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The Utility of EMRs in Student Run Clinics
Author(s) -
Ueberroth Benjamin E,
Siegel Dana R
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the clinical teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.354
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1743-498X
pISSN - 1743-4971
DOI - 10.1111/tct.13043
Subject(s) - test (biology) , family medicine , electronic medical record , medical education , significant difference , health care , medicine , exact test , medical record , psychology , paleontology , radiology , economics , biology , economic growth
Summary Background A student‐run free clinic ( SRFC ) is a health care delivery system in which undergraduate medical students assume the responsibility of an outpatient health clinic. This provides a unique opportunity for early exposure to patients in a student's pre‐clinical years. Methods Pre‐ and post‐experience electronic surveys were sent out to first‐year medical students who were required to complete a minimum of three sessions as a volunteer at one of two SRFC s in the metro Detroit area. The Fisher's exact test was used to assess for a significant change after clinic experience with p < 0.05. Results Thirty‐one students completed the pre‐experience survey. Twenty‐five students completed the post‐experience survey. The Fisher's exact test demonstrated a significant increase in the proportion of positive answers for questions concerning comfort with taking a medical history (p = 0.002) and comfort with using an electronic medical record ( EMR ) (p = 0.048). There was no significant difference in comfort working as part of a team (p = 0.581), discussing a patient with a physician (p = 0.602) or interacting with different socio‐economic backgrounds (p = 0.720). Conclusion SRFC s provide a beneficial opportunity for early patient and clinical exposure for pre‐clinical medical students, including practice using an EMR , which is an essential tool in our electronic era. More research, however, is needed to determine the most effective way to teach skillful EMR use.