TY - JOUR
T1 - Teaching advance care planning to medical students with a computer-based decision aid
AU - Green, Michael J.
AU - Levi, Benjamin H.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Nursing Research (1 R21 NR008539), Penn State University Social Science Research Institute, and Penn State University Woodward Endowment for Medical Science Education.
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - Discussing end-of-life decisions with cancer patients is a crucial skill for physicians. This article reports findings from a pilot study evaluating the effectiveness of a computer-based decision aid for teaching medical students about advance care planning. Second-year medical students at a single medical school were randomized to use a standard advance directive or a computer-based decision aid to help patients with advance care planning. Students' knowledge, skills, and satisfaction were measured by self-report; their performance was rated by patients. 121/133 (91%) of students participated. The Decision-Aid Group (n=60) outperformed the Standard Group (n=61) in terms of students' knowledge (p<0.01), confidence in helping patients with advance care planning (p<0.01), knowledge of what matters to patients (p=0.05), and satisfaction with their learning experience (p<0.01). Likewise, patients in the Decision Aid Group were more satisfied with the advance care planning method (p<0.01) and with several aspects of student performance. Use of a computer-based decision aid may be an effective way to teach medical students how to discuss advance care planning with cancer patients.
AB - Discussing end-of-life decisions with cancer patients is a crucial skill for physicians. This article reports findings from a pilot study evaluating the effectiveness of a computer-based decision aid for teaching medical students about advance care planning. Second-year medical students at a single medical school were randomized to use a standard advance directive or a computer-based decision aid to help patients with advance care planning. Students' knowledge, skills, and satisfaction were measured by self-report; their performance was rated by patients. 121/133 (91%) of students participated. The Decision-Aid Group (n=60) outperformed the Standard Group (n=61) in terms of students' knowledge (p<0.01), confidence in helping patients with advance care planning (p<0.01), knowledge of what matters to patients (p=0.05), and satisfaction with their learning experience (p<0.01). Likewise, patients in the Decision Aid Group were more satisfied with the advance care planning method (p<0.01) and with several aspects of student performance. Use of a computer-based decision aid may be an effective way to teach medical students how to discuss advance care planning with cancer patients.
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U2 - 10.1007/s13187-010-0146-2
DO - 10.1007/s13187-010-0146-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 20632222
AN - SCOPUS:79959496953
SN - 0885-8195
VL - 26
SP - 82
EP - 91
JO - Journal of Cancer Education
JF - Journal of Cancer Education
IS - 1
ER -
