Search Results
Background
Medical students (MSs) in allopathic and osteopathic medical programs may not be adequately exposed to the role of podiatric physicians and surgeons in health care. We explored perceptions of the specialty field of podiatric medicine from the perspective of MSs in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area.
Methods
In this cross-sectional survey study, responses regarding podiatric education and scope of practice were collected via a 16-question, self-reported, anonymous online survey distributed to MSs at one osteopathic and three allopathic medical schools in the Philadelphia area. Inferences and conclusions were drawn from the percentages of respondents. Statistical analyses for school of attendance, year of study, and physician relative subgroups were performed.
Results
The 129 survey responses obtained revealed misunderstandings regarding podiatric education and training. Only 45.7% correctly answered that podiatric medical students do not take the United States Medical Licensing Examination. The results also showed the perception of podiatry in a positive light, with approximately 80% of respondents agreeing that the term doctor is applicable when referring to a podiatrist. Respondents with a physician relative were more likely to rate podiatry's role in health care higher on a scale from 0 (inessential) to 5 (equivalent to MDs/DOs) than those without a physician relative.
Conclusions
The results of this preliminary survey were generally positive and optimistic while also identifying some misconceptions regarding MS perceptions of podiatric medical training and scope of practice. Further studies are needed to evaluate perceptions of podiatry from the perspective of other members of the health-care team to improve interprofessional relations and understanding.
Interprofessional Podiatric Surgical Simulation
A Pilot Study
Background
Interprofessional collaboration is key to quality outcomes in the health-care systems of today. Simulation is a common tool in podiatric medical education, and interprofessional education has become more common in podiatric medicine programs. Interprofessional simulation is the blending of these educational strategies.
Methods
A quantitative design was used to determine the impact of an isolated interprofessional podiatric surgical simulation between nurse anesthesia and podiatric medical students.
Results
Statistically significant differences were observed among participants between preintervention and postintervention surveys using the revised Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale.
Conclusions
Interprofessional simulation can be an effective educational opportunity for podiatric medical and nurse anesthesia students.
Background
The objective of this study was to investigate the rate of attrition within podiatric medicine and surgery residency training programs.
Methods
Between the academic years 2006–2007 and 2015–2016, the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine matched 780 graduates into 163 different residency training programs. Program directors from these sites were individually contacted by e-mail and asked whether the specific Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine graduates who originally matched with their program 1) completed the program, 2) transferred to another program, 3) quit the program, or 4) were fired from the program.
Results
Results were returned with respect to 614 (78.7%) of the 780 graduates, representing 103 (63.2%) of the 163 training programs. Program directors reported that 573 (93.3%) of the 614 graduates completed the program, 17 (2.8%) transferred from the program, six (1.0%) quit the program, five (0.8%) were fired by the program, and 13 (2.1%) matched but never started the program. This equates to an annual attrition rate of 0.46% for residents who started the podiatric residency training program that they matched with.
Conclusions
We conclude that the rate of attrition in podiatric medicine and surgery residency training appears to be relatively low or at least in line with other medical specialties, and hope that this information leads to other investigations examining attrition, specifically as it relates to physician-specific and program-specific risk factors for attrition.
Background:
This study examined the differences between faculty and trained standardized patient (SP) evaluations on student professionalism during a second-year podiatric medicine standardized simulated patient encounter.
Methods:
Forty-nine second-year podiatric medicine students were evaluated for their professionalism behavior. Eleven SPs performed an assessment in real-time, and one faculty member performed a secondary assessment after observing a videotape of the encounter. Five domains were chosen for evaluation from a validated professionalism assessment tool.
Results:
Significant differences were identified in the professionalism domains of “build a relationship” (P = .008), “gather information” (P = .001), and share information (P = .002), where the faculty scored the students higher than the SP for 24.5%, 18.9%, and 26.5% of the cases, respectively. In addition, the faculty scores were higher than the SP scores in all of the “gather information” subdomains; however, the difference in scores was significant only in the “question appropriately” (P = .001) and “listen and clarify” (P = .003) subdomains.
Conclusions:
This study showed that professionalism scores for second-year podiatric medical students during a simulated patient encounter varied significantly between faculty and SPs. Further consideration needs to be given to determine the source of these differences.
