122 - IMPACT-PMR: Innovative Methods for Preceptor Advancement and Clinical Teaching in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Objectives: In the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Utah, consistent educational experiences for medical students have been challenging due to unstructured resident preceptor training, unclear expectations for student levels, and limited resources. This initiative standardizes precepting practices, enhancing residents' proficiency and comfort as educators, with the goal of providing a consistent, comprehensive learning experience for medical students.

Design:

We implemented a one-hour training on best practices in medical education, alongside an educational checklist for each rotation covering foundational PM&R experiences, readings, and active learning resources. The Resident Observation & Competency Assessment (ROCA) Tool was adapted from its use with PM&R residents to assess medical students. Medical students received immediate feedback, while residents reinforced key clinical skills, enhancing their development as both clinicians and educators. To measure the impact of the intervention, residents were surveyed pre- and post-intervention using a 10-point scale across four domains: confidence in teaching, resources, ability to assess feedback, and feeling supported. Paired t-tests were conducted to compare the results.

Results: Preliminary analysis shows significant post-intervention improvements in perceived resource availability (p = 0.000005), ability to assess and provide feedback (p = 0.0016), and feeling supported in providing valuable learning experiences (p = 0.0073). Confidence in teaching showed a trend toward improvement (p = 0.061) but was not statistically significant. Survey data included responses from 18 residents pre-intervention and 12 residents post-intervention.

Conclusions: Our standardized precepting framework enhanced residents' ability to create supportive, effective learning environments. Significant improvements were noted in resource availability, feedback assessment, and feeling supported. While confidence in teaching showed a positive trend, further refinement and data are needed for definitive conclusions. Future efforts will focus on gathering targeted feedback from medical students and ongoing evaluations to ensure sustainability and refine residents' educational roles.