UNASSIGNED: There is increasing recognition that incoming interns benefit from formal training in teaching skills during UME. Many medical schools have capstone courses well suited for teacher-training content. Mini chalk talks (MCTs) are a common clinical teaching modality requiring a variety of teaching skills. We developed a session for our institution\'s capstone course in which students prepared and delivered MCTs.
UNASSIGNED: The voluntary flipped classroom session was offered virtually in 2021 and in person in 2022. Before the session, students reviewed materials on creating effective MCTs and developed and practiced their own MCT. During the 90-minute session, students presented their MCT to a group of students in the same or similar future specialties and received feedback from their peers and a facilitator.
UNASSIGNED: Twenty-six percent of graduating students (95 of 370) in 16 specialties participated. Students had a statistically significant increase in confidence delivering effective MCTs (p < .01). On a 5-point Likert scale (1 = did not learn, 5 = a great amount), students\' mean ratings of clinical knowledge and teaching skills gained from the session were 4.4 and 4.5, respectively. Qualitative feedback highlighted the benefits of receiving feedback on teaching (31 of 77 respondents, 40%), practicing teaching skills (21 of 77, 27%), and experiencing other students\' MCTs (13 of 77, 17%).
UNASSIGNED: Our MCT session provides a versatile, resource-efficient method of supporting students in transitioning to the role of resident educators. It also offers them an opportunity to receive valuable feedback on their teaching in a low-stakes environment.

Background: This paper describes a series of integrative courses intentionally designed to prepare students for Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) in a block system curriculum. Innovation: Three integration blocks are interspersed throughout the didactic curriculum to serve as checkpoints to ensure competency as students progress in the curriculum, rather than waiting until the end to determine competency. Complex patient case discussions and a series of high-stakes assessments are used to reinforce and evaluate cumulative retention of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Findings: Class of 2022 exam results showed that in the cohort of students who failed the high-stakes comprehensive knowledge assessment (CKA) and pharmacy calculations exams during the first integration block (IB), failure rates decreased in subsequent IBs, indicating early detection of knowledge deficiencies and either exam performance improvement in each IB or failure to progress to the next IB. A survey of the same cohort indicated that the final integration block prior to advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) helped improve confidence in applying key knowledge and skills into practice. Conclusion: The series of integration blocks designed and implemented at WesternU provides opportunities to reinforce knowledge and skills while requiring students to demonstrate maintenance of core competency as they progress through the curriculum.

BACKGROUND: Interdisciplinary teaching provides students with multiple perspectives through instruction from faculty and students in other academic areas. Providing interdisciplinary teaching to students in nursing and interdisciplinary programs could help foster collaborations between students in nursing and students in fields such as design or engineering, which could expand students\' understanding of the skills required to develop a working prototype.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether there is an effect of interdisciplinary teaching on nursing students\' creative thinking abilities.
METHODS: A quasi-experimental study of two experimental and one control group with a pre-test/post-test design.
METHODS: The study was conducted between September 2018 and January 2020 in classrooms of a university of science and technology in Taiwan.
METHODS: Nursing students (N = 191) enrolled in capstone courses participated in this study. Two groups of students were assigned to the intervention: Group 1, comprised of typical students (n = 80) or Group 2, comprised of students with teaching assistantships (n = 30). The control group (n = 81) was typical students. The intervention groups received instruction from interdisciplinary faculty in nursing and design and creativity training. The control group was taught by nursing faculty only, without creativity training.
METHODS: The Taiwanese version of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-Figural (TTCT-F) instrument assessed students\' creative thinking abilities at the beginning (pre-test) and end of the 18-week course (post-test). Differences in pre-test/post-test scores between groups were examined with analysis of covariance.
RESULTS: Comparisons between mean total and subscale scores for TTCT-F for the two intervention groups and controls demonstrated only Group 2 students (teaching assistants) had significantly higher scores than the control group. Teaching assistants also had significantly higher scores than Group 1.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest interdisciplinary teaching benefited creative thinking abilities of nursing students holding teaching assistantships. Therefore, it may be more important to first emphasize improvements in academic performance for typical nursing students in Taiwan and then incorporate interdisciplinary teaching into nursing programs to improve creative thinking.

