How Prepared Are They? Pediatric Boot Camps and Intern Performance

Molly Rideout; Alan Schwartz; Erin Pete Devon; Rebekah Burns; Christine M Skurkis; Meredith Carter; Amanda Hartke; William V Raszka Jr; APPD LEARN/COMSEP Boot Camp Study Group

doi:10.1016/j.acap.2022.05.005

How Prepared Are They? Pediatric Boot Camps and Intern Performance

Acad Pediatr. 2022 Sep-Oct;22(7):1237-1245. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2022.05.005. Epub 2022 May 13.

Authors

Molly Rideout¹, Alan Schwartz², Erin Pete Devon³, Rebekah Burns⁴, Christine M Skurkis⁵, Meredith Carter⁶, Amanda Hartke⁷, William V Raszka Jr⁸; APPD LEARN/COMSEP Boot Camp Study Group

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Robert Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, University of Vermont Children's Hospital (M Rideout and WV Raszka), Burlington, Vt. Electronic address: molly.rideout@med.uvm.edu.
² Departments of Medical Education and Pediatrics, University of Illinois at Chicago (A Schwartz); Association of Pediatric Program Directors (A Schwartz), McLean, Va.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (EP Devon), Philadelphia, Pa.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle Children's Hospital (R Burns), Seattle, Wash.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Connecticut Children's (CM Skurkis), Hartford, Conn.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, Inova Children's Hospital (M Carter), Falls Church, Va.
⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Prisma Health Upstate and University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville (A Hartke), Greenville, SC.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, Robert Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, University of Vermont Children's Hospital (M Rideout and WV Raszka), Burlington, Vt.

PMID: 35577284
DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2022.05.005

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether participation in a pediatric boot camp during medical school was associated with higher intern performance. Secondary objectives were to determine whether participation in general boot camps, pediatric subinternships or pediatric electives was associated with higher performance.

Methods: Intern surveys and faculty performance assessments during early internship were collected from a convenience sample of pediatric residency programs. Interns completed a survey regarding participation in medical school boot camps, pediatric subinternships and pediatric electives. Faculty assessed intern performance on selected Milestone-based subcompetencies on a 5-point scale following each intern's initial inpatient rotation and results were compared between groups.

Results: Seventeen pediatric residency programs participated. Two hundred eighty-seven interns completed the survey (69%), and faculty completed assessments on 71% of these interns. Of interns with complete faculty assessments (n = 198), 25% participated in 5 or more days of pediatric boot camp, 30% in general boot camp, and 45% in no boot camp. There were no educationally significant associations between participation in 5 or more days of pediatric boot camp, general boot camp, subinternships, or electives and intern performance. Interns completing at least 10 days of pediatric boot camp (n = 25) had slightly higher ratings for incorporating feedback and engaging in help-seeking behavior during June and July only.

Conclusions: Participation in pediatric boot camps, general boot camps, pediatric subinternships or electives was not associated with substantially higher intern performance as measured by selected Milestone subcompetencies. Pediatric educators should carefully consider boot camp curricula and anticipated outcomes associated with boot camp participation.

Keywords: boot camps; fourth year; intern performance; residency preparation; transition to residency.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Child
Clinical Competence*
Curriculum
Education, Medical, Graduate / methods
Faculty
Humans
Internship and Residency*
Schools, Medical