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Medical student research is recognized as a critical component of undergraduate medical education. Current studies focusing on curricular improvements to promote student research are limited by lack of objective outcome data. At the Mayo Medical School, research has been an integral component of the curriculum since its inception in 1972. In 2006, selectives (periods of time free from competing didactic or clinical responsibilities) were implemented, which permitted students flexibility in their pre-clinical years to pursue service projects, research endeavors, and career exploration. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of this curricular revision on research productivity by Mayo medical students. Publications by Mayo medical students graduating in the 2004-2011 time period were queried in the PubMed database. The number, impact factor, and time to publication for these publications was assembled and analyzed in a cohort of students that graduated before and after selectives were implemented. We found that students who participated in selectives published more papers, papers with a higher impact factor, and published papers earlier in their training than students who graduated prior to the implementation of selectives. We propose that selectives are an effective means to increase research productivity in the Mayo medical school curriculum.

The ability to form an accurate differential diagnosis is of paramount importance to the physician in training, but is a skill often relegated to practice during the clinical years of the traditional medical school curriculum. Further complicating matters is the subjective nature of what constitutes an accurate differential and the fact that a widely accepted metric or template for feedback does not currently exist. Our group created a collaborative metric that assessed differential diagnosis formation and provided feedback to 47 first-year, preclinical medical students through their practice of various clinical vignettes as part of the Mayo Medical School Pathology course. We found that first-year students not only improved significantly in their ability to form a more accurate differential but also reported engagement in self-directed learning as well as developing positive attitudes toward early clinical integration. Given the importance of these skills for future physicians, and the successes of our intervention, we propose that such metrics be used for guiding feedback to students learning to create differentials in the early undergraduate medical curriculum.

Objective: Matters of sexuality and sexual health are common in the practice of child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP), yet clinicians can feel ill-equipped to address them with confidence. To address this gap in training and practice, we developed, implemented, and evaluated an educational module enhanced by videotaped depictions of expert clinicians interacting with professional actors performing as standardized patients (SPs).Methods: We developed an educational resource highlighting common issues of sexual health relevant to CAP practice, including sexual development, psychotropic-related side effects, and sexuality in children with autism. We wrote original scripts, based on which two clinicians interacted with three SPs. Digital recordings were edited to yield 5 clips with a cumulative running time of 20 min. The clips were interspersed during a 90-min session comprising didactic and interactive components. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we used synchronous videoconferencing, which allowed content dissemination to several training programs across the country.Results: We recruited 125 learners from 16 CAP training programs through the American Academy of CAP's Alliance for Learning and Innovation (AALI). Routine inquiry into adolescent patients' sexual function was uncommon, reported by only 28% of participants, with “awkward” and “uncomfortable” the most common terms mentioned in reference to the clinical task. The didactic intervention led to measurable improvements after 2 weeks in skills and knowledge (p = 0.004) and in attitudes (p < 0.001). The three items with the greatest improvement were: (a) availability of developmentally tailored resources; (b) comfort in addressing sexual development with underage patients; and (c) with parents or guardians of neuroatypical or developmentally disabled patients (p < 0.001 for each).Conclusions: A sexual health curriculum enriched by video-based examples can lead to measurable improvement in outcomes pertinent to the clinical practice of CAP. These educational materials are available for distribution, use and adaptation by local instructors. Our study also provides proof-of-principle for the use of multisite educational initiatives in CAP through synchronized videoconferencing.

Objectives: Continuing education workshops are a common and scalable method of training professionals. But what makes for a good workshop? Is there a special alchemy of ingredients that produces a "secret sauce"? This study investigates practitioners' perceptions of particular aspects of training in order to develop more personalized and engaging clinical training efforts. Accordingly, this poster aligns precisely with the conference goals of improving the well-being of young patients and their families by training providers in evidence-based service delivery methods. Methods: Fifty-seven clinicians who attended a 3-day workshop on CBT with youth completed a program evaluation survey immediately following completion of the training. The instrument consisted of 12 items across various domains. Clinicians' perceptions of the depth of training, usefulness, new skills acquired, and new concepts learned were examined. Additionally, the presentation's organization and clarity were also evaluated. Item means were compared, frequencies were assessed, and Pearson correlations between items were computed on SPSS Statistics 26.0. Results: Several significant associations were revealed in the intercorrelational matrix table. The association between usefulness and acquisition of new skills earned the highest magnitude of correlation (r ¼ 0.59; p < 0.01). Clinicians clearly saw the depth of material as being related to the usefulness of material (r ¼ 0.42; p < 0.01), developing new skills (r ¼ 0.49; p < 0.01), learning new concepts (r ¼ 0.29; p < 0.05), organization (r ¼ 0.37; p < 0.05), and clarity (r ¼ 0.37; p < 0.05). Learning skills and acquiring new concepts were significantly linked (r ¼ 0.41; p < 0.01). The clarity and organization of material were highly correlated (r ¼ 0.54; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Workshop leaders are well-advised to present in-depth material in a clear and organized manner. Practitioners value workshops that are highly practical and teach new clinical skills.

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