Qualitative Analysis of a Virtual Near-Peer Pediatric Boot Camp Elective.

Objective: To explore fourth-year medical students' experience with a virtual, near-peer facilitated pediatric boot camp through the lens of self-determination theory (SDT). Methods: We developed a virtual pediatric boot camp elective for fourth-year medical students pursuing pediatric residency using Kern's six steps of curriculum development. The two-week virtual elective consisted of facilitated video conferences and small group discussions led by two senior pediatric residents. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted after elective completion. Using SDT as our conceptual framework, we explored participants' experience with the near-peer facilitation of the boot camp. Focus group recordings were transcribed and thematically analyzed using deductive coding for SDT, with inductive coding for themes outside the theory's scope. Saturation was reached after three focus groups. The codebook was iteratively revised through peer debriefing between coders and reviewed by other authors. Credibility was established through member checking. Results: Ninety-two percent of eligible medical students ( Conclusions: Medical students' experience with our virtual boot camp closely aligned with SDT. Near-peer relatedness emerged as a unique theme which could be further investigated in other aspects of medical student education. Future research could evaluate higher-level learning outcomes from near-peer educational opportunities. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01466-w.