Understanding Medical Students’ Perceived Barriers to Examining Paediatric Patients

In previous academic years, paediatric clinical teaching fellow team noted students were examining far fewer patients than expected

1. Understand common barriers to examining paediatric patients

2. Identify means to help students overcome these barriers

3. Evaluate weekly undergraduate bedside teaching sessions

Bedside teaching sessions were invaluable opportunities to examine children and receive constructive feedback

• 17 respondents

• Confidence level at start of placement 2.6 vs end of placement 3.6

• Mean number of patients examined by each student was 26

• To improve, Year 4 medical students fed back wanting more bedside teaching sessions, didactic teaching, time on the wards, and longer paediatric placement

Main barriers are expressed in the word cloud

• An online questionnaire was sent to three cohorts of students (n=45) focussing on confidence and barriers to examining children

• Responses were graded from 1 -5 on Likert scale where 5 represented ‘Most Confident’ and 1 represented ‘Least Confident’

Itfeelsunnecessarytosubjectchildren toanexaminationwhichisn'tclinically neededandmaycausethemdistress

• Medical students report a lack of confidence needed to examine children

• Other research also identifies confidence as a reason students fail to examine patients (1).

• Only a modest increase in confidence despite 6 bedside teaching sessions and students examining 26 patients

• In response, we:

• Have implemented mandatory examination record sheet

• Continue to deliver weekly 2:1 bedside teaching sessions for every student

• Emphasise student-patient interactions during bedside teaching