medical students. Their noncognitive and cognitive actions and behaviors influence future student behaviors and career choices and, most importantly, result in a future generation of physicians who are equipped to care for children. Although we continue to have difficulty defining the critical characteristics of a great clinical teacher, identifying such a teacher is easy: they are the ones to whom students and residents flock. If we return to a teacher we each remember as having made the clinical experience memorable and inspired us to work a little harder, it is the person, not necessarily the content, that we remember...

The reader may wonder, "What is COMSEP, and how does an article from COMSEP affect me?" COMSEP, the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, is a community of pediatric clerkship directors and other educators whose mission is to improve the health of children and their families by advancing the art and science of medical student education in pediatrics.(1) This is the first in what is envisioned to be a quarterly report from the COMSEP to the readership of Pediatrics. In writing these articles, we hope to accomplish 3 key objectives...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: One mission of all academic medical centers is the education of medical students. The resources allocated to the oversight of this mission vary. The status of pediatric undergraduate medical education and the role of the pediatric clerkship director (PCD) was published in 1995. We sought to provide an updated description by surveying current North American PCDs. METHODS: A survey was designed by members of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics and administered via the Internet...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a new national general pediatrics clerkship curriculum, the development process that built national support for its use, and current progress in implementing the curriculum in pediatric clerkships at US allopathic medical schools. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT: A curriculum project team of pediatric clerkship directors and an advisory committee representing professional organizations invested in pediatric student education developed the format and content in collaboration with pediatric educators from the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) and the Ambulatory Pediatric Association (APA)...

OBJECTIVE: To compare general pediatric knowledge acquisition and clinical problem-solving skills by students pre- and postcurricular reform based on the 1994 Ambulatory Pediatric Association and the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (APA-COMSEP) curricular guidelines. SETTING: A large, urban academic medical center. SUBJECTS: Third-year medical students on a required clerkship in Pediatrics. INTERVENTION: Pre- and postcurricular revision, the students were given both the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Pediatric Subject Examination and an objective examination, which was developed in-house, based on the APA-COMSEP guidelines (Pediatric Clerkship Examination [PCE])...