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P2337 - Changing Preclinical Medical Student Perspective on IBD Through a Novel Patient-Centered Education Panel

Tuesday, October 29

10:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Location: Exhibit Halls 3 and 4 (Street Level)

Presenting Author(s)

JH

Jamie Horrigan, BA

Albany, New York

Jamie Horrigan, BA¹, Karissa Leong, BA¹, Jessica Calderone, BA¹, Linda Winston², Xinjun Zhu, MD¹, Micheal Tadros, MD, MPH, FACG¹

¹Albany Medical College, Albany, NY; ²Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Guilderland, NY

Introduction: Leaders in medical education strive to develop more interactive and efficacious teaching methods as preclinical teaching typically occurs in passive didactic lectures. The pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of diseases are explored in textbooks. However, the effect of disease on patients’ lives and the difficulty of managing chronic conditions are often not conveyed. Preclinical students would benefit from more patient interaction as patient care is the essence of being a physician. In this patient-centered educational panel, we focus on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Learning Objectives: Understand how IBD impacts patients’ lives - Expose students to the challenges of living with IBD from patient and caregiver perspective - Recognize how the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation supports IBD patients - Review the role of a multidisciplinary approach in treating IBD patients and the potential role of complementary medicine

Methods: In 2017 and 2018, Albany Medical College incorporated an IBD patient panel into the preclinical gastrointestinal curriculum. Students (n=140), having already been lectured on IBD, attended an interactive 2-hour panel in which patients, caregivers, physicians and the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation shared their experiences. Students then completed a Qualtrics survey.

Results: Student responses indicated that 96% strongly agreed/agreed that learning from patients helped to understand the complexity of managing a chronic disease, 89% strongly agreed/agreed that the patient panel supported traditional IBD lectures well and 94% strongly agreed/agreed that future students would benefit from a similar panel (Figure 1). Additionally, 73% strongly agreed/agreed that there is a role for complementary medicine (Figure 2). Student narratives suggested that the panel enriched their medical education (Figure 3).

Discussion: This panel showcased the challenges of diagnosing, managing and living with IBD. Learning about chronic disease from a patient encouraged future physicians to consider how the disease affects many aspects of one’s life. The panel challenged students to consider a role for complementary medicine in IBD. Survey responses found that the panel enhanced students’ understanding of IBD beyond what could be learned from traditional lectures and textbook readings. The success of this panel illustrates that patient-centered learning enriches preclinical education and should be incorporated in medical curriculum moving forward.

Figure 1. Student responses to survey questions: “Do you think learning from patients helps you understand the complex nature of caring for a chronic disease?” (red), “Do you think patient panels supplement traditional lectures well?” (yellow), and “Do you think future classes should have patient panels similar to this one?” (blue) (n=78).

Figure 2. Student responses to survey question “Is there a role for complementary medicine?” (n=78).

Figure 3. Student narrative comments highlighting the success of the IBD panel in enhancing their medical education.

Disclosures:

Jamie Horrigan indicated no relevant financial relationships.

Karissa Leong indicated no relevant financial relationships.

Jessica Calderone indicated no relevant financial relationships.

Linda Winston indicated no relevant financial relationships.

Xinjun Zhu indicated no relevant financial relationships.

Micheal Tadros indicated no relevant financial relationships.

Citation: Jamie Horrigan, BA; Karissa Leong, BA; Jessica Calderone, BA; Linda Winston; Xinjun Zhu, MD; Micheal Tadros, MD, MPH, FACG. P2337 - CHANGING PRECLINICAL MEDICAL STUDENT PERSPECTIVE ON IBD THROUGH A NOVEL PATIENT-CENTERED EDUCATION PANEL. Program No. P2337. ACG 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. San Antonio, Texas: American College of Gastroenterology.