Prez Drills: An Online Interactive Workshop to Develop Presentation Skills in Preclinical Medical Students

Learning Objective: Students at our university identified low confidence in presenting oral cases and a desire for more practice. We created a workshop, “Prez Drillz”, to address this. We will cover our initiative, results to date, and ways that this can be implemented at other medical institutions.Background: Presenting clinical cases orally is a core skill for medical students, a task some find intimidating. Oral case presentations may influence preceptors’ impression of students, as it highlights learners’ cognitive and non-cognitive attributes.Objectives: Students at our university identified low confidence in presenting oral cases and a desire for more practice. We created a workshop, “Prez Drillz”, to address this.Methods: Before the workshop, students viewed a podcast on oral case presentation structure. 154 second-year students participated in the 2.5-hour workshop, hosted via Zoom videoconferencing, with 1 physician preceptor for 4-5 medical students. During the workshop, students first listened to a 5-minute case audio, outlining patient history and examination findings. Students delivered an oral case presentation, based on information extracted. Self-reflection and feedback from peers and preceptor followed. Students then practiced delivering a second oral case presentation by implementing the feedback received.Results: Students completed a retrospective survey on their agreement (1=strongly disagree; 5=strongly agree) with self-efficacy statements regarding presentation skills pre- vs post-workshop (effective frame/context, clear history/physical exam, convincing top differential diagnoses, comprehensive management plan, appropriate confidence, clear/effective communication, organized/structured approach). All ratings of self-efficacy (N=23) increased with statistical significance (p<0.001) and large effect size; the average self-efficacy rating was 2.50/5 pre-workshop versus 4.32/5 post-workshop. Average workshop rating (N=55) was 4.73/5.Conclusions: This workshop improved students’ self-efficacy in oral case presentation skills. Peer-teaching, repetition, and feedback opportunity aided their success. Medical educators can adapt this model to help learners improve and elevate their oral case presentations