Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Jul 2022)
Emergency Medical Technician Training in Medical School on Preparation for Required National Board Exams and Clerkship Rotations: Results from a Student Survey
Abstract
Hope Conrad,1 Raychel Simpson,1 Thomas H Blackwell,2 William S Wright3 1School of Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, Greenville, SC, USA; 2Greenville County EMS, Greenville, SC, USA; 3Department of Biomedical Sciences; University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, Greenville, SC, USACorrespondence: William S Wright, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, Department of Biomedical Sciences, 701 Grove Road, Greenville, SC, 29605, USA, Tel +1 864 455 9865, Fax +1 864 455 8404, Email [email protected]: The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville has incorporated Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training into the first semester curriculum with students becoming state-certified EMTs and completing one ambulance shift per month throughout their pre-clerkship years. Although there have been programs that have reported EMT experiences in the pre-clinical years of medical education, student perceptions of how the EMT experiences help prepare them for board exams and clerkships is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure student perceptions regarding the impact of an EMT course and training in the pre-clerkship curriculum in medical school on helping prepare them for national board exams (ie USMLE® Step 1, 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK), 2 Clinical Skills (CS)) and clerkship rotations.Methods: Second-, third-, and fourth-year medical students at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville completed an anonymous voluntary survey with response rates of 66.3%, 55.2%, and 56.9%, respectively. The study was reviewed and exempted by the University of South Carolina Institutional Review Board.Results: Seventeen percent, 14%, and 41% of students agreed/strongly agreed an EMT course helped prepare them for the USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 2 CS exam, respectively. Sixty-four percent of students agreed/strongly agreed that an EMT course and experience helped prepare them for clerkship rotations.Conclusion: The findings in this study support EMT training and experience as an EMT as one method to help prepare students for clerkship rotations.Keywords: emergency medical technician, medical school curriculum, USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 2 CS, clinical preparation
