gms | German Medical Science

Fragestellung/Einleitung: Recent surveys have revealed that German medical students do not receive adequate skills training with regard to preventive medicine. For example, less than 10% of final-year students felt they were able to provide counselling to smokers willing to quit. The objective of this study was to implement and evaluate a novel smoking cessation counselling training module for undergraduate medical students.

Methoden: Following consultations with international experts on smoking cessation and medical education, we designed a teaching module fostering competencies relevant to the management of smoking patients. The instructional formats used included a flipped classroom approach, a video showing a short counselling session, a seminar during which guideline recommendations were discussed, and a practical training session. Student learning outcome was assessed prospectively in written knowledge tests and OSCEs in winter term 2014/15. In addition, student attitudes towards the module were gauged in focus group discussions.

Ergebnisse: A total of 108 students completed the module. There were significant pre-post differences in the knowledge test (17.4±3.0 vs. 28.5±4.5 out of 39 points; p<0.001; Cohen’s d=2.9). Effect sizes were particularly large for knowledge of counselling techniques, side-effects of cessation medication and potential harms and benefits of e-cigarettes. In the OSCE, students scored 40.8±4.2 out of 50 points. Student evaluation of the module was overly positive; qualitative analyses revealed that students were interested in additional training for competencies related to preventive medicine as a whole. Long-term follow-up will be completed in July 2015.

Diskussion/Schlussfolgerung: This short module using modern instructional formats succeeded in equipping medical students with the knowledge and skills required to help smokers quit. Learning outcome in this student cohort will be compared to data obtained in a control cohort that did not receive the intervention (data collection will be completed in July). Work-based assessments are needed to confirm that the effects seen in this study translate into clinical practice. In addition, the impact on patient quit rates needs to be established. In summary, this module can be seen as a basic concept for an intensified preventative training in undergraduate medical studies.