Improving Medical Student Confidence Performing Skin Biopsies Through an Interactive Workshop
Main Article Content
Keywords
dermatology education, skin biopsies, biopsy workshop, student-run free clinics, dermatology away rotations
Abstract
Introduction: At the University of Texas Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine, many students have expressed hesitancy in actively participating when a skin biopsy is needed at the community dermatology free clinic. To address this, we hosted a workshop where medical students could directly learn how to perform shave and punch biopsies from dermatology residents.
Methods: A PowerPoint presentation covering the preparation, types, and aftercare of biopsies was given pre-workshop. Four dermatology residents were assigned to groups of students. During the workshop, students practiced the full procedure of performing a biopsy. Pre- and post-surveys were administered immediately and four months after the workshop. Qualitative responses were converted into a 4-point Likert scale, and a Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical analysis.
Results: 26 student responses were collected immediately after, and 17 were collected four months after the workshop. There were significant increases in comfort assisting with performing skin biopsies (p <0.001), performing biopsies under supervision (p <0.001), and preparing for a biopsy (p <0.001) immediately and four months after the workshop. Additionally, there were significant increases in knowledge of the utility of biopsies (p <0.001) and the different biopsy types (p <0.001) immediately and four months after the workshop. The number of correct answers to the five-item knowledge quiz significantly increased (p <0.001) immediately and four months after the workshop.
Conclusion: Our workshop improved student confidence in preparing for, assisting with, and performing skin biopsies and has demonstrated sustained efficacy.
References
2. Cahn BA, Harper HE, Halverstam CP, Lipoff JB. Current Status of Dermatologic Education in US Medical Schools. JAMA Dermatol. 2020;156(4):468-470. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.0006
3. McCleskey PE, Gilson RT, DeVillez RL. Medical Student Core Curriculum in Dermatology Survey. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2009;61(1):30-35.e4. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2008.10.066
4. Henry-Noel N, Bishop M, Gwede CK, Petkova E, Szumacher E. Mentorship in Medicine and Other Health Professions. J Cancer Educ. 2019;34(4):629-637. doi:10.1007/s13187-018-1360-6
5. Seif G, Coker-Bolt P, Kraft S, Gonsalves W, Simpson K, Johnson E. The development of clinical reasoning and interprofessional behaviors: service-learning at a student-run free clinic. J Interprof Care. 2014;28(6):559-564. doi:10.3109/13561820.2014.921899
6. Chen A, Shinkai K. Rethinking How We Select Dermatology Applicants-Turning the Tide. JAMA Dermatol. 2017;153(3):259-260. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2016.4683
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY): lets others distribute and copy the article, to create extracts, abstracts, and other revised versions, adaptations or derivative works of or from an article (such as a translation), to include in a collective work (such as an anthology), to text or data mine the article, even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit the author(s), do not represent the author as endorsing their adaptation of the article, and do not modify the article in such a way as to damage the author's honor or reputation.
Authors retain copyright in their work and license the publisher to publish the content. The publisher is the National Society for Cutaneous Medicine, with production and publishing support provided by OJS, Open Journal Systems,see https://pkp.sfu.
Prior to January 2022, authors transferred copyright to the National Society for Cutaneous Medicine. However, all articles are freely available to anyone in the world. There are no subscription fees, page charges, or article processing charges.