A special event hosted by the Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Procedures for Future Physicians student organization has gained attention for improving student confidence before they enter the third- and fourth-year clerkship environment by expanding exposure to procedural skills throughout the pre-clinical years.

The event, Procedure Fest, has been held yearly since 2023 in the School of Medicine’s Scott Hall and Mazurek Medical Education Commons, and has featured as many as 25 medical specialty interest groups showcasing procedures commonly performed in their fields, with interactive teaching and practice.

“We felt this event was needed mainly to excite and inspire students to learn more about different fields of medicine through commonly-performed procedures in each respective field. We also thought it would be useful for students to gain exposure to procedures and start to build skills early that would be useful for them later on in clinical rotations and beyond,” said Sonja Klumpp, a third-year medical student and Procedures for Future Physicians member.

Inspired by feedback from students who attended the 2023 event, Klumpp and several third-year classmates wrote the related study, “Impact of Early Procedural Exposure on Pre-Clinical Medical Students’ Confidence,” published Jan. 14 in Cureus, an open-access, online medical journal.

Procedure Fest sessions cover a variety of hands-on learning activities, including suturing, phlebotomy, catheter placement, intubation, splinting, pap smears, lumbar punctures and subcutaneous injections.

Post-event surveys are conducted to evaluate student perception of procedural exposure in their pre-clinical curriculum and the impact of the event on their level of confidence before entering clinical clerkships. In 2023, 187 medical students participated in the event and completed surveys. Students reported a lack of procedural exposure in their pre-clinical curriculum and an increase in confidence to perform well in clerkships following the event. Statistically-significant improvements in confidence were observed across all procedures taught during the event.

The study results demonstrate the impact of early procedural exposure on pre-clinical medical students. Students showed notable increases in their level of confidence to enter clerkships after exposure to commonly-performed procedures they may come across in a clinical setting. The study also suggests that such exposure and learning are particularly beneficial when carried out in a simulated and low-stress environment. Early procedural exposure may also set students up for success in their clerkships by furthering their ability to participate as active members of the care team and expanding learning opportunities. For these reasons, early procedural exposure, possibly through events such as the one carried out in this study, can be a valuable addition to standard medical school curricula.

The study authors include Klumpp, Ingrid Rocha, Cyrus Amirfazli, Cameron Bear, Josh DeYoung, Mithil Gudi, Meet Patel and the group’s mentor, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Daniel DeWeert, M.D., who directs the School of Medicine’s Clinical Skills 2 course.

The event has been attended by nearly 300 students, “showcasing the impact that one day of learning can have on student confidence in their skills,” Klumpp said.

The published case study has been presented by the students at several conferences, she said, and the feedback has been great. “Dr. DeWeert has also shared the idea with colleagues,” Klumpp added.

(The 2024 Procedure Fest photo gallery is available on Flickr.com).