1. Does a single diversity training day make a lasting impression?
Mimnagh, C., Farrington, R., Thampy, H.
Division of Medical Education, University of Manchester
Background/Aims
Results
Finding one conclusive definition of diversity is difficult. It should not be defined solely by demographics or characterised by labelling individuals on the basis of one particular aspect of their culture, ethnicity or background1. Instead, any difference between individuals should be acknowledged as diversity.
The General Medical Council (GMC) guidelines for teaching medical students about equality and diversity are about the needs of patients from diverse social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds presenting with a range of conditions2.
Training aims to help medical students become aware of their assumptions about others and consider how these could impact on clinical interactions.
With GMC support, diversity education has recently advanced, though progress is slow and assessing its impact remains challenging.
One method of assessing students ability to address patient diversity is Observed Structured Clinical Exams (OSCE), a series of stations, using both simulated and real patients, designed to assess clinical and communication skills.
The aim of this work was to evaluate the longer term impact of a 1 day diversity workshop for Year 3 MB ChB students through subsequent mock OSCE scores on a diversity-focused station 2 years later.
A Mann-Whitney U test revealed no statistically significant difference in median scores between students who attended the workshop (Md=5, n=85) and those who had not (Md=4, n=115), p=0.34.
P=0.34
Global OSCE station Scores
A Chi-square test for independence (with Yates Continuity Correction) indicated no significant association between taking part in the diversity workshop and recognising that diversity teaching had or hadn’t occurred
(1, n = 159) = 1.0 p =.32, phi = -.09.
Did students feel that diversity was covered in the MB ChB curriculum?
P=0.32
Number of students
Methods
Took part in diversity workshop
(n = 223)
Did not take part in diversity workshop
(n = 240)
Analysed (n = 115)
Analysed (n = 85)
Year 3: 2013
Year 5: 2015
Global Score mock OSCE data received for 200 students
n = 463
Flow of students through each stage of the research
Conclusion
Assessing that diversity learning has happened is difficult.
Future research should seek to understand, prior to intervention, what students understand diversity to mean in order to establish that complex learning has taken place.
This work supports the need for diversity teaching to be integrated throughout the curriculum. Teaching diversity in stand-alone workshops may undermine the importance of the topic.
Mock OSCE performance was evaluated using a 7-point global score scale. Examiners were unaware which students had taken part in the workshop.
Students also completed a questionnaire which asked whether they felt diversity had been covered in the curriculum (n = 159).
References
Dogra, N., Bhatti, F., Ertubey, C., Kelly, M., Rowlands, A., Singh, D., & Turner, M. (2016). Teaching diversity to medical undergraduates: curriculum development, delivery and assessment. AMEE GUIDE No. 103. Medical teacher, 38(4),
General Medical Council. Our standards for medical education and training. [accessed 19th October 2017].
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health