Medical students’ comfort with children

Summary Objective To examine the comfort level of medical students beginning their paediatric clerkships, and to identify students’ perceived concerns around interacting with children in a medical setting. Methods Prior to beginning required paediatric clerkships, third‐year students in two south‐eastern US medical schools completed an anonymous, 13‐item questionnaire eliciting prior personal experiences with children, as well as comfort levels with selected aspects of paediatric care. Results Based on 237 responses (76.2% response rate), medical students’ total child‐related experiences were significantly associated with self‐assessed comfort delivering paediatric care. Female students reported more prior experiences than male medical students; however, gender was not associated with comfort working with children. A dose–response curve of experience shows a critical level of two types of experiences for comfort in working with children. Students reported significantly lower levels of comfort in performing a physical exam on a child versus obtaining a child’s medical history from a parent/caregiver. Students’ child‐related experiences were significantly associated with self‐assessed comfort delivering paediatric careConclusions Medical students with little to no prior experience with children expressed significantly less comfort interacting with children in paediatric clerkships. A diversity of past experiences appeared to be a more meaningful correlate, as opposed to experience in a specific setting or context. Providing some general exposure to children during the preclinical years could instill in students greater comfort approaching their paediatric training.