Nutrition and Preventative Medicine Across the Lifespan: Implementation of a Physician Assistant Team-Based Learning Curriculum on Pediatric Preventative Medicine

Abstract

Purpose Physician assistants (PAs) will increasingly fill an important primary care gap in pediatrics. This study implemented a pediatric preventative care curriculum using a team-based learning (TBL) strategy and then evaluated the effect on first-year PA students' knowledge and attitudes toward TBL as a teaching method. Methods The curriculum was developed and implemented during a one-semester course. Students completed knowledge-based questions precourse and postcourse; the mean scores for individual students were then compared using a paired t test. Descripted statistics were used to analyze the postcourse survey that evaluated students' attitudes toward TBL. Results Of the 31 PA students who participated, 27 (87%) completed the surveys and were included in the analysis. The mean correct pretest and posttest scores were 17/39 and 31/39, respectively, resulting in a change of 14 points (p < .05). The majority of students (85%) rated TBL as effective, and most students (75%) reported that it led to retention of the presented content. Conclusions A TBL-based curriculum in pediatric preventative care was effective in increasing PA student knowledge, and the students reported it as effective. This strategy could be considered for other PA courses.

Evaluating Physician Associate (PA) students’ perceptions of an Online Team Based Learning (TBL) session on Stroke Medicine

“…In the United States, a number of studies have evaluated PA students' perceptions of TBL. These identi ed that student opinions vary across studies looking at TBL's utility and impact on learning (Naguyen et al, 2016;Patel et al, 2020). Isbell et al (2016) identi ed TBL's positive impact on PA student performance in gross anatomy.…”