Teaching patient wellness to first-year medical students: the impact on future ability to perform the history of present illness.
OBJECTIVE
Curriculum innovations to improve clinical skills have been implemented at many American medical schools. A current curricular change at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine involves teaching wellness to students in the first year rather than the more traditional focus on disease processes. It is unknown, however, if focusing on wellness detracts from students' future ability to perform the history of present illness (HPI) which requires students to focus on disease processes.


METHODS
The current study examined this issue by comparing two cohorts' clinical skills (n=156), with one class participating in a traditional curriculum during their first year and the other in a revised curriculum teaching wellness during the first year. Each class was evaluated at the beginning of their second year to determine their level of clinical competence.


METHODS
University of Connecticut School of Medicine


METHODS
Second-year medical students.


RESULTS
Analyses suggested that teaching wellness did not detract from future ability to perform an HPI, and in fact students taught wellness had significantly higher history-taking scores.


CONCLUSIONS
Curricular innovations which stress wellness and prevention early in medical education do not detract from and may enhance students' ability to perform the history of present illness later during medical training.
Madray
H
H
University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Clinical Skills Program, Farmington, CT 06030-3975, USA.
Pfeiffer
C A
CA
Ardolino
A
A
D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003142:Communication; D003237:Connecticut; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking