Current Status of Dermatologic Education in US Medical Schools

Cahn, Brian A.; Harper, Haleigh; Halverstam, Caroline; Lipoff, Jules B.

doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2020.0006

Cited by 23 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Increased diversity is shown to be associated with improved clinical outcomes such as improved patient satisfaction and compliance as well as reduced clinical uncertainty regarding diagnosis and treatment options 14 . Currently, only 16% of United States medical schools dedicate a preclinical course to dermatology, and most do not require dermatology clinical rotations 15 . Yet, mentorship and pipeline programs have been found to be crucial to a successful dermatology match 16 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scoping review of medical students' perceptions of the field of dermatology

Abdelwahab

Shahin

Kim

et al. 2022

Skin Health and Disease

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Background Although perceived barriers to applying to dermatology have been researched among medical students, there remains a dearth of literature dedicated to understanding perceptions that medical students have of the field of dermatology and dermatologists. Methods A review of the literature in Embase, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect were carried out to identify articles and abstracts between 2016 and 2021 relating to medical student perceptions of the field of dermatology. Peer‐reviewed English studies measuring attitudes/level of interest in dermatology or other specialities, understanding of dermatologic topics, procedures, and/or scope of practice were included. Duplicate studies and conference abstracts were excluded. All publications were screened using the PRISMA‐Sc guidelines. Findings were summarised and tabulated accordingly. Results A total of nine articles met inclusion criteria and eight are included in this review since one was not accessible online. Notable findings include non‐US medical students perceiving dermatology as monotonous, stigmatized, unfamiliar, and difficult to access with a misunderstanding of the diversity and severity of the conditions dermatologists treat. No data on US medical student perceptions was found. Perceptions were found to be influential in career planning: medical students may reject specialities after exposure to negative comments on the field. Factors attracting students to dermatology include the appeal of being a dermatologist, media portrayal, and dermatologists' influence on patients' lives. Completion of dermatology‐related activities improved medical student interest, comfort, and understanding of the field. Early dermatology exposure in US undergraduate premedical students led to heightened interest in the field, more confidence in ability to find dermatology mentors, and increased perception that dermatology serves the needs of underserved communities. Conclusions This review demonstrates the need to further investigate medical student perceptions of dermatology, particularly in the United States. Perceptions of medical specialities can impact medical student career choices. Understanding which misconceptions may be preventing students from exploring dermatology can inform efforts towards improving diversity, equity, and inclusion: translating to an equitable match and improving patient outcomes. Limitations include exclusion of articles published before 2016, geographic variability in studies, and limited data on evolving student perceptions over time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 14 Currently, only 16% of United States medical schools dedicate a preclinical course to dermatology, and most do not require dermatology clinical rotations. 15 Yet, mentorship and pipeline programs have been found to be crucial to a successful dermatology match. 16 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scoping review of medical students' perceptions of the field of dermatology

Abdelwahab

Shahin

Kim

et al. 2022

Skin Health and Disease

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Despite this, teaching medical students who have no intention of specializing in dermatology the relevance of dermatology to their specialties of interests is currently not cited as a mandate in the Canadian Professors of Dermatology's National Dermatology Core Curriculum and Competencies [ 5 ]. In addition, Canadian national surveys from 1983 to 2018 consistently highlighted the disproportionately low level of dermatology teaching in relation to the amount of skin disease managed by physicians in practice [ 6 , 7 ]. In a survey for all dermatology directors at each Canadian medical school that was conducted in 2018, only 29% of them thought the dermatology education provided at their medical school was adequate [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the United States, the most recent survey of all 137 medical schools in 2019 revealed that only 12% of them had a course dedicated solely to dermatology in their preclerkship curricula and 1% had a required third-year clinical rotation in dermatology ranging from one to four weeks [ 7 ]. Reported challenges included lack of dermatology departments to assist, difficulty incorporating substantial dermatologic education into existing courses, and limited time in the schedule [ 7 ]. There is a similar need to improve the standards of dermatology teaching, learning, and assessment for Australian medical schools [ 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Skin Deep: case-based online modules to teach multidisciplinary care in dermatology among clerkship students

et al. 2023

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Background Canadian medical schools offer limited clinical dermatology training. In addition, there is a lack of educational resources that are designed specifically for clerkship students that focus on the multidisciplinary nature of dermatology. Objectives After developing case-based educational resources to address the lack of clinical exposure and learning of multidisciplinary care in dermatology, this study aimed to evaluate the educational intervention and gather feedback for future module development. Methods Ten online interactive dermatology case-based modules involving 14 other disciplines were created. Medical students (n = 89) from two Canadian schools were surveyed regarding perceptions of the existing dermatology curriculum. Among 89 students, 46 voluntarily completed the modules, and a survey (a five-point Likert scale ratings) including narrative feedback was provided to determine an improvement in dermatology knowledge and understanding of multidisciplinary care. Results Among 89 surveyed students, only 17.1% agreed that their pre-clerkship dermatology education was sufficient and 10.2% felt comfortable managing patients with skin conditions in a clinical setting. Among 46 students, 95.7% of students agreed that the modules fit their learning style (4.17 ± 0.73 on Likert scale) with positive narrative feedback. 91.3% agreed or strongly agreed that the modules enhanced their dermatology knowledge (4.26 ± 0.61). 79.6% of students agreed that the modules helped with understanding the multidisciplinary nature of dermatological cases (3.98 ± 0.81). Student comfort to manage skin conditions increased 7.7 times from 10.2% to 78.3% post-module. Conclusions Clerkship students had limited knowledge of dermatologic conditions; the case-based modules were able to successfully address these deficits and assist students in understanding the multidisciplinary nature of dermatology.

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“…Currently, only 16% of United States medical schools dedicate a preclinical course to dermatology, and most do not require dermatology clinical rotations. 5 As such, medical schools should augment instruction on dermatologic conditions. While integrating a dedicated course with clinical rotations would be ideal, other curricular demands may preclude this.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%