Objective: Regular exercise and healthy eating are important contributors to a person’s overall health and well-being. To enhance community health, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California medical students have been leading in-person nutrition, cooking and exercise classes for community members at the Los Angeles County Wellness Center. In September 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students pivoted to teaching through a virtual platform. In this study, we evaluated community participants’ experiences attending virtual, bilingual nutrition, cooking and exercise classes; the efficacy of virtual classes in providing education; participants’ preference for virtual versus in-person classes; and potential advantages and disadvantages of the virtual versus in-person formats. Design: Cross-sectional study design. Setting: Following 22 virtual classes between September 2020 and April 2021, participants completed an online Qualtrics survey. Methods: Quantitative data were descriptively analysed within Qualtrics using the Sign test. Qualitative free response data were analysed by coding responses for common themes using an inductive approach. Results: There were 326 responses from 130 unique participants. Satisfaction was high for nutrition and exercise classes (99%), and 98% of participants reported they would make healthy nutrition and exercise behaviour changes. Participants preferred online classes compared to in-person classes ( p = .0008). Barriers to attending in-person classes included lack of childcare, transport issues and COVID-19 risk. Conclusion: Virtual classes were well-received and effective. Virtual classes circumvented some of the barriers to in-person class attendance, and many participants preferred virtual classes to in-person classes.
Introduction Nutrition education and counseling are critical to patient health. Primary care physicians are positioned to provide this counseling; however, due to a lack of nutrition education, many physicians-in-training lack these skills. This study evaluates the knowledge and self-efficacy of Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) of University of Southern California (USC) Primary Care Program (PCP) medical students after leading community-based nutrition classes. Methods First-year PCP KSOM students completed a survey immediately after teaching nutrition classes (Phase I: Spring 2017-Spring 2020) and 1-4 years after teaching (Phase II: August 2021). Open-ended responses were coded thematically, and descriptive data were analyzed in Qualtrics. Results There were 93 phase I respondents; however, not everyone answered every question. Among 45 question respondents, students reported learning about macronutrients (29%), portion sizes (16%), glycemic index (15%), and metabolic syndrome (12%). Among 57 question respondents, 49% reported having knowledge to now counsel patients about nutrition. There were 60 phase II respondents. Students reported sustained, increased nutrition knowledge (88%) and confidence (85%) from baseline, and making healthy personal dietary changes. Discussion It is important for physicians-in-training to gain nutrition education early in their career. This training can benefit student knowledge, behavior change, confidence, and their future patients through counseling.
Background and Objectives: Primary care supports the global health care system. With an increased need for primary care physicians, medical schools must provide resources, role models, and opportunities to increase the number of medical students matching into primary care residencies. Some medical schools have developed primary care pipeline programs for students. The outcomes of one such program—the Primary Care Program (PCP)—at the Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) of the University of Southern California (USC), an urban and private academic medical training center, are evaluated here. Methods: We reviewed PCP student outcome data for students who graduated between 2015 and 2022. Data were gathered through surveys, residency match lists, and graduation records. Results: Among PCP matriculates (n=134), 70% were female and 39% were underrepresented in medicine. Thirteen percent (n=16) of PCP graduates (n=122) completed a master of public health (MPH) degree. Among PCP graduates, 70% matched into primary care residencies compared to 36% of non-PCP graduates (P<.001). The most common residencies that PCP graduates matched into were family medicine (n=45, 37%), internal medicine (n=20, 16%), pediatrics (n=12, 10%), surgery (n=10, 8%), and psychiatry (n=9, 7%). A higher percentage of KSOM students matched into primary care residencies in the 8 graduation years after PCP was instituted (39%) than in the 8 graduation years before PCP was instituted (33%, P=.003). Conclusions: The PCP data demonstrate the program’s success at increasing the number of KSOM graduates matching into primary care residencies. The program provides a replicable training model.
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