Impact of Student Interest Groups' Simulation Activities on the Awareness of Underrepresented Specialties and Knowledge of Related Pathologies in a School With Limited Residency Programs and Exposure.

introductionMedical students who attend home institutions without specialty programs, like otolaryngology (ENT) and anesthesiology, have less awareness of the specialty. The purpose of this study was to determine if simulation activities developed by student interest groups in medical specialties can increase awareness and knowledge of these specialties.

methodsFirst-, second- and third-year medical students participated in two simulations. The first simulation session was a collaboration between the ENT Interest Group at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine (UCF COM) and Stryker (Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA), a medical equipment vendor that supplied the surgical equipment. The hands-on simulation activities included a variety of ENT equipment. The second simulation session was a collaboration between the ENT Interest Group, Neurology Interest Group and Anesthesiology Interest Group with residents and physicians from affiliated institutions. Students participated in hands-on activities that included simulators and working with physicians on intubation, using an otoscope and reading head and neck medical images. In both, participants completed a Likert-scale questionnaire prior to and immediately following the hands-on simulation activity. Additionally, participants responded to one open-ended question. IBM SPSS Statistics, version 28.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, USA) and paired t-test were used for data analysis.

resultsThirty-six medical students completed the first simulation and survey. Interest in pursuing ENT rose from 2.75 to 3.25 (p<0.001), awareness of ENT instruments increased from 1.58 to 3.28 (p<0.001), and confidence in using these instruments increased from 1.31 to 2.89 (p<0.001). Knowledge of head and neck anatomy and ENT diseases also improved, with scores rising from 2.17 to 2.86 (p<0.001) and 2.17 to 2.92 (p<0.001), respectively. Students who reported increased interest in ENT attributed it primarily to the knowledge gained and the hands-on nature of the simulation. Twenty medical students completed the second simulation and survey. Interest increased significantly in neurology (1.75 to 2.75, p<0.05); however, medical knowledge and procedural knowledge were significantly increased in all three specialties of ENT, neurology and anesthesiology.

conclusionThis study indicates that simulation-based events can substantially enhance both interest and awareness in ENT and anesthesiology, particularly for medical students with limited exposure to the specialty. By providing immersive, hands-on experiences, these simulations offer medical students valuable insights into specialties that are typically unavailable until clinical years.