Inpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as an Extracurricular Venue for Medical Student and Resident Education and Professional Development: Story Time and Teen Talk

Objective Comparatively little systematic data exists concerning medical student education from the inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry venue. Training in this venue is vulnerable to pressures including increasingly reduced lengths of stay and greater emphasis on clinical productivity. An extracurricular psychosocial opportunity during evening hours may be a productive means through which to provide meaningful patient exposure, training, and mentorship to trainees. We sought to evaluate the impact upon student beliefs and attitudes through participation in an initiative titled “Story Time and Teen Talk.” Methods Under the direct supervision of postgraduate resident physicians in psychiatry, students read fairy tales and children’s literature to children and conducted group discussions with adolescents during weekly held evening hours. Students were invited to complete a 15-item questionnaire that surveyed the impact of their participation on their beliefs and attitudes concerning general medical education and patient care, the field of psychiatry, and training in child and adolescent psychiatry. A subset of students underwent a semi-structured interview which was evaluated via grounded theory analysis to determine qualitative themes related to impact of program participation. Results Thirty students ( N = 30) completed the survey and five students ( N = 5) completed the interview. The majority of students reported strongly agreeing or agreeing that participation impacted their attitudes and beliefs about general medical education and patient care in twelve of the thirteen assayed items. Themes from qualitative analysis supported these findings. Conclusions Extracurricular opportunities may be a productive venue for graduate medical education and, specifically, child and adolescent psychiatry.