The Current Status of Preclinical Endocrine Education in U.S. Medical Schools

Clarine Long; Karen Tsai; Jason D Napolitano; Raheela A Khawaja; Angela M Leung

doi:10.1016/j.eprac.2022.04.008

The Current Status of Preclinical Endocrine Education in U.S. Medical Schools

Endocr Pract. 2022 Aug;28(8):744-748. doi: 10.1016/j.eprac.2022.04.008. Epub 2022 Apr 20.

Authors

Clarine Long¹, Karen Tsai², Jason D Napolitano³, Raheela A Khawaja⁴, Angela M Leung⁵

Affiliations

¹ The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio.
² Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California; Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California.
³ Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.
⁴ The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio; Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, The Ohio State University and Arthur G. James Cancer Center, Columbus, Ohio.
⁵ Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California; Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California. Electronic address: amleung@mednet.ucla.edu.

PMID: 35452814
DOI: 10.1016/j.eprac.2022.04.008

Abstract

Objective: To characterize the current landscape of preclinical medical endocrine education in U.S. allopathic medical schools.

Methods: U.S. endocrine curriculum directors were asked to voluntarily complete a 16-question email survey surveying the status of endocrine preclinical education at their medical school.

Results: Sixty-nine of 155 (45%) endocrine block director respondents completed the online survey between July 2021 and September 2021. A larger incoming class, a longer duration of the endocrine curriculum, and the offering of a separate endocrine curriculum (ie apart from the teaching of other organ systems) were each independently associated with an increased number of faculty teaching the course. Schools that used a gland-/organ-based curriculum only and those that used a combination of gland-/organ-based curriculum with topic-based curriculum differed significantly in their use of large lectures, small groups, and several curriculum components, including point of care glucose testing, continuous glucose monitoring, and insulin pumps.

Conclusion: This survey study reports the current landscape of preclinical endocrine education in the United States and describes opportunities to improve interest in pursuing endocrinology as a career.

Keywords: endocrine learning; endocrinology teaching; medical school education; preclinical education.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

MeSH terms

Blood Glucose
Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring
Curriculum
Education, Medical*
Humans
Schools, Medical*
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States

Substances

Blood Glucose