The 2021 – 2022 Island Medical Program (IMP) Mini Med School (MMS) series looked a little different from the norm. Unlike typical MMS events, which university faculty deliver in-person, medical students from the IMP and Vancouver Fraser Medical Program (VFMP) led these sessions online.
Nicole Cameron and Drew Smith (IMP Class of 2024) and Julia De Pieri (VFMP Class of 2024) delivered nine virtual lectures on topics ranging from interpreting test results to diets to stress management. They also asked participants to complete an optional survey about the sessions. Nicole, Drew, and Julia have since translated that data and published their findings in “Mini Med School: why you should try a virtual, medical student-led program” in the You Should Try This section of the Canadian Medical Education Journal.
Of those who participated in the survey, 90.3% said they enjoyed having students deliver the seminars and 90.9% said they enjoyed being part of the training of medical students.
“Based on my own personal experiences in medical school, I have found the public tends to be quite receptive to having students involved in their care and to helping us learn,” says Drew. “Therefore, it was not surprising to me that the majority of our survey participants enjoyed having us deliver the seminars, enjoyed being a part of our medical training, and would recommend the program to friends.”
Julia also says the fact students tend to use simpler language when explaining medical terminology probably added to the appeal. “I think [the participants] appreciated this as it allowed them to take away more from the talks,” she says.
The students wrote that they benefitted from the experience as well. “We found this to be a great way to further develop our medical communication skills and connect with our communities in a time of social isolation,” says Nicole. “So, it was wonderful to see through this study that the participants also enjoyed and found benefit from the program.”
Nicole, Drew, and Julia also found 63.6% of survey participants said they enjoyed the virtual format. “I think participants enjoyed the virtual aspect as these presentations took place during the peaks of COVID and this allowed them to participate in our talks without feeling like they were putting their health at risk,” explains Julia. She adds that the format allowed people living outside of Victoria to easily access the sessions.
The students say that technology didn’t seem to be a barrier to participation. In fact, they argue that a virtual format has potential to reach isolated or marginalized populations and reduce barriers to accessing accurate health information.
“I was slightly surprised by the fact that the majority of survey respondents would prefer future seminars to be virtual,” says Drew. “I know I am not alone in having Zoom fatigue at this point, so I assumed our respondents would be more eager to have future seminars in-person, or at least a combination of virtual and in-person, despite the benefits of the virtual format.”
Still, the authors suggest considering a combination of in-person and virtual delivery post-pandemic. They also suggest that while students should continue delivering the MMS seminars, host institutions should consider adding a practicing physician presenter as most survey respondents indicated they would enjoy this option.
“I was also not surprised to see the majority would like to hear from practicing clinicians as well,” says Drew. “I believe in general people tend to appreciate input from those with more knowledge and experience around any given topic.”
“Overall, we hope the results of our study will spark the conversation for other medical schools to consider trying a student-led MMS in their community,” says Nicole. “Medical student-led MMS creates a unique opportunity for community members to connect and engage with the education of medical students in the communities they will likely return to serve as physicians.”
Nicole, Drew, and Julia hosted the IMP MMS as part of their FLEX project. Their supervisor Dr. Jane Gair has recordings of all nine sessions on her website. To access, follow the link and click Student Presentations > 2021 – 2022 Presentations.