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Introduction Formulating written patient assessments requires the student to synthesize subjective and objective information and use clinical reasoning to reach a diagnosis. Medical students lack this skill, and clinical experience is not enough to acquire it. This session provides a structured process for learning how to formulate a patient assessment. Methods Third-year medical students participated in a large-group interactive skill session at the beginning of their pediatrics clerkship. Instructors following a scripted model walked students through practice examples to ultimately formulate a complete written patient assessment. The session covered data synthesis, use of appropriate medical terminology, and differential diagnosis development. Students used an audience response system to practice these skills. Results Over 1 academic year, 250 medical students participated in six sessions, with an average of 40–50 attendees per session. Over 90% of students completed pre- and postsession written patient assessments. These assessments were evaluated using portions of the Pediatric History and Physical Exam Evaluation grading rubric. The session had a positive effect on patient assessment formulation skills, with a significant increase in scores after the session. Discussion The session improved students' skill in generating more complete written patient assessments. Almost all students found the session valuable regardless of prior clinical experience. Nearly 50% of students felt inadequately prepared to formulate a written patient assessment prior to the session, revealing a skills gap for learners and a curricular teaching gap. This skill session provided a structured method and active learning format for teaching this essential clinical skill.

Objectives In this article, we aimed to determine if there is a difference in length of respiratory support between nasoduodenal (NDT) and nasogastric tube (NGT) feedings in patients with bronchiolitis on high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC). Methods A single-center nonblinded parallel randomized control trial at a tertiary care hospital was designed. Pediatric patients ≤ 12 months old with bronchiolitis, on HFNC, requiring nutrition via a feeding tube were eligible. Patients were randomized to NGT or NDT and stratified into low- and high-risk groups. Length of respiratory support was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included length of stay, number of emesis events, maximum level of respiratory support, number of X-rays to confirm tube placement, number of attempts to place the tube by staff, adverse events during placement, instances of pediatric intensive care unit admission, and emergency room visits and hospital readmissions within 7 and 30 days after discharge. Results Forty patients were randomized, 20 in each arm. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics. We found no significant difference in length of respiratory support between the two groups (NGT 0.84 incidence rate ratio [0.58, 1.2], p = 0.34). None of the secondary outcomes showed significant differences. Each arm reported one adverse event: nasal trauma in the NGT group and pneumothorax in the NDT group. Conclusion For infants with bronchiolitis on HFNC that need enteric tube feedings, we find no difference in duration of respiratory support or other clinically relevant outcomes for those with NGT or NDT. These results should be interpreted in the context of a limited sample size and an indirect primary outcome of length of respiratory support that may be influenced by other factors besides aspiration events.

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