BACKGROUND: The final months of the fourth-year of medical school are variable in educational and clinical experience, and the effect on clinical knowledge and preparedness for residency is unclear. Specialty-specific \"bootcamps\" are a growing trend in medical education aimed at increasing clinical knowledge, procedural skills, and confidence prior to the start of residency.
METHODS: We developed a 4-week Emergency Medicine (EM) bootcamp offered during the final month of medical school. At the conclusion of the course, participants evaluated its impact. EM residency-matched participants and non-participants were asked to self-evaluate their clinical knowledge, procedural skills and confidence 1 month into the start of residency. Program directors were surveyed to assess participants and non-participants across the same domains. A Fisher\'s exact test was performed to test whether responses between participants and non-participants were statistically different.
RESULTS: From 2015 to 2018, 22 students participated in the bootcamp. The majority reported improved confidence, competence, and procedural skills upon completion of the course. Self-assessed confidence was significantly higher in EM-matched participants 1 month into residency compared to EM-matched non-participants (p = 0.009). Self-assessed clinical knowledge and procedural skill competency was higher in participants than non-participants but did not reach statistical significance. Program directors rated EM-matched participants higher in all domains but this difference was also not statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS: Participation in an EM bootcamp increases self-confidence at the start of residency among EM-matched residents. EM bootcamps and other specialty-specific courses at the end of medical school may ease the transition from student to clinician and may improve clinical knowledge and procedural skills.

Introduction Changes in medical education and health care delivery have limited the ability of fourth-year medical students to perform the role of an intern prior to graduating from medical school. To address this issue, many schools have instituted residency preparation courses (sometimes referred to as boot camps) particularly for students entering surgical fields. Courses for students entering nonprocedural fields are less common and most assess increases in self-reported confidence without providing objective evidence of a gain in knowledge or skills improvement. Materials and Methods We used a Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) model to develop and pilot cycle 1 of a nonprocedural internship preparation elective in 2019. Feedback was used to refine the course and map sessions to core competencies outlined by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for PDSA cycle 2. The curriculum was adapted for remote synchronous delivery due to the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020 using a combination of didactic lectures containing embedded polls and case-based role play responses using a chat box. Students completed anonymous surveys assessing self-perceived levels of confidence, as well as an objective comprehensive assessment after course completion. Results A total of 89 students participated in the course. Pre-session confidence was lowest for transfusion medicine, handling pages from nursing while on call, and knowledge of the role of a chief resident. A statistically significant increase in median scores for self-reported knowledge or confidence was seen in all sessions. The percentage of students reporting that they were either confident or extremely confident also increased significantly after each session (p<0.001 for all). All sessions analyzed were rated as useful or extremely useful by more than half of the students, and 94% of the students scored 70% or higher on the comprehensive course assessment. Conclusions An online virtual synchronous boot camp increased students\' confidence in handling common topics encountered during residency and demonstrated an appropriate gain in knowledge using a comprehensive assessment. We were able to adapt our curriculum to a remote model and will likely keep several sessions in an online format in the future.

Although many medical schools are adding residency preparatory courses or boot camps to their curricula, there is little published guidance for faculty tasked with designing them. We developed a workshop and accompanying boot camp course design tool kit to assist faculty in creating a pediatric boot camp course following the initial steps of Kern\'s framework for curriculum development.
Learners participated in a 2-hour workshop incorporating short didactics, guided independent reflection, and group discussions. Workshop facilitators guided faculty through the tool kit materials including a literature overview, a needs assessment worksheet, session prioritization and schedule planning worksheets, a module design worksheet, and implementation strategies.
Twenty-seven attendees at a national meeting of undergraduate pediatric educators participated in the workshop. Feedback was solicited via an anonymous electronic survey (41% completion rate), which indicated that attendees\' self-assessed confidence significantly increased for each component of the tool kit. For the five tool kit components surveyed, average confidence increased 26% (range: 17.5%-37.1%) after completing the workshop. All respondents also indicated that the tool kit would be moderately helpful to very helpful as a stand-alone resource for independent faculty use, corresponding to a 3.57 out of 5 weighted average for this Likert-scale question.
We developed a pediatric boot camp course design workshop and tool kit to assist faculty in developing pediatric boot camps. Initial implementation was through a workshop, but the resource could be used individually and also adapted for use by other specialties.

We describe an advanced, inquiry driven undergraduate course in Cancer Biology that combines faculty lectures typical of undergraduate courses with literature-driven discussions typical of graduate courses. As a capstone course, one goal of this course is to integrate knowledge from previous coursework in physiology, cell and molecular biology, genetics, and chemistry, so that students acquire a state-of-the-art understanding of cancer and cancer treatment. A related goal is for students to learn, from the primary literature, how science is performed and how new scientific knowledge is used to improve cancer treatment. We report on the development of this course and the methods used to accomplish the course goals. We present the results of a 5-year survey that provides a detailed picture of the demographics of the class and demonstrates that the course results in improved understanding of both cancer biology and how science is performed. Student responses to our survey strongly support the use of original literature as a teaching tool. We suggest that incorporation of primary literature into advanced undergraduate science courses is an effective approach for improving scientific literacy. © 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 47(4):408-416, 2019.

Objective. To describe how a pharmacotherapy capstone course was used for student learning and programmatic curricular assessment. Design. A pharmacotherapy capstone course was included in the University of Colorado curriculum for 13 years from 2002 through 2014. This 9-credit hour course was the last course prior to Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs). Students were held accountable for prior learning using complex patient cases and other activities that are seen in APPEs. Application of knowledge, skills, and critical thinking were integrated in this course using exclusively active learning methodologies. Students were expected to actively participate and learn independently, from peers and through self-assessment. Assessment. Evidence of student learning was demonstrated based on student performance on written and verbal evaluations analyzed from 2012 to 2014. Survey and self-evaluation data indicated that students learned within the course. An increase in student confidence in critical thinking, problem-solving, decision making, and lifelong learning was also seen during APPEs. Student performance in this course prompted changes to prerequisite courses and guided development of a renewed curriculum. Conclusion. The University of Colorado pharmacotherapy capstone course prepared students for the rigor of APPEs, provided insight that facilitated improvements in prerequisite courses, and was a nexus for the development of a renewed curriculum, which includes a new clinical capstone course.

OBJECTIVE: Many medical schools have begun to offer surgical boot camps to senior medical students. The aim of the present study is to systematically review the literature and evidence surrounding medical school surgical boot camps to direct future research into the effectiveness of boot camps.
METHODS: A systematic review was conducted, searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and ERIC. The review was conducted according to the PICOTS structure, with an intervention of a surgical boot camp for senior medical students entering surgical residencies.
RESULTS: The search resulted in 5351 database hits, from which we identified 10 published studies that met the inclusion criteria. Two reviews were identified that met the PICOTS criteria but were excluded from data synthesis. Boot camps increase the confidence and competence of medical students entering their surgical internships. There is no objective assessment of the effect of boot camps on the clinical performance of interns.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite the success of medical school surgical boot camps, no objective data exist to show that boot camps translate into improved performance during internship.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the development of a capstone course using qualitative results of focus groups and to determine the impact of the course using a pre- and postcourse surveys.
METHODS: A course titled Advanced Patient Care was developed using themes emerged from 3 stakeholder focus groups and implemented with case-based sessions, interactive exercises, and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). Pre- and postcourse surveys were conducted to assess the students\' confidence and knowledge in managing 8 commonly-encountered conditions.
RESULTS: During the 2-year course implementation, a total of 169 students participated in the pre- and postcourse surveys (87.6% response rate). The mean total confidence score increased significantly from 54.3 (±9.2) to 69.0 (±8.6, p < 0.001), and the total mean knowledge score increased significantly from 6.3 to 6.9 (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: The capstone course, fueled by focus group findings and implemented using interactive sessions and simulations, positively impacted students\' confidence and knowledge for clinical practice experiences and professional practice.