title: Medical students' comfort with children.
abstract: 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 care
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Neelkamal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stratton
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012737:Sex Factors; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*