A Curriculum Ignored? The Usage of Unofficial Commercial and Peer Learning Resources in Undergraduate Medical Education at a Canadian Medical School.

Medical students often seek educational resources outside of the formal curriculum to support their education. Commercial and student-developed educational resources are readily available, and may supplement or even replace aspects of the formal curriculum. Since this has the potential to impact what students learn and ultimately impact patient care, gaining a better understanding of the prevalence and patterns of use of these resources is of great interest. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to explore the use of non-traditional resources in undergraduate medical education. We surveyed University of Ottawa medical students to determine the usage, rationale, and perceived benefits and drawbacks of these educational resources. The response rate was 57/342 (17%). Of 57 respondents (first year = 21, second year = 34, MD/PhD = 2), 98.2% report using non-traditional resources, with Upper Year Notes, Student Developed Anki decks (a spaced repetition flashcard tool), and Student Developed Question Banks being most common. Although 75% of students reported using official lecture slides and practice tests, they reported spending more of their time (63%) using third-party resources compared to official curriculum offerings. Reported advantages of non-traditional resources listed were faster, more efficient, and easier to understand/search. Disadvantages were difficulty aligning unofficial resources with local exams, determining the level of detail required, and cost. These results suggest a need to examine curriculum design and delivery and further investigate the role of non-traditional resources developed by medical students and the role of medical students as peer educators. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01899-5.