Advanced Urology Boot Camp: A Simulation-based Curriculum to Enhance Fourth-year Medical Student Procedural Competency

Abstract

Introduction: Simulation-based medical education continues to gain popularity as the clinical environment requires exemplary patient safety while simultaneously maximizing the learner's educational experience. There is a current lack of urology-focused medical student education curricula in the literature. Here, we present the findings of a didactic and simulation-based medical student advanced "urology boot camp" curriculum, which was designed for learners interested in pursuing careers in urology.

Methods: Twenty-nine fourth-year urology-dedicated medical students completing their subinternship at our institution during the 2018-2019 academic year participated in an advanced hands-on simulation "boot camp," which taught both simple and advanced Foley catheter placement, manual and continuous bladder irrigation, and diagnostic cystoscopy. Knowledge acquisition was assessed through quizzes administered before and after completing electronic modules, and a post-simulation survey assessing learners' confidence in their knowledge and skill set, as well as their satisfaction with the curriculum.

Results: Medical students demonstrated significant gains in knowledge from pre-test (mean 73.7%) to post-test (mean 94.5%, P < .001), which was consistent across each simulation procedure. Participants self-reported significant improvement in confidence with the procedures from before to after the educational intervention (P < .001). Students also found the curriculum to be beneficial to their understanding of the subject matter (P < .001), would recommend this curriculum to other medical students (P < .001), and thought it better prepared them to meet expected ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) milestones (P < .001).

Conclusions: Findings from our advanced "boot camp" simulation curriculum demonstrated successful gains in knowledge and confidence following learning modules and hands-on simulation, indicating that this type of educational intervention could be beneficial in improving exposure to skills and developing confidence prior to urology internship and junior residency.

Keywords: education, medical; simulation training; students, medical; urology.