TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluating an Advance Care Planning Curriculum
T2 - a Lecture, a Game, a Patient, and an Essay
AU - Van Scoy, Lauren
AU - Green, Michael
AU - Volpe, Rebecca
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, International Association of Medical Science Educators.
PY - 2019/6/15
Y1 - 2019/6/15
N2 - Purpose: Curricula on advance care planning are commonly absent or inadequate in the majority of medical schools. This study assessed an advance care planning mini-curriculum involving a lecture, an end-of-life conversation game, a patient encounter during which students facilitated completion of an advance directive, and a subsequent reflective essay. Methods: This convergent, mixed methods study used a pre-post, longitudinal design. Confidence having end-of-life conversations was assessed at three timepoints. A linear mixed effects model compared mean confidence at the three timepoints. Focus groups and open-ended questionnaires (analyzed using content analysis) explored student perceptions of the curricula. Results: Sixty-nine of 149 students completed the questionnaires; 18 students participated in the focus groups. Confidence scores increased by 10.3 points (+ 4.2 post-lecture/game; + 6.1 post-patient assignment/essay; p < 0.001 for all timepoints). Students felt the game (1) was a good “starting point” for learning to initiate end-of-life conversations; (2) fostered internal and external reflections about advance care planning; and (3) allowed exploration of the complexities of end-of-life discussions. Qualitative exploration suggested that high-level learning—interpreted through the lens of Bloom’s taxonomy—occurred. Conclusion: Mixed methods data suggest that the advance care planning mini-curriculum effectively increased student confidence having end-of-life conversations. Qualitative analyses revealed student learning covering all of tiers of Bloom’s taxonomy.
AB - Purpose: Curricula on advance care planning are commonly absent or inadequate in the majority of medical schools. This study assessed an advance care planning mini-curriculum involving a lecture, an end-of-life conversation game, a patient encounter during which students facilitated completion of an advance directive, and a subsequent reflective essay. Methods: This convergent, mixed methods study used a pre-post, longitudinal design. Confidence having end-of-life conversations was assessed at three timepoints. A linear mixed effects model compared mean confidence at the three timepoints. Focus groups and open-ended questionnaires (analyzed using content analysis) explored student perceptions of the curricula. Results: Sixty-nine of 149 students completed the questionnaires; 18 students participated in the focus groups. Confidence scores increased by 10.3 points (+ 4.2 post-lecture/game; + 6.1 post-patient assignment/essay; p < 0.001 for all timepoints). Students felt the game (1) was a good “starting point” for learning to initiate end-of-life conversations; (2) fostered internal and external reflections about advance care planning; and (3) allowed exploration of the complexities of end-of-life discussions. Qualitative exploration suggested that high-level learning—interpreted through the lens of Bloom’s taxonomy—occurred. Conclusion: Mixed methods data suggest that the advance care planning mini-curriculum effectively increased student confidence having end-of-life conversations. Qualitative analyses revealed student learning covering all of tiers of Bloom’s taxonomy.
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U2 - 10.1007/s40670-019-00713-5
DO - 10.1007/s40670-019-00713-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85065580519
SN - 2156-8650
VL - 29
SP - 453
EP - 462
JO - Medical Science Educator
JF - Medical Science Educator
IS - 2
ER -