Bridging the Gap: The role of graduand students in developing medical education materials

Problem

Post-pandemic medical education delivery includes a greater role for online resources. Graduand students from the academic year 2021-2022 offer the unique perspective of experiencing medical education pre- and post- pandemic. This National Institute of Health Research School of Primary Care Research project has dual aims. The first is to examine whether there is a role for graduand students in developing educational materials. The second is to explore the impact on the graduand students’ teaching and leadership skills within a primary care education team. The project consisted of re-developing an online teaching package used in undergraduate primary care education at the University of Nottingham.

Approach

The graduand students joined the University of Nottingham Undergradate primary care education team as interns during their elective period. A two-month timeframe was offered to interns, during which they worked alongside experienced educators to re-develop an online teaching package. The package was aimed at introducing medical students to the fundamental principles of reflective practice, existing within a new undergraduate-level module. Tasks included brain-storming innovative teaching options, collecting and evaluating qualitative feedback from peers alongside developing teaching materials through an iterative approach. The project required the graduand students to apply their knowledge of medical education, as well as to develop their leadership and team-working skills.

Findings

The final online teaching package included multimedia components such as quizzes and worked examples to enhance the learning experience for medical students. The graduand students piloted the new online package with peers, which gained positive feedback and allowed further refinement. The teaching package was implemented into the undergraduate primary care teaching programme and is awaiting feedback from the first cohort of receiving undergraduate medical students. If the abstract is accepted, results will be presented at the conference.

Consequences

Overall, the graduand students felt empowered to take on the role of an educator to creatively innovate existing teaching material. The education team benefited from the fresh perspectives of highly experienced students including discussion and challenging of how material was previously taught. The graduand students were able to invest time in material development which was not achievable for other team members with increased clinical and academic commitments. In conclusion, this project demonstrates the potential of student internship programs in medical education to develop the creativity and leadership skills of future educators. The online teaching package developed by the students highlights the importance of incorporating innovative teaching methods in medical education and the impact that student engagement can have on the quality of medical education. Finally, this project highlights the importance of providing students with opportunities to develop their teaching and leadership skills in a supportive and practical environment.