Establishment of a vaccine administration training program for medical students. Issue 2 (4th March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Collins, Reagan A.; Zeitouni, Jad; Veesart, Amanda; Chacon, Jessica; Wong, Aliza; Byrd, Theresa
• Is Part Of: Proceedings. Volume 36:Issue 2(2023)
• Page Start: 157
• Page End: 160
• Publication Date: 2023-03-04
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- curriculum -- medical student -- training -- vaccine; Medicine -- Periodicals; Medicine; Medicine -- Periodicals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 616.005
• DOI: 10.1080/08998280.2022.2137373
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0899-8280

Abstract

Abstract: While vaccine administration training is included in the curriculum for several health professions, it is not universally incorporated into the medical school preclinical curriculum. To fill this education gap, a pilot vaccine training program for first- and second-year medical students was conducted using an online Centers for Disease Control and Prevention module and an in-person simulation with nursing faculty. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program. Pre- and post-surveys used a Likert 5-point scale to assess the training effectiveness. Ninety-four students completed the surveys (response rate, 93.1%). Following the training, students felt more comfortable giving a patient a vaccine under the supervision of a physician ( P < 0.0001), volunteering in a community-wide vaccine campaign ( P < 0.0001), and administering vaccines during clinical rotations ( P < 0.0001). Most students, 93.6%, found the in-person training to be "effective" or "very effective, " and 97.8% felt that learning how to administer vaccines should be incorporated into the preclinical medical curriculum. Without this program, 76 students (80.1%) would not have been able to participate in a vaccine training. The interdisciplinary training program outlined in this study may serve as a model for similar initiatives at other medical schools.