Neurosurgery Conference Experience Embedded within PCOM\u27s Clinical and Basic Neuroscience Curriculum: An Active Learning Model

Many osteopathic and allopathic undergraduate medical training programs are transforming their pre-clerkship curricula to incorporate student engagement and active learning strategies designed to help students experience deep learning linked with higher-order assessments. Our Neurosurgery Conference was developed as a collaboration between the Neurosurgery GME residency program and the Department of Bio-Medical Sciences as an active learning model within the framework of the Clinical and Basic Neuroscience (CBN) block. This program was designed to engage the second-year medical students in critical thinking and expose them to a “hands-on skills” workshop experience. The format was that of a medical conference, with clinicians who attended eligible for CME credits. The morning program consisted of seven 30-minute invited talks given by accomplished Neurosurgeons from hospitals within the greater Philadelphia region, which ranged from a retrospective of the Neurosurgical field to novel surgical procedures and techniques currently being employed. The afternoon cadaver skills workshops took place in the gross anatomy teaching lab and consisted of eleven surgical stations, each sponsored by an industry partner who loaned surgical equipment as well as technical personnel as needed. These stations simulated the operating room environment where neurosurgery residents and neurosurgeons assisted medical students with various techniques and the use of the equipment. To keep group size manageable, the class of 261 students was divided into four groups, each of which was allocated one hour in the lab. For CBN students, attendance at the Neurosurgery Conference was optional; however they were eligible to earn up to 2% of their final course grade for attending at least 2 talks and 2 workshops. Attendance was assessed by a short quiz administered through ExamSoft. Median attendance was 3 talks and 4 workshops per student, with 96% of the class attending at least one talk or workshop station. Each talk was attended by over 40% of the class; attendance at workshop stations ranged from 18 to 56%, perhaps depending on the station’s ability to accommodate multiple participants. Although the Neurosurgery Conference was not intended to produce neurosurgeons per se, the attendance figures and comments received indicate that the program was well received and appreciated as a program sponsored within the medical school curriculum that fostered interaction between students, residents, and neurosurgeons, thereby contributing to the students’ learning and social interaction in a professional environment