Internal Medicine Clerkship Near-Peer "Pre-Rounds Coaching".

INTRODUCTION: The transition to clinical medical education is challenging for third-year medical students as they develop skills necessary for teaching rounds. Fourth-year medical students functioning as "Student Chiefs" may be suited to support this transition through near-peer coaching. MATERIALS AND METHODS: As part of an elective rotation, a fourth-year medical student ("Internal Medicine (IM) Student Chief") provided voluntary coaching sessions for third-year students entering the IM Clerkship prior to their clinical service time. Satisfaction and student perceived benefits of the sessions were assessed using a retrospective pre-post survey. Clerkship student presentations were rated using a validated Patient Presentation Rating Tool. Scores of coached versus non-coached students were compared on the Presentation tool and the summative clerkship OSCE presentation. RESULTS: Coached students demonstrated significant improvements in comfort and perceived confidence in preparing for and presenting on rounds (p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed between coached and non-coached students in Patient Presentation Rating Tool scores or OSCE presentation scores. DISCUSSION: It was feasible to shift the responsibility of teaching pre-rounding preparation to fourth-year Student Chiefs. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the perceived benefit of the program for both clerkship and Student Chiefs, pre-rounds coaching was continued at our institution with additional workflow standardization